Essay 1500

Here are the CliffsNotes for 2006 (to enjoy the unabridged version — including spirited responses, ad critiques, cultural news and more — simply review the past year of MultiCultClassics):

The Sony Playstation Portables graffiti-style ad campaign was banned in cities like Philadelphia, and dissed nationwide. Wal-Mart customers seeking online purchases of Planet Of The Apes and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory were directed to also consider films with Black themes. The Vidal Partnership, Dieste Harmel & Partners and Bromley Communications were listed in Advertising Age’s Agency Of The Year report, with Vidal earning a five-star rating. Burrell Communications was crowned Advertising Age’s Multicultural Agency Of The Year. Marketing y Medios anointed Grupo Gallegos as Advertising Agency of the Year, acknowledging the shop increased its billings 91 percent, won 8 out of 9 new business pitches and nabbed awards including The New York Festival’s Gold, a Silver Pencil at D&AD and a Silver Lion at Cannes. The American Advertising Federation released the AAF Survey on Recruiting and Multicultural Advertising Trends, essentially revealing the industry is clueless about recruiting and multicultural advertising trends. New York City’s Commission on Human Rights, led by Patricia Gatling with NYC Councilman Larry Seabrook, announced intentions to subpoena ad industry honchos over minority hiring practices. Advertising Age’s Multicultural Agency Of The Year Burrell Communications dumped head creative Steve Conner, replacing him with Leo Burnett veteran Lewis Williams. adidas angered Asians with a limited-edition shoe displaying a character sporting buck teeth, slanted eyes and other cartoonish features deemed racist. At an industry conference, True Agency CEO Richard Wayner declared, “The ad industry is essentially a segregated industry in terms of how people work and think. … It is sanctioned segregation and supported by clients.” A media executive at McCann-Erickson filed an age discrimination lawsuit that charged, “The ultimate goal of McCann-Erickson was to replace its older workers with younger employees, based not on performance, but on McCann-Erickson’s discriminatory desire to create a more youthful image, which McCann-Erickson felt it could achieve by ridding itself of its older employees and replacing [them] with younger employees.” Senator John Kerry called for an investigation of the federal government’s record with a policy (signed into law in October 2000) designed to boost minority advertising contracting opportunities. The American Association of Advertising Agencies hired a lobbyist to handle the diversity hearings proposed by New York City’s Commission on Human Rights. The national federation of Columbian coffee producers hired a new actor to portray Juan Valdez. New York City’s Commission on Human Rights scheduled hearings on the ad industry’s diversity dilemmas to occur during Advertising Week. Black Enterprise President-CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. proclaimed, “This is one of the most racist industries in this country. Period. I’m angry about it. Agencies are licensed to practice racism, not just in hiring but also in investing in [multicultural] media.” Starcom MediaVest Group CEO Renetta McCann said, “Curiously, while we operate in an industry that prides itself on participating in the cultural zeitgeist, if you will, we are not an industry that is tremendously comfortable with differences. … In my 28 years, I’ve had about five substantial conversations on the issue of racial diversity in advertising. That’s about one every five years.” Jay-Z ordered a boycott of Cristal champagne after Louis Roedere’s managing partner Frederic Rouzaud made comments the rap mogul deemed racist. Two U.S. Hispanic shops won Cannes Lions: Grupo Gallegos nabbed a Bronze Lion for its Energizer spot, while La Comunidad won a Cyber Lion for its Virgin Mobile internet campaign. Don Richards, Senior Vice President of Agency Diversity Programs at the 4As, displayed disturbing cluelessness during a New York Public Radio interview with True Agency CEO Richard Wayner and Advertising Age reporter Lisa Sanders. Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield felt an Oreo cookie campaign — starring American Idol’s Randy Jackson — displayed insensitivity because, well, a Black man and the term Oreo should never appear together in a commercial. The minority population at PepsiCo received a major lift as Indra Nooyi was named CEO, making her the company’s first female CEO and the first woman of color to take the role. Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield offended folks by writing, “Vegas is overbuilt at the moment and facing stiff competition from the Indian tribes our forebears somehow forgot to slaughter.” Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) oversaw a September session entitled, “Truth in Advertising: How You are Affected by the Practices of Ad Agencies and Their Clients.” Self-proclaimed futurist guru Marian Salzman published a ridiculous Adweek perspective on youth and urban culture — and Salzman’s Web site claims she “identified such trends as wiggers.” Advertising Age wrote, “Several ad agencies under scrutiny for their lackluster diversity-hiring practices have pledged to ramp up their minority recruiting, signing agreements designed to forestall potentially embarrassing public hearings planned for later this month [during Advertising Week].” Anheuser-Busch yanked its Bud Light campaign starring Steve and Zagar after Native American groups argued Zagar, who resembled a Yanomamo tribesman, was offensive. Adweek wrote, “Omnicom Group has agreed to pay $2.5 million over five years to promote diversity at advertising agencies and establish a marketing program at Medgar Evers College, according to New York City Council member Larry Seabrook.” On the same subject, Advertising Age quoted Seabrook as saying, “We went to Omnicom and we kicked ass. … But they came to the table. Omnicom put their money where their mouth is.” Advertising Age also wrote, “Ninety-three percent of respondents to Ad Age’s poll about the new diversity hiring agreement signed by 11 ad agencies with the New York Commission on Human Rights say the agreements will not bridge Madison Avenue’s diversity divide. Only 7% of respondents thought it was a solution or at least a beginning.” Advertising Age pissed off folks by writing New York City’s Commission on Human Rights is “asking the industry to lower its standards” with the demands for diversity. A car dealership in Ohio sparked controversy for wanting to run a radio ad proclaiming “a jihad on the automotive market.” The 4As hired PR firm GolinHarris to help the industry cope with bad press. Radio talk-show host and activist Sanford Moore was recognized for his tireless efforts in bringing attention to the ad industry’s diversity issues — plus, he appeared at a public hearing and made references to economic colonialism and slavery. Advertising Age wrote, “New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook blasted ad agencies who failed to show [in September] for a public hearing on minority-owned media, saying they ‘ran like chickens with their asses plucked clean,’ and suggested a subpoena might compel them to do so in the future.” 4As President-CEO O. Burtch Drake presented a full page of propaganda in Advertising Age, arguing the industry is deeply concerned about its hiring practices. Advertising Age blogger Marc Brownstein offered a naïve and ignorant take on the industry’s exclusivity; however, he vowed to establish change at his Philadelphia-based agency. MultiCultClassics identified Marc Brownstein as the latest culturally clueless character (like Rastus, Aunt Jemima and the Frito Bandito) to come out of Madison Avenue. Bob Garfield critiqued The Flavor of Love by writing, “This would be the VH1 ‘reality’ show starring rapper Flavor Flav — the clownish, alarm-clock-necklace guy from Public Enemy — sorting through various sluts and hos in search of a mate. … Just when you thought [Black] culture couldn’t be degraded and exploited any more comes this, the mutha lode. At least Stepin Fetchit blazed a trail for black film actors. All Flavor Flav is blazing a trail for is Viacom’s trip to the bank.” Anheuser-Busch hired Jay-Z as Co-Brand Director for Budweiser Select. Chevy launched a campaign for its Silverado trucks with John Mellencamp singing, “This Is Our Country” — even though the 60-second spot showcased zero Latinos, Asians or Native Americans. Media conglomerate VNU, noting the incredible increase of Latino consumers, made the peculiar decision to dump Marketing y Medios, the trade publication dedicated to Latino marketing. Dona De Sanctis, deputy executive director of the Order Sons of Italy in America, wrote an Adweek editorial blasting the ad industry and media for perpetuating Italian-American stereotypes. The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined the ad industry diversity drama, plotting to hold workshops and hearings. Groundbreaking Chairman-CEO Ann Fudge “retired” from Young & Rubicam after only three years on the job. When MultiCultClassics debuted in 2005, the inaugural essay mentioned Fudge’s surprise over the “dearth of diversity” she discovered at Y&R. Oh, how times have changed. Happy New Year.

[Click on the essay title above to reread MultiCultClassics Essay One.]

Essay 1499

Poll dancing in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• AOL presented AP poll results showing Americans are optimistic about 2007, with 72 percent of folks feeling good about prospects for the nation and 89 percent believing positive things will happen for themselves and their families. The New York Times presented AP poll results showing Americans are pessimistic, with 60 percent predicting a new terrorist attack and 70 percent anticipating global warming problems leading to another natural disaster. Looks like bipolar pollsters will continue to increase in 2007.

• AP poll results showed more illegal immigrants are seeking the assistance of smugglers to help them cross the border. About 50 percent of folks surveyed admitted using smuggler services in 2005, versus 1 in 3 in 2004 and 1 in 6 in 2000. The Border Patrol’s enhanced efforts have led to increased smuggler activity, as immigrants demand better traveling tactics. “[A more aggressive Border Patrol] has turned a modestly lucrative business into a fantastically profitable industry,” said an immigration expert at the University of California, San Diego. AP poll results will probably show smugglers are optimistic about 2007.

Essay 1498

DaimlerChrysler’s diversity ads are as original as the company’s vehicles.

Essay 1497

[The headline for this concept was inspired by advertising icon Jerry Della Femina’s book, “From Those Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Pearl Harbor.” The title allegedly refers to a gag slogan proposed for the Sony client during a brainstorm meeting. Even back in 1971, ad executives were bashing Asians. Imagine that.]

Essay 1496

An unforgiving MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees is not getting her title back, insist pageant officials (see Essay 1470). The decision was prompted when photos of Rees exposing herself and kissing other women appeared online (see above). Donald Trump indicated he would look into the matter, leading to speculation that he might grant a pardon ala his decision to forgive Miss USA Tara Conner. Based on the pics, Rosie O’Donnell might throw her support to Rees.

• The American Journal of Public Health released a study showing too many kids are fat by preschool, and Hispanic children are at higher risk. Focusing on three-year-olds in low-income families, the figures indicated 32 percent of White and Black kids were overweight, versus 44 percent of Hispanics. Researchers were unable to determine causes for the differences. No comments yet from Donald Trump or Rosie O’Donnell.

• Not to be outdone by the Los Angeles Fire Department, four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged they were victims of racial discrimination. The cops — two Blacks and two Latinos — filed a lawsuit claiming the city failed to adequately investigate their complaints over being excluded from a special unit. Hell, city officials were probably too busy dealing with LAFD screw-ups.

• A dangerous hip-hop dance is growing in popularity, despite already causing two deaths. “Ghost riding the whip” involves having a driver get out of his car and dance around and on the slow-moving vehicle. “It did not take Einstein to look at this thing and say this was a recipe for disaster,” said a California police spokesman. No word yet from DJ Einstein, but performing the stunt could turn you into a ghost.

Essay 1495

“We wouldn’t want to be part of any other team — especially the lame creative team responsible for this ad.”

Essay 1494

Friday Night Fights in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump continue to battle, with O’Donnell posting the following on her blog:

“a young girl in nyc
meets a pimp
he cons her into a life of illusion
she works for him

no fun - no fucking - no future
she is owned
when she sneaks out -
to party the night away
he freaks

he roughs her up a bit
shames her in front of the others
teaches her to behave
for his own benefit”

Trump fired back with the following gems:

“Well, it’s too bad. … I think she’s got something wrong with her. I think she’s cracking up. … Rosie is basically a very untalented person who’s a bully. Her intelligence is less than average in my opinion. … Can you imagine the parents of Kelli [O’Donnell’s partner] … when she said, ‘Mom, Dad, I just fell in love with a big, fat pig named Rosie’? Can you imagine the expression on their face? … She calls me a pimp just because I helped someone who was in trouble. … Rosie got mentally beaten up by me because she’s a mental midget, a low-life. I think she’s got a death wish.”

Wow, Trump is starting to sound like the worst kind of pimp. And the “death wish” comment borders on a legitimate threat.

Has anyone else thought that the next version of “The Apprentice” should pit pimps against prostitutes?

Both of these fools appear to be taking advice from Michael Richards and Mel Gibson.

Essay 1493

Essay 1492

Behaving badly in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A Bronx woman was whipped into a frenzy over whipped cream at Dunkin’ Donuts. A worker (depicted above) allegedly failed to add whipped cream to the patron’s hot chocolate. So the angry woman threw the scalding drink in his face, scratched him and beat him over the head with a door she tore off a refrigerator. America Runs On Dunkin’ — and psychotic rage.

• Now the cop who arrested Mel Gibson — and received the actor-director’s anti-Semitic rant — charges he’s been harassed by his police department superiors. The officer has allegedly been transferred to a different assignment and subjected to a lengthy interrogation; plus, investigators searched his home, seizing his personal computer and phone records (FYI, folks are trying to determine how details of the bust were leaked to a Web site for celebrity news and gossip). “His life and career would be a lot different had he not made that arrest,” said the cop’s lawyer. The harassment will really get ugly if Gibson offers the cop free tickets to Apocalypto.

• Donald Trump continued to fire away at Rosie O’Donnell. During a phone interview, Trump declared, “Rosie’s a loser. She’s been a loser always. … Her show failed, her magazine failed. Barbara Walters gave her new life, but she’ll fail at that also because she’s inherently a stone-cold loser.” When asked if the feud might end, Trump announced, “It will never end on my behalf because I’ve exposed Rosie for what she is: a very dumb human being. … She’s got no intelligence, but I’ve known that for a long time. Unfortunately, Rosie’s pulled the wool over the public.” Well, at least two folks remain untouched by the holiday spirit.

• Mike Tyson was busted for driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. Strangely enough, the man who served prison time for rape, allegedly beat his ex-wife and bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match did not cause a scene during his latest arrest. So maybe one person was touched by the holiday spirit.

Essay 1491

If you thought this print concept — originally presented in Essay 1373 — was bad, click on the essay title above to view a series of 15-second spots for Dodge Nitro. We apologize in advance for stealing a minute of your life that you’ll never get back.

Essay 1490

Essay 1489

Banned news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The King does not rule in the U.K. The British have a ban on kids’ advertising that could wind up costing Burger King $196 million. The fast feeder’s head of northwest Europe said, “… advertising is a key part of our drive to get kids and families into our restaurants. It will have a major impact on our top line.” Hey, you can’t always have it your way.

• Universal Studios Theme Parks have banned trans fats from the food served to visitors. No plans yet to force Shrek to diet. Wonder if Universal Studios has the guts to ban trans fats from product placement shots in its TV programs and movies.

• The chief executives of Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Company allegedly held a powwow last week, although the issues discussed remain unknown. “We meet regularly with other automakers on a variety of topics of mutual interest,” said a Ford spokesman. “We don’t discuss the content of these meetings.” Bill Ford probably just wanted to know if he could get a deal on a new Corolla.

Essay 1488

It’s safe to guess Janet Jackson will not be baring her breasts at this Super Bowl event.

Essay 1487

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Why Kwanzaa should matter to everyone

BY LESLIE BALDACCI Staff Reporter

A mere 1.6 percent of Americans observe it, and it’s been criticized as separatist and contrived, but Kwanzaa may be the perfect holiday for all Americans to rally around. So “Habari Gani!” Today is the third day of Kwanzaa.

If you just took a second glance at my picture and decided “she’s playing,” I assure you I am not. Maulana Karenga, the college professor who founded Kwanzaa 40 years ago to encourage black Americans to reconnect with their African heritage, says all are welcome at the table. And why not? Africa, scientists say, is the motherland of us all.

Christmas and Hanukkah are more than 2,000 years old. Kwanzaa was born of the civil rights movement, when America was forced to make good on the promises of the Constitution.

The Fourth of July is our big flag waver. But on that holiday, the questions rarely go beyond “Got a cold one?” and “That meat about done?” Fireworks are fun, but after the big finale, everyone packs up and goes home.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa already thread through the national dialogue. Viewed in an American context, they provide the focus for a relevant and reflective national celebration. If all Americans practiced the seven principles of Kwanzaa, our nation would be stronger for it.

The seven principles
Habari Gani means “What’s the News?” in Swahili. The question is answered by one of the seven principles each day. Here’s why they matter to every citizen:

Umoja (Unity): To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Americans struggle to balance ethnic pride and diversity. We need to work harder at it. Unity at home and throughout the land seems more elusive than ever in the information and technology age. Family feuds pass for entertainment on TV, bitter insults pass as political discourse. We struggle with immigration reform, affirmative action, educational inequity. Why does it take an event like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina to bring us together?

Kujichagulia (Self-determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. Another way to say “First Amendment.”

Ujima (Collective work and responsibility): The expectation is that everyone contributes and everyone has an opportunity for a job. We saw this play out in Illinois’ minimum wage referendum and Chicago’s “big box” debate. The nation is diminished because we have failed to deal responsibly with universal health care and school funding.

Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain business enterprises and profit from them together. This principle is the “Made in America” tag. It’s supporting neighborhood businesses. It’s choosing which salesperson gets your commission for a big purchase like a major appliance or car.

Nia (Purpose): Building and developing our community. Call it gentrification, call it tax increment financing, call it a block club or community association or parish or school spirit.

Kuumba (Creativity): To leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Responsible citizens keep the grass cut, sidewalk shoveled, pick up litter, curb the dog, volunteer, plant community gardens and trees.

Imani (Faith): To believe in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. This is patriotism.

Kwanzaa, like Christmas, involves gifts for children. But two gifts are mandatory: a book and a heritage symbol. What child in the land would not do better with those two gifts? With only those two gifts?

In the coming days, we will learn whether Barack Obama will run for president, a possible candidacy spun off the strength of his call for unity. If that sentiment is what people are hungry to hear, then surely the principles of Kwanzaa have a wider audience.

“Any particular message that is good for a particular people, if it is human in its content and ethical in its grounding, speaks not just to that people, it speaks to the world,” says The Official Kwanzaa Web Site. “The message of Kwanzaa has a universal message for all people of good will. It is rooted in African culture, and we speak as Africans must speak, not just to ourselves, but to the world.”

Whether you wrap yourself in Kente cloth or the American flag, the principles of Kwanzaa give us a lot to think about as countrymen.

Essay 1486

In March 2005, DiversityInc.com criticized Advertising Age and Adweek for doing a lousy job of presenting diverse editorial and imagery. MultiCultClassics reported on it way back in Essay Fourteen, and even offered suggestions in Essay Seventeen.

This recollection surfaced after perusing the competitors’ 2006 review issues (depicted above).

As recently detailed in Essay 1452 and Essay 1457, Advertising Age ranked the industry’s diversity problems as the second biggest story of the year, right behind the fiasco involving DraftFCB and Wal-Mart. Additionally, New York City Commission on Human Rights leader Patricia Gatling and Jay-Z were named among “10 Who Made Their Mark” in the business. Over the past year, Advertising Age has often been clumsy and clueless; however, their willingness to engage cultural topics deserves a certain degree of respect.

On the other hand, Adweek appears completely oblivious to anything non-White. Their year-in-review coverage made no mention of the diversity problems. Nada. Zero. Zilch. The closest Adweek gets to Black culture involves a cameo by Ali G. And despite the exploding Latino market that brought dramatic growth to multicultural agencies, the trade magazine only saw fit to briefly highlight ABC series Ugly Betty — but just in Barbara Lippert’s inane essay on the alleged shifts in beauty standards. Of course, Adweek also failed to note parent company VNU’s decision to dissolve Marketing y Medios.

Instead, Adweek unloaded major advertisers’ media spending, a painfully obvious “The Top 10 Ideas Of 2006” countdown, a dreadfully dull interview with IPG CEO Michael Roth, outdated viewpoints by prehistoric writers, corny Q&As and the obligatory “What’s In, What’s Out” chart.

Somebody please start 2007 already.

[Click on the essay title above to review Essay Seventeen.]

Essay 1485

Essay 1484

Breaking news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Forget racial tensions and gang affiliations as motivators for prison riots. A Nebraska jailhouse ruckus broke out because an inmate broke wind. Another convict took offense to the odor, leading to fisticuffs. The sheriff also pointed to overcrowding as a cause. “You just can’t get a reprieve from one another,” said the sheriff. “When you’ve got a guy causing problems passing gas, there’s no way to get away from the smell.” Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.

• USA TODAY reported one-third of U.S. children and teens are overweight or nearly so. Parents appear to be leading the issue, as two-thirds of adults are overweight. The situation is among the “most critical public health issues,” said the chairman of a report committee from the Institute of Medicine. “There is no one segment of society that’s going to solve this alone. It has to be a concerted, coordinated effort. That’s one of the things that’s missing now.” If you want to rally folks together, offer to hold the meeting at Mickey D’s.

Essay 1483

Essay 1482

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Godfather of soul, and of our goal

By Clarence Page

WASHINGTON -- Can James Brown really be gone? Are we sure? After all, no one could stage a false exit better than the Godfather of Soul.

He’d be singing “Please, Please, Please” down on one knee at the foot of the stage, his face gleaming with sweat, his pompadour gleaming with pomade, after two hours of sweet pulse-pounding soul stirrings. Then his dapper assistant would appear and drape a bright satin cape over Brown’s shoulders and Soul Brother No. 1 would slowly stand up and turn around slowly and step rhythmically offstage as the band and backup singers, moaned “Please, please don’t go-oh-oh … “ and … the … crowd … would … go … wild!

And Brown would stop, shake off the cape, which the dapper aide would catch in the nick of time, and dance back to center stage for an encore! And another! And another!

It was pure cornball show biz, but we, the James Brown Baby Boomers, loved it because Brown did it with so much, ah, yes, soul!

In fact, he defined “soul” in the 1960s and forevermore as much as Sam Cooke or Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles or the Supremes or Jackie Wilson or Marvin Gaye or anybody else in the rhythm-and-blues pantheon. His 1962 “Live at the Apollo” hit album set the mood for countless “blue-light” parties in our parents’ basements. His eye-defying, quick-shuffling, rubber-legged dance moves were widely imitated but never quite duplicated. Others like Joe Tex or Jackie Wilson or Al Green might be able to drop the mike, spin around, drop into a split and catch the mike before it hit the stage floor, but never with the same level of style, flair and all-out screaming passion as Brown.

Ever wonder where Rev. Al Sharpton found his exotic hairstyles? Blame Brown.

J.B. befriended Sharpton, then a prodigious teen preacher and youth leader who became Brown’s road manager in the 1970s. When Sharpton married show business and civil rights activism, he learned from the master.

Ever wonder why Mick Jagger started dancing like a madman on stage? Blame Brown.

As a singer, Jagger was a remarkably calm-looking chap until the Rolling Stones were booked to follow Brown in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1965. As “The T.A.M.I. Show” (Teen-Age Music International) video documentary reveals, “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” whipped those California kids into such a frenzy that a nervous young Jagger decided to explode onto the stage with an improvised chicken walk dance that soon became his trademark. Jagger has hardly stopped moving onstage since.

And after surviving the Motown wave and the British invasion, Brown proceeded not only to “go political,” as many performers did in the 1960s, but write the anthem for a new sociopolitical consciousness: “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” No one drove the nail into the coffins of “colored” and “Negro” as acceptable labels as much as Brown’s song did.

Yet, as music and message, I prefer the less known anthem with a mouthful of a title that says it all: “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself).”

Musically, the song’s compelling beat displays to full effect Brown’s distinctive emphasis on “the ones” (the one and the three, instead of the two and the four) in his rhythms. Its message offers an important response to the many people who were asking in the midst of urban riots and a rising black power movement in the late 1960s, “What do black people want?”

If Brown’s answer is what it sounds like in his songs, “We want equal opportunity, not guaranteed results,” it should come as no surprise that he endorsed Richard M. Nixon in 1972 for president. After all, it was Nixon, not John F. Kennedy or Lyndon B. Johnson, who actually signed the first affirmative action executive order into law.

Looking back, it is easier to appreciate the message Brown was trying to give. “Black power” rose in 1966 in the wake of the civil rights movement as a slogan in desperate search of a program. Brown, a 7th-grade dropout, suddenly became the least academic but most influential voice to give a little intellectual meat to the new movement.

As an impressionable student, I was changed forever by Brown’s recounting in an interview in the late 1960s about his own struggles against childhood poverty. “I used to shine shoes on the front steps of an Augusta, Ga., radio station,” he said. “Now I own that radio station.” So could we all, he was telling our generation, if we took full advantage of the doors that were opening to us.

Unfortunately, Brown took great advantage of those open doors only to lead a life of maddening swings between wealth and ruin, artistic genius and spouse abuse, amazing fitness and drug abuse. Yet he kept coming back for encores and honors. The curtain has come down on his turbulent life. This time his exit is for real. But we still have his music, his memories and his messages, still taking encores for many years to come.

Essay 1481

For Black consumers, Ford presented Kelis (see Essay 1476). For Asian consumers, the automaker signed up South Korean actor and singer Ahn Jae Wook. Appealing to minorities through celebrity recording artists — wow, that’s a bold move.

Essay 1480

Seth Godin presented a list of blogs worth reading — and MultiCultClassics is part of it. Not sure how or why this blog made the cut, but many thanks to anyone responsible. Click on the essay title above to check out Godin’s post.

Essay 1479

Playing around with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• USA TODAY reported on the small but growing market for religious board games and toys. From Kosherland — a Jewish spin on Candy Land — to Biblical action figures, there seems to be a niche demand for more wholesome entertainment. But don’t expect to find the Mel Gibson “Passion of the Christ-opoly” or Michael Richards “Kramer Kwanzaa Kit” in toy stores soon.

• The gay wedding industry is another market increasing in popularity nationwide. Despite legislation banning same-sex marriage, couples are going all out to celebrate their unions. “For the longest time, there was so much shame and privacy around it that people didn’t really give themselves permission to have ceremonies like this,” said an Arlington-based wedding consultant. “(Now) the market is growing as the headlines remain out there.” Somebody in Hollywood ought to produce a gay spin-off of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

• An anti-bias campaign in Virginia is stirring controversy and fear. The work is intended to provoke thinking about anti-Muslim feelings, featuring posters and bus cards with messages in Arabic script. The actual translations are ordinary phrases and children’s rhymes accompanied by statements like, “Misunderstanding can make anything scary” and “What did you think it said?” Concerned and confused citizens have complained and even called the police to investigate. “It’s so great that we’re getting feedback, even if it is negative, because it shows that people are looking, they’re thinking,” said the executive director of A More Perfect Union, a project of the Virginia Interfaith Center. “And it really proves the point that this script right here conjures up certain ideas in our heads that we have to work with.” Somebody get Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr.’s opinion on this pronto.

Essay 1478

Essay 1477

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Warning on Muslim gets it all wrong

It’s hard to decide where to start when criticizing Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.), who thinks Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, poses a serious threat to American values. His complaint is short on the facts and short on logic, not to mention being short on tolerance. And it’s disrespectful to the voters who elected Ellison.

Goode sent a letter to voters citing the election of Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and a Muslim, as a warning that Americans need to crack down on immigration or there would likely be “many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the [Quran].”

First of all, Ellison isn’t an immigrant. He’s an African-American convert to Islam who can trace his American roots back to 1742.

And Ellison wants to use the Quran in a private swearing-in ceremony -- after the official event, which requires no religious text. Such constitutional niceties don’t register with Goode, who objects to Ellison’s decision to not use the Bible. But doesn’t it make more sense for Ellison to swear on the book that he regards as the most relevant and holds with the most reverence? Not to Goode.

Goode should learn a lesson from Ellison. “I want to let him know that there’s nothing to fear,” Ellison told the New York Times. “The fact that there are many different faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength.”

Essay 1476

Kelis shattered glass ceilings and plastic expectations? Puh-lease.

Essay 1475

From The New York Times…

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Nanny Hunt Can Be a ‘Slap in the Face’ for Blacks

By JODI KANTOR

Last month, Jennifer Freeman sat in a Chicago coffee bar, counting her blessings and considering her problem. She had a husband with an M.B.A. degree, two children and a job offer that would let her dig out the education degree she had stashed away during years of playdates and potty training.

But she could not accept the job. After weeks of searching, Ms. Freeman, who is African-American, still could not find a nanny for her son, 5, and daughter, 3. Agency after agency told her they had no one to send to her South Side home.

As more blacks move up the economic ladder, one fixture — some would say necessity — of the upper-middle-class income bracket often eludes them. Like hailing a cab in Midtown Manhattan, searching for a nanny can be an exasperating, humiliating exercise for many blacks, the kind of ordeal that makes them wonder aloud what year it is.

“We’ve attained whatever level society says is successful, we’re included at work, but when we need the support for our children and we can afford it, why do we get treated this way?” asked Tanisha Jackson, an African-American mother of three in a Washington suburb, who searched on and off for five years before hiring a nanny. “It’s a slap in the face.”

Numerous black parents successfully employ nannies, and many sitters say they pay no regard to race. But interviews with dozens of nannies and agencies that employ them in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Houston turned up many nannies — often of African-American or Caribbean descent themselves — who avoid working for families of those backgrounds. Their reasons included accusations of low pay and extra work, fears that employers would look down at them, and suspicion that any neighborhood inhabited by blacks had to be unsafe.

The result is that many black parents do not have the same child care options as their colleagues and neighbors. They must settle for illegal immigrants or non-English speakers instead of more experienced or credentialed nannies, rely on day care or scale back their professional aspirations to spend more time at home.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1474

Essay 1473

From The Associated Press…

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Is Santa an illegal immigrant?

HAZLETON, Pa. -- A satirical new Web site pokes fun at Mayor Lou Barletta by claiming he has banned Santa Claus, “the nation’s most prominent undocumented worker,” from the city.

Playing off the mayor’s recent crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Web site says Barletta has launched a campaign against the jolly old elf, who is “not an American, nor is he legally recognized for residency or occupational purposes in this country.”

Barletta attracted national attention earlier this year when he pushed through a tough, first-of-its-kind law targeting illegal immigrants.

The law, which a judge has blocked pending a legal challenge, penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and employers who give them jobs.

Barletta wasn’t amused when he learned about the Web site last week, referring it to state police because it solicits online credit card donations.

“Santa Claus is welcome in Hazleton as he’s welcome everywhere,” Barletta told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes” show.

[Click on the essay title above to visit the Web site.]

Essay 1472

A Merry MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Mickey D’s is struggling to find an alternative to trans fat oil, particularly with its fries. Earlier test-market results were not good, with customers calling to complain about attempted changes. Mickey D’s may even opt to inform customers of any future revision after it’s been implemented — or maybe not at all. Better keep your eyes on your fries. And Mickey D’s lies.

• Donald Trump is griping again, this time with residents of Palm Beach, Florida, over an American flag at his Mar-a-Lago Club. The town had complained the 15-by-25-foot flag with its 80-foot pole violated zoning codes, and threatened to fine Trump. “You don’t need a permit to put up the American flag,” said Trump last October. “The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country.” Then he probably went on to argue the flag in question is no larger than Rosie O’Donnell’s underpants.

• Police in Bennington, Vermont issued beer glasses featuring their department logo to local bars and restaurants. The intent is to make people think twice before drinking and driving. “One of the ways we let people know we're out there is through increased visibility,” said a police official. “We don’t want people driving impaired at all.” What’s next — cop logos on bongs and syringes?

• Just in time for the holidays, Michael Jackson has allegedly returned to the United States. Jacko was spotted in Las Vegas, where insiders claim he hopes to revitalize his career. “Vegas is about wild and weird and crazy. If Michael Jackson is going to come back, this could be the place to do it,” said one Las Vegas producer. Looks like Jacko’s found the perfect home.

Essay 1471

From The Associated Press…

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Soul singer James Brown dies

His influence on rap, disco and funk are indisputable. He had been hospitalized briefly with pneumonia.

By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press

ATLANTA — James Brown, the legendary singer known as the Godfather of Soul, has died, his agent said today. He was 73.

Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia on Sunday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and died around 1:45 a.m. today, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles A. Bobbit was by his side, he said.

Copsidas said that Brown’s family was being notified of his death and that the cause was still uncertain. “We really don’t know at this point what he died of,” he said.

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the last 50 years. A generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, among others. Songs such as David Bowie’s “Fame,” Prince’s “Kiss,” George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “Sing a Simple Song” were clearly based on Brown’s rhythms and vocal style.

If Brown’s claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.

“James presented obviously the best grooves,” rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told the Associated Press. “To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one’s coming even close.”

His hit singles included such classics as “Out of Sight,” “(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud,” a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

“I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black,” Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. “The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society.”

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (best R&B recording) and for “Living In America” in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male). He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, “Please, Please, Please” in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.

And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.

Brown’s work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. “The music out there is only as good as my last record,” Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

“Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I’m saying? You hear all the rappers, 90% of their music is me,” he told the Associated Press in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, he was abandoned as a 4-year-old to the care of relatives and friends and grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an “ill-repute area,” as he once called it. There he learned to wheel and deal.

“I wanted to be somebody,” Brown said.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars.

While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later “Please, Please, Please” was in the R&B Top Ten.

Though most of Brown’s life was glitz and glitter, he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.

In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom.

Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.

Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991.

After his release in 1991, Brown said he wanted to “try to straighten out” rock music. He was soon on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable TV viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery, the coroner said.

He and his fourth wife — Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers — had a son, James Jr., now about 5.

