Essay 2067

A Monday morning MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• KFC and Taco Bell officially announced that trans fats will no longer be used in the preparation of food. Additionally, buckets of chicken will be stamped with a health message. Will the Colonel be alongside the Surgeon General?

• A University of Chicago panel discussion asked, “Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?” Over 400 people assembled on Saturday to answer the question, with many participants dissing Russell Simmons for failing to do enough with his recent call for banning certain words. “We allow this language to go on,” said Amina Norman-Hawkins, a Chicago hip-hop emcee. “As a community, we don’t teach our little boys how to grow up to be men and respect women. We allow them to learn from the street what’s acceptable.” OK, but let’s also include folks like Don Imus in the equation.

• A study published in the American Journal of Education shows a dramatic increase in immigrants among Black students in colleges and universities. An Associated Press story stated, “Among students at 28 top U.S. universities, the representation of Black students of first- and second-generation immigrant origin (27 percent) was about twice their representation in the national population of Blacks their age (13 percent). Within the Ivy League, immigrant-origin students made up 41 percent of Black freshmen.” The study went on to offer reasons for the numbers. “To white observers, Black immigrants seem more polite, less hostile, more solicitous, and ‘easier to get along with.’ … Native Blacks are perceived in precisely the opposite fashion.” Gee, did Don Imus write the study?

Essay 2066

Essay 2065

You helped your church choir find the tune.

You helped your neighbor grill a better burger.

Got more Black advertising clichés? Did you help your barber rap about basketball while keeping it real by double-dutching to jazz music during a family reunion where you arrived in Big Mama’s pimped-out ride?

Essay 2064

From The Miami Herald…

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Minority executives rare in corporate world

BY NIALA BOODHOO

A decade ago, female and minority executives in South Florida were surprisingly sparse. Ten years later, has much changed?

Despite the diverse local population, Hispanics and blacks remain rarities in the upper ranks of companies.

In 1997, it wasn’t unusual for major local companies to have no women or minorities on boards or senior executive teams.

In 2007, while there are no all-male, all-white leadership teams at South Florida’s biggest companies, many boards or executive groups contain just one black, Hispanic or female, a Miami Herald survey found.

That’s better than the national average, but experts -- and some locals -- say it’s nothing to be proud of.

“There’s a fundamental question: Do you believe all people are created equal?” says Luke Visconti, co-founder of DiversityInc, who has advised Office Depot, Ryder and AutoNation on diversity issues.

“If you do, then you should believe that 50 percent of the company [should be] run by women. Twenty-eight percent should be run by people of color, maybe more in South Florida especially.”

By those standards, South Florida doesn’t come close.

The largest local companies fare better than the country as a whole in terms of the number of women on boards and as senior executives -- but it’s still about 18 percent.

Among local corporate boards, there’s an average of 20 percent representation by blacks, Hispanics or other minority groups. Among senior executives, which The Miami Herald defined as those with titles of senior or executive vice president or higher, it’s 13 percent.

That’s high compared to national averages, but it’s still not a good number, said Gary Brouse, who for 20 years has studied these issues for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a group that has used shareholder resolutions to push big companies to diversify their ranks. He thinks the past decade has left companies standing still, not moving forward.

[Click on the essay title above to read the full story, including interactive materials and additional reports.]

Essay 2063

Girl Talk in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• There’s a catfight building between Barbie and Bratz dolls. A new Barbie website features a character who appears to be very Bratz-like (pictured above). The CEO of the company behind Bratz said, “Mattel has always been envious of us. It’s a shame that the No. 1 toy company keeps knocking off others instead of being innovators and leaders.” Wonder if the battle will play out between Courtroom Barbie® and Lawyer Bratz® dolls.

• Deidre Imus, wife of shock jock Don Imus, is slated to give the commencement address at Pace University on May 21. Mrs. Imus will receive an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters “for her work on behalf of children and the environment.” She could help clean up the airwaves by persuading her hubby to remain in seclusion.

• Richard Gere offered an apology for the controversy sparked by his public kiss with Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty (see Essay 2055). “What is most important to me is that my intentions as an HIV/AIDS advocate be made clear, and that my friends in India understand that it has never been, nor could it ever be, my intention to offend you,” said Gere in a statement. He also called the incident “a naive misread of Indian customs.” Although it appears Gere is essentially telling India to kiss his ass.

Essay 2062

Actually, it’d be cool to have a car without tires that levitates.

Essay 2061

From The Washington Post…

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Out of Jamestown’s Shadows
Va. Indians Emerge from Grim History To Stake Claim in Anniversary Fanfare

By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer

John Smith and the English colonists sailed up a river they dubbed the James in 1607 and saw a vast, empty wilderness, nothing but “faire meddowes and goodly tall Trees.” The New World.

Just out of view, beyond the banks of the river, people were watching warily. They called the same river the Powhatan in their Algonquian language. They called the land Tsenacomoco, “our place.” To them, it was a world of bustling villages and thriving crops. Dugout canoes hewn by fire and clamshells and big enough for 40 warriors plied the rivers that ran like fingers through the coastal plain. Winter hunting camps dotted the edges of the mountains.

Today, to the untrained eye, all that remains of the Powhatan people are names on a map, such as Rappahannock and Potomac (Patawomeck), and words, such as raccoon and opossum, for the strange New World animals that did not exist in the English lexicon. By the time Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865, there wasn’t even a memory of the Appamattuck people who gave it its name.

But Virginia’s remaining Indians, out of view for so long, are emerging from the isolation and fear of discrimination that kept them hidden for centuries. For many, the hoopla over Jamestown’s 400th anniversary, instead of an event to be shunned for signaling the beginning of their end, is something to embrace. What better way to be “rediscovered?”

Powhatan Red Cloud Owen, a member of the Chickahominy tribe and a Jamestown events planner, remembers being dressed in full regalia as part of the opening ceremonies in 2004 for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. A Kiowa standing next to him turned and asked where he was from.

“Virginia,” Owen remembers answering.

“No, where are your people from?” the questioner persisted.

“Virginia. We’re the Chickahominy.”

“Never heard of them.”

“Well, we’re here. We never left.”

In fact, the 1,200-acre Pamunkey and 125-acre Mattaponi reservations in King William County are among the oldest in the country, dating to a treaty with England in 1677. To this day, the tribes pay an annual tribute of deer and fowl to the governor of Virginia in keeping with the treaty.

In the 1980s, the state officially recognized these and six other tribes, the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Rappahannock, Nansemond, Upper Mattaponi and Monacan nations. The latter six are petitioning Congress to become federally recognized, sovereign nations, like the Navajo, Sioux and Cherokee. Their bill has passed a House committee and is headed for a floor vote.

The tribes are hoping to use the Jamestown anniversary to further their cause. They demanded that the “celebration” be renamed a “commemoration.” They adopted a slogan, “First to Welcome, Last to be Recognized.” And before agreeing to participate, the tribes procured letters of support for federal recognition from Jamestown organizers.

“People are not going to care about us this much again for another 400 years,” said Karenne Wood, a Monacan and past chair of the Virginia Council on Indians. “We have to work quickly.”

So Virginia Indians will be performing native dances and drumming for Queen Elizabeth II. And native artisans will be throwing pots, carving wooden flutes and stringing intricate beadwork at the Jamestown festivities.

“We want our story to be told,” said Steve Adkins, chief of the Chickahominy who serves on the official Jamestown commission. “And we want to be the ones to tell it.”

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

Essay 2060

Targeting the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• According to a story from the Associated Press, students at the University of Utah are allowed to pack firearms, thanks to the nation’s only state law that lets citizens carry concealed weapons at public colleges. The university had banned concealed weapons for decades, but a 2004 decision from the Utah Supreme Court said the state law prohibits the school from restricting gun-toting students. Wonder if the kids call parents to ask for pizza and pistol money.

• A report in the American Journal of Public Health showed lesbians were over two times more likely to be overweight or obese than heterosexual women. No comment yet from Rosie O’Donnell, but Mickey D’s will probably use the report as inspiration for a new line of lesbian burgers.

Essay 2059

This ad is so yesterday.

Essay 2058

From The New York Times…

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Rewriting the Ad Rules for Muslim-Americans

By LOUISE STORY

For years, few advertisers in the United States have dared to reach out to Muslims.

Either they did not see much potential for sales or they feared a political backlash. And there were practical reasons: American Muslims come from so many ethnic backgrounds that their only common ground is their religion, a subject most marketers avoid.

That is beginning to change. Consumer companies and advertising executives are focusing on ways to use the cultural aspects of the Muslim religion to help sell their products.

Grocers and consumer product companies are considering ways to adapt their goods to Muslim rules, which forbid among other things, gelatin and pig fat, which is often used in cosmetics and cleaning products. Retailers are looking into providing more conservative skirts, even during the summer months, and mainstream advertisers are planning to place some commercials on the satellite channels that Muslims often watch.

Marketing to Muslims carries some risks. But advertising executives, used to dividing American consumers into every sort of category, say that ignoring this group — estimated to be about five million to eight million people, and growing fast — would be like missing the Hispanic market in the 1990s.

“I think Muslims have had to draw into themselves,” said Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of JWT, a large advertising agency in the WPP Group that plans to encourage clients like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever to market to American Muslims. “It puts an increased burden on a marketer post-9/11 to say, ‘Look, we understand.’”

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

Essay 2057

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Ugly language

Don Imus has, thankfully, retreated from the scene. But there’s something he said in his own defense that deserves some consideration.

Imus, who crudely described the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos,” said rappers call women “worse names than I ever did.”

He and his defenders saw a double standard. Why, they asked, was he canned for uttering words that rap stars like Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Ludacris or comedians like Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Carlos Mencia use with impunity?

Snoop Dogg, a founding father of gangster-style rap, fired back in language not quite suitable for a family newspaper. Imus was misinformed, said Mr. Dogg. When rappers use “ho,” he said, they are referring to gold-digging schemers, not college athletes. It was a distinction many people would find, well, ludicrous.

As Imus said, he hardly slurs alone.

In the aftermath of his departure, there is some welcome discussion about comedians and artists who make a living by selling violence, sex and misogyny. At James Brown’s funeral in December, Rev. Al Sharpton said the “Godfather of Soul” lamented the damage that gangster-style rappers were doing. Sharpton, quoting Brown: “What happened when we went from saying, ‘I’m black, and I’m proud’ to calling us niggers and hos and bitches? I sing people up, and now they sing people down.”

Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and numerous other black leaders have decried the sexism and violence in rap culture. Now they’re getting heard. And they’re being joined by some politicians. The pols, though, might find the tentacles of hip-hop reach further than they expect. Sen. Barack Obama called for Imus to be fired and denounced rappers who soil the world in which he is trying to raise his two daughters.

But will Obama scold David Geffen, the entertainment mogul who is one of his most prominent contributors and who owns Snoop Dogg’s record label? Will Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton admonish rap impresario Timbaland, who recently threw a benefit for her at his Miami home that raised $800,000?

The language of rap and hip-hop can make people uncomfortable in many ways.

Essay 2056

From USA Today…

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NASCAR Seeks Diversity but Finds It Slow

By Seth Livingstone

As much as any sport in America, NASCAR has roots tied to a certain culture: white Southerners. During the last 10 years, that fan base has helped propel NASCAR to become the unquestioned king of American motor sports.

Now, TV ratings are down for a second consecutive season, and NASCAR officials are talking with urgency about the need to diversify their sport with more minority drivers and team members — and conquer the idea that the sport does not welcome non-white fans.

“If we don’t get diversity right, this sport will not achieve what it needs to achieve from a popularity standpoint,” NASCAR CEO Brian France said in February.

NASCAR is making some progress in diversifying team executives and crewmembers — Max Siegel, hired in December by Dale Earnhardt Inc., is the first black president of a major team — and has several initiatives to attract and train more.

But four years after NASCAR launched a program called Drive for Diversity to produce elite minority and female drivers, it has no blacks or women competing regularly in either of its top circuits, the Nextel Cup and Busch series. Bill Lester, a 46-year-old African-American who is not part of the diversity program, is the only such driver to race regularly in NASCAR’s third level of competition, the Craftsman Truck Series. (Lester did compete in two Nextel Cup races last year, becoming the first black driver in a Cup event since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986.)