Essay 1470

Only one more MultiCultClassics Monologue until Christmas…

• Fired publisher Judith Regan hired a lawyer, who announced there’s a witness to dispute the assertion that Regan made an anti-Semitic remark (see Essay 1451). The witness, a temporary assistant, had listened in on the conversation and supports Regan’s insistence that she never said “Jewish cabal,” just “cabal.” The lawyer proclaimed, “We now have a witness saying that she never said it. … So it is defamatory and false to say she said it.” It looks like Regan is organizing a shrewish cabal.

• Now the woman who won the title of Miss Nevada USA has lost her crown, dethroned after risqué photos of her appeared online. “I am so sorry this happened,” said the woman. “So many of us don’t realize how our actions, even one night of poor judgment, can affect the rest of our lives.” She and her lawyer are begging Donald Trump for a second chance like the one he granted Miss USA Tara Conner (see Essay 1459). Although in this case, maybe they should be speaking to Hugh Hefner.

• A labor rights group released a report charging Bratz dolls are produced in a China factory where workers clock up to 94 hours per week. No comment yet from Rosie O’Donnell.

• Isaac Hayes is trying to sell a Grammy, but the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences is suing to stop him. Leland Collectibles sought to auction off the statuette for Hayes, and the Academy is demanding its return instead — even though a firm official insisted they’ve sold Grammy awards in the past. The Academy won’t say why Hayes is not allowed to sell his award. Guess they’re just some bad mother…

Essay 1469

The folks responsible for this ad should have their creative licenses revoked.

Essay 1468

From The New York Times…

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Fan Asks Hard Questions About Rap Music

By ERIK ECKHOLM

CHICAGO — Byron Hurt takes pains to say that he is a fan of hip-hop, but over time, says Mr. Hurt, a 36-year-old filmmaker, dreadlocks hanging below his shoulders, “I began to become very conflicted about the music I love.”

A new documentary by Mr. Hurt, “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” questions the violence, degradation of women and homophobia in much of rap music.

Scheduled to go on the air in February as part of the PBS series Independent Lens, the documentary is being shown now at high schools, colleges and Boy’s Clubs, and in other forums, as part of an unusual public campaign sponsored by the Independent Television Service, which is based in San Francisco and helped finance the film.

The intended audiences include young fans, hip-hop artists and music industry executives — black and white — who profit from music and videos that glorify swagger and luxury, portray women as sex objects, and imply, critics say, that education and hard work are for suckers and sissies.

What concerns Mr. Hurt and many black scholars is the domination of the hip-hop market by more violent and sexually demeaning songs and videos — an ascendancy, the critics say, that has coincided with the growth of the white audience for rap and the growing role of large corporations in marketing the music.

Ronald F. Ferguson, a black economist and education expert at Harvard, said that the global success of hip-hop had had positive influences on the self-esteem of black youths but that children who became obsessed with it “may unconsciously adopt the themes in this music as their lens for viewing the world.”

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1467

Shopping for news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Target pulled a CD carrying case featuring Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s likeness after folks complained the Marxist revolutionary was a murderer and totalitarian symbol. “What next? Hitler backpacks? Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?” wondered one critic. Target responded by declaring in a statement, “It is never our intent to offend any of our guests through the merchandise we carry. … We have made the decision to remove this item from our shelves and we sincerely apologize for any discomfort this situation may have caused our guests.” Then again, the trendy retailer has always been considered revolutionary.

• P.Diddy wants to know who let the dogs out. It turns out that the “faux fur” collars on his Sean John coats weren’t “faux” after all, actually coming from a canine called a raccoon dog. “I was completely unaware of the nature of this material, but as soon as we were alerted, the garments were pulled,” said Combs. How come he never pulls his albums when they turn out to be dogs?

• The country’s first openly lesbian fire chief (working in Minneapolis) was demoted amid discrimination and sexual harassment charges. She’s facing lawsuits from four firefighters — three women and a man — alleging various acts of biased behavior. No word yet from Rosie O’Donnell.

• The Ohio couple charged with forcing some of their 11 foster kids to sleep in cages may now be facing a similar scenario (see Essay 272). A jury convicted the two of felony and misdemeanor counts, leading to the possibility of serving jail time. Which should make the couple feel right at home.

Essay 1466

Is it really inspiring to relate your career to a Whopper?

Essay 1465

Still duking it out with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump went a few more rounds in their Battle of the Network Egos (see Essay 1459). Trump said O’Donnell was “unattractive,” a “bully,” and attracted to Miss USA. “Ultimately, Rosie is a loser, and ultimately [The View] will fail because of Rosie,” proclaimed Trump. O’Donnell introduced her partner on The View and remarked, “I was afraid to leave her home in case somebody with a comb-over came and stole her from me.” If this were a boxing match, the bell would ring “ching-chong” already.

• Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) refused to back down from his anti-Muslim letter (see Essay 1459). “I will not be putting my hand on the Koran,” declared Goode. Muslims across America can breathe a sigh of relief over that announcement.

• Condoleezza Rice remarked on whether the country is ready for a Black president:

“I’ve thought for a long time, actually, that this was barrier that an individual could certainly overcome. I think we shouldn’t be naive. Race is still an issue in America. When a person walks into a room, race is evident. It’s something that I think is going to be with us for a very, very long time.

“I don’t think we are colorblind and I don’t think we are going to be colorblind in my lifetime. But I think we have become capable of looking past color to see capability, to see merit and character and to overcome stereotypes and to be able to therefore trust somebody’s abilities. And that’s what people look for, I think, when they are looking for a president. Yes, I think a Black person can be elected president and I think they’ll probably in the final analysis be judged by all the things that Americans ultimately end up making their decision on.”

No word if Rice is ready to enter the presidential ring.

Essay 1464

What Can Brown People Do For You?

Essay 1463

From USA TODAY…

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Immigration issue blew up in 2006

By William M. Welch, USA TODAY

From massive urban marches by Latinos to law-enforcement sweeps of illegal meatpacking workers, 2006 was a year when immigration became the domestic issue the United States could not ignore.

Concern about the influx of illegal immigrants, mainly from Mexico, grew into a major issue that echoed through the November election campaigns.

Towns and cities across the country expressed frustration with the issue by passing anti-illegal-immigration ordinances and resolutions.

Hundreds of thousands of Latinos marched through Los Angeles and other cities in the spring to show their opposition to get-tough legislation. Many waved Mexican flags, prompting criticism.

The long border with Mexico was a focal point of the debate. Congress voted to construct 700 miles of double-layered fencing along the border.

President Bush directed 6,000 National Guard troops to the border. He proposed a “guest worker” program that would offer citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA. Opponents derided the proposal as an amnesty for lawbreakers, and it was not acted on by Congress.

Volunteers with the Minuteman Project kept up their patrols. The border remained porous. Near San Diego, federal agents found numerous secret tunnels, raising fears that if poor immigrants could get into the USA that way, so could terrorists.

Federal immigration officials stepped up enforcement. Last week, more than 1,200 meatpacking workers suspected of immigrating illegally were arrested in six states. Some face identity-theft charges.

Essay 1462

Can you pass the Time Warner screen test? Do they require a DNA sample to prove you’re a minority?

Essay 1461

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Hitler the trendy tyrant
German dictator no pariah to some in India, the Tribune’s Kim Barker reports

By Kim Barker
Tribune’s South Asia correspondent

KHARGHAR, India -- When an Adolf Hitler-themed restaurant opened its doors in a suburb of cosmopolitan Mumbai in August, many were horrified. The restaurant, Hitlers’ Cross, changed its name a week later to Cross Cafe, but it is hardly the only example of how some Indians view Hitler and his legacy.

Hindu fundamentalist groups praise Hitler’s leadership skills. A college poll a few years ago showed he was perceived as an ideal leader. Books and videos of him are top sellers. Most patrons prefer to call Cross Cafe by its previous name. Plates and cups still bear the Hitlers’ Cross logo, with a Nazi swastika in place of the “O.”

“We call it ‘Hitler’ only,” said Ashish Anant, 18, an aeronautics college student who likes to come to the cafe with friends. “We say, ‘Let’s go to Hitler.’ It’s a trendy name. It’s different.”

It’s not clear why Hitler is popular in some circles. Some experts say it’s because of a belief that Indians were the original Aryan race. Others say it’s because Hitler used the traditional Hindu good-luck symbol of the swastika, rotating it slightly. Those who believe strongly in the caste system of India also may like Hitler’s eugenics and race beliefs.

Any praise for Hitler is not reflected in national policy. India has strong ties with Israel and views it as an ally in the war on terror. And Jewish and non-Jewish Indians were horrified by Hitlers’ Cross. Daniel Zohar Zonshine, the Israel consul general in Mumbai, looked visibly upset when talking about the portrayal of Hitler in India, especially Hitlers’ Cross. He said he thinks the owners wanted the free publicity that comes with such controversy.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1460

Expect more from your career — including employee discounts on Viagra.

Essay 1459

Diss-cussions in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Rosie O’Donnell has now targeted Donald Trump, griping over his forgiving gesture to Miss USA Tara Conner. O’Donnell huffed that Trump is no role model for 20-year-old Americans, as he’s been divorced twice and caught in affairs. Trump fired back, dissing O’Donnell’s looks, past talk show and magazine. He’s even considering suing her. It might be tough for either one to find any supportive character witnesses.

• Controversial publisher Judith Regan was apparently investigated and reprimanded for making an anti-Semitic remark at work in 2003. Regan had bragged about replacing the scrolls in a neighbor’s mezuzas with ripped up dollar bills. When asked if Regan was a racist, one editor remarked, “She was an equal opportunity insulter of everyone. … I did not think of her as a generalized racist.” Perhaps she’s more of a specialized racist.

• Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., a Republican from Virginia, stirred controversy by sending a letter warning the recent election of the first Muslim Congressman was a threat to the nation’s values. “I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped,” said Goode. He also cautioned that there will “likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.” However, the guy probably has no issues with Rosie O’Donnell, Donald Trump and Judith Regan.

Essay 1458

The Infiniti FX inspires artists. And really bad ads.

Essay 1457

AdAge.com listed “10 Who Made Their Mark” — recognizing folks who made an impact in the advertising industry during 2006. Among the group:

2. Jay-Z
The man also known as Shawn Carter came out of early retirement this year and started throwing his marketing weight around. He was featured in one of the spots in HP’s critically lauded effort. He withdrew his support for Cristal champagne after the company dissed the hip-hop crowd. Then he went to bat for Anheuser-Busch when he accepted the title of co-brand director for Bud Select.

4. Patricia Gatling
The lack of diversity in the ad industry is something agencies would rather not discuss in public. But under Gatling’s leadership, the New York City Commission on Human Rights this year applied some very public pressure. Using a mix of subpoenas and shame, Gatling, poked, prodded and bullied the ad industry into making sweeping promises to remedy the situation.

Essay 1456

Yo, baby, it’s a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• China is instituting new rules for foreign adoptions, turning down applicants who are single, obese and taking anti-depressants. Wow, they must really be pissed off at Rosie O’Donnell.

• O.J. Simpson is being sued again by Fred Goldman, father of murder victim Ronald Goldman. This time, Goldman is charging Simpson collected over $1 million on the cancelled “If I Did It” book and TV deal. Simpson owes Goldman $30 million after losing a civil suit. Wonder if Simpson will complain about a Jewish cabal working against him.

• The Los Angeles Fire Department continues to reel with controversies. Now officials working on two high-profile cases involving racial discrimination are claiming documents sent to a top commander were messed with — including having forged signatures. The officials insist reports were written and autographed without their consent. Looks like the shenanigans are not confined to the firehouse kitchen.

• A civil-rights group in Brooklyn protested at CNN studios, arguing talk-show host Lou Dobbs’ reporting on immigration is racist. While the group accused Dobbs of bashing immigrants with terms like “army of invaders,” a CNN spokesperson claims the reporter also gets “positive” reviews. CNN is probably the choice channel for The Minuteman Project.

Essay 1455

Introducing the ‘Supplier Diversity’ stamp series — collect ‘em all!

Essay 1454

Well, this story from AdAge.com helps explain the decision by Grupo Gallegos to drop out of the Wal-Mart multicultural pitch (see Essay 1439)…

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Target Taps Grupo Gallegos For Interactive Project

After Pulling Out of Wal-Mart Review, Agency Draws Assignment From Competitor

By Laurel Wentz

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Grupo Gallegos, the independent U.S. Hispanic agency that pulled out of Wal-Mart’s multicultural review last week, has been hired by competitor Target. The agency, based in Long Beach, Calif., was appointed on a project basis, starting with an interactive assignment for Target.com.

Target has worked with other Hispanic agencies, mainly New York-based independent Ole, but this will be Target’s first Hispanic interactive project. The work will include strategic planning, positioning, creative development and implementation.

Target is believed to have spoken to a number of Hispanic agencies about the assignment, including Grupo Gallegos during the Wal-Mart review.

Outstanding creative work
The five-year-old Hispanic shop, known for its outstanding creative work for Energizer, the California Milk Processor Board and Comcast, recently started an interactive department. The fast-growing agency will bill about $85 million this year, up 27% from 2005.

Without Grupo Gallegos, the Hispanic portion of Wal-Mart’s multicultural review has narrowed to incumbent Lopez Negrete Communications, Houston; LatinWorks, Austin, Texas; and Interpublic Group of Cos.-backed Accentmarketing, Miami.

Multicultural agencies have been told they, unlike the general market agencies, will not have to re-pitch and a decision will be made before the holidays. But the current decision makers in the Wal-Mart review were not deeply involved in the multicultural pitches, raising doubts about whether they’ll be able to make a decision without making the three remaining agencies re-pitch, unless the retailer simply decides to stay with incumbent Lopez Negrete.

Essay 1453

Sports is my color? Somebody please email Stuart Scott to explain this one.

Essay 1452

AdAge.com lists the 10 Biggest Stories of the Year. Ranking just below the top story involving the Wal-Mart fiasco:

2. Lack of diversity in the ad industry

In 2004, more than 25 years after New York first looked into the lack of diversity in the advertising industry, the city’s Commission on Human Rights decided to follow up with a fact-finding mission. In 2005, fact-finding turned into an investigation and in 2006 that investigation led to subpoenas and threats of embarrassing public-hearings. All of the agencies involved eventually signed agreements pledging to ramp up minority recruiting.

Essay 1451

Fits and Kibbles & Bits in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• News sources now report that Judith Regan’s firing was prompted by her anti-Semitic rants. When protesting a perceived lack of support from her publishing house, Regan allegedly remarked, “Of all people, the Jews should know about ganging up, finding common enemies and telling the big lie.” One source claims Regan went on to say that certain HarperCollins executives and others “constitute a Jewish cabal against her.” Not sure why she’d think only Jewish folks dislike her.

• Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” honor surprised at least one advertiser. The magazine named “You” as its cover honoree. But Chrysler ran an ad whose headline read, “You might not be Time Person of the Year, but you can drive like you are.” On a semi-related note, perhaps Time’s Jewish staffers will qualify that “You” does not include Judith Regan.

• Officials in Los Angeles have reopened talks to settle the case involving the Black firefighter who was served dog food by his firehouse coworkers. The public apparently protested an original $2.7 million settlement, prompting the mayor to squash it. Sources indicate any new payment would be structured to look like compensation for lost wages and pension benefits, plus legal costs. The alleged deal sounds like a dog.

Essay 1450

There’s a Coloreds-By-Number joke here somewhere…

Essay 1449

(From The Chicago Sun-Times.)

Essay 1448

In November, the Rev. Jesse Jackson responded to Michael Richards’ tirade with statements that were downright prophetic. “We’ve been meeting with leaders all week since the Michael Richards meltdown, and it seems to us that Michael Richards is a symbol, not just an aberration,” said Jackson. “We must not return hate with hate. We want to assess the impact of what he said, and what Mel Gibson said. … The Richards incident is like the Katrina crisis that lifted the face off of poverty in America and opened up old wounds for new examination and debate. His meltdown is historically rooted in a disturbing trend.”

Jackson clearly saw the nasty pattern of actions and attitudes emanating from Hollywood. However, the iconic activist did a lousy of expressing his sentiments — at least by Jesse Jackson standards. This was a golden opportunity to deliver one of his patented speeches and rouse the masses. But for some reason, Jackson blew it. Maybe he was having a bad day, or he misplaced his thesaurus and rhyming dictionary. Whatever the case, here’s what Jackson might say right now:

“America looks to Hollywood for big blockbusters, but instead sees bigot blockbusters.

“We meet today at the crossroads, a point of decision. Shall we expand, be inclusive, find unity and power; or suffer division and impotence?