The defection last year of 2000 Indianapolis 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR from open-wheel racing has given NASCAR a coveted entrée to potential Latino fans in the USA and Mexico. It’s less clear when, or whether, such an African-American driver will emerge.

In fact, NASCAR's dreams of expanding its fan base among minorities could hinge more on its ability to attract Latinos — who make up 14.4% of the U.S. population — than blacks, who represent 12.8%.

“One of the things that can help us is getting better (TV) ratings in New York, L.A. and Chicago,” says Humpy Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. “To do that, we’ve got to have a reason for Hispanics to like (the sport). I think this is what a successful Montoya would do for us. (But) he can’t sit back there and finish 15th every race and get people excited.”

[Click on the essay title to catch the full story.]

Essay 2055

Worldwide silliness in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Prime Minister of Poland thinks society doesn’t need more gay people. Responding to criticism over a proposal to terminate teachers for “homosexual propaganda,” he said, “Nobody is limiting gay rights in Poland. … However, if we’re talking about not having homosexual propaganda in Polish schools, I fully agree with those who feel this way. … Such propaganda should not be in schools; it definitely doesn’t serve youth well. … It’s not in the interest of any society to increase the number of homosexuals — that’s obvious.” This guy’s gonna catch some heat now — that’s obvious.

• In New Delhi, arrest warrants were issued for Richard Gere and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty after the two kissed at a public gathering. In conservative India, the kiss allegedly “transgressed all limits of vulgarity.” Apparently, India believes it’s not in the interest of any society to increase the number of heterosexuals. Although some might argue Gere doesn’t fall into that category.

• A Los Angeles Times sportswriter has revealed he’s a transsexual, and in a few weeks, he’ll be known as a woman. “I am a transsexual sportswriter,” wrote the man. “It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words.” No comments yet from Poland or India.

• Don Imus’ ex-producer blasted the Rev. Al Sharpton for overreacting to the infamous slur against the Rutgers women’s basketball team. “The media treated him like he was Nelson Mandela, for God’s sake, without asking him about his past comments, this sanctimonious skunk,” ripped Bernard McGuirk. “They appeased this terrorist here. It’s almost like free-speech surrender.” McGuirk should feel damned lucky he’s not in Poland or India.

Essay 2054

Essay 2053

This ad is monstrously contrived.

Essay 2052

Health and Inhuman Services in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Department of Health and Human Services plans to use Shrek as a spokesogre for an anti-obesity drive. But a children’s advocacy group is complaining because the character is already hawking a lot of unhealthy items. “Surely Health and Human Services can find a better spokesperson for healthy living than a character who is a walking advertisement for McDonald’s, sugary cereals, cookies and candy,” said the group’s director. “Shrek is a very well-known character in the target population of this campaign,” said an HHS official. “We have always promoted a balanced, healthy diet, which does not necessarily exclude the occasional treat.” Especially when there are millions of dollars in promotional tie-ins to consider.

• The board of directors at Wendy’s International has formed a committee whose brainstorming includes mulling the possibility of selling the fast-food chain. The Department of Health and Human Services will probably team up with Shrek to tender an offer.

Essay 2051

Essay 2050

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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If a woman speaks her mind, she loses her job
LIFE OUT LOUD | Having a point of ‘View’ is wrong in the man’s world of TV

BY SUE ONTIVEROS

Why, oh why, can’t there be room on television for at least one loud-mouthed broad?

Television seems to welcome with open arms the controversial, sometimes downright vicious opinions of the Bill O’Reillys, Sean Hannitys and Lou Dobbs that fill the TV airwaves. Let a woman be equally abrasive and TV execs can’t get her out the door fast enough.

I don’t care what sort of happy face ABC tries to put on Rosie O’Donnell’s exit from “The View,” women know better. Do you really think that if an outspoken male had upped ratings in key demographics during a sweeps period for a television show -- as O’Donnell reportedly did for “The View” – he’d be on his way out? Of course not. They’d be buying him new hair plugs and a shiny new convertible if he asked for it come contract talk time.

Before O’Donnell, “The View” was a nice little coffee-klatsch-type show that really wasn’t on the radar of a lot of women or men. She showed up and suddenly, people, particularly women, wanted to know what she had to say. Everyone, or so it seemed, was talking about “The View.” Women who’d never tuned in before were recording it to catch up after work.

Here’s the thing, though. It wasn’t because everyone agreed with O’Donnell on everything she said. Oh, heck no. Sure, we liked it when she took aim at Donald Trump, a man who no one seems to mind speaking his mind. But here’s what we enjoyed: it was sorta like watching someone on the playground finally stand up to the class bully.

Sometimes O’Donnell’s views were really out there, truly controversial. In the plastic world of television, O’Donnell is the real deal, and that’s refreshing, at least to many female viewers. Unfortunately, while TV execs may embrace reality as a type of TV show, they run like mad to escape any true reality. Hence, I suspect, O’Donnell’s exit.

But what a breath of fresh air she turned out to be. We reveled in her whimsical and rapid-fire opinions even if they weren’t ours because we like the idea of a woman speaking her mind. Women welcomed her because we’re so tired of the fact that on TV, too many hours go by where the only female voices we hear on talk shows are the high-pitched giggles and five-word sentences of vapid actresses.

It’s been nice to be able to turn on TV and see a female saying exactly what she thought. There were times when she was downright cranky and we loved it because it gave us permission to have our own imperfect moments.

Women actually like it that most men don’t care for O’Donnell. We get her, and that’s all that should have counted. But TV is run by very staid, traditional men, so we shouldn’t be surprised O’Donnell didn’t last. She’ll be missed and it makes a woman wonder how long we’ll have to wait to see another outspoken female on TV.

Essay 2049

This ad is a bad experience.

Essay 2048

FYI KFC + H8 in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• After a lawsuit by the state attorney general, KFC must inform California customers the Colonel’s fried and baked potatoes contain a suspected carcinogen. The warning includes, “Cooked potatoes that have been browned, such as French fries, baked potatoes and potato chips, contain acrylamide, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer. … It is created in fried and baked potatoes made by all restaurants, by other companies, and even when you bake or fry potatoes at home.” Most KFC customers will be more shocked to learn the potato items contain potatoes.

• Alabama legislators approved resolutions apologizing for slavery. However, the measures still require additional approvals and a signature from Governor Bob Riley. Ironically, the resolutions were initially approved one day after Confederate Memorial Day, which is an official state holiday.

• A survey by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center showed Blacks are being discriminated against when seeking housing in the New Orleans area. The organization sent Black and White “testers” to various locations to compare the differences in responses. According to the results, Blacks received “less favorable treatment” in 57.5 percent of the tests. Talk about an unnatural disaster.

• Minuteman co-founder Jim Gilchrist, who was unofficially ousted from the anti-illegal immigrant organization, dropped a lawsuit against his ex-pals. Instead, Gilchrist has founded a new group called Jim Gilchrist Minuteman Foundation. “Now we can get back to the issue instead of dealing with these delusional whiners,” said Gilchrist. The guy currently heading the original organization complained, “You can’t create a new Minuteman Project. … There is already one, and I’m the president.” Now he knows how Al Gore feels.

Essay 2047

Essay 2046

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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A crossroads for GM—and America

It's not as though we all didn’t see it coming for a long time. Still, the news that Toyota surpassed General Motors in worldwide car and truck sales in the first quarter of this year -- 2.35 million vehicles compared with GM’s 2.26 million -- had to leave many Americans with a sinking feeling -- even those whose purchase of Toyotas and other foreign brands made the Japanese company’s first-ever ascension to the No. 1 spot possible.

For as long as anyone can remember, this was an area dominated by GM. Toyota has stolen its thunder not with smoke and mirrors, but by making cars that are perceived as more reliable than their American counterparts, identifying the market for smaller cars during energy crunches and, now, pushing ahead with its technology to make its Prius synonymous with hybrid cars. It also has avoided the labor snafus that have contributed to the layoffs of auto workers here and the closing of manufacturing plants.

With Toyota looking ahead to conquering China, GM and other U.S. car manufacturers have their work cut out for them. There is a need for both ingenuity and urgency. “We’re not focused on a race,” said GM spokesman John M. McDonald. Perhaps to avoid lagging farther behind, that’s precisely what the company should focus on.

Essay 2045

Essay 2044

Fired up with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Following a federal investigation, the FDNY has been accused of discriminating against Blacks and Hispanics in its hiring practices. Additionally, the Justice Department approved the filing of a related lawsuit versus the city. The FDNY is currently 91 percent white and 99 percent male. Madison Avenue must be so jealous.

• CBS suspended two NY shock jocks for staging a racially-charged prank on Chinese restaurant employees. The hosts of “The Dog House With JV and Elvis” called a Chinese restaurant and proceeded to abuse employees with slurs and assorted bullshit. The nonsense included a caller telling a female employee he wanted to see her naked while referring to a body part as “hot, Asian, spicy,” ordering “shrimp flied lice” and referring to a male employee’s body part as a “tiny egg roll.” Advocacy groups protested, leading to the suspension. “If they don’t fire the DJs, it will be a double standard,” said the president of the New York City chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. The latest trend has been to denounce hip hop for inspiring racism. At some point, it will be time to focus on shock jocks, whose racist efforts attack all segments.

• The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, comprised of top music honchos including Russell Simmons, called for a ban on “bitch,” “ho” and the N-word. The official statement reads as follows:

Recommendation to the Recording and Broadcast Industries: A Statement by Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis on behalf of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

The theme of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) is “Taking Back Responsibility.” We are consistent in our strong affirmation, defense, and protection of the First Amendment right of free speech and artistic expression. We have recently been involved in a process of dialogue with recording and broadcast industry executives about issues concerning corporate social responsibility.

It is important to re-emphasize that our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images.

HSAN reaffirms, therefore, that there should not be any government regulation or public policy that should ever violate the First Amendment. With freedom of expression, however, comes responsibility. With that said, HSAN is concerned about the growing public outrage concerning the use of the words “bitch,” “ho,” and “nigger.” We recommend that the recording and broadcast industries voluntarily remove/bleep/delete the misogynistic words “bitch” and “ho” and the racially offensive word “nigger.”

Going forward, these three words should be considered with the same objections to obscenity as “extreme curse words.” The words “bitch” and “ho” are utterly derogatory and disrespectful of the painful, hurtful, misogyny that, in particular, African American women have experienced in the United States as part of the history of oppression, inequality, and suffering of women. The word “nigger” is a racially derogatory term that disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial oppression, and multiple forms of racism against African Americans and other people of color.

In addition, we recommend the formation of a music industry Coalition on Broadcast Standards, consisting of leading executives from music, radio and television industries. The Coalition would recommend guidelines for lyrical and visual standards within the industries.

We also recommend that the recording industry establish artist mentoring programs and forums to stimulate effective dialogue between artists, hip-hop fans, industry leaders and others to promote better understanding and positive change. HSAN will help to coordinate these forums.

These issues are complex, but require creative voluntary actions exemplifying good corporate social responsibility.

Essay 2043

The editorial below appeared at Adweek.com. A MultiCultClassics response immediately follows…

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Art & Commerce: Hip-Hop-crisy

By Jerry Della Femina

This past Monday morning, for the first time in 26 years, I was forced to speak to and listen to my wife, the beautiful Judy Licht. It wasn’t so bad, but frankly, I miss Imus.

Imus, I feel strongly, was the victim of a business lynching sparked and spurred on by those two arbiters of racial tolerance and harmony, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. The reverends, so-called men of God, don’t believe in forgiveness—unless you make a hefty contribution to Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition and God knows what Sharpton calls his deal.

Let’s first remember that Imus made a stupid and cruel statement about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. They forgave him. They are fine young women and are miles ahead of so many of their opportunistic “protectors.”

So here’s why I think that when the smoke clears, Imus deserves the thanks of many of the people who insisted that his four-second lapse in taste and judgment was the worst thing they had ever heard and pressured Imus’s gutless broadcasting bosses to fire him.