“When a drunk-driving Mad Max gets mad, maximum racism races out. Suddenly, anti-Semitism is all the road rage. Yet Mad Max doesn’t stop, barreling White supremacy right through Maya culture — and your culture too. The Apocalypto is indeed upon us.

“The good of our nation is at stake. It’s commitment to working men and women, to the poor and the vulnerable, to the many in the world.

“Meanwhile, Borat’s boorish, biased behavior smears entire nations, falsely projecting every imaginable phobia and ism in the guise of comedy. Sacha Baron Cohen’s cultural learnings of America make benefit for no one except himself and gloriously greedy studio executives.

“Common ground. Easier said than done. Where do you find common ground? America is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth.

“Common ground must begin with common courtesy and respect.

“KKKramer is a c-c-cracker whose stand-up routine inspired an audience to stand up and head for the exits. The man begged for forgiveness and insisted, ‘I’m not a racist.’ Yet the infamous video showed a convincing performance to contradict his assertions. And when the victims of his verbal assault seek restitution, will Michael Richards act niggardly?

“Another third-rate comedian — the appropriately named Andy Dick — followed Richards’ explosion by dropping his own N-bomb. He quickly apologized before returning to the anonymity of ex-sitcom failure. Although the dick still owes us an apology for NewsRadio.

“Stand-up wannabe Brad Wollack’s sad attempt at humor played off the death of an Asian man who sought to save his family after their car was lost in a snowstorm. He joked the tragedy ‘just reinforces the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers.’ Wollack just reinforces the new stereotype that racist White men are bad comedians.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger — who moved from star of the box office to the Governor’s office — also joined the laugh fest earlier this year. When discussing the ethnicity of Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, Schwarzenegger remarked, ‘I mean Cuban, Puerto-Rican, they are all very hot. … They have the, you know, part of the Black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it.’ Is the Terminator a discriminator?

“Damon Wayans tried to get rich by copyrighting the N-word. Then wound up being fined and banned for using it at the comedy club where Michael Richards staged his spectacle.

“Things aren’t rosy on The View, where the lesbian comedienne who usually swallows Ding-Dongs suddenly spat ‘Ching-Chongs’ — then offered apologies that ring wrong. Her Freudian slips, like her blubbery hips, are King Kong. Especially considering Rosie’s recent ripping of Kelly Ripa, accusing Regis’ cohort of making a homophobic comment. Talk about prejudiced ping-pong!

“Most people in the world today are Yellow or Brown or Black, non-Christian, poor, female, young and don’t speak English in the real world.

“America must never surrender to a high moral challenge.

“There is no entertainment value when we devalue people. It’s time to end the theatrical dramas rated R for racism.

“Hollywood, don’t keep hate alive. Don’t keep hate alive! Don’t keep hate alive! On the silver screen and beyond, don’t keep hate alive!”

Essay 1447

Please don’t play with your food to create cultural cues.

Essay 1446

An illogical MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• An insurance company refused to deal with 50 Cent for a $10 million lawsuit filed against him, saying the rapper failed to inform them of the action for over a year, thereby voiding his coverage. The lawsuit charges Fiddy’s G-Unit crew started a brawl during a radio station interview in Washington, D.C., last year. A DJ apparently dissed a posse member who was wearing a wireless headset by flashing the Star Trek Mr. Spock salute and saying, “Greetings, my Vulcan brother.” The suing DJ claims he was then beaten up. If you mess with G-Unit, don’t expect to live long and prosper.

• American Greetings released a card that pokes fun at poverty in Cleveland. It presents a black-and-white urban scene with the headline, “Season’s Greetings from Cleveland … America’s Poorest City!” A spokesperson said, “Obviously, our intent is not to make light of the issue [that the U.S. Census Bureau determined Cleveland is the nation’s poorest big city]. It’s just a satirical form of humor that plays well with a certain segment of the population. … We realize it’s not for everyone.” Maybe the card company should change its name to American Elitist Greetings.

• Oprah Winfrey is getting into reality TV with two ABC programs tentatively titled, “The Big Give” and “Your Money or Your Life.” According to the ABC Entertainment President, the shows focus on “wish fulfillment and making lives better.” Should be big hits in Cleveland.

• Move over, Taco Bell. Now the Olive Garden reports over 300 diners fell ill after visiting the Italian eatery. The company’s ad slogan is “When you’re here, you’re family.” Hope customers have family plan insurance coverage.

Essay 1445

From The Washington Post…

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Post-Revolutionary Recognition
Slave Honored as ‘African American Patriot’ at Capitol

By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer

For years, he was known only as the faithful servant. Through the long campaigns of the Revolutionary War, he toiled alongside his famous master. In a painting that has hung in the U.S. Capitol since 1899, he is the figure by the fire, roasting sweet potatoes (depicted above).

Now Oscar Marion is anonymous no longer. He has had his name restored.

In a ceremony yesterday at the Capitol, Marion was recognized as the “African American Patriot” he always was. A proclamation signed by President Bush expressed the thanks of a “grateful nation” and recognized Oscar Marion’s “devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our country in the Armed Forces of the United States.”

The occasion was a triumph for his distant cousin, genealogist Tina C. Jones, who researched his identity and pressed officials to honor him.

“He is not just some obscure figure in the background,” said Jones, president of the American Historical Interpretation Foundation Inc. in Rockville. “This person had a name. He had a life and a separate contribution.”

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1444

The Washington Post continues its series titled, “Being a Black Man,” with a story on absentee Black fathers. Staff writer Neely Tucker wrote the piece, and he’ll be online to discuss it Monday, December 18 at noon ET. Click on the essay title above to check it out.

Essay 1443

Chinese take-out and more in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A group called Unity: Journalists of Color Inc. is not buying Rosie O’Donnell’s apology over mocking the Chinese language. The group’s president said O’Donnell’s response “really didn’t sound like an apology to me. … I think by allowing Rosie O’Donnell’s cheap jabs at Chinese Americans to go unchecked, then the network is essentially condoning racial and ethnic slurs.” O’Donnell probably wishes the critics would go away chop-chop.

• The female publisher who planned to release O.J. Simpson’s “If I Did It” book and TV interview has been fired. “Judith Regan’s employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately,” said HarperCollins CEO. “The REGAN publishing program and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group.” From an employment standpoint, it looks like Regan becomes another fatality at the hands of O.J.

• A New York subcontractor of Cablevision is facing a lawsuit for displaying a noose and joking about hanging Black employees. The employees charge their boss and a manager refused to remove the image after complaints. One employee claims the boss “said he put it there to hang anybody who would pass the gate. I was flabbergasted. … It’s just degrading, disrespectful.” As if we all needed another reason to hate cable companies.

Essay 1442

Why include the barbecue icon in the upper left corner? One more clichéd cultural cue for Black appeal?

Essay 1441

A Hate-filled MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Hate crimes are up in Los Angeles. The figures jumped 26 percent countywide, with a 50 percent spike involving racially motivated offenses aimed at immigrants and between Blacks and Latinos. Wonder how the Michael Richards incident will ultimately be categorized.

• A mother who hates Harry Potter failed in her bid to ban the popular books from libraries in Georgia. The Georgia Board of Education backed an earlier Atlanta-area school board’s decision to keep Potter on shelves, despite the mother’s insistence that Potter is pushing witchcraft on kids. Note to mother: Don’t challenge the power of Potter, mortal.

• A Ohio artist sparked controversy with his holiday display featuring Nazi gingerbread men. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘What’s the worst thing a gingerbread man can do?’” said the artist. “They’re just copying things that people have done. There are no hidden messages here.” What’s next, Der Fuhrer Fruitcakes?

Essay 1440

Get a room? Get a concept.

Essay 1439

The following story appeared at AdAge.com. A MultiCultClassics perspective immediately follows…

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Grupo Gallegos Drops Out of Wal-Mart Hispanic Review

Agency Search Stalled Following Dismissal of Julie Roehm

By Alice Z. Cuneo

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the latest twist on Wal-Mart’s agency search saga, Grupo Gallegos, Long Beach, Calif., has dropped out of the retailer’s Hispanic review.

Terse statement
Grupo Gallegos today issued a terse statement saying it would no longer participate in the review for the Hispanic account, expected to be worth more than $55 million. Wal-Mart’s Hispanic agency of record since 1995, independent Lopez Negrete, Houston, is a finalist in the review. Other contenders for the account include LatinWorks, Austin, Texas, and Miami-based Accentmarketing, which [is] 49% owned by Interpublic Group of Cos.

Final presentations were made Nov. 17. But a decision has been postponed following the dismissal last week of Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart’s senior VP-marketing communications who was handling the review process. The agency she selected for the retailer’s $580 million general-market account, DraftFCB, was subsequently fired.

Broader review
In addition to the Hispanic contenders, there are three African-American and three Asian-American agencies pitching for other facets of Wal-Mart’s multicultural account. African-American incumbent E. Morris Communications, Chicago, is competing against GlobalHue, and True, New York. The Asian-American incumbent is IW Group, Los Angeles, 49% owned by Interpublic. The other two Asian-American contenders are New York-based Admerasia’s New A and Pancom, Los Angeles.

Wal-Mart has been working with search consultant Select Resources International, Santa Monica, Calif., in both the general market and the multicultural reviews.

Executives from Select Resources as well as Wal-Mart and Grupo Gallegos executives did not return calls and e-mails by deadline.

Mya Frazier contributed to this report.

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Lost in all the scandalous hoopla surrounding the ejections of Julie Roehm, her lackey Sean Womack and DraftFCB, the competing multicultural agencies must now chill out until Wal-Mart chooses its new White agency. The second pitch is scheduled for late January.

On Thursday, incumbent White agency GSD&M made headlines by dropping out of contention. Co-founder and President Roy Spence proclaimed, “I want to thank Wal-Mart for inviting us to re-pitch the business. I have decided to decline. We helped build Wal-Mart from $11 billion in sales to $312 billion. We declare victory. We will do everything to make the transition perfect. We wish our great friends well. And we are moving on.”

Of course, there was considerably less attention given to Grupo Gallegos, who officially withdrew from the Hispanic review two days earlier.

Grupo Gallegos — featured in previous MultiCultClassics essays — is one of the hottest shops in the industry. Their presence in the competition is like having Weiden + Kennedy or Crispin Porter + Bogusky join the shootout. The agency consistently wins major awards, including Cannes Lions. DraftFCB wouldn’t know Lions if two were fornicating on… oh, never mind.

The Hispanic portion of the Wal-Mart account is estimated at over $55 million. That’s nowhere close to the reported $580 million to be handed to a White agency, despite the fact that Hispanics make up a huge and growing segment of Wal-Mart’s customers.

The Black agencies are even more invisible than the Hispanic counterparts. Sources indicate the victorious Black shop will get a smaller sack of loot too — about $30 million. E. Morris Communications in Chicago has serviced Wal-Mart for over 13 years, producing award-winning work. Rumors say EMC’s remaining clients have drastically slashed budgets, so a Wal-Mart loss would be devastating. Roehm’s ouster may be a blessing in disguise for EMC, as she had strong ties to opponent GlobalHue, who handles multicultural assignments for Chrysler (Roehm’s former employer).

Online commentators like George Parker recommended that Wal-Mart retain incumbents GSD&M and Bernstein-Rein. EMC deserves to keep its meager slice of the pie as well. The shop survived Roehm’s chaotic stint, coping with the alleged change agent’s quirks and disruptions. As Roehm enjoyed free sushi from Howard Draft — plus oversaw the creation of risqué ads that Wal-Mart honchos ultimately dumped — EMC quietly produced a solid holiday campaign that the advertiser has been running in general market rotation.

Meanwhile, the Asian agencies are almost completely ignored. It’s unlikely anyone would take notice, even if Rosie O’Donnell announced the winner with more “ching-chong” racist ravings.

What makes it all particularly disgusting is that the multicultural shops made final presentations in November. And it doesn’t appear they will be asked to show additional ideas. In other words, the minorities were told to wait in the back while the White folks sort out the important decisions.

Essay 1438

Dysfunctional News in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• An AIDS advocacy group is telling drug dealer Pfizer to stop the Viagra ad campaign that promotes the pill for its recreational use. “We call on Pfizer to exercise responsibility by discontinuing marketing to men with mild erectile dysfunction, and by initiating an educational campaign on the dangers of Viagra and meth targeting men who have sex with men,” said the group. Pfizer officials denied the charges and argued, “We’ve always been committed to the safe and appropriate use of Viagra. … We always encourage men to see their physicians for the proper diagnosis.” Which is why current ads run with headlines like, “Be this Sunday’s MVP” and “What are you waiting for?”

• The New York Post reported that Omnicom is facing allegations of a financial scandal. The advertising behemoth may have set up special deals to hide losses for Web initiatives in order to inflate recorded profits in 2000. Omnicom also apparently lied to the Securities and Exchange Commission about the deals. Why does it seem like the most creative work generated by advertising agencies today is coming out of the accounting departments?

• Now federal health officials are saying lettuce caused the E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell. Seems like the investigation is being handled by the typical Taco Bell order takers.

• Don’t look for this one to appear on Oprah’s Book Club. Tell-all diva Kitty Kelley announced plans to write a book about Winfrey. Crown Publishing Group claims Kelley will “interview hundreds of sources, many of whom have never before spoken on the record about her subject.” Note to Kelley and the hundreds of potential sources: Don’t mess with Oprah.

Essay 1437

Whoa, this ad is 100% garbage.

Essay 1436

From The New York Times…

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Black History Trove, a Life’s Work, Seeks Museum

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

LOS ANGELES — Behind the dusty stools and the old towels, under the broken telephones and the picture frames, amid the spider webs, sits one of the country’s most important collections of artifacts devoted to the history of African-Americans.

Painstakingly collected over a lifetime by Mayme Agnew Clayton — a retired university librarian who died in October at 83 and whose interest in African-American history consumed her for most of her adult life — the massive collection of books, films, documents and other precious pieces of America’s past has remained essentially hidden for decades, most of it piled from floor to ceiling in a ramshackle garage behind Ms. Clayton’s home in the West Adams district of Los Angeles.

Only now is her son Avery Clayton close to forming a museum and research institute that would bring her collection out of the garage and into public view. Just days before Ms. Clayton died, he rented a former courthouse in nearby Culver City for $1 a year to become the treasures’ home, leaving him to scrape together $565,000 to move the thousands of items and put them on display for the first year. “There is no doubt that this is one of the most important collections in the United States for African-American materials,” said Sara S. Hodson, curator of literary manuscripts for the Huntington Library in San Marino, one of the country’s largest collections of rare books and manuscripts. “It is a tremendous resource for all Americans, but especially African-Americans, whose history has largely been neglected.”

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1435

Tony Sinclair says, “Have Yourself A Hip Hop Holiday.” When did he suddenly decide to go hip hop?

Essay 1434

From USA Today…

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Fear ‘as bad as after 9/11’

By Rick Hampson, USA TODAY

DEARBORN, Mich. — The Arab Muslims who came here eight decades ago to work on Henry Ford’s new assembly line believed their American future was limitless. But after five years on the home front in America’s war on terrorism, many of their descendants are hunkering down, covering up and staying put.

In this and similar enclaves, like those in northern New Jersey and Brooklyn, many Arab Muslims say their community is turning in on itself — shying away from a society increasingly inclined to equate Islam with terrorism.

“It’s as bad as after 9/11,” says Rana Abbas-Chami of the Michigan American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. “A lot of people are scared. They’ve changed how they do things.”

Some stay put. They don’t like to fly, cross the border with Canada or shop at malls outside the city. “It’s a feeling that if you go too far outside Dearborn, anything can happen,” says Osama Siblani, a local newspaper publisher.

Some blend in. They Anglicize their names (Osama Nimer, electrician, is now Samuel Nimer) or change them (Mohammad Bazzi, nurse, is Alex Goldsmith). They trim their beards. In public, they speak English instead of Arabic. They display the flag. They wear the Tigers cap.

Some lie low. They won’t contribute to a Muslim charity, at least not by check, and not if it works overseas. They watch what they say, especially on the phone. They think twice before trying to rent a truck, get a hunting license or take a flying lesson.

Some regard Dearborn, center of the nation’s largest Arab Muslim community, as an island of security; others see it as a potential trap.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1433

Seeing No Evil with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Evel Knievel thinks Kanye West is just plain evil. The daredevil rider filed a lawsuit against the recording artist. West produced a music video where he played a character called “Evel Kanyevel,” and Knievel is charging copyright infringement. “That video that Kanye West put out is the most worthless piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life, and he uses my image to catapult himself on the public,” griped Knievel. Wonder if West will argue that Knievel doesn’t care about Black people.