But to do that, this fine family publication must print a piece of disgusting filth, a song titled “Come and Get Me,” written and performed by a rapper called Timbaland, that demeans African-American men and women. These are lyrics that almost every kid has been exposed to. I know it’s on my own kids’ iPods:

“Nigga your time is up, I ain’t come to kid you

I knew you niggas was dumb, but how dumb is you

Thinkin you can see the king, when you unofficial

You don’t wanna go to war, cuz I’ll launch these missiles

I’m a ride or die nigga, I be tearin shit up

We ain’t like them other fools, who don’t compare to us

All the hoes love a nigga, they be backing it up

But me I love money I be stacking it up”

OK, so Timbaland is no Cole Porter or Tony Bennett. So why did Imus do his detractors such a big favor? Apparently, until this incident, none of them had ever heard rap lyrics like these. I Googled everything I could find on rap and Sharpton and I Googled everything Jackson has said on rap and this is what I found out: They have never said a single word against lyrics like these and the terrible way they depict African-Americans.

Sharpton, while condemning the violence surrounding the rap industry, made it quite clear that it was “not about the lyrics.” In fact, he once said that rap music empowered young African-Americans. Today, with Imus’s scalp on his belt, he is now doing his “Mr. Bluster” act about the lyrics.

Then there is Hillary Clinton, who said that Imus had to be fired for saying “ho.” Hillary recently was the recipient of a big-money Florida fundraiser at the home of producer and rapper Timothy Z. Mosley, a.k.a. Timbaland.

Let’s pause in the reading of this column. I will wait while you readers go back and read the words of Hillary’s benefactor. Naturally, when she talks to those wonderful women from Rutgers (a planned visit rescheduled as of press time) who found it in their heart to forgive Imus, I expect Hillary, using that African-American voice that she developed when she made her Selma speech a few months ago, will tell the women that she is going to return her campaign contribution from Timbaland. Fat chance.

Meanwhile, after years of listening to, but apparently not hearing, rap lyrics, Sharpton and Jackson—alerted by Imus’s three career-destroying words—are threatening to cash in on … er … er … investigate the rap music industry. Get thee to the bank, Sony and all you other rap music companies. I smell a big contribution to the Rainbow Coalition.

Last week, there was coverage of the Imus incident on Dateline. There, NBC News president Steve Capus, a man who has no chance of ever being in the world’s thinnest book, Profiles in Broadcasting Courage, was giving us jazz on why he fired Imus. He actually had the chutzpah to say one reason was he listened to his advertisers, who represent the people of America.

Capus, with his sanctimonious claptrap, has had Imus on his television station for a few years and he’s seen Imus go over the line many times. It was OK until Sharpton jumped in. Then Capus cut and ran. Advertisers leave at the first sign of pressure. It’s their money. But all Capus should know is soon after one advertiser leaves, their competition, sensing an opportunity, jumps in and takes their place.

This is from a story in the Sunday New York Times on April 15: When the American Family Association, a conservative Christian group, pressured the Ford Motor Company not to advertise Land Rover and Jaguar in gay publications like The Advocate, Ford folded. So who’s taking its place? General Motors.

American Express leaves and Visa comes in. Staples leaves, Office Max jumps in.

Imus will be back, and NBC’s and CBS’s competitors will benefit. He will be fine.

As for the losers? Well, for now the divorce rate will go up because a few of those millions of us who are left talking to our spouses in the morning will decide to leave home or, at the very least, buy a satellite radio.

Santa Claus will lose the chance to say, “Ho, ho, ho.”

The Lone Ranger will just say, “Hi Silver”—no “ho.”

And the biggest loser was singer Don Ho, who couldn’t take the pressure of having Imus’s first name and having been called “Ho” all of his life—he died last week.

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

Wow.

Sadly, Della Femina offers more proof of the cultural cluelessness so prevalent in the advertising industry.

The Imus-fueled debates have gone way beyond annoying. Better people than us have already countered the uninformed ravings of this stereotypical Angry Old White Adman.

But let’s examine Della Femina’s rant anyway.

First, referring to Imus as “the victim of a business lynching” is mighty ignorant in this context. If Imus spewed anti-Semitic remarks and was axed after protests from Jewish groups, it’s unlikely Della Femina would call the shock jock “the victim of a business Auschwitz oven baking.” Or maybe he would.

Second, why do so many White people think the Rutgers team’s acceptance of Imus’ apology means everything is hunky-dory? While the team was the direct target of Imus’ vile talk, they were not the sole casualties. Yo, Jerry, your favorite radio host’s slur created collateral damage for everyone. Including you.

Third, the gist of Della Femina’s rap music viewpoint has already been broadcast, seemingly a zillion times by a gazillion folks. It’s pathetic to see this adman—who fancies himself an innovative visionary—presenting the same contrived perspective. But we’ll bet he enjoyed typing the litany of N-words. Plus, his facts are wrong. Jackson and Sharpton have criticized hip hop. Ironically, the fight has gained incredible momentum thanks to Imus. If Della Femina wants to see people who have done absolutely zilch regarding rap controversies, he need simply gaze in the mirror. Or across the boardroom table at his advertising buddies.

Fourth, the reality that new advertisers will replace the ones who abandoned Imus hardly invalidates the shock jock’s firing. As Della Femina gleefully predicts, “Imus will be back… He will be fine.” Too bad the experience probably won’t be a source of introspection and enlightenment for Imus or Della Femina.

Fifth, the closing “ho” jokes are tired too. Hell, this very blog already rolled out a few of them. Get up to speed, Jerry. And if you can’t comprehend the difference between Santa Claus and Imus—or rappers and Imus—well, fuck you.

Finally, it’s important to note Della Femina wrote a book whose title was allegedly inspired by a brainstorming meeting for the client Panasonic: From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor.

It’s clear Della Femina has made little progress with cultural sensitivity over the past 35+ years. The big question is, does the man continue to represent the biased behavior on Madison Avenue?

Essay 2042

Essay 2041

This ad does not reflect creativity.

Essay 2040

The editorial below appeared at Adweek.com. A brief MultiCultClassics response immediately follows…

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Art & Commerce: What Imus Taught Us

By Debi Deutsch

“This has scarred me for life. I was shattered by Don Imus’s comments.”

This reaction from a Rutgers University women’s basketball player greatly disturbed me. Here is a young lady who has already accomplished so much and seems destined for great places traumatized by Don Imus’s offensive rhetoric. As executive director of the TORCH (Together Our Resources Can Help) Program—created to help underserved high-school students with an interest in media-related careers—I wondered if her reaction would be shared by the young African-American women, and future media and advertising stars, with whom I work.

These bright and talented teenagers and young adults tend to share their opinions freely and candidly, and this hot-button topic turned out to be no exception. The students condemned Imus’s remark and could barely believe that the shock jock uttered the words, “nappy-headed ho’s.” But they were also surprised that some of Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights players were so devastated by the comment.

“What [Imus] said was completely unnecessary and I feel sorry for those girls on the basketball team,’ said Nordia, a TORCH alum who attends Borough of Manhattan Community College. “But I don’t think they should let what he said ruin their lives. Unfortunately, you are going to go through life and people are going to say hurtful things about you at some point. It’s up to you if you let it bother you.”

Ernestine, a high-school senior and current TORCH member, said, “At first I was shocked, but then I realized he’s not the first, the second or the last person to say something like that. He’s not important enough to destroy the African-American community.”

Their comments reflected solid self-esteem and made me proud that TORCH participants are acquiring the tools and maturity to navigate the challenges of a competitive and not always fair world. Equally important, our young women have learned to question the role of the media.

Joezette, a Baruch College freshman, observed, “The media needs to focus not on what they think people want to hear, but on what they need to hear—they shouldn’t just go after a story to sensationalize.”

When I further questioned our program participants and alums about the controversy, they also found fault with the music industry—specifically, those involved in hip-hop. “The hip-hop community needs to be more responsible,” Ernestine argued. “They need to be more conscious about what they call each other and women, and how they portray women in videos. They make people in other groups think it’s OK to say these things.”

This critique was especially interesting in that Imus and his supporters were using the fact that hip-hop artists use derogatory language as a crutch and defense in the fallout. (Is it possible that he’s never heard the expression two wrongs don’t make a right?)

I wish I could assure my students that they will never have to face racism as they progress in their professional careers. However, what we can do as a program and what we can all do as individual mentors is to help young people gain the confidence they need to feel that they can compete on level ground. Furthermore, it is our collective obligation to help all young aspirants in our field feel empowered to create dialogue and lobby for change. Ultimately, giving them that kind of support will help them become leaders not only in the field of communications, but in their own communities as well.

It is encouraging to see that many of today’s youth are increasingly savvy in questioning the messages sent from those within and outside their own community. Perhaps it will be this generation of young adults that demands a higher level of consistent respect and civility.

If the self-confidence I heard in my students is indicative of the new generation of communication professionals, then perhaps Imus will have a positive legacy after all. His negative example may just help forge a new generation of leaders to speak up eloquently and forcefully whenever the industry crosses the line of respect—regardless of the skin color of those who demean others.

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

Ms. Deutsch means well. And her humanitarian endeavors are commendable. But she should more deeply consider her own observations.

The Rutgers player claims to have been scarred for life. Why does Deutsch question her pain? After all, this woman’s once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment has been forever tainted. Imus and the millions of people he represents essentially told her, “You may reach the highest level of achievement, but you’re still less than the majority of society.” That certainly sounds like the cause of a legitimate scar, despite the fact that it’s total bullshit.

One student said, “At first I was shocked, but then I realized he’s not the first, the second or the last person to say something like that. He’s not important enough to destroy the African-American community.” It’s sad to hear a young person declare Imus won’t be the first, second or last racist to spew hateful obscenities. But let’s be glad the Black community—and the collective community—stood up and denounced the shock jock. The protests were in support of the Rutgers team as well as our entire society, with special emphasis for the TORCH program members. Given her role, Deutsch should have a better-than-average understanding of the destructive nature of idiots like Imus.

The students acknowledged the adverse contributions of hip hop. So what? Imus tried to use rap music as his alibi. Sure, nasty rhymes may have indirectly influenced the poor, impressionable radio personality. But the bigotry behind his words belongs to Imus. Hip hop is not a force for evil. Need proof? In 2004, the TORCH held a benefit event where the honorees included hip hop mogul Russell Simmons.

Deutsch wrote, “I wish I could assure my students that they will never have to face racism as they progress in their professional careers.” Lady, if you’re steering them towards the world of marketing and advertising, you can confidently promise them that they will encounter racism. Guaranteed.

Finally, please don’t suggest Imus may ultimately leave a positive legacy. It would be more proper and respectful to credit Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for any good that comes from this incident. They are among the ones who led the charge against the negative legacy of Don Imus.

Essay 2039

Slate presents a slide-show essay on racist imagery in advertising. Click on the essay title above fo’ sho’ to check it out.

Essay 2038

Unequal employment in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A new study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation shows women make 20 percent less than their male counterparts one year after college graduation. And ten years after college, the gap widens to over 30 percent. Which means Donald Trump saved some serious loot by hiring Stefani on The Apprentice.

• Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove argued with singer Sheryl Crow and director Laurie David over global warming during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. At one point, the discussion got ugly when Crow reached out for Rove’s arm, and the man spat, “Don’t touch me!” Crow replied, “You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.” Rove responded, “I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.” Crow crowed, “We are the American people.” Rove could have answered, “Yeah, but I make over 30 percent more than you!”

• NYPD sergeants and officers are in trouble over calling female cops “nappy-headed hos” within days of Don Imus’ ouster. One Black detective was looking for the station sign-out book when a White sergeant snapped, “Don’t give me no lip before I call you a nappy-headed ho.” In a separate incident, three Black female officers were targeted during roll call by a Latino sergeant shouting, “Stand-up, hos.” Another officer chimed in, “They’re not just hos, they’re nappy-headed hos.” Don Imus tried to blame rappers for his racist outburst. Guess these NYPD guys will blame old, White shock jocks.

• A Chicago Department of Transportation supervisor is in trouble over racist and sexist comments made on the job. The supervisor’s acts included donning a red tablecloth on his head and proclaiming himself a “grand wizard,” referring to immigrants as “fucking foreigners,” and calling a Black employee “Magilla Gorilla.” He’ll probably try to blame Magilla Gorilla for the racist words.

Essay 2037

Essay 2036

This ad is not fresh.