• Taco Bell launched a newspaper campaign and media blitz to address consumer concerns over the E. coli outbreak, with the company president even offering his daughter as proof the food is safe. The company president told his college freshman kid that all is well and announced to the media, “I can assure you, I would not tell my daughter that unless I absolutely believed it.” No word if the Taco Bell Chihuahua made similar assurances to his puppies.

• Rosie O’Donnell and Joy Behar of The View are taking heat for their recent mimicking of the Chinese language. While discussing the drunken Danny Devito appearance, O’Donnell said, “The fact is that it’s news all over the world! You can imagine in China, it’s like, ‘Ching chong ching ching ching chong — Danny DeVito — ching ching chong chong chong — drunk — “The View” — ching chong!’” The president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans complained, “It’s a way to denigrate us and perpetuate the notion that we’re these strange people who speak a strange language.” O’Donnell countered with, “It was not my intent to [offend] … I am Irish. I do an Irish accent — make drunk jokes — [stereotypes]. This is comedy.” Tell it to Michael Richards.

• The Super Bowl halftime show will feature a performance by Prince. Somebody better beef up censor security.

Essay 1432

OK, it’s clearly unintentional, but does an industry rife with diversity problems really need a product called AdCracker?

Essay 1431

To move up, kids must stop being slaves to fashion

By Stanley Crouch

A man once told me that things began to get bad in Brooklyn when the drug wars grew to such an extent that a grown man could no longer chastise a young man for being loud or dropping trash in front of his house without fear of having a pistol pulled.

As far as he was concerned, that was the point at which adults began to lose authority because they became afraid of the young black men who were wearing the hooded sweatshirts, the big jackets, the drop-down pants, the expensive sneakers. The barbarism of gold teeth had yet to appear.

That was part of what has surely become a cultural crisis in which young black men adorn themselves with surface trappings and take on the obnoxious vulgarity of thugs in order to meet the expectations of young black women who have embraced their own degradation, seeming to find it sexy. That degradation is expressed in the misogynistic doggerel that dominates popular hip hop recordings.

Added to this low-lying mix are the supposedly sympathetic white liberals, who are more than happy to submit gutlessly to the black middle class. These white liberals have been intellectually hustled into believing that the inarticulate thug and the freelance slut are young black people in their natural state.

The black middle class, terrified of being defined as a group that kowtows to “white values,” does not tend to have the nerve to stand up to this crabbed vision of life or ethnic “authenticity.”

But, at the end of the ride, the ones losing and left holding the bag are neither white liberals nor the black middle class. The tragic losers are those black kids who believe that their true identity is achieved through illiteracy, thuggish behavior, dropping out of school and psychologically ingesting the subterranean attitudes toward women that are espoused by pimps. They are sloughing through a spiritual sewer, incapable of knowing just how much it stinks.

But these kids are not the only ones who have absolutely no idea of what a culture is - which is neither a handful of slang phrases, clown or slut dress and offensive behavior.

As one young man told me when I saw him walking at night with a group of guys who seemed on the verge of anarchy but were merely playing a part, the whole thing is a come-on to get girls, who have made the thug into a sex symbol.

“We don’t want to shoot anybody, to rob anybody, or to get into a fight. We know the honeys like all of this. If they didn’t, that would be the end because we go the way they go,” he said.

The solution may have to come from the women, who have been known to get men to act right when they have gotten tired of them acting like animals.

To face this crisis and the fact that the street thug impersonation is now considered “cool” and is attached to the multibillion-dollar hip-hop industry, will take some doing. After all, let us not forget that Harriet Tubman said that she could have gotten many more slaves off of the plantation if she could have convinced them that they WERE slaves.

The trouble was that they believed that slavery was a natural state and one that they should accept as no more than the way life was.

Essay 1430

Folks sure are in a forgiving mood, based on the letters in the latest issue of Newsweek. The letters below are responses to stories and essays published in the December 4, 2006 issue, directly after Michael Richards’ racist rant.

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Racism and Forgiveness

While the truth and reconciliation Commission may have done much to heal South Africa, Ellis Cose’s article (“Forgiveness Isn’t Just Another Word,” Dec. 4) misses the point that forgiveness has nothing to do with the offender. It is a gift victims give themselves. By passing judgment on those who wrong us and the sincerity of an apology, we compound the original transgression. Healing can result from sincere apologies. But that is not the only way. Let’s remember the beautiful example of the Amish who forgave the gunman who killed their daughters. If they can forgive, surely we can move past a tirade by a has-been comedian like Michael Richards. The only actions and attitudes we can control are our own. We must attempt to forgive as we expect to be forgiven.
Nancy Hagman
Kensington, Kans.

As a southern white man, I enjoyed and agreed with most of Raina Kelley’s column “Let’s Talk About Race.” I was most gratified by what she said regarding progress in the area of race, acknowledging that as a Yale graduate, she’s an example of that change. For years many civil-rights leaders have complained that little has changed, which is untrue and does absolutely nothing to enhance race relations. My only disagreement with Kelley was her inclusion of the affirmative-action vote in Michigan as part of racist America. I don’t believe being against affirmative action is necessarily racist. If the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or Frederick Douglass were alive today, I firmly believe they’d be appalled by the message affirmative action sends—that blacks are incapable of making it without help. The only thing these eminent men asked for was a level playing field, not more discrimination.
Jim Martin
Clearwater, Fla.

I suspect that Michael Richards’s insults were selected more for their ability to wound their targets than to express his inner beliefs. If the target is fat, bald or black, the speaker selects an insult most likely to be hurtful. The speaker actually may be indifferent about fatness, baldness, blackness, but that’s the easiest way for him to hurt his target. It takes either unusual self-restraint or an especially sharp wit not to take that course. Richards clearly lacks that self-restraint or wit, but it’s possible his outburst was based more on the target’s vulnerability than his own beliefs.
Larry Riedman
Gaithersburg, Md.

Essay 1429

From The New York Times…

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Rap Takes Center Stage at Trial in Killing of Two Detectives

By MICHAEL BRICK

When the police arrested Ronell Wilson in 2003, a day and a half after two undercover detectives were shot in the back of the head, they found scraps of paper in his pocket with handwritten rap lyrics that bragged about a killing.

Prosecutors at Mr. Wilson’s trial at Federal District Court in Brooklyn, where he faces the death penalty, say the lyrics amount to a confession written after the shootings.

“In that rap song,” said Colleen Kavanagh, a federal prosecutor, “the defendant identifies himself by his nickname, ‘Rated R,’ and brags about shooting his victim in the back of the head.”

The scraps of paper were formally introduced as evidence yesterday, between testimony from the city’s chief medical examiner and the investigating officers. Alongside such standard evidence, rap lyrics have come up repeatedly in the first two weeks of the trial, most notably in testimony from a federal agent who recited a gang member’s violent, profanity-laden verses for the jury in a halting monotone.

Prosecutors are making similar arguments across the country this year, in courtrooms in Albany, Oroville, Calif., College Station, Tex., and Gretna, La. Set to drumbeats or scrawled in notebooks, the rhymes of minor stars, aspiring producers and rank amateurs are being accepted as evidence of criminal acts, intent and mind-set.

Defense lawyers usually argue that the lyrics are boastful fantasies, common to the point of irrelevance. Mr. Wilson’s lawyers have indicated that they plan to call a scholar named Yasser Arafat Payne, described in court documents as a rap expert, to make a similar argument.

Over more than a decade, rap has evolved as a tool for both the prosecution and defense in criminal trials.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1428

India.Arie is the shit!

India.Arie is in the outhouse!

(Feel free to submit your own captions.)

Essay 1427

A moronic MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A judge rejected the lawsuit from two frat boys claiming they were duped by producers for the filming of “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” The guys charged producers got them drunk before having them sign waivers; plus, they were told the movie would only play in Kazakhstan. But the judge ruled they failed to meet the standard for a preliminary injunction. However, they absolutely exceed the standard for being morons.

• Nicole Richie was busted for a DUI, admitting to arresting officers that she had smoked marijuana and ingested the painkiller Vicodin. However, she did not launch into an anti-Semitic tirade, brandish firearms or attract throngs of paparazzi. Police released Richie after she posted $15,000 bail. Which is good, since the jailhouse probably did not have prisoner uniforms small enough to fit her.

• The FTC is cracking down on word-of-mouth marketing, telling advertisers to fully disclose when someone is being paid to hawk products. “This [new FTC announcement] tells marketers like Procter & Gamble that their ‘sponsored consumers’ must disclose that they are shilling, or they are probably in violation of the prohibition against deceptive advertising. That’s big,” said the executive director of Commercial Alert, a consumer activist group. “It will change practices in the word-of-mouth marketing industry.” Yeah, now advertisers will be forced to devise new ways of lying to consumers.

• Looks like the VNU decision to eliminate Marketing y Medios (see Essay 1362) was just the beginning of a downsizing master plan. The media conglomerate started distributing pink slips last Friday, with the intention of cutting about 4,100 jobs during 2007 — nearly 10 percent of its global workforce. Early firings included top editorial staffers at The Hollywood Reporter. Maybe special excerpts from The Hollywood Reporter will be inserted into Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek.

• Now Health Department officials claim the E. Coli in Taco Bell food may not be from green onions, but rather, white onions. Sounds like another case of whites trying to blame someone else for their crimes. Just kidding.

Essay 1426

Not sure why someone thought this sounded like a good idea.

Essay 1425

Doubt Is Cast on Air Group’s Perfect Record

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — It has been part of the lore of America’s first black fighter pilots since the end of World War II: the famed Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to enemy fire.

Now, more than 60 years later, a leader of the group says he has uncovered records proving the claim is not accurate.

Air Force records show that at least a few bombers escorted by the red-tailed fighters of the Tuskegee Airman were shot down by enemy planes, the man, William F. Holton, historian of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. And the group’s losses may have been much greater, Mr. Holton said.

He said his research, first reported Sunday by The Montgomery Advertiser, showed that though the group’s record was stellar, it was not perfect, as long believed.

Some surviving members of the group are offended by the findings of Mr. Holton and Daniel Haulman of the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base here, who came to the same conclusion.

A former Tuskegee Airman, Carrol Woods, of Montgomery called their claims “outrageous.”

“I think they are trying to destroy our record,” Mr. Woods, 87, told The Advertiser. “What’s the point now?”

Mr. Holton said his sole interest was in making sure the group’s history was as accurate as possible.

The president of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., retired Lt. Gen. Russell Davis of the Air Force, said he would no longer claim in speeches that the group never lost a bomber under its escort “until we can get this thing clarified.”

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the Army Air Corps. The name came from the east Alabama town where they trained.

With nearly 1,000 pilots and as many as 19,000 support personnel, including mechanics and nurses, the group was credited with shooting down more than 100 enemy aircraft and, for years, with never losing an American bomber under escort.

Mr. Holton, who has been historian of the association for about a decade, said he began leafing through old mission reports after hearing a veteran complain that the Tuskegee Airmen really did lose some bombers despite.

Mr. Haulman said the group’s combat mission reports clearly showed that American bombers were lost while being escorted by the airmen in Europe.

One mission report states that, on July 26, 1944: “One B-24 seen spiraling out of formation in T/A after attack by E/A. No chutes seen to open.” “T/A” stands for target area, “E/A” for enemy aircraft.

A second report, dated Aug. 31, 1944, praises the group commander Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. by saying he “so skillfully disposed his squadrons that in spite of the large number of enemy fighters, the bomber formation suffered only a few losses.”

A third report said that on Sept. 12, 1944: “10 Me-109s attacked the rear of the bomber formation from below and left one B-17 burning, with 6 chutes seen to open.”

Mr. Holton suspects that claims about the group never losing a plane resulted from something that happened in May 1945.

In a letter commending General Davis, Col. Buck Taylor mentioned that the group had the distinction of never losing a bomber, Mr. Holton said. A military public relations representative included the claim in General Davis’s official biography, he said, and General Davis later put it in his autobiography.

Mr. Holton said that though the reports documented a few bomber losses, far more could actually have been lost. The only way to determine the group’s true record is to scour reports of bomber groups that were escorted by the Airmen’s fighters.

Essay 1424

No ‘American’ holy book

By Clarence Page, Syndicated Columnist

WASHINGTON -- The first Muslim to be elected to Congress has not been sworn in yet, but he’s already taking heat.

Dennis Prager, a conservative columnist and radio talk-show host, objects to the holy book on which Rep.-elect Keith Ellison plans to take his oath of office on Jan. 4.

The Minnesota Democrat plans to use a Koran instead of a Bible.

Poor naive me. Here I thought it was an encouraging sign of this country’s respect for liberty and diversity that Americans would elect a Muslim to Congress in the midst of an international war against Islamic terrorists. No country is perfect, but we’ve come a long way on the tolerance scale since World War II when thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans were rounded up into camps far from their homes just for their ancestry.

But not Prager. Ellison’s choice should be blocked, Prager wrote, “not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act [of taking the oath on the Koran] undermines American culture.”

Again, poor naive me. I had no idea that American civilization was so fragile. “America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on,” said Prager’s headline on his blog.

The America I know has a Constitution. In Article VI, it says that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust.”

Besides, contrary to Prager’s account, House members are sworn in together on the floor of the chamber. The ritual that usually involves a Bible or another holy book is actually a ceremonial photo-op with the speaker of the House.

Prager insists that he was not calling for a religious test. Yet, he also wrote this: “Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.” The Constitution does not have a religious test, but Prager does, judging by his writing.

Prager is not just another ambitious crank looking to feather his nest with a little pinch of old-fashioned demagoguery. He’s got connections in important places. He was appointed by President Bush in August to fill a vacancy on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

The council oversees the taxpayer-supported Holocaust Memorial Museum, whose mission statement encourages visitors “to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group that supported Ellison’s election, asked Bush to remove Prager from the Holocaust Memorial board. It didn’t think he was living up to the museum’s mission statement.

Bush declined to step in. As White House spokesman Tony Snow put it, Ellison’s holy book is “an issue that the president does not need to adjudicate and, therefore, will not.” That’s understandable. Bush has enough to worry about with sectarian clashes in Iraq without stepping into Prager’s war over whose holy book is more “American.”

Prager, you may notice, is the sort of commentator who uses the word “America” a lot, even when he is speaking for hardly anyone outside of himself. Or maybe I just don’t live in Prager’s America. Lucky me.

The Anti-Defamation League called Prager’s views “intolerant, misinformed and downright un-American.” I guess the league doesn’t live in Prager’s America, either.

Even Prager’s fellow conservatives have not rushed to his side. In the case of the conservative New York Sun, for example, Prager appears to have performed a minor miracle: He has made Ellison look sympathetic in the eyes of a newspaper that opposed his election. “Mr. Prager is not only wrong,” a Sun editorial said, “but his comments are so outrageous and, by our lights, almost unbelievably ignorant, that one just has to shake one's head in wonder.”

Fortunately, Sen. Norm Coleman emerged as a welcome voice of reason late last week. He’s a Republican from Ellison’s home state and a member of the Holocaust Memorial board.

In that spirit, Coleman took a middle-of-the-road position: Ellison should feel free to use the Koran, Coleman said, and Prager should be allowed to stay on the board. “I don’t agree with Dennis Prager,” said Coleman, according to the Associated Press. “But I think it’s absurd to rescind his appointment on the Holocaust board.”

Sounds good to me. Both sides should back off in the spirit of all-American tolerance and mutual respect for differences. After all, we need to set a good example for Iraq.

Essay 1423

Monkey business in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Two Hollywood chimpanzees have been retired to settle a lawsuit charging the animals had been abused. The chimps had worked on “That 70s Show” and “The Craig Kilborn Show.” A spokesperson for the Animal Legal Defense Fund said, “We’re thrilled that they’re not going to be forced to perform unwillingly anymore.” But it does lead to speculation over others who might have experienced similar cruelty and atrocities: the monkey character in “Every Which Way But Loose,” Tarzan’s Cheetah, Magilla Gorilla and more. Somebody call Lance Link pronto.

• WGAY-TV, the first gay-oriented television station in the U.S., launched in Key West, Florida. “This has never been done before. It’s uncharted water. There has never been a company out there, over the air, that has done gay programming,” said the station’s General Manager. Funny, the folks at Lifetime might dispute that claim. The Miami Herald reported on the new venture — click on the essay title above to check it out.

• Related to WGAY-TV, here’s a take from David Letterman:

Top 10 shows on the new gay television channel

10. How I Met Your Brother

9. Gary’s Anatomy

8. Desperate Poolboys

7. Everybody Loves Raymond … Especially Steve

6. The King Of Queens

5. Not-So-Smallville

4. I Dream Of Gene

3. Gays Of Our Lives

2. My Name Is Earl And I Like Construction Workers

1. His Deal Or No Deal

Essay 1422

At Delta, are Black folks only allowed to fly paper airplanes?

Essay 1421

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Affirmative action, desegregation still vital

BY CHERYLE JACKSON

Soon, we hope, the day will come when America will no longer need affirmative action in the workplace, or desegregation in its public schools. On that bright morning, we’ll awaken to find educational achievement gaps closed, glass ceilings disappearing from high-paying corporate positions, and entrepreneurial spirit and prosperous businesses sprouting in neighborhoods that once nurtured little but weeds, broken glass and disillusionment.

But anyone who has driven through our city’s South or West sides lately knows that that day has not yet come. At best, it remains a long way off; some argue that in fact, it is receding. Which makes the rolling back of affirmative action in Michigan, and federal lawsuits aimed at dismantling desegregation in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle premature, shortsighted and dangerously destructive.

These efforts to halt or reverse years of hard-won legislative, social and educational progress also beg a crucial question that we have not yet seen satisfactorily answered: What’s the alternative?

Almost two years ago, in a report titled "Still Separate, Unequal," the Chicago Urban League commented that even after a decade of economic and educational gains, "how tenuous and reversible black progress seems to be." How true that statement has proved to be.

Here in Chicago, for instance, the percentage of city contract dollars awarded to African-American businesses fell from 16 percent in 2003 to 9 percent in the first nine months of this year.

If a Michigan-style ballot initiative were to pass in Illinois, private contract dollars for minorities could be expected to dwindle, too, and higher education would likely become more segregated, as it has in California and Michigan. Between 1990 and 2000, the percentage of Chicago African-American adults with bachelor's degrees or higher rose 3 percent. That progress could be imperiled, too, if doors begin slamming shut.

If so, it would create a reality that business leaders, think tanks and government researchers on both the political right and the left agree foretells danger for the national economy. Unless more investment and gains are made in the educational progress of minorities, the share of college-educated members of the labor force will decline between now and 2015.

Removing this key piece of the infrastructure supporting minority development also weakens a key building block of the national economic infrastructure. They are called consumers. Without them, no one buys cars, no one buys houses, and the economy sags. In a fast-moving globalized economy with whole sectors of jobs catching the next flight offshore, these issues become urgent.

What opponents of affirmative action and desegregated schools miss is that those policies, along with economic development, all form an interlocking daisy chain upon which disadvantaged minorities can build a springboard into the economic mainstream. Political will is needed. So is a better-informed populace.

Research shows that many whites genuinely believe that racism is dead and that the real barriers to success lie in the black community itself. But we need only look at examples such as Coca-Cola or Texaco, which were fined millions of dollars for illegal discrimination, or more recently, “Seinfeld” comedian Michael Richards’ recent racist outburst.

A return to segregated education will almost certainly bring with it further economic segregation, too. So how do we address the economic gap and educational gap? Perhaps a revised policy linking investments with strategic race-based solutions.

Dismantling affirmative action and desegregation and failing to replace them resolves nothing. And that is a far more acute danger than giving an ambitious minority youngster a helping hand.

[Cheryle Jackson is president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League.]

Essay 1420

Way back in Essay Thirty-Four, MultiCultClassics noted the ad depicted above from the Center for Consumer Freedom. Like the McRib® sandwich, the CCF made a sloppy and gross return with the message depicted below, which recently appeared in New York newspapers.


As it turns out, the Center for Consumer Freedom is not really concerned with consumer freedom; rather, it’s a defender of corporate freedom.

The Center for Media and Democracy — investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda — identified the organization as a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries. The mastermind behind the operation is a slick lobbyist named Rick Berman. Contributors include the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris, Wendy’s and White Castle. It’s a safe bet that even corporations failing to show official support still heartily applaud the CCF’s schemes.

The Center for Consumer Freedom symbolizes the Dark Side of the advertising industry, with Berman playing the role of Anakin Lie-Walker. This hype machine — like so many political advertising enterprises — creates in a galaxy far, far away from honesty and integrity.

Consider this latest attempt to paint New York City Mayor Richard Bloomberg’s trans-fat ban as an attack on citizens’ rights. The CCF would have people believe the measure means government is trying to restrict what we choose to eat. Don’t bite, folks.

The proposed mandate is mostly seeking to prevent eateries from deliberately harming consumers. On some levels, it’s no different than requiring fast food employees to wash their hands and wear a hairnet when preparing food, or prohibiting smoking in public buildings.

So why would fast feeders oppose dumping trans-fat oils? Well, because change costs money. Mickey D’s announced it will need until July 2008 to comply with the request, despite having already been under court order to revamp things for years. The arrogant stubbornness is analogous to an automaker refusing to install seat belts, or a toymaker selling toxic products with choking hazards.

Everyone involved with the Center for Consumer Freedom should be forced to eat exclusively at the allied restaurants. Now that would be a crime sure to inspire spirited public service campaigns.

[Click on the essay title above to review Essay Thirty-Four.]

Essay 1419

A Sickening Sunday MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Taco Bell and health officials identified scallions as the probable culprit behind the E. Coli that sickened customers across six states. “We’ve taken this health issue very seriously and are extremely concerned for all those who are ill. Our company has moved quickly to safeguard the health of our customers and employees,” said the president of Taco Bell Corp. Hey, has anyone seen the Taco Bell Chihuahua lately?


• Despite facing an ongoing federal bribery investigation, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson handily beat his Democratic opponent in a runoff election on Saturday. Who got bribed to secure that victory?

• LL Cool J is launching a line of designer clothing. “I like to do cool things, and I like to do different things,” said LL. “I’ve been doing the clothing thing for so many years on different levels. I just thought it was time to bring something out on my own. As we go forward, you’re going to see the stuff that I wear on the red carpet. I know how to dress.” The clothing will be exclusively available at Sam’s Club, where the trendsetters go for the latest gear.

• The Apocalypto is upon us, as Mel Gibson’s film nabbed the top spot at the box office. If Gibson decides to celebrate by popping a few bottles of champagne, somebody please grab the man’s car keys.

Essay 1418

The following appeared in the latest issue of Esquire…

--------------------------------------------------------

The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger

By John Ridley

For eleven days in 2001, two blacks ran our country. It’s their example and their achievement—and not the culture of failure fomented by the leftovers of the Movement—that must set a new agenda for black Americans.

Let me tell you something about niggers, the oppressed minority within our minority. Always down. Always out. Always complaining that they can’t catch a break. Notoriously poor about doing for themselves. Constantly in need of a leader but unable to follow in any direction that's navigated by hard work, self-reliance. And though they spliff and drink and procreate their way onto welfare doles and WIC lines, niggers will tell you their state of being is no fault of their own. They are not responsible for their nearly 5 percent incarceration rate and their 9.2 percent unemployment rate. Not responsible for the 11.8 percent rate at which they drop out of high school. For the 69.3 percent of births they create out of wedlock.

Now, let me tell you something about my generation of black Americans. We are the inheritors of “the Deal” forced upon the entrenched white social, political, and legal establishment when my parents’ generation won the struggle for civil rights. The Deal: We (blacks) take what is rightfully ours and you (the afore-described establishment) get citizens who will invest the same energy and dedication into raising families and working hard and being all around good people as was invested in snapping the neck of Jim Crow.

In the forty years since the Deal was brokered, since the Voting Rights Act was signed, there have been successes for blacks. But there are still too many blacks in prison, too many kids aggrandizing the thug life, and way too many African-Americans doing far too little with the opportunities others earned for them.

If we as a race could win the centuries-long war against institutionalized racism, why is it that so many of us cannot secure the advantage after decades of freedom?

That which retards us is the worst of “us,” those who disdain actual ascendancy gained by way of intellectual expansion and physical toil—who instead value the posture of an “urban,” a “street,” a “real” existence, no matter that such a culture threatens to render them extinct.

“Them” being niggers.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story.]

Essay 1417

A kinder, gentler Cosby shows up in Chicago

BY MONROE ANDERSON, Sun-Times Columnist

A tamer, more timid Bill Cosby came to town last week. After an 18-month pitched battle with former DePaul University professor Michael Eric Dyson and others who have criticized him for bashing the black poor, the celebrity comedian was more defensive than defiant Wednesday as the featured attraction at the Chicago Public Schools’ fourth annual Parent Involvement Conference.

“In closing, ladies and gentlemen,” the entertainer/educator told the gathering of 7,000 or so, mostly poor parents, in the audience, “I have never given any crowd a whuppin’.”

True and false.

While picking up an award from the NAACP during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Cosby stood before a crowd of movers and shakers delivering an unmerciful tongue-lashing on the class of blacks who couldn’t afford the price of the ticket to see him honored. “They’re dragging me way down because the state, the city and all these people have to pick up the tab on them,” Cosby, who grew up in a Philadelphia public housing project, told the well-heeled NAACP audience at Constitution Hall, “because they don’t want to accept that they have to study to get an education.”

Dr. Dyson, now a University of Pennsylvania professor, heard Dr. Cosby, who earned an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts 29 years ago. Then Dyson wrote a book, Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? The professor’s scathing tome charged that the multimillionaire TV star was part of the “Afristocracy” -- intellectuals, lawyers, politicians, bankers and other professionals who look down with disdain on the black poor who constitute the “Ghettocracy,” those doing prison time, having babies out of wedlock and their hordes of impoverished children.

Others heard Cosby as well, taking his words as cover while returning to a time when poor blacks were fair game when assigning blame. In this month’s Esquire magazine, John Ridley, a black movie director, has an essay titled “The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger.”

“It’s time for ascended blacks to wish niggers good luck. Just as whites may be concerned with the good of all citizens but don’t travel their days worrying specifically about the well-being of hillbillies from Appalachia, we need to send niggers on their way. We need to start extolling the most virtuous of ourselves,” the ascended Ridley argues in a publication, whose readership is virtually all white male. “It is time to praise blacks who are merely undeniable in their individuality and exemplary in their levels of achievement.”

Forty years ago, the Black Power Movement cast dispersions on uppity blacks disdaining their less fortunate brethren. Even then, tensions between the two classes were centuries old, dating back to the days of house slaves and field slaves. In his outcry, Cosby managed to make it acceptable again to make poor blacks the butt of the racist joke. If you’re yearning for that sort of routine or if you’re among the devoted cadre of gay men who flock to his nationwide tour, then catch Charles Knipp’s act. A white drag queen in blackface, Knipp has fashioned an “Ignunce” show where he plays Shirley Q. Liquor, an African-American woman on welfare with 19 children.

I’m sure the creator of Clifton Huxtable wouldn’t find the creator of Ms. Liquor amusing. I’m also sure there would be more blacks in ascendency if they weren’t tethered. Princeton University sociologist Devah Pager recently released a study reporting that white men with criminal records have an equal or better chance of being hired than do young black men with no records. And, while Knipp cracks and Cosby clunks, in the last 16 years, real-life pregnancy and birth rates among black teenagers have plummeted 40 percent.

So I’m thankful that it was the loving, gentle sitcom father-figure who showed up in Chicago to urge real-life fathers to be at home with their children, parents to take steps to assure that their children do better than they did and everyone to realize the value of a good education. Television’s Dr. Huxtable knows what Constitution Hall’s Dr. Cosby did not: Life may imitate art, but it’s still a matter of whose life and whose art.

Essay 1416

Heartfelt News in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Heart Attack Grill in Arizona has pissed off health-care officials, but not for its Quadruple Bypass Burger, Flatliner Fries and other nasty offerings. No, folks are upset because the waitresses wear skimpy nurses’ uniforms (pictured above). “Nurses are the most sexually fantasized-about profession,” said the executive director of the Center for Nursing Advocacy. “We’re asking people, if they’re going to have these fantasies, please don’t make it so public. Move these sexual fantasies to other professions.” The restaurant owner disagrees. “If anything, I think it glorifies nurses to be thought of as a physically attractive and desirable individual,” said the owner. “There’s a Faye Dunaway, Florence Nightingale hipness to it. Nobody wants to think of themselves as some old battle ax who changes bedpans for a living.” Sounds like this guy just verified the contentions of the executive director of the Center for Nursing Advocacy.

• Eddie Murphy may soon be seeking a nurse. Despite the man’s contentions that Scary Spice is not carrying his baby (see Essay 1407), the singer says otherwise. “I am obviously upset and distressed at some of the comments made by Eddie Murphy to the media,” said the former Spice Girl. “I have no idea why anybody would want to conduct themselves in this kind of manner about such a personal matter in such a public way. My main concern is for the well-being of my daughter, Phoenix, and of course the baby. I was astonished what Eddie said. There is absolutely no question that Eddie is the father.” Right now, Murphy probably feels like he swallowed a Quadruple Bypass Burger.

• Wesley Snipes returned to the U.S. to face charges of tax fraud. The actor, who has been filming a movie in Africa, was released on $1 million bond after turning himself in to Florida authorities. “I look forward to clearing my name and resolving this issue posthaste,” said Snipes. Plus, he’s hoping like hell that the $1 million bond is tax-deductible.

• New York cops believe hip-hop radio personality DJ Carl Blaze was shot over a grudge. The DJ took 13 bullets on Thursday. Yeah, heaven forbid hip-hop DJs should ever be involved in random shootings.

• The Indian Council of Medical Research released a report that may ultimately lead to racial stereotyping. The researchers claim that 60 percent of Indian men have trouble using condoms because their penises are smaller than the international norm — by at least one inch. The report even wrote, “Indian men don’t measure up.” Wonder if drugstores in India will start carrying “Trojan Minis.”

• Regarding the Draft FCB/Wal-Mart fiasco, the following excerpt from The New York Times tells it all:

>>In an interview, John Fleming, the chief marketing officer at Wal-Mart, said the company had indeed begun to backtrack from sleeker advertising that emphasized style over price. Customer research, he said, showed that, rich or poor, Wal-Mart customers “care about unbeatable prices.”

“I don’t think Wal-Mart advertising is ever going to be edgy,” he said last night. “I do not think that fits our brand. Our brand is about saving people money.”<<

Despite all attempts to sensationalize the details, it looks like fired advertising director Julie Roehm was simply not Wal-Mart’s cup of tasteless tea.

Ironically, Draft FCB might have been the perfect choice to deliver the “edgy-less” work Wal-Mart is seeking.

Essay 1415

Birmingham touts itself as “The DiverseCity” by presenting three native sons of American Idol fame: one singer’s Black — and the other two probably wish they were.

Essay 1414

Piggish Behavior in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Residents of a Texas suburb are unhappy over plans to erect a Mosque in their community, and one moron’s threatening to hold pig races on Fridays to piss off the Muslims. Another neighbor launched an anti-Islamic Web site tracking terrorist activity. The pig-race guy said he feels obligated to proceed with his scheme because, “I would be like a total idiot if I didn’t. I’d be the laughingstock now because I’ve gone too far.” It’s safe to bet he appeared totally idiotic long before hatching the concept.

• Regarding the Draft FCB/Wal-Mart fiasco, the New York Times wrote, “But a year later, that executive, Julie Roehm, is out of a top job at Wal-Mart amid allegations, which she denies, that she accepted gifts from ad agencies, maintained a personal relationship with a subordinate and showed favoritism toward potential vendors.” Wow. A client was wined and dined by advertising agency representatives. Somebody call the CIA pronto. As for the allegations that she’s involved with a coworker, Roehm needs to get in line — behind nearly every key executive in the industry.

Essay 1413

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Cosby’s universal message

Two years ago, entertainer Bill Cosby caused a ruckus with some famously blunt comments. “The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal,” Cosby said. “These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids--$500 sneakers for what? And won’t spend $200 for ‘Hooked on Phonics.’”

Cosby got a lot of heat from critics who said he was unfairly criticizing African-Americans. Perhaps that was a fair assumption on the part of the critics, since his speech was pegged to the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown vs. Board of Education.

No fair, Cosby said. He wasn’t singling out anybody based on race. The controversy has simmered along since then. So perhaps people expected a dust-up when Cosby came to Chicago on Wednesday at the invitation of Rufus Williams, the president of the Chicago Board of Education.

No dust-up. Rather, Cosby had an important and universal message, one that’s critical for students--black, brown, white or whatever--and their parents.

Parents, whether you’re rich or poor, your greatest responsibility is to make sure your kids get an education. Fathers in particular need to be … fathers.

This was the Cosby of pitch-perfect comedic timing, the Cosby whose contorted facial expressions can add a kicker to any punch line. The delivery was funny, but the message was cold sober.

Cosby talked about growing up poor in the housing projects of Philadelphia. Older neighbors were part of an extended family that provided kind words and tough discipline to the kids, sometimes in equal doses.

He said he’d heard stories about uneducated parents, some illiterate, who nevertheless made sure their children made it through college.