Essay 2035

From AdAge.com, a story by Laura Martinez Ruiz-Velasco (formerly of Marketing y Medios)…

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Mobile Video Booms Among Latinos

Good Call: Telemundo, Others Cater to Demo’s Penchant for Cellphones

By Laura Martinez Ruiz-Velasco

Text messaging is so passe. Starting this month, subscribers to AT&T Wireless’ Media Net Latino package can watch the best kisses, love scenes and action chases from “El Zorro,” the telenovela based on the Zorro legend that is co-produced by NBC Universal’s Telemundo and Sony Pictures.

The clips aren’t pulled from “El Zorro’s” TV content. They’re all original, produced specifically for the third screen.

Small but growing market
The market for Latino mobile video is small but growing dramatically. The reason is simple: U.S. Hispanics overindex in their use and adoption of mobile technologies and spend more money than general-market consumers on wireless services. A 2007 Forrester Research report shows Hispanic mobile-data users are three times more likely to download videos than non-Hispanics, and according to ITFacts, they spend an average of $67 per month on wireless services vs. $60 by the general market.

Latinos’ penchant for using mobile phones hasn’t escaped marketers, agencies and broadcasters. They’re finding ways to reach Latinos on the move via text messaging or image and video downloading.

“Our clients are increasingly asking [us] about mobile,” says Marla Skiko, director-digital innovations at SMG Multicultural, Chicago. Earlier this year, the Publicis Groupe multicultural media agency helped put together a multichannel marketing effort for Hennessy, driving bilingual urban users to a dedicated site where they could download ringtones, wallpaper, music and cocktail recipes directly onto their cellphones.

Flooding cellphones with content
About 15.7 million Hispanics own a mobile phone, and though not all carry devices with video capabilities, carriers and content providers are rushing in. MobiTV, the mobile-video subscription service reaching 2 million subscribers, now offers MobiTV en Espanol, a combination of Spanish and English channels including Telemundo, Mun2, Azteca America, Sorpresa, ESPN Deportes and History Channel en Espanol. The service is available to Sprint, AT&T Wireless and Alltel subscribers.

In addition, Telemundo in March added an innovative feature to its youth-oriented cable channel Mun2. Viewers of “18 & Over” and “One Nation” can log on to HolaMun2.com and post video comments, which are video versions of regular text messages posted on blogs. “We want to go beyond what everyone else is doing,” says Peter Blacker, senior VP-digital media at Telemundo.

Similar efforts are under way at Azteca America, which in March launched “Suegras,” (“Mothers-in-Law”), a 10-week reality show in which brides-to-be have to deal with their potential mothers-in-law before they can pick the perfect groom. Viewers of the show can connect to a dedicated “Suegras” page hosted on Terra.com to watch episodes and vote candidates in and out.

“The mobile component is an extension that will help us fulfill our advertisers’ need to reach consumers,” says Adrian Steckel, president-CEO of Azteca America.

Essay 2034

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Rappers’ mantra protects killers

By Clarence Page

WASHINGTON -- Critics of vulgar, violent, gangster-style rap music make a mistake when they write off rap stars as stupid, immoral and self-destructive. They may be immoral and self-destructive, but they’re not stupid. As one of my readers observed in a thoughtful e-mail, they’re making a rational economic choice.

The reader wrote: “I had to stop and ask this question to myself: ‘Would I call my mother a ‘ho’ or my sister a ‘bitch’ if I could make a couple of million dollars and get out of poverty and live a pretty good life? Makes you wanna say, ‘Hummm …’”

Hummm, indeed. My reader’s right on the money. In a line of work that dangles riches in front of impressionable kids, some rappers will sell out more than their mamas. They’ll even cover up for killers.

“Stop Snitchin’” has metastasized into a popular hip-hop slogan. Unlike earlier generations of poor ethnic communities that zipped up their lips around police, the Stop Snitchin’ message is displayed on T-shirts, rap videos and Internet sites, boosted further by the entertainment industry’s money and marketing machines.

In a CBS “60 Minutes” report on this community cancer, scheduled to air Sunday evening, the rap star Cameron “Cam’ron” Giles says cooperation with police would violate his “code of ethics.” Besides, he says, “with the type of business I’m in, it would definitely hurt my business.”

That explains the refusal by Giles or his entourage to cooperate with police even when law enforcement officials are looking for the man who shot the rap star in both arms while he was sitting in his Lamborghini at a Washington intersection in October 2005. Giles, 30, managed to drive away. According to The Washington Post, Giles said, “I didn’t give up the car because I paid $250,000 for it.”

Nevertheless, rumors swirled in the local media that Giles might have staged the whole thing to raise his “street cred,” the street credibility that pumps up music and ticket sales in the weird culture that surrounds his line of work.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper asks Giles if he’d inform police of “a serial killer living next door.” No way, says the rapper, “But I’d probably move.” Gee, thanks.

A similar ethos showed itself after gunfire erupted during a Brooklyn video shoot by another popular rapper, Busta Rhymes, alias Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr., in February 2006. Israel Ramirez, one of Rhymes’ bodyguards, fell dead. As many as 25 witnesses saw it happen, police said, but none cooperated with investigators and the crime remains unsolved. Is this their idea of serving their community?

Yet keeping mum can bring rewards. The rapper Lil’ Kim, for example, went to jail for perjury because she refused to implicate members of her entourage in a shooting. But before she reported to jail, Black Entertainment Television made her the center of a reality show. It turned out to be one of the cable network’s most popular programs, but a crime expert in Cooper’s report called it “big business selling death.”

Rap is big business. Giles, for example, is distributed through Asylum Records, a division of Time Warner, the world’s largest media conglomerate. Rhymes is distributed through Interscope Records, a label of Universal Music Group, one of the largest companies in the recording industry.

Other music forms also were created out of painful circumstances. But pioneering blues singers, for example, did not strive to return to the cotton fields. Gangster rappers, by contrast, milk the gangster pose, the appearance of keeping at least one foot in the criminal underclass. Hip-hop gangsters model themselves after white mobsters whom Hollywood glorifies. But the European-American gangs had the decency to hide their shame. The lure of big bucks removes all shame from hip-hop’s gangster game.

Without community backing, good citizens who try to do the right thing risk severe punishment. The most outrageous example among many that I have run across is Baltimore’s Angela Dawson. The married mother of five testified against a local drug dealer in October 2002. Two weeks later, the dealer set fire to her home as the family slept. All seven family members died.

The killer pleaded guilty to avoid a possible death sentence. According to Juan Williams’ best-selling book “Enough,” the drug dealer had vowed to kill Dawson for “snitching on people.”

“You don’t need someone destroying you when your own people are the worst messengers possibly,” says Geoffrey Canada, a nationally recognized anti-violence organizer in Harlem. “And this is what black people in America have not come to grips with.”

We can turn back the tide. Start snitching.

Essay 2033

The political scene in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Somebody actually appeared at the National Action Network conference and didn’t diss the Rev. Al Sharpton. Barack Obama praised Sharpton for his efforts during the Don Imus debacle; plus, the presidential contender supported Sharpton’s attempts to clean up rap lyrics. However, Obama took things a step further. “We are all complicit. … Let’s not just single out the rappers,” said Obama, pointing out he’s heard vulgar words “at kitchen tables, barber shops and basketball courts.” Look for Sharpton to launch a boycott on kitchen tables.

• The Rev. Al Sharpton plans to take his rap-lyrics fight directly to music corporation shareholders. The plot involves buying stock in Time Warner and Universal Music Group, the companies behind rap labels like Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Sharpton then intends to use the right to appear at shareholder meetings to gripe about nasty lyrics. “Some of these stockholders have no idea that they own stock in a parent company that owns companies calling them bitches and hos,” said Sharpton. Or maybe he’ll find the boardrooms filled with corporate bitches and hos.

• American Idol reject Sanjaya Malakar was a big deal at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Bush administration officials probably related to someone who managed to thrive despite lacking talent, qualifications and credibility.

Essay 2032

This ad does not stand out.

Essay 2031

From The Los Angeles Times…

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Moving forward since riots
Koreans, blacks and others march in a show of unity 15 years later.

By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer

After 15 years, she still hasn’t forgotten. How could she? At the height of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Lee Jung-Hui’s only son, Edward, tried to protect Koreatown merchants and ended up dead after one of them mistook him for a looter and shot him.

Still, Lee, 62, has managed to forgive and move forward. On Saturday, she and her husband, Young, joined about 350 Koreans, blacks, Latinos and others in a march for unity and peace to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the riots.

“I am still heartbroken,” said Lee, her eyes welling up in tears, “but this march is important to build bridges and change things.”

The riots erupted April 29, 1992, after a predominantly white jury found four Los Angeles police officers not guilty of using excessive force in the beating of Rodney G. King, an African American. In five days of unrest, more than 50 people were killed and 1,900 injured.

Koreatown merchants suffered most of the economic damage, losing 2,000 businesses worth $400 million, according to a UCLA study.

As those dark days were recalled Saturday, talk of another traumatic event — the massacre at Virginia Tech — also surfaced, including concern that the killer, Seung-hui Cho, was a South Korean immigrant.

Marchers began their 1.4-mile walk down Wilshire Boulevard from Koreatown to MacArthur Park with a moment of silence for the Virginia Tech victims. Sylvia Han, 30, a Los Angeles singer, said she hoped Cho’s actions would not unleash a new round of violence against Koreans.

Amanda Susskind, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Pacific Southwest Division in Los Angeles, told the crowd that last week’s killings had already sparked an uptick in hate talk about Asian Americans, immigrants and Jews on extremist websites.

Despite progress in race relations since the riots, she said, xenophobia and racial tensions must continue to be vigilantly monitored.

“Our work is not done, but this march works wonders to say that we stand together,” Susskind added.

Many marchers said they had noticed improvements in relations between blacks and Koreans over time.

Howard Magee, 64, a retired Los Angeles entrepreneur, lost his check-cashing business on Gage and Western avenues when looters broke open his safe and took $180,000 in cash and checks during the riots. He said Korean merchants in the neighborhood are now far friendlier to him than they were at that time.

“Fifteen years ago, they would watch every move you made. I felt mistrust, like they thought I was going to rob them,” he said. “Now they greet you with a smile.”

Since the riots, many Korean Americans have worked hard to build neighborhood relations. The Korean American Grocers Assn., for instance, annually awards scholarships to about 150 non-Korean students.

After the riots, the Korean American Coalition, which sponsored Saturday’s march, began a dispute resolution center with black and Korean partners to help resolve racial conflicts. Jay Won, the coalition’s deputy director, said one case involves disagreements between a Korean market owner in San Jose and his customers, largely African Americans, over what products his store should stock.

Victor Sim, chairman of the coalition, said his group also plans to begin working with African American activist Bo Taylor and his Unity One gang-intervention organization to build housing for the needy. Taylor marched Saturday, along with actor Danny Glover, civil rights attorney Connie Rice, Los Angeles police officers, Korean American churchgoers and members of Homies Unidos, a violence prevention organization.

Some progress in race relations has come naturally, the fruit of assimilation. Magee, for instance, said he was raised among mostly blacks in his native Chicago. But his son, Howard, 37, who marched alongside him Saturday, grew up in a multiracial mid-Wilshire neighborhood with a Korean American best friend who taught him how to count and say hello in Korean.

Now a Los Angeles lawyer, the younger Magee said he works and socializes with many Korean Americans. “I think of them as my friends, not as Koreans,” Magee said.

Lee said she was proud of the young people in her community who are building bridges to others in ways older immigrants like herself never could.

“We couldn’t open up because of our language barriers,” Lee said. “But now the younger generation is reaching out to the mainstream to build better lives for everyone.”

Essay 2030

Check out the classic copy:

How she did it was a mystery. Up and down the river to the other plantations, spread the story of her wonderful pancakes. But no other cook could equal their flavor.

That she added special flours was known or guessed. But what were these flours? And how much of each did she use?

For years Aunt Jemima refused to reveal her recipe to a soul. Only her master and his guests could enjoy the taste of those golden-brown, fragrant pancakes.