“The street you live on, the apartment you live in, doesn’t make a difference if you have it in your heart that that child of yours will go further than you ever went in your life,” he said.

Perhaps Cosby was preaching to the converted--these were parents who took time out to attend workshops on how to help their kids succeed in school. Cosby acknowledged that. But he encouraged the people there to go home and, in essence, proselytize.

He spoke to a largely African-American audience. But Cosby’s message can be absorbed and in turn preached by any parent to everybody on the block.

They’re your kids. You have no greater treasure. You have no greater job than to push them to succeed.

Essay 1412

Always contrived. Always Wal-Mart.

Essay 1411

American Dreams and Assorted Nightmares in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Seminole Tribe of Florida is buying the Hard Rock franchise, coughing up $965 million for casinos, restaurants, hotels and a massive collection of rock memorabilia. “Our ancestors sold Manhattan for trinkets,” said the Tribe Vice Chairman. “Today, with the acquisition of the Hard Rock Cafe, we’re going to buy Manhattan back one hamburger at a time.” Leave it to White folks to charge Native Americans $965 million for a hamburger.

• A bar owner, responding to complaints from the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, removed a sign that read, “For Service Speak English.” A replacement placard states, “Here We Speak English.” The owner said, “If someone doesn't like it, have them call me.” Ironically, the establishment’s name is Pleasure Inn.

• Bill Cosby visited Chicago to continue his rants on bad parents and irresponsible individuals. “Everybody’s got stories of how poor and uneducated their parents were, and how they chucked cotton. Yet people made it all the way to college because somehow that illiterate parent knew, in order to progress, someone had to go to college,” said Cosby. “They made them believe they could be anything they wanted to be. We have to go back to that.” Leave it to Cosby to long for the days of being poor and uneducated.

Essay 1410

Here’s an interesting article from The Wall Street Journal about Black authors, publishers and booksellers.

(Pardon the scans, but the online version of this article is difficult to access.)

Essay 1409

Amen. Hallelujah. God help us all.

Essay 1408

Michael Richards’ infamous tirade ignited a new wave of debate on the damning power of a single word. From leaders to laypersons, everyone’s performing CSI-style examinations on the notorious epithet. Activists have even proposed its official expulsion, though we can only wonder how the measure might be implemented and enforced.

Yet Richards’ rant — combined with the alleged social crimes committed by Mel Gibson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Dick, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the U.S. advertising industry and more — ultimately sparked outrage for a companion term: Racist.

People must think the R-word is as offensive as the N-word. They sure tend to respond with blatant anger and defensiveness when called a racist. Oddly enough, folks who openly display racial insensitivity are also highly sensitive about getting labeled for their biases. They apparently don’t see the irony and lessons to be learned from playing on the receiving end of discrimination.

“I’m not a racist!” plead offenders with their hands firmly caught in the cultural cookie jar.

Most would agree the R-word covers varying degrees of nastiness. Michael Richards is probably not a hard-core White Supremacist. But should that translate to Richards is not a racist? From the reactions and commentary, including the man’s own protests, the answer is unclear.

At the same time, it’s unlikely the phrase will gain underground popularity as a term of endearment. Don’t look for folks to start greeting each other with, “Whassup, my racist?”

Maybe the R-word requires categorical markers for specific situations. Just as the Department of Homeland Security issues color-coded terrorist warnings, a similar system could be devised for race-based scenarios. Then again, choosing colors would undoubtedly lead to heated arguments surrounding skin-tone symbolism.

Numerical or graphic designations might work better, provided we could decide on groupings according to the severity of dirty deeds. Statisticians or Census Bureau employees are encouraged to volunteer ideas.

An alternate solution entails banning the R-word entirely. There’s just too much historical and emotional negativity attached to it.

Substitutions should incorporate a positive spin to avoid upsetting people. Pro-White Privileged. Exclusivity Enabler. Ism Fan. Inequality Control. Affirmative Inaction Supporter. Phobialicious. Prejudicialicious. KKKoolio. Bigotti. Slurpie. Apartheidealist. Jim Crowboy. Ethnic Household Cleanser. Derogatory Remarkable. SegreGREATer. Persecutie. IgnoRanter. Biasexual. Stereotypographer. Discriminationalist. Bell Curvy.

Or try a contemporary replacement — with a comedic edge — for cracker: Kramer.

Essay 1407

Hollywood Hump Day with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Scary Spice may have Eddie Murphy running scared. The former Spice Girl and Murphy were dating earlier this year, and now she’s pregnant. When probed by an interviewer, Murphy snapped, “Now you’re being presumptuous because we’re not together anymore. … And I don’t know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, sir.” Wonder if the Nutty Professor will administer that blood test himself.

• Michael Richards inspired comedian Paul Mooney to stop using the N-word. But the former Kramer may have inspired comedian Andy Dick to be, well, a dick. TMZ reported Dick was onstage at L.A.’s Improv comedy club last weekend, freestyling with another performer, when he grabbed the mic and hollered at the audience, “You’re all a bunch of n------!” The crowd went silent and Dick went limp.

• Madison Square Garden Chairman James Dolan argues the probing of Isiah Thomas’ alleged harassment of a former female employee is bad, and he questions the “adequacy and fairness of the investigation conducted.” The accusations against Thomas included calling the woman a “bitch” and “ho.” Hey, Thomas probably uses the same words when addressing the Knicks starters.

• 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney is taking offense to essays appearing on the Internet falsely attributed to him. The latest written rant features racist remarks including, “I have the right not to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird or tick me off.” Rooney whined, “I suppose it’s not important, but I hate the fact that people think I’ve been writing these things. … That’s hurtful to me.” Can’t imagine why folks would believe Rooney could write something nasty.

• Wal-Mart booted its head of advertising and vice president of marketing. Julie Roehm, who recently handed the $580 million advertising account to Draft FCB is gone after less than a year on the job. Let’s see if the revamped agency manages to last longer than Roehm.

• A study by Rand Corp. showed Asian immigrants tend to be more healthier than Latino immigrants, particularly as the generations succeed. After two generations, Asians develop better diet and exercise routines, versus problems with obesity and diabetes among Latinos. “We know that Latinos are much more likely to be uninsured than other groups,” said a health official. “There is the possibility that they’re not hearing the health messages because they don’t have access to a regular source of healthcare.” Imagine that. Certain minority groups may not have proper access to healthcare.

• A federal appeals court panel in San Francisco decided the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii may limit student enrollment to Native Hawaiians. A lawsuit had challenged the schools’ policies. The judge wrote, “The schools are a wholly private K-12 educational establishment, whose preferential admissions policy is meant to counteract the significant, current educational deficits of Native Hawaiian children in Hawaii,” A lawyer for the schools said, “All of the judges agreed that the Kamehameha School has a noble mission and has had extraordinary success in addressing what all the judges admitted are the continuing disadvantages suffered by Native Hawaiians.” Imagine that. A preferential admissions policy that works.

Essay 1406

Burger King updated its “Go Buck Wild” concept. Still not wild about it.

Essay 1405

Richards’ rant might merit a thank-you

By Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist based in Washington

The N-word has had few friends better than comedian Paul Mooney.

Put aside that the word was long a staple of his act. Put aside the promotional pamphlet he once sent out that screamed the word in big, fat type. Consider instead what he told anyone who argued that blacks should stop using the word. He replied that he said it a hundred times every morning: “It keeps my teeth white.”

The selfsame Paul Mooney joined Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) in a recent news conference asking black folks to stop using the N-Word. In other news, there are unconfirmed reports of pigs flying above Times Square.

Mooney says he was “cured” of his N-word addiction by Michael Richards’ infamous meltdown last month at the Laugh Factory. I tend to think he’s not the only one. From strangers online to my neighbor down the street, everywhere I turn lately, I find black folks debating the stubborn insistence some of us have on using this word.

Which leaves me as much vexed as pleased. More power to them for belatedly getting religion. Still, are you telling me that nearly 20 years after hip-hop made that word unavoidable, it takes some white TV actor losing his mind to make black folks see what should have been obvious all along?

I mean, what do we learn from Richards’ rant that we should not have already known from Snoop Dogg or Ice Cube? That the word is ugly? That is it hateful? That it demeans, denigrates, diminishes and denies? So where was black outrage when black rappers began putting that word into the minds and mouths of black children? When we--African-Americans--began hating ourselves to a beat?

And if I hear one more Negro offer one more pseudo-intellectual justification for that self-loathing, I will not be responsible for my actions afterward. Don’t give me the it-means-something-different-because-we-spell-it-with-an-“a”-on-the-end speech.And for mercy sake, don’t subject me to the addled argument proffered by John Ridley in December’s Esquire. He says that, as whites feel no particular solidarity with their impoverished racial brethren in Appalachia, it is time for “ascended blacks” to bid farewell to, as he puts it, “niggers.”

Don’t tell me any of that because it quails in the face of historical fact. We are talking about the word that was used as Gus Clarke’s back was split open with a whip and salt was rubbed into the wounds. The word that was used when Mary Turner’s baby was cut from her womb with a knife and stomped to death in its birth cries. The word that was used when James Byrd was tied to the back of a pickup truck and dragged until his body was torn to pieces.

To the people who did these things, it did not matter how it was spelled. They knew precisely what race they were referring to. And they saw no difference between “ascended blacks” and any other kind.

Nor should that last surprise us. In the calculus of race, I am not my brother’s keeper. I am my brother. Individuality is the first casualty of bigotry.

Black people, like other Americans, tend to flee from the burdens and demands of history. History, ours especially, hurts too much.

But what Michael Richards taught and what blacks may belatedly be learning is that history doesn’t care. Not about your feelings, not about your rationalizations, not about your subtleties of spelling.

Because they don’t realize that some blacks, Paul Mooney prominent among them, seem surprised to learn that this word still hates us. That it always has and always will.

And if Richards is the catalyst that finally forces them to understand this, there’s only one thing I can say to him:

Thank you.

Essay 1404

A stereotypical MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A Mississippi adman produced a campaign to battle stereotypes in the state. “Mississippi has more Black elected officials than any other state in the country,” said the campaign creator. “The old stereotype of the short, fat, white, bald men in suits smoking cigars just doesn’t carry weight.” The ads even tap into racial perceptions. “People think that the Klan and white supremacist groups in general are Southern artifacts, but that simply is not the truth,” said the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which studies and monitors racist groups. “We see as many hate groups, and certainly as many hate crimes, in Northern and even coastal states. It’s a cliché that has some residual truth, but essentially doesn’t describe the situation as it is anymore.” Nice to know that racism is now available nationwide. Click on the essay title above to learn more about the campaign.

• As reported in Essay 1399, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa named 31-year veteran Douglas Barry as acting chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “I know that we can stop hazing and horseplay,” said Barry. “I know that we can address the department’s history of discrimination and exclusion. … First, we want to create a culture that is respectful of everyone and inclusive of everyone. … We have to have a system in place to deal with those behaviors when they do occur, so the message is sent clear that they will not be tolerated. … I firmly believe that the vast majority of the members of this department do not participate in hazing, do not participate in horseplay, do not discriminate.” Unfortunately, the vast minority of the members who do these things ultimately taint the vast majority — and turn off the minorities.

Essay 1403

Why do advertisers targeting urban youth and hip-hop enthusiasts feel so comfortable depicting interracial lust?

Essay 1402

From The New York Daily News…

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Listen to cop critics — not racial rabble-rousers

By Stanley Crouch

Only a willfully blind person could argue that the police of this city have not made New York a much better place to live over the last decade. Crime and murder have fallen precipitously. People live safer lives and feel much freer of the urban oppression that is crime. And those who form the blue line of men and women standing between the public and the predators we call lawbreakers are the ones responsible.

That is why I still think that the NYPD should get a raise and the best possible benefits, even though neither of those things would have saved the life of Sean Bell, who died recently in Queens because of what appears to have been lethal Keystone Kop work.

That is our dilemma. We have what is probably the finest police force in the entire United States but find ourselves facing a tragedy that, given what we know now, seems to have been initiated by some irresponsible undercover officers.

This puts a great burden on not only the individual police officer but all of those in executive positions, both of whom have to grapple with accusations by the professional agitators — accusations that, rather than being focused on the specific case at hand, are based on broad stereotypes.

Addressing policy instead of rabble-rousing is something we never expect from the agitators. After all, that would demand thought as opposed to repeated racial clichés.

Fortunately, some are still looking for honest answers. Richard Green is a man I met while working on a task force that Rudy Giuliani put together to investigate the relationship of the NYPD to the community in the wake of the Abner Louima assault in a Brooklyn police station.

Green is a thoughtful community activist from Brooklyn. For over 20 years, he has worked with community kids as well as police. He proposes that the department set aside its semiautomatic weapons and return to the six-shot .38 — because very few officers ever find themselves using a weapon in the line of duty.

But a former instructor at the Police Academy tells me that changing weapons will not make up for bad policing. And to him, the Sean Bell case reeks of poor police work. He says that an undercover cop is never supposed to challenge a suspect unless the officer is alone and has no choice. Otherwise, he is supposed to provide surveillance only and let the uniformed officers do the challenging, the arresting and, if necessary, the fighting.

“The amount of shots fired was absurd because no bullets were coming from the men inside of the vehicle,” the former instructor went on to say. “One officer fired 30 rounds. That was a Wild West moment, not the work of a professional whose job is to go by the book and improvise only when necessary. I have heard nothing that provides an adequate justification for the actions that led to Sean Bell’s death. Beyond that, according to the book, an officer is never supposed to fire on a moving vehicle unless someone inside is firing at him.”

There are those who are thinking about policy, and there are those who are appalled and, of course, there are those making plenty of divisive noise.

If it were not like that, it wouldn’t be America in the 21st century.

Essay 1401

BluntVille ought to change its name to ButtVille.

Essay 1400

From the latest issue of Advertising Age…

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Diversity efforts deep in the heart of Texas

I read your recent articles regarding diversity in advertising at the collegiate level with great interest. I am here to tell you that the dream of diversity lives at the University of Houston. With 150 advertising majors, the University of Houston is one of the top 50 programs in the nation. Our student body is a living microcosm of what the future of the United States will be within the next 20 years. We have 22% African-American, 24% Hispanic, 38% Caucasian and 15% Asian-American and foreign nationals within our student mix. Every day, we work and live in a multicultural world. Cougar Concepts, our student-run advertising agency, produces work that reflects the nature of our ever-changing world.

Thanks again for bringing up this topic. Our school is here to serve those diversity needs.

Larry Kelley
Professor of advertising
University of Houston
Houston

Essay 1399

Food, folks and fun in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to name an acting chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department today — and it’s a Black man. Douglas Barry is a 31-year veteran (pictured above). A spokesperson said, “The mayor wanted to find a person for the interim who is a change agent and ready to create momentum and action for the department, who knows it well, who has served it well, and also who has the leadership skills and shared vision for excellence.” One critic countered, “Just appointing an African American is not enough. It has to go much further. … The key is the support and the tools and an aggressive attack on the culture of racism in the department.” For starters, keep a close eye on the chow for all firehouse firedogs.

• The New York City Board of Health plans to approve a ban on trans-fat oils in restaurants this week. Thomas Frieden, the city’s food czar with a great last name to spearhead the efforts, will apparently give eateries ample time to comply. Mickey D’s already insists it will need until July 2008 to accommodate the measure. It will probably take them that long to simply hose the existing oil out of the equipment.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics called on Congress to crack down on advertising targeting kids, charging the messages contribute to everything from obesity to anorexia to alcoholism. Mickey D’s already insists it will need until July 9008 to accommodate any new measure.

Essay 1398

From AdAge.com…

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U.S. Hispanic Ad Agencies Continue Double-Digit Growth

Expanded Services Target English Speakers, First-Time Advertisers

By Laurel Wentz

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- U.S. hispanic ad agencies kept up their double-digit growth in 2006 as they lured first-time Hispanic advertisers into the market, expanded their offerings in areas such as digital, and continued to go beyond Spanish-dominant Hispanics to target English speakers and even vie for some general-market assignments.

A sampling of the entries for Advertising Age’s Multicultural Agency of the Year contest -- the winner will be announced in the Jan. 8, 2007, issue -- found U.S. Hispanic shops grew anywhere from 11% at some of the biggest agencies to 60% for hotshops such as La Comunidad, Miami. The biggest Hispanic agency, Publicis Groupe’s 49%-owned Bromley Communications, San Antonio, grew 11%, as did No. 4, Omnicom Group’s Dieste Harmel & Partners, Dallas.