Essay 2029

Joking around with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Republican John McCain is under fire from liberal group MoveOn.org for his joke about bombing Iran. In a strange American Idol moment, McCain referenced a Beach Boys tune to create a controversial joke during a campaign tour in South Carolina. “That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran,” said McCain. “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah …” MoveOn.org plans to launch an ad that says, “America has lived through six years of a reckless foreign policy. … We’re stuck in Iraq. More than 3,000 Americans are dead. And thousands more wounded. Now comes John McCain with his answer to what we should do about Iran. John McCain? We can’t afford another reckless president.” McCain responded to the criticism of his joke by saying, “Please, I was talking to some of my old veterans friends. … My response is, Lighten up and get a life.” Gee, McCain is providing material for a major integrated ad campaign.

• MoveOn.org and VoteVets.org have signed up Hollywood director Oliver Stone to create a commercial for a campaign designed to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. No word yet if McCain will star in the commercial.

• Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke at the National Action Network conference. “The abuses that have gone on in the last six years, I don’t think we know the half of it,” said Clinton. “When I walk into the Oval Office in 2009, I’m afraid I’m going to lift up the rug and I’m going to see so much stuff under there. You know, what is it about us always having to clean up after people?” She’ll probably find a few of Monica Lewinsky’s panties under the rug.

• CBS finally officially dumped Don Imus’ producer. Bernard McGuirk, who actually initiated the vulgar remarks about the Rutgers players, has been out of sight since the Imus firing. He’s probably busy attending the National Action Network conference.

Essay 2028

Essay 2027

What the hell-icopter is going on here?

Essay 2026

Race-baiters, heed the goddess’ wrath

By Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

This month, Don Imus was fired, all charges against the Duke University lacrosse players were dropped and almost everyone has offered a sermon about the racial and class issues involved in both cases. But we need look only to the ancient Greeks for the best insight.

The Greeks believed that insolence naturally leads to bullying, or hubris. This arrogance induces a mad behavior called hate. Finally, that recklessness earns well-earned destruction unleashed by the goddess Nemesis.

In other words, what goes around comes around -- big time.

No one gets a pass, according to the Greeks. Just ask the arrogant Oedipus, who ultimately stabbed his own eyes out.

For years, talk-show host Imus trashed people, sometimes with racist and anti-Semitic banter. And not only did he get away with playing the foul mouth, but he was often courted by the powerful for his supposedly influential audience and the notion that it was hip to rap with him.

All the attention only swelled Imus’ head. And his excess led him to a kind of madness. How else to characterize the mind of someone who labels the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos”?

Apparently, the unhinged Imus thought that adopting such racist, sexist slurs used by those in the “gangsta” culture – “hos” is a favorite term of some African-American rappers and comedians -- was also cool for a white shock-jock.

Imus also foolishly assumed that the parade of liberal politicians and friends who clamored to get on his show might offer him politically correct cover.

Wrong again. Something called “race, class and gender” studies in our universities has long preached otherwise: Only those not white, heterosexual and male have an unspoken pass to use jocular slurs that their “oppressors” better not copy.

Lesbians on motorcycles carry placards blaring “Dykes on bikes.” Homosexuals hype “queer studies.” Yet for outsiders to dub someone a “queer” or a “dyke” -- or a “ho” -- even as a bad joke, automatically is deemed proof of their prejudice.

Imus, for all his pseudo-sophistication about the contemporary scene, apparently did not grasp this hypocrisy of American popular culture. So he thought he could piggyback on such vile language -- and as a hip white celeb get away with it.

Then he met Nemesis, long lying in wait. And the more America learned about the past rantings of this talk-show bully, the more it wondered why such a banal fool ever had an audience in the first place, much less was courted by politicians and celebrities.

The same ancient pattern of arrogance and retribution appears in the case of the Duke lacrosse team. Three Duke players were unjustly accused of rape and sexual offense by an African-American stripper. Local district attorney Mike Nifong, some of the Duke humanities faculty, the Duke University president, and the ubiquitous race hustlers Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton all swarmed on a perfect scandal for political advantage and self-promoting sermonizing.

After all, beer-drinking, rich white lacrosse athletes were supposedly brutalizing a poor woman of color, forced by her poverty to submit to them sexually.

Despite no evidence, the accused students were charged with felonies. The coach is long gone, and the entire team was disbanded for a year.

The academic mob added its own rush-to-judgment easy condemnations. Then Nifong won re-election as a populist crusader against supposedly racist preppie sex-offenders. Seemingly ignoring evidence that the victim was making the charges up, this lynch mob went headlong into mad excess.

Then, wham, Nemesis hit them too.

Now these false accusers are getting their long-awaited due. The past anti-Semitism of Jackson (“hymietown”) and Sharpton (“diamond merchants”) is finally being broadcast nightly. Both preachers scramble to get on TV -- only to be cross-examined as never before as they try in vain to explain away their own past bigoted slurs.

Meanwhile, Duke University, its president, and many of the liberal arts faculty -- the latter in public statements and letters repeatedly tried and convicted those wrongly accused on rumor and false evidence -- appear not just as opportunists, but mean-spirited ones at that.

Nifong now faces possible disbarment and civil suits. What saves the stripper who concocted all this from the fate of Scooter Libby is that her stories are so preposterous that so far she is thought to be a delusional victim rather than a perjurer deserving of a prison sentence.

At the heart of both the Imus and Duke scandals is arrogance. Overweening conceit inevitably led bigheads like Imus, Nifong, Sharpton, Jackson and many at Duke University to go one step too far -- and thus at last earn their just deserts.

Essay 2025

Speaking in code with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Rapper Cam’ron explained his “code of ethics” during an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes. For example, cooperating with police “would definitely hurt my business. And the way I was raised, I just don’t do that.” Given the hypothetical situation of living beside a serial killer, the rapper said, “I wouldn’t call and tell anybody on him — but I’d probably move.” The guy sounds like a mo’ron.

• McDonald’s reported a 22 percent increase in profits. The average American’s weight probably increased at a higher percentage.

• Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the National Action Network conference on Thursday. Clinton told Black leaders to reduce their use of energy, see the opportunities of globalization and take better care of their health. Then he probably went to Mickey D’s for a Big Mac Extra Value Meal.

Essay 2024

Essay 2023

Funny, the dog doesn’t look Hispanic.

Essay 2022

One lead story on AdAge.com presented a headline that read, “Key Issue at 4A’s Conference: Integration.”

Of course, the article focused on integrated marketing. After all, the 4A’s is steadfastly committed to keeping agency people segregated, not integrated.

Essay 2021

Getting a bad rap with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The National Action Network conference, held annually by the Rev. Al Sharpton, kicked off yesterday with a few hiccups. First, Universal Music Group allegedly demanded its $15,000 event donation be returned in protest over Sharpton’s decision to withdraw an award that would have gone to Def Jam’s L.A. Reid (see Essay 2016). Also, Def Jam founder Russell Simmons allegedly reneged on buying two tables — estimated at $10,000 each — to a dinner at the summit, which Sharpton interpreted as another protest over the activist’s criticism of rap lyrics. “Oh, you only bought tickets if he would agree with us on lyrics?” remarked Sharpton. “You weren’t supporting the civil-rights cause, you weren’t supporting the fight against police brutality? I’ve been against the lyrics all along.” Simmons insisted it was a misunderstanding, and he planned to pay for the tables. Additionally, a spokesperson for Universal Music Group later denied asking for a refund. The National Action Network needs to work on its communications.

• Also at the National Action Network conference, former New York Mayor Ed Koch dissed Sharpton over the Tawana Brawley incident. “If you would have apologized for the Tawana Brawley hoax, you’d be a crossover leader,” said Koch. At this point, Sharpton must be reevaluating the National Action Network conference invitation list.

• A group of lesbians were found guilty of assaulting a filmmaker in Greenwich Village last summer (see Essay 953). The women charged that the filmmaker became abusive after they rebuffed his advances, and he initiated the brawl. But a jury didn’t believe them, so the group is now headed for jail. The filmmaker will probably turn the incident into a twisted Girls Gone Wild video.

Essay 2020

Essay 2019

When the uniform’s clean, we don’t need no stinking badges!

Essay 2018

TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa Del Rey rejiggered Uncle Ben. TBWA London unveiled the Goodbye Cellulite Choir for Nivea. What’s next — Don Imus named Global Creative Director?

[Click on the essay title above to check it out. And thanks to MakeTheLogoBigger for spotting this gem.]

Essay 2017

Adweek published a story detailing how advertisers responded to the Don Imus incident. Here’s an outrageous excerpt:

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One sponsor, General Motors, said the company wouldn’t rule out advertising on Imus if he returned to the airwaves on another station. After GM initially pulled its ads last Wednesday, the automaker noted that because Imus had apologized and promised to make changes in his program, it was “monitoring” the situation. Asked for clarification, company spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said, “I think that would indicate that we were open to revisiting at some point down the road” returning to the broadcast.

Carney said that if Imus does land somewhere else in radio land, and “if an opportunity is presented to us [to advertise], we would assess it just like we do all the other opportunities that come our way.”

“We obviously don’t condone his statements, but we have found value advertising on Imus in the past,” said Carney. “Up to this point, the good has outweighed the bad.” She said GM would continue to support Imus’ charitable causes.

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Damn.

So many folks have blasted the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton for alleged hypocrisy during the Imus debacle. But General Motors clearly deserves to have its nameplate placed at the top of the official Hypocrites List.

After all, here’s a corporation that employs multicultural agencies to reach minority audiences. General Motors runs diversity advertisements and programs that claim to recognize and respect minorities.

It’s clear that General Motors loves minorities — but only when doing so meets profit objectives.

General Motors ultimately shows why the efforts of Jackson and Sharpton are more necessary than ever.

[Click on the essay title above to view an example of GM’s pandering and hypocrisy.]

Essay 2016

A miniature midweek MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Rev. Al Sharpton was backpedaling over plans to honor the boss of Island Def Jam Music Group, whose roster of artists includes controversial rappers. “We don’t want to be inconsistent,” said Sharpton, sensitive to the potential hypocrisy of supporting rappers after blasting Don Imus. Sharpton was scheduled to present L.A. Reid with the James Brown Memorial Cultural Impact Award at the National Action Network, a four-day convention that starts today in New York. “We have withdrawn the award for L.A. Reid,” announced Sharpton. “We put the awards on hold…We have suspended those awards.” Wonder what the rappers are calling Sharpton now.

• J. Lo and Marc Anthony are suing the National Enquirer for the paper’s claim that the couple was tied to a heroin scandal. Sources claim the two are seeking a six-figure settlement. Which they’ll probably use to buy drugs.

Essay 2015

Essay 2014

This ad will make you mucho sleepy…

Essay 2013

Two more comments — apparently from the same ticked-off Tennessean — responding to Advertising Age stories inspired by Don Imus…

> It is time for We The People to run this Country again — not Advertisers! I bet they will not even put this up! — McMinville, TN

> Advertisers should not be able to say what I watch on my TV. I pay a Lot of money to the Cable Company to watch what I want. Not ads every 5 minutes. An hour show is half ads. Imus should be reinstated if they do not get rid of the Al Sharpton Show too. He is so Racist — there should be no double standards for him. — McMinville, TN

Essay 2012

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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In the end, right message on Imus was aired

BY JESSE JACKSON

Don Imus has been taken down. His foul insult of the Rutgers women’s basketball team was the last straw for his employers. Hopefully, his fall will make other entertainers and the corporations that profit from peddling hateful insults take a good look at themselves -- from Ann Coulter with her foul-mouthed, homophobic gibes to Warner Brothers and others who profit from peddling the degradation of women in modern rap culture. If Imus' fall contributes even a bit to a less coarse, less racist and sexist culture, that would be an unalloyed good.

Now Imus’ enablers over the years -- the politicians like Joe Lieberman, the media voices like Tim Russert and Frank Rich -- must explain why they embraced Imus for so many years. Rich writes that he thought Imus an “authentic conversationalist,” while admitting his books could “always use the publicity.” He “gave Imus a pass” because the insults were “almost always aimed at people in the public eye … with the forums to defend themselves.”

Rich is blinded by his own privilege. How many African Americans host a network talk show? From 3 to 11 p.m. daily, there’s not a single show hosted by a black, Latino or Asian, except for Tavis Smiley on PBS. From 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., where Arsenio Hall was 15 years ago, there are now zero. The list of guests on the Sunday morning political talk shows is referred to as the “apartheid hour” because it is so devoid of women and people of color.

Now of course the reaction will set in against those who upset the established order. The Washington Post coughs up two commentators to attack those of us who challenged Imus’ bigotry. Joe Hicks calls Imus’ insult of the young women “a bad idea,” then bizarrely prates that removing Imus did nothing to solve the “plight of black urban communities.”

Look in the mirror, says Jonetta Rose Barras, “it was black rap artists” who opened the door to denigrating black women, erasing three centuries of loaded racial prejudices. Rich scorns those who assail Imus, suggesting that if we want to have a “conversation” about race, it had better include “hip-hop lyrics, ‘Borat,’ ‘South Park’ and maybe Larry David.” Any list should also include Mick Jagger’s “Brown Sugar” and “Some Girls” -- scornful descriptions of black women that predate rap.

The degradation of black women by powerful white men is as old as the culture. And while rap artists did not start the degradation, they ought to use their power to help stop it. Cleaning up the culture should not be so unimaginable. Just enforce obscenity laws. Do not use the public airways for gender, racial or religious degradation.

Global corporations make literally billions peddling trash. Let’s talk about that. Do we want no standards? Is profiting from bigotry, anti-Semitism, hate words and sexist tripe simply to be celebrated as somehow central to free speech or artistic expression? The First Amendment was designed to prohibit the government from censoring political speech, not to stop society from holding itself to standards beyond the gutter. If customers spurn companies or networks that profit from peddling racism, or employees are ashamed of their own companies’ complicity in hateful garbage, why isnt the Washington Post applauding that rather than scorning it?

Imus’ racist and sexist insult of these young women was not “a bad idea,” it was disgusting and mean. It wasn’t an aberration; it was part of his normal patter; he made big bucks peddling it. Let’s hope his departure leads to a broader look at what our corporate culture is selling. Let the complacent and the complicitous kick the messengers. I have no doubt this was a message that needed to be delivered.

Essay 2011

Essay 2010

Minor misunderstandings and misspeaking in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Original Village People policeman Victor Willis found himself in more trouble with real policemen. The disco star was arrested last month for allegedly choking and threatening his girlfriend. But on Friday, the case was dropped. “There was simply a minor disagreement between Victor and his fiancée who are residing together in a penthouse apartment in San Diego’s La Jolla area,” said Willis’ publicist. “Victor loves her very much and she loves Victor.” Um, don’t mean to start another minor disagreement, but aren’t the Village People gay?

• British singer Bryan Ferry apologized for praising Nazis during an interview. Ferry’s remarks included, “The way that the Nazis staged themselves and presented themselves, my Lord! … I’m talking about the films of Leni Riefenstahl and the buildings of Albert Speer and the mass marches and the flags — just fantastic. Really beautiful.” But protests had the singer backpedaling and saying, “I apologize unreservedly for any offense caused by my comments on Nazi iconography, which were solely made from an art history perspective. … I, like every right-minded individual, find the Nazi regime, and all it stood for, evil and abhorrent.” But in a fantastic and really beautiful kind of way.

Essay 2009

From The Chicago Tribune…

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Racism can be unequal offender

By Ahmed M. Rehab, Executive director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago)

Here is an interesting point to ponder: What if Don Imus had referred to a mostly white women’s basketball team as “dumb blond hos.” Would it have been any less racist or sexist than the comment he used against a mostly black team?

Not in my book; by all accounts, it would be just as sexist and, given that blond hair is a racial feature no less than coarse hair is, it would be just as racist.

Would it have caused the same uproar culminating in his termination after 30 years on the job?

Probably not.

Is there a double standard going on here?

Yes there is.

Is it warranted?

Yes it is.

Here’s why: Though both slurs are comparable in theory, the practical repercussions they have on the lives of the women they target are in no way comparable, a factor that seems to be missed by many commentators.

In other words, the “dumb blond” stereotype does not bear the same impediment against the social normalization of blond women that the vile stereotype of black women perpetrated by Imus does.

It would be foolish to deny that in terms of opportunity, America remains a place where black women are among the most disadvantaged and blond women among the relatively privileged. Black women walking into job interviews still face a very real concern that they should never have to face: “Do I intimidate you?”

Blond women don’t.

This does not mean that it is OK to stereotype blond women by any means.

What it does suggest is that racist statements against minorities who suffer vulnerabilities go beyond the tasteless and into the dangerous because they have a direct negative impact on how they are perceived and dealt with.

It is more so spineless than it is tasteless to jokingly cast black women, who are already the single most socially disadvantaged demographic group in this country, as inner-city good-for-nothing crack heads, prostitutes or gangsters, given the reality of the everyday racism they face on the ground.

It is particularly remarkable when you have a group of black women, who have done everything right, worked hard, gone to college and excelled academically and athletically, that can still be slapped down with that stereotype.

Many apologists for Don Imus have thrown around the “he is an equal opportunity offender” argument.

No he is not; he couldn’t be even if he tried for the simple reason that victims of racial offense themselves face unequal opportunity in our society.

Let’s not factor that out of the equation.

Essay 2008

It looks like papa’s an Oreo.

Essay 2007

Advertising Age presented a few more articles inspired by the Don Imus debacle. Below are random selections from reader responses posted online…

> Forget Imus — I’m sure he could have retired by now if he wanted to. And if he doesn’t, he’ll still have a career. But what about the people who had jobs only because his show existed? They don’t have the bounce back or the retirement account that Imus has. Those are the people who have been punished. — DALLAS, TX

> I don’t listen to Imus. Never have except by accident. Still, he did have a following and now those listeners have lost. If we are going to move in this direction, can I present my list of others that need to go as well? I have a bunch that offend me, but I have always handled that the way I handled Imus — I didn’t listen to them. The strange thing about all of this is the fact that I do have a respect for freedom of speech the Constitution provides. This incident certainly wasn’t controlled by the FCC’s vulgar language doctrine. I didn’t hear any expletives in his remarks. I certainly thought his comments about those women were in poor, poor taste, but I can name a lot of folks that make comments in that category including some radio talk show personalities who screamed the loudest about Imus’ remarks. I deal with those folks the same way I deal with Imus, I don’t listen to them either. I’m not sure I put Imus’ comments in the “Hate Speech” category. I never attribute to malice that which can easier be explained by ignorance. I’m also willing to bet Imus may not be out for the count. There is always satellite radio for him to move to [in order] to reach his listeners...or maybe the Internet. I’m sure there is a struggling radio station out there that would like an instant audience. — Gainesville, GA

> Old rules of mass-media free speech:
1) I have a right to say it.
2) If you don’t like what I say, don’t listen.

New rules of mass media free speech:
1) I have a right to say it.
2) If Procter & Gamble doesn’t like what I’m saying, you can’t listen.

While it’s impossible to condone Imus’ speech, it’s also impossible to condone other hateful comments that fly unfettered from various ethnic radio stations in the country, some of which, in NY at least, boast Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as frequent visitors. Apparently both men have been forgiven for their own transgressions, so perhaps there’s hope for Imus. It just seems to me that nice has to apply on all sides, or it’s just hypocrisy, and corporate censorship.

Don't get me wrong. I prefer nice. And Mr. Deutsch is probably right…we’re seeing the end of an era, at least in mainstream media. But hate is a highly sought after product, and like any product in a fragmented new media world, invidiously to the rest of us, hate will find ways to better engage its audience. I’d rather have it out in the open where I can see it (if I choose to) and check its pulse. — David Langan, grandcentralgames.com, NY, NY

> This and many other industry forums I’ve read in the past week continue to amaze me. People seem to be unable to focus on one point at a time. Separate freedom of speech from support of hate media. Don’t confuse the artist with the art, and don’t label art as “media.” All Donny is saying is, as industry players, we do our part. Go ahead and listen to gangsta rap if you want tonite. Just don’t come into work tomorrow and be surprised if your colleagues and clients don’t feel like using the music as a way to reach the marketplace. It’s a free country, all the way around. — Kevin Horne, NYC, New York, NY

> Whatever! — Atlanta, GA

> Great theory. However, until media buyers are allowed to think conceptually and think for themselves — beyond unreasonably low CPPs — radio and TV stations will continue to program what listeners and viewers listen and view most. Controversial programming drives ratings. O’Reilly fighting with Geraldo moves the needle. Ratings rule the roost. Sure, in the short term firms such as P&G will publicly state that they will “do their darnedest” to avoid controversial programming. Now, let’s be careful. There is a great difference between controversial and objectionable or controversial and obscene or controversial and endangering society. You personally may not like what certain personalities say, but these mainstream hosts generally aren’t touting “hate speak” (what is that, anyway?) and these hosts have millions of loyal listeners and viewers who need soap and toothpaste and laundry detergent (and cars, etc.). In fact, I would make the case that now is the time for advertisers to jump on board with the O’Reillys of the world — as these shows’ listeners and viewers become more dedicated to their convictions in the cause of protecting America’s great freedoms, beginning with the First Amendment. As I sit here in the heart of Flyoverland, the Tipping Point that I see developing is moderate, reasonable Americans being fed up with individual New Yorkers and Hollywood celebrities (who call themselves liberal-thinkers and are anything but) dictating how we ALL should think and behave. — Saint Paul, MN

> No love lost here, but…Who do we get next? All of Fox, ABC, Sharpton, Jackson, Satuday Night Live, Tonight show, Moveon dot org? I guess freedom of speech is fiction not fact. If we are to think this action is correct, then almost every music cd, book and newspaper in America is ready for the fire. — Akron, OH

> I wonder if Mr. Deutsch had called on the carpet his friend Donald Trump for making the ‘prize’ for winning on an Apprentice episode a studio session with Snoop Dog…one of the leaders of race-based “hate music.” — Macungie, PA

> There’s no argument Imus said some things he shouldn’t have said. But if Chris Rock, Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy stands up and says “nappy-headed hos” at a comedy club, a TV show, no one ever cries foul. Blacks can say crude and rude things about their own race and get away with it. Can we have a Miss White America Beauty Pageant? Nope. But we DO have a Miss Black America Beauty pageant. Television has BET -- the Black Entertainment Television network. But can we launch something similar like: WET (White Entertainment Television Network)? Oops. You’d have African Americans picketing the streets outside WET’s TV studios, CNN would be filled with Rev. Jackson and Sharpton denouncing the new TV network. The NAACP would be filing lawsuits…I think you get the idea here. There’s no argument a double standard clearly exists in America -- you just have to know the rules so you don’t stick your foot in your mouth. Imus got nailed to the cross for a stupid remark, he inserted both feet into his mouth and he got fired for it. Nuff said. Let’s move on. — SANTA FE, NM

> You know what? Donny’s right. Enough nasty, mean spirited yelling and screaming. Talking heads, celebrity fights, reality fighting scenes, fear-oriented newscasts and then violence-oriented shows. It’s no wonder today’s consumer would rather sit at the computer. At least then, they control the content. Trying to watch TV for enjoyment and relaxation is a thing of the past. So, advertisers are moving their money to where it should be: online. — Karen Tripi President, Karen Tripi Associates, NEW YORK, NY

> I agree with the advertisers — why should we have to listen to garbage? I would worry about the extremism of allowing everything and then controlling it all — isn’t there a middle ground? Maybe something called intelligent criteria is missing from all of this mess. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Next time we hear this garbage, no matter if the originator is black or white, we should be just as strict, including the music we listen to. — MIAMI, FL

> First off…never a big fan of Imus and I don’t care much if he’s on the air or not. But, I hate to see the likes of Sharpton & Jackson looking triumphant over something that really was not that offensive given the nature of today’s pop culture. Sharpton & Jackson have made a business out of fabricated race issues. And neither of them have always been shining examples (Tawana Brawley, Hymietown). In a media culture swimming in hip-hop lingo and gangsta types being celebrated, the use of the term “nappy headed hos” could easily be seen as a white guy trying to sound hip or spoofing his own race (maybe not in Imus’ case). But one of the best ways to get a laugh these days, if you are a white man, is to parody your whiteness by purposely delivering hip-hop phrases with overwhelming “white-bread” tones in your delivery. I think sometimes as we gain diversity in this country, we also gain oversensitivity and misinterpretations of intent. I would like to have seen Imus dismissed over declining ratings, not a poor choice of words. — Springfield, MO