Hispanic online ad spend
As Hispanic online spending grew to an estimated $150 million from $100 million last year, more Latino shops invested in digital growth. Dieste became the first Hispanic agency with a presence in Second Life. Zubi, one of the most web-savvy Hispanic shops, started an integrated marketing group called iZubi that has already done a film festival, the Mercury Latino Lens Short Film Challenge, for its biggest client, Ford Motor Co. And Grupo Gallegos added its first directors for interactive and direct marketing.

The Vidal Partnership, the largest independent Hispanic agency, continues to be a leader in content development online. The web played a major role in a humorous crusade against mediocre food for client Wendy’s, presented as a make-believe benefit by imaginary Latino music stars (noalacomidamediocre.com). For Century 21, Vidal created a character called Beto Casas, a real-estate agent who helps Hispanic home buyers and likes to play dominos.

Work for bilingual and English-speaking Hispanics is becoming a bigger part of agencies’ business. Creative hotshop Grupo Gallegos, expanding into nonadvertising business issues, is helping a CBS affiliate in Houston figure out how to appeal strategically and tactically to bicultural, English-speaking Hispanics.

General-market AOR work
This year La Comunidad boasted its first general-market agency-of-record assignment, for Remy Martin. And Machado Garcia-Serra, Miami, parlayed its Hispanic work for Florida Power & Light into a takeover of the power company’s general-market communications efforts.

Growth is also coming from marketers who are targeting Spanish-dominant Hispanics for the first time. Farmers Insurance, at a disadvantage because rival insurance companies market heavily to Hispanics, finally entered the Latino market with a $7 million account for Interpublic Group of Cos.-backed Accentmarketing, Miami. The agency also picked up a strategic-planning assignment, a common first step for marketers testing the Hispanic market, for MacDill Federal Credit Union.

Even established Hispanic marketers are adding more brands to their spending. Accentmarketing client General Motors Corp., the No. 2 Hispanic advertiser, never put much Hispanic support behind vehicles such as the Hummer. After a campaign this year to create distinct brand images for numerous cars, Hummer sales to Hispanics rose by 57%, and Pontiac’s Hispanic market share grew 10%. Pepsi-Cola, another longtime marketer to Hispanics, did its first Spanish-language work for Sierra Mist this year.

Essay 1397

The Black female as superwoman continues to fly as an advertising cliché.

Essay 1396

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Let action replace endless race talk

BY LAURA WASHINGTON

Talk is cheap. Talk is also exceptionally plentiful these days. Lately, the talk around the nation about race and race relations has careened off the charts. This comes after the appropriately goofy star of the lily-white “Seinfeld” showed his true colors. Michael Richards has provided America’s professional race ranters with more grist and gristle than an Outback Steakhouse.

Juicy. The sizzle of this steak is a spicy mix of racism, police violence and limelight.

On Nov. 17, Richards spewed anti-black epithets from the stage of a Los Angeles comedy nightclub. The race men wasted no time in jumping on the bandwagon of Richards’ calamity. The Urban League and NAACP denounced the fading comic. The Rev. Al Sharpton took a call from a penitent Richards and went on CNN, offering to take Richards to South Central L.A. or Harlem for a chat. Sharpton, a 2004 presidential candidate, pronounced, “We need to deal with the lingering problem. … This could open a dialogue if we have the courage to confront it.”

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson of Rainbow/PUSH brought Richards on his nationally syndicated show so that he could apologize again. And again. Jackson has also urged a boycott of the latest “Seinfeld” DVD release.

TMZ.com, an entertainment portal, reports that sales of Seinfeld’s seventh-season DVD are outpacing the previous release by more than 75 percent, natch.

Even Mel Gibson “Feels Michael Richards’ Pain,” according to the Associated Press. Gibson, in Hollywood recovering from his anti-Semitic diatribe, reportedly said he feels like sending Richards a nice note. “I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress.” Gibson added, “They’ll probably torture him for a while and then let him go. I like him.” Schadenfreude seems to be the order of the day.

Even Richards’ so-called victims have jumped into the fray. Frank McBride and Kyle Doss, the African-American targets of Richards’ ire, have hired Gloria Allred. She’s the barracuda feminist attorney who has taken on other famous pariahs, including O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson. The comic’s apologies are not enough, she says. How about some bucks?

Talk is cheap. Whenever there’s a race blowup (and they happen all the time), the race ranters talk, and talk, and call for more talk. They call for covenants and dialogues. Have you noticed that no one ever does anything? It’s easy to jump all over a washed-up, dyspeptic comic. Especially if it provides his critics with oodles of limelight.

Let’s talk about what happens on the ground. Take a look at the perennial tensions between the police and people of color. Take the recent fatal shooting of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old black man outside a strip club in Queens, N.Y. The cops shot 50 bullets at Bell and his friends on Bell’s wedding day. They were allegedly unarmed. Take Amadou Diallo in New York. Rodney King in Los Angeles. LaTanya Haggerty in Chicago. Not to mention the men allegedly tortured over the years by Chicago Police.

How about bringing together two groups -- the cops and young men of color -- that never talk to each other. Groups that are defined in the public sphere by their mutual distrust? That could be a conversation worth having.

OK. Take a breath. Hear me out. Racism exists. We can talk about it until we’re blue-black in the face. A memo to Sharpton and Jackson: Racism does continue, and it needs to be confronted relentlessly. Both of you have run for president. Let’s assume you fervently believe that electing an African-American commander in chief would be a huge step toward stomping out racism in this country.

You have taken a whack at the job. So how about getting behind the budding candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama? He has a real shot at becoming America’s first black president. You know he's going to run in 2008. Why dilly-dally and mumble about first waiting to see who gets into the field?

It’s now or never. Getting behind Obama now will show that we are ready to move forward and that black folks are ready to take a seat at the table of American politics. We’re done with the crumbs.

Can we put aside the egos, forget the TV cameras and get behind some real African-American empowerment? Something that could shut up the Richards and Gibsons, once and for all? To paraphrase Jackson: Let’s End Hate in ‘08. Elect Obama.

Essay 1395

Ho, ho, ho, hoax and hos in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Santa Claus is not coming to town — at least not in Maine. The Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement has forbidden a beer maker from selling its product whose label features Santa with a pint. The officials insist the image appeals to children. Additionally, they have been consistent in their reactions, as the brewer also received a thumbs-down last year for its Seriously Bad Elf ale. “Last year it was elves. This year it’s Santa. Maybe next year it’ll be reindeer,” said the owner of the booze company. The guy is no doubt hoping to launch Rudolph The Red-Nosed Alcoholic Reindeer Ripple.

• A Washington radio host staged a hoax to suggest that U.S. Muslims should be identified with tattoos or arm bands, but listeners filled the lines to support the notion and offer crazier ideas. “Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country … they are here to kill us,” ranted one caller. “What good is identifying them?” asked another listener. “You have to set up encampments like during World War Two with the Japanese and Germans.” The radio host said, “The switchboard went from empty to totally jammed within minutes. … There were plenty of callers angry with me, but there were plenty who agreed.” The incident underscored the anti-Muslim sentiments that U.S. citizens harbor. Plus, it showed most radio hosts are sensationalistic morons.

• A report by the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA claims Latino actors and actresses may be facing discrimination at casting calls. Specifying gender and ethnicity at casting calls could violate federal anti-discrimination laws. The report also showed that 69 percent of roles are designed for Whites. “By virtue of their race/ethnicity or gender, actors of color and female actors are presumptively relegated to the margins,” stated the report. Leave it to the culturally clueless and segregated UCLA to uncover something that’s been obvious since, well, the beginning of theater and entertainment.

Essay 1394

Drive… recognizes drive. HighJive… recognizes jive.

Essay 1393

From The Chicago Tribune…

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‘Racial eruptions’ leave readers with many questions

By Clarence Page

WASHINGTON -- A column called “Ask a Mexican” began as a one-time feature, written tongue-only-partly-in-cheek by staff writer Gustavo Arellano in the OC Weekly in Orange County, Calif. It became a surprise hit. Judging by some of my own mail, I’m not surprised. In fact, I have long wanted to write a similar column and call it, “Ask a Black Man.”

Now is as good a time as any. Reactions to recent racial eruptions seem to have left some of my readers with more questions, comments and confusion that even talk radio cannot handle. Some will even turn to a newspaper columnist for answers.

For example:

“Why is it when blacks use the word ‘nigger,’ there is no outcry? If you’re offended by Michael Richards’ use of this word, how do you feel when you are sitting in your car waiting for the light to change, and the car [radio] next to you is blaring this word, and worse, the guy’s kids are in the car? I guess it’s only wrong if a non-black uses the word. … Both parties are wrong, but like we would say when we were kids,’Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt.’”

Ed L., Honolulu

Good points. But be careful about what you say to that guy in the next car or you might get your own bones broken.

But seriously, Rev. Jesse Jackson is trying to extend the legs of the controversy stirred up when Michael “Kramer” Richards of “Seinfeld” fame hurled the n-word at hecklers. Jackson has called on all entertainers and everyone else to stop using the word. Frankly, I don’t expect much. Richard Pryor turned against the word quite convincingly after using it so liberally in the 1970s. His turnaround didn’t work. I don’t expect Jackson’s new crusade will work, either, although I am always ready to be pleasantly surprised.

“Black-on-black crime (especially murder) is such a huge and rampant reality in this country, but God forbid a policeman might make a mistake and hurt or kill a black thug, and they’re ready to loot and riot at the drop of a hat. The question is, can you make sense of this African-American hypocrisy?”

M.D., Chicago

I’ll try. For starters, picketing black criminals doesn’t appear to do much good.

On the other hand, I am often asked why so many black Americans still support Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton, even though their tactics seem mostly to be stuck in the 1960s. I find my answer in wire stories like this recent dispatch from New York City: “The morning 23-year-old Sean Bell was shot to death by police, his grieving relatives did something that has become almost routine in such cases: They called Rev. Al Sharpton. Within hours, the longtime civil rights activist had consoled relatives, held two news conferences and begun organizing a community rally for the next day.”

Now, just ask yourself: If police shot your son to death before his wedding and wounded two friends after firing 50 shots into their car and there was no gun found in their car, whom would you call?

“I found it interesting that ESPN found an obscene gesture by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick after the game Sunday to be offensive enough to blur it out. Did you notice this was not done with Mr. Richards’ actions? So help me understand why you, as well as other journalists and broadcasters, have not written one sentence to crucify his actions.”

Fred T.

I don’t usually do sports. But in the entertainment industry known as professional football, stars don’t get stigmatized easily for affronts to mere decency. They have to blow a lot of touchdowns first.

“It may very well be that Mr. Richards is not a racist, if you consider a racist to be someone who harbors negative perceptions about and feelings toward anyone and everyone from a certain race. … A likely scenario is that Mr. Richards realized from the lack of audience response that his act was not going over well, was thus already uptight and flew into a rage when heckled. … [I] could be wrong. But I can’t help thinking that if his hecklers had been two overweight white folks, that he would have burst into an expletive-laden monologue about Moby Dick, etc.”

Phil, Libertyville

True, but I don’t think being called a big fat whale carries quite the same sting.

Essay 1392

To complement the coverage of racial incidents in the Los Angeles Fire Department, The Los Angeles Times published a story on the trials and tribulations of female firefighters. From male coworkers climbing into their beds to urine-filled mouthwash bottles, the women face plenty of harassment. “Almost every female firefighter on the LAFD has suffered unwanted touching, leering or derogatory comments,” argues one woman. “A dildo was put in a women’s locker, a female firefighter was told to sleep in a closet, and women have often been referred to as ‘bitches.’” The dog food scenario suddenly sounds downright tame. Click on the essay title above to read the full story.

Essay 1391

Stand-up comedy is suddenly not so funny, thanks to Michael Richards’ racist routine. A story in The New York Times examines the incident from a variety of angles. Click on the essay title above to read it all.

Essay 1390

Sorry news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• It’s official. Michael Richards will meet with the four Black men who were on the receiving end of the infamous tirade (three depicted above with lawyer). Two of the men held a press conference at the Laugh Factory, insisting to be “very hurt by what happened.” The lead recipient wants to tell Richards “how his words made us feel.” A retired judge will preside over the summit, ultimately deciding if Richards owes reparations for his racist rant. Is Judge Joe Brown available?


• Officials in Tempe, Arizona, are issuing apologies for a program depicting a White cop instructing two Black men to rap in order to avoid a ticket. On the show, the cop told the men they wouldn’t receive a ticket for littering “if the two of you just do a little rap about — what do you want to do a rap about? Littering? About the dangers of littering.” A community leader protested, “It’s important for police officers to realize that Black people do not speak hip hop. … We’re not all rappers and thugs and gangbangers. We speak the English language and we’re entitled to the same amount of respect.” Then again, it is Tempe, Arizona.

• Brooklyn rapper Papoose released a rap in response to the controversial police shooting of a Black man in Queens. The song, which presents names and explicit details, debuted on New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97. Titled “50 Shots” in reference to the official number of bullets fired by cops, the tune is getting serious play online. Wonder how it’s doing in Tempe.

• A Town Council member in Herndon, Virginia, proposed printing all official documents in English-only to force Hispanics to learn the language. “The language of the Commonwealth is English,” said the council member. “All of our efforts should be toward encouraging people to learn English. This is an English-speaking country.” Herndon’s population is 40 percent Hispanic. Maybe this community representative needs to rethink his position and consider learning Spanish too.

• The Supreme Court will weigh in on a free speech case involving a student suspended for displaying a banner reading, “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” Hmmm, what controlled substance would Jesus do?

Essay 1389

Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout, epidermis? Jergens and Vaseline both present copy referencing the voice of skin in advertising targeting Black women. Vaseline even launched a Web site celebrating skin — although it’s a bit odd that almost all of the depicted women are Black. Visit skinvoice.com for the dermatological download.

Essay 1388

Don’t sleep on this MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The New York Times reported on Ceragem, maker of a massaging bed that has gained popularity with Hispanics (pictured above). Customers have been showing up for free 40-minute trials, returning regularly for months. “It’s a habit of life, like bathing or eating,” said one store manager. Some customers believe the beds are capable of healing a bunch of serious ailments, and word-of-mouth is spreading the news. The crippled have allegedly learned to walk, and some have even had their cholesterol levels lowered by the amazing device. Wonder if Lindsay Wagner will give up her Craftmatic bed for a Ceragem. Click on the essay title above to read the full story.

• The Los Angeles Fire Chief is quitting over the racial scandal involving a Black firefighter being served dog food by coworkers (see Essay 1382). Chief William Bamattre announced his departure for January 1. The City Council initially approved a $2.7 million settlement, but the mayor vetoed the action, leading to more debating. An investigation showed the “prank” may have been hatched because of the firefighter’s self-made nickname of the “Big Dog.” Good thing he didn’t refer to himself as the “Big Shit.”

• The nation’s first Muslim elected to Congress, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, wants to take the oath of office by placing his hand on a Quran versus a Bible. Of course, critics are on it already. “He should not be allowed to do so,” wrote one person on a conservative Website. “Not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American culture. … [The Bible is what] America holds as its holiest book. … If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.” Yes, the overwhelming majority of Congressmen are devout Bible-thumpers.

Essay 1387

From a deluxe apartment in the sky to hawking Medicare — now that’s not funny.

Essay 1386

From The Chicago Tribune…

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ACTION JACKSON

Boycotts through time

By Patrick T. Reardon

If history repeats itself, Rev. Jesse Jackson has again turned to one of his most used forms of activism: the boycott. Earlier this week, he called for consumers to leave on store shelves the DVD boxed set of the seventh season of “Seinfeld” because of Michael “Kramer” Richards’ racial rant at a West Hollywood nightclub.

Here are other boycotts he has called for over the years:

August 1982. A boycott of ChicagoFest, a predecessor of Taste of Chicago, carried out in anger over Mayor Jane Byrne’s replacement of three black CHA board members with three whites. This protest turned out to be the first step in the successful campaign to elect Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor, eight months later.

October 1985. A boycott of WBBM-Ch. 2 following the demotion of African-American anchor Harry Porterfield.

November 1996. A boycott of Texaco because of its discriminatory practices. The protest continued even after the oil company agreed to pay $176.1 million to its black employees to settle a lawsuit.

August 2001. A threatened boycott of Toyota Motor Sales USA because of a lack of diversity among its employees. When the carmaker agreed to spend nearly $8 billion over the next decade to increase minority participation in the company, it was criticized by some business leaders for caving in to what they called a shakedown.

September 2002. A threatened boycott of the movie “Barbershop,” which made fun of civil rights leaders Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackson himself.

January 2005. A boycott of businesses in Columbus, Ga., because of the shooting death a year earlier of an African-American insurance analyst by a deputy sheriff.

June 2006. A boycott against oil giant BP PLC, one of the sponsors of the annual Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference, because few of its executives and franchisees are minorities.