> Donny, I couldn’t agree with you more. Whether nice may or may not be becoming the new black, I think most of us are just plain weary of “celebrities” being given a forum to spew forth whatever pops into their minimally sized brains. Imus, Rush, Stern, Pryor, Murphy, “gangsta” rappers and the rest of this classless class of juvenile delinquents we’ve had to endure in recent years -- I hope you’re right that Imus’ demise means the beginning of the end of these assaults on society. Of course, we’ll always have the ACLU to contend with…since when did “freedom of speech” morph into “freedom to deliberately and pointedly denigrate others for the sake of entertainment and self-promotion?” Speaking of the latter, I’ve long considered that the only reason the shock jocks do what they do is some pathetic need to be in the spotlight, at any cost. Why do children act up? One reason: To get attention. — Elgin, IL

> I think that if advertisers really wanted to be positive, they would have forced IMUS to do community service or donate to a scholarship fund for African American women at Rutgers or something that would affect positive change. Let’s face it, many advertisers don’t buy advertising for programming content, they buy advertising for the listeners, readers or viewers that the program attracts. This is just another way to squelch our First Amendment rights — turn it off if you’re turned off! And, trust me, I hate what he said, but make him do something positive to offset it! — Needham, MA

> I watched with great interest the recent trial of a very popular talk radio host on MSNBC and WFAN ! Mr. Don Imus insulted a University Women’s Basketball Team! Mr. Imus used a very Vulgar Term to describe the women as Prostitutes! The term was created by the Rap Music Community and is Broadcast hourly as accepted content to the Rap Audience! Rap music producers have developed their own semantic jazz and it has been adopted by many African American as well as white Teens as acceptable speech! Mr. Imus has apologized to his audience as well as the Women’s Championship basketball team of African American and White Students! Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, the acknowledged worldwide Watchdogs for the African American Community lit a fire as they usually do and have claimed victory since Don Imus was fired from both Networks! One African American reporter described Jackson and Sharpton as fire fighters who, after the fire is over, then pick the victims’ pockets! To be honest, I think that what got Mr. Imus fired was Advertisers pulling out of the show! Not the flame kindled by Sharpton’s and Jackson’s Diarrhea of the Mouth! Imus was of course wrong since what lives in the gutter should stay in the gutter! Until what walks in the street decides to clean up stand up and walk proudly on the sidewalk! The Team from Rutgers have chosen to walk as the best of our American Youth and commented on the incident as Adults! The Coaches whined, the School Officials whined, but the students exhibited adult behavior. I am sure that in the future, Mr. Imus will Pop up on the WWW, as the Imus in The Morning Video Cast, supported by a fantastic Blog and Social Network Site and we can all enjoy him for 99 Cents! This will restore his freedom of speech and give some great content to IPodders ! — Royal Oak, MI

Essay 2006

Essay 2005

The collateral damage generated by radio personality Don Imus is pretty extensive, exposing issues that continue to fester in society.

Unfortunately, Madison Avenue — that bastion of biased behavior — was also drawn into the I-mess. Besides the obvious media and advertiser connections, a handful of advertising-related blogs touched on the topic, as well as the multicultural marketing news sources.

And once again, Advertising Age unwittingly managed to stir up controversy. The trade publication’s website presented a story detailing the CBS decision to ax Imus, which led to online comments that showed our business has a long way to go with its delusions of diversity (see Essay 1994 and Essay 2002).

Granted, AdAge.com visitors do not fully represent the advertising collective. Indeed, the online remarks mirror statements made nationwide by the general citizenry. But for a professional community labeled as minimally exclusive and probably racist, the responses clearly justify the charges of our critics.

In the event that the AdAge.com postings accurately reflect the views of most adpeople, MultiCultClassics humbly counters the stereotypical comments with stereotypical rebuttals.

First, it’s always peculiar to witness the paranoia and resentment targeting the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Like it or not, there’s indisputable evidence that both of these men have performed far more positive deeds than anyone dissing them — and definitely more than Imus. Do a Google search and prove it. And for the haters who think the two are race-baiters, hypocrites, cultural coercionists or worse, there really is a simple solution to silence the pontifications of Jackson and Sharpton: Stop being evil bigots.

Numerous uninformed individuals accuse Jackson and Sharpton of pushing a double standard; that is, people like Imus and Michael Richards get ripped for using racial slurs while rappers get a free pass. Sorry, but Jackson and Sharpton — along with Oprah, Bill Cosby, Stanley Crouch, countless community activists, spiritual leaders, local and national politicians and others — have been quite vocal and forceful in their protests against the ugly side of hip hop. Too bad the media moguls responsible for rap music aren’t as easily persuaded to do the right thing as the media moguls behind Imus. Additionally, those who cry about double standards ought to consider that White youth account for a sizeable chunk of rap sales. If you want to affect change, start in your own house.

FYI, the preceding rebuttal point may also cover the confused souls whining, “How come Blacks can spew specific epithets but non-Blacks can’t?” Many of the folks previously mentioned have gone so far as to attempt to legally banish the N-word, plus condemn artists who peddle entertainment rooted in negativity and hate.

Samuel Johnson said, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Racism sure does bring out the patriotic spirit in Americans. The First Amendment and freedom of speech are routinely displayed to defend boorish spectacles. But let’s be straight regarding the Imus incident. No one deprived the man of his constitutional rights. He’s virtually free to say whatever he desires. MSNBC and CBS merely exercised their right to fire him. This should not have been surprising to people in the advertising business. If any of us regularly spoke in the office like Imus regularly spoke on the air, we would face termination too. Hell, we’d even be making potential lawsuit troubles for our bosses, since such words would create hostile and discriminatory work environments. Funny how the freedom fighters pooh-pooh the reality that Imus and his crew have been running an enterprise that the EEOC would never approve.

Another perspective contends that anyone offended by Imus should just not listen. Did the Rutgers women’s basketball team have the option to just not listen? Ultimately, the entire country was unable to close its ears to Imus’ statements. This weird position is like declaring the victims of drunk drivers should just not venture onto streets where the intoxicated might cruise. Or shooting victims should just not allow bullets to strike them. Imus was not broadcasting in a private fashion; rather, he was using public airwaves. Adpeople know the messages we devise are subject to network, legal and public scrutiny. So please don’t express shock and dismay that someone pulled the plug on Imus.

Perhaps the most pathetic perspective involves reprimanding people for being too politically correct. Phrases like “PC Police” and “You’re too sensitive” fortify this goofy platform. When did the insensitive types win the authority to dictate sensitivity levels for the rest of us? Oh, wait a minute. They didn’t. Let’s not dissect the reactions of the sensitive in our ranks. We should examine the actions of the insensitive instead. Why are you people so uncaring and ignorant about the diversity of attitudes, opinions and beliefs in today’s global village? The last sentence is a rhetorical question, in case you didn’t notice.

Imus is damned lucky in lots of ways. He’s now no longer obligated to make good on his latest promises to reform. Also, he’s spared from undergoing the obligatory sensitivity training that would have been a requirement for staying on the job. No one doubts the man will find another corporation eager to sponsor his brand of garbage. He could even retire a millionaire immediately. If Imus is a casualty deserving pity, we should all wish for a similar fate. Or pray for the future of civilization.

Contrary to popular perception, CBS, MSNBC, Procter & Gamble, Staples, American Express, Sprint Nextel, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton et al did not reject Imus. The new majority public did — by flexing its multilayered, consumer-based influence.

In the end, Don Imus may symbolize the challenges ahead for Madison Avenue. Will we cling to outdated notions, acting like old men forever recycling the same tired shit? Will we demonstrate arrogance, failing to recognize and respect anyone who doesn’t share our physical and emotional characteristics? Will we remain oblivious to the fact that control of communications has completely shifted into evolved consumers’ hands?

Stay tuned.

Essay 2004

The kid’s calculating how Mickey D’s trans-fat-laden offerings will quadruple his weight and subtract years from his life.

Essay 2003

Past ads featuring Black women will have you singing the blues.

Essay 2002

Two more online comments responding to the Advertising Age story on Don Imus (see Essay 1994)…

> Imagine if an ad for Procter & Gamble Pampers “nappies” had come right after Imus’ comment — would you have brought any on your next shopping? That unconscious thought is worth millions for the P&G, GM or Staples who sell their product through airwaves, so their decision makes sense. Furthermore, if these companies really hold values, it is their duty to “walk the talk” and not sponsor Imus. After all, advertisers are the ones to fund radios, so they can make a difference. All in all, I think that firing Imus sends the right message to radio commentators across the country: neither advertisers nor the public will tolerate racist remarks on their airwaves, clear! — Geneva

> People are fired from their jobs for even less infractions. Imus was an employee, and the airwaves belong to the public. Advertisers pulled out when the public started to complain. The marketplace, in the end, decided it was time for him to go. Issues about Sharpton, Freedom of Speech and Rap music are misdirection and have no place in this context. — Mercerville, NJ

Essay 2001

Boys and Good Ol’ Boys in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Latino boys congregated in Miami to audition for the latest incarnation of Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band whose past members include Ricky Martin. “We’re going to make it a little different than it was before,” said Johnny Wright, the promotional wizard responsible for New Kids on the Block, ‘NSync and the Backstreet Boys. “The beat is going to be the beats of the street now — club, hip-hop and rock. It’s not going to be something that’s pigeon-holed.” In other words, it’s going to be Black.

• The Rev. Al Sharpton is getting police protection after receiving death threats over his involvement with Don Imus’ firing. Someone called Sharpton’s radio program and announced, “I’m going to hunt Reverend Sharpton down and shoot him like an animal.” Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson received bomb threats at his Rainbow/PUSH headquarters in Chicago. When Imus was defending himself, he insisted his remarks were no different than those of rappers. Looks like Imus’ posse is pretty similar too.

• A German Army instruction video has stirred controversy, especially among Blacks in the Bronx. The video depicts an instructor telling recruits to imagine they’re shooting Blacks in the borough. “You are in the Bronx,” yelled the leader. “A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst way. … Act.” Don Imus’ posse is probably trying to secure copies of the video for their training maneuvers.

• Radio station KCAA in San Bernardino is scheduled to air “Best of Imus” reruns, starting with the broadcast that got the shock jock fired. “I believe this is an important enough issue with regards to free speech, free expression,” declared owner Fred Lundgren. The station manager added, “I’m glad we’re standing up and playing Imus. … And not kowtowing to [the Rev. Al Sharpton] and those people.” Heaven forbid those people should have the same right to present their opinions via free speech and freedom of expression.

• Hawaiian singing legend Don Ho — famous for crooning “Tiny Bubbles” — passed away at age 76. Don Imus refuses to comment on the story.

Essay 2000

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Imus shouldn’t have been fired

BY MONROE ANDERSON

I know I’m plunging into dangerous waters, but I’ve got to go against the raging Don Imus tide. I think he could have been given much more time off for bad behavior but should not have received from MSNBC and CBS Radio what amounts to corporate capital punishment.

Before I go any further, let me confirm what I believe is obvious: Imus is a grumpy-butt, foul mouth, ol’ coot. Pardon the name calling, but I’m just trying to get in the “Imus in the Morning” spirit that spawned the “nappy-headed hos” riffing between Imus and Bernard McGuirk, the show’s on-air executive producer.

Imus has a three-decades-old history of spewing hateful and hurtful remarks on the air. The daddy of all shock jocks hasn’t limited his nasty remarks solely to teenage girls attending Rutgers University. He has intentionally insulted blacks, women, Jews, Arabs, Catholics and gays. A litany of his “errant comments,” as Fox Cable Network’s Neil Cavuto would describe them, is listed on Media Matters for America, the watchdog Web site that first posted Imus’ comments online. He has referred to black athletes as simians and Arabs as “towel heads.”

But there is more than sexist and racist ranting to the man Time magazine once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America. Sometimes bad Imus lets good Imus out to do good work. For the past nine years, his Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer has brought some measure of comfort and joy to seriously ill children regardless of race, creed or national origin. On his last day on the air, Imus was fund-raising for three charities -- two for children with cancer, one for families who have lost babies to SIDS, bringing in more than $2 million in contributions.

There’s no charitable thinking in my belief that the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Sen. Barack Obama and almost every group and individual who demanded that Imus be canned was wrong. I believe this despite similar demands from NBC heavyweight Al Roker and Bruce Gordon, a CBS director.

Imus would serve us better on the air than off. During his era of contrition last week, when he was broadcasting his mea culpas and heartfelt apologies, Imus pledged to make amends. With his head bowed and his Stetson hat in hand, he promised to trash his sexist and racial incendiary insults. He promised to have a black presence on his show daily. I saw it as a bad old dog ready to learn some new good tricks. The firing converted that opportunity to DOA. After four to six weeks off for moral reflection and rehabilitation, a new, improved “Imus in the Morning” featuring a strong-willed, sharp-tongued black woman would have worked wonders on the strait-jacketed thinking of the show’s mostly white male, mainly conservative network of listeners. Instead of McGuirk and the I-Man one-upping each other’s racist and sexist jokes, imagine “CBS Sunday Morning’s” commentator Nancy Giles, Louisville Courier Journal columnist Betty Baye or Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell present and ready for repartee.

We now may end up with Imus, the devil we don’t know, instead of Imus, the devil we knew. Banished from terrestrial radio, Imus is bound to end up on satellite or off in cyberspace. Like that other race-baiting shock jock, Howard Stern, Imus is a longtime friend to Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. There are 2.3 million I-Man listeners still out, whose appetite for his shock shtick is undiminished. Imagine what new depths the I-Man and McQuirk duo might go to on pay radio, uncensored and unchecked. Or imagine them on the Internet, where pornography is predatory. Next year, Wi-Max -- wide-area wireless access -- will make the Internet available everywhere, including in automobiles. In a new medium with a possible 100,000 streams, Imus would be a definite destination.

We could have kept an eye on Imus in mainstream media. Out there on the World Wide Web, he’s on his own.

Essay 1999

Let’s see how many germ-filled items we can have the kid play with. It’s a wonder he isn’t performing in a garbage dumpster, banging a crumbling Roach Motel® and used mousetrap with a dripping toilet brush.

Essay 1998

From The New York Times…

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For Some Hispanics, Coming to U.S. Means Abandoning Religion

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

RICHMOND, Va. — On Sunday afternoons, when the local Roman Catholic church holds Mass for Spanish-speaking Catholics, Edgar Chilín is playing soccer in a league with hundreds of Hispanic players.

As a child in Guatemala, Mr. Chilín attended Mass every Sunday. But after immigrating to the United States 25 years ago, he and his family lost the churchgoing habit. “We pray to God when we feel the need to,” he said, “but when we come here to America we don’t feel the need.”

A wave of research shows that increasing percentages of Hispanics are abandoning church, suggesting to researchers that along with assimilation comes a measure of secularization.

Several studies show that Hispanics are just as likely as other Americans to identify themselves as having “no religion,” and to not affiliate with a church. Those who describe themselves as secular are, without question, a small minority among Hispanics — as they are among Americans at large. But, in contrast to many of the non-Hispanic Americans who identify themselves as secular, most of the Hispanics say they were once religious.

The Roman Catholic Church, the religious home for most Hispanics, is experiencing the greatest exodus. While many former Catholics join evangelical or Pentecostal churches, the recent research shows that many of them leave church altogether.

“Migrating to the U.S. means you have the freedom to create your own identity,” said Keo Cavalcanti, a sociologist at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and a co-author of a recent study that found a trend toward secularization among Hispanics in Richmond. “When people get here they realize that maintaining that pro forma display of religiosity is not essential to doing well.”

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

Essay 1997

Scores and highlights in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Forbes.com listed “The 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces” — and Michael Jordan’s breakup topped the rest. According to the story, Juanita Jordan could net “more than $150 million in a settlement, making the Jordan divorce the most expensive in entertainment history.” The hoops star has six championship rings, but Mrs. Jordan’s wedding ring could be worth much more.

• Add Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the list of people happy to see Don Imus fired. “I’m very glad that there was, in fact, a consequence. I think that this kind of coarse language doesn’t belong anywhere in reasonable dialogue between reasonable people,” said Rice. “It gets ruined by this disgusting — and I’ll use the word ‘disgusting’ — comment which doesn’t belong in any polite company and certainly doesn’t belong on any radio station that I would listen to.” It’s probably safe to say Rice isn’t rocking to any hip-hop broadcasts.

• The rights to O.J. Simpson’s cancelled book, “If I Did It,” will not go on auction yet, as Simpson’s lawyers filed for bankruptcy for the corporation behind the failed book deal with publisher HarperCollins. In other words, O.J. killed the latest effort by Ron Goldman’s family to collect the loot they’re owed.

• In Largo, Florida, the ex-city manager allegedly fired for revealing his intentions to undergo a sex-change operation will not be suing in retaliation (see Essay 1901). “It is tempting to seek retribution in the courts, but after much reflection and soul searching, I just cannot find it within my heart to sue Largo — a city I have always and will always love. I do not want to punish the citizens of Largo,” said the man. He plans to begin living as a woman full-time within two months. He may have decided against a lawsuit, but maybe she’ll think differently.

Essay 1996

From The New York Times…

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Museum Honors Hispanic Culture

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

SAN ANTONIO — With a hot pink carpet on the sidewalk and a 600-piece mariachi band in the wings, this city has swung into fiesta mode to welcome the nation’s largest Latino museum, a collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution.

Few American cities are more exuberantly tied to life south of the border than San Antonio, where tourists flock to shop its Mexican markets, meander its River Walk and sip margaritas. But despite the persistent efforts of residents, no museum here showcased Hispanic arts. The new museum — the Museo Alameda affiliated with the Smithsonian, or MAS — “more,” in Spanish — changes that.

“It’s making history,” said Rosa Rosales, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a rights group with 150,000 members, who came home to San Antonio from Washington for the opening. “Words cannot express the need. Our history has been ignored.”

To many here, it goes beyond the art. “This is a piece of activism,” said Henry R. Muñoz III, 47, an architectural executive and son of a legendary Mexican-American labor organizer, the shrewd and combative Henry Muñoz, who was known as the Fox.

The younger Muñoz began badgering the Smithsonian for help a dozen years ago and raised much of the $12 million construction cost from corporate donors.

More than half of San Antonio’s 1.2 million residents are Hispanic, compared to about 14 percent nationwide, and the growth shows few signs of slowing. Indeed, San Antonio, now the nation’s seventh-largest city (after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and Phoenix) grew nearly 10 percent from 2000 to 2005, with some of the influx coming from immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

“It’s la cuna — the crib, where the consciousness of the Mexican-American movement was born,” said Henry G. Cisneros, a former mayor and federal housing official.

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

Essay 1995

Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer read the following statement:

“We, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knight basketball team, accept Mr. Imus’ apology, and we are in the process of forgiving.”

“We still find his statements to be unacceptable, and this is an experience that we will never forget.”

“These comments are indicative of greater ills in our culture. It is not just Mr. Imus, and we hope that this will be and serve as a catalyst for change. Let us continue to work hard together to make this world a better place.”

Essay 1994

Advertising Age ran a story announcing CBS’ decision to fire Don Imus (click on essay title above to view). Industry players responded in stereotypical fashion with the following online comments…

> There is no free speech issue here. There is no First Amendment right to an audience of millions, or to airwaves that belong to someone else, or to the support of advertisers. Imus is as free as he ever was to spout his bile to whomever he can find. — PORTLAND, OR

> What hypocrisy! It’s okay for Jackson and Sharpton to disparage the white lacrosse team from Duke, but not for Imus to make a mistake. Did Sharpton or Jackson apologize to the team for their remarks yet? The lacrosse team is actually innocent! Did Sharpton apologize for the Tawana Brawley case that ruined a man’s life and career? Yet somehow he has become the arbitrator of what is right and wrong. It’s a sad day in America and sadder even still if you’re a white male, the source of all evil… It’s gotten so crazy I’m afraid to call my garden shovel a spade! — Essex Junction, VT

> Say good-bye to the First Amendment. Anyone potentially offended by Don Imus was totally free to not listen to his program. Freedom to not listen is a little easier to take than the loss of freedom to talk. — Santa Fe Spring, CA

> CBS did Imus a favor. Give him a him month off and one of CBS’s competitors will put him on and pull huge ratings. — DALLAS, TX

> It’s disappointing to read Moonves chose to side with two demagogues, just to get some heat off his back. Miami, Florida — KEY BISCAYNE, FL

> Sharpton Won...And Whitey’s on the Run! What a bunch of wimps at MSNBC & CBS. A bunch of scared white guys listening to these Race-Baiters. And it’s just what Sharpton & Jackson want -- something to continue polarizing the races -- and keep them in business. And now, NBC will, of course, implement a uniformly applied ban on ALL Rappers and Comedians whose lyrics or routines have used racially exploitive, sexually demeaning or orientation insensitive...RIGHT? Chris Rock, Snoop Dog, Ludacris, Carlos Mencina, etc., and of course, the racist Radio-One Network, will all be no longer allowed on the air...Right? Then of course they’ll go after the “evil” Rush, Coulter, Hanity...et al. And let’s not for get the “Racist” new Halle Berry movie, “Nappily Ever After.” What...NO??? They aren’t going to do that...They’ll rather make an example of a 66 year old guy who made a dumb mistake...Of course that’s what they’ll do...because it’s simply the easiest thing to do. And it eases their liberal white guy guilt. — Kansas City, MO

> Fantastic. Racism is finally over. The President of CBS has made the decision to completely end this person’s career. The reason: “In our meetings with concerned groups, there has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society.” Ahhhh, that is soooo sweet to say. Now let’s get back to more coverage of the death, despair, destruction, and religious killing and hatred of war. Anna Nicole Smith’s DNA, John Mark Karr, and the fact that young women of color are still homeless from Katrina. CBS is now broadening the excuses…they now have men and women, “constituencies” or religious leaders, black and white, rich and poor, dogs and cats…all coming together to finally show how pathetic this company is regarding PR and how quickly this company will run from an issue. PS…watch out for the White House involvement. P&G also owns Iams, which has been playing up the pet food recall by orders of the White House. Verizon has all the spy phone connections that allow the Feds to listen to anyone without court orders. Verizon is the company that “plays ball” with the President and the State’s Attorney’s offices. These companies were ordered to take this response. This is the same tactic used against magazines and newspapers nationwide with this Administration to harm them from an advertiser point of view if they stop doing what it wants. Never forget who ran so quickly from an issue like these advertisers and networks. The phrase “women of color” is a racist statement. Why? It was made by a white male to describe “colored people” who are women. They are never of color…the color is of them. The CBS President is saying that a person’s color defines them and is of them. That is racist…especially coming from a white male. CBS must be punished for such a racist statement? — Brandon, FL

Essay 1993

Throwing tomatoes in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Burger King is the next target for a coalition of Florida farmers seeking to raise the price of tomatoes. The group spent two years in negotiations before getting McDonald’s to agree to a penny per pound increase. Earlier talks with Burger King resulted in the fast feeder refusing to say, “Have it your way.” So for now, hold the pickle, hold the lettuce — and the tomato.

• Interracial marriages are soaring in the U.S., according to Census Bureau figures. For example, Black-White unions rose from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005. It’s all leading to the natural increase of interracial children. “The racial divide in the U.S. is a fundamental divide. … but when you have the ‘other’ in your own family, it’s hard to think of them as ‘other’ anymore,” said one sociologist. “We see a blurring of the old lines, and that has to be a good thing, because the lines were artificial in the first place.” Artificial? Society sure has made a lot of real judgments based on something artificial.

• The Rutgers women’s basketball team met with Don Imus for three hours on Thursday night for a “very productive” meeting. One participant called the powwow “very intense,” although Imus offered no public comments. Coach Vivian Stringer said, “Players, coaches, parents, administrators, our pastor as well as Mr. Imus were ready to dialogue. Hopefully, we can put all of this behind us.” Imus probably does not feel like he’s got much of a behind left, as his ass has been justifiably kicked over the past week.

Essay 1992

Essay 1991

So you wanna be a Superstar DJ? Emphasis on wannabe.

Essay 1990

From The New York Times…

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Don Imus Loses Job in Stunning Fall

NEW YORK (AP) – Don Imus’ racist remarks got him fired by CBS on Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation’s most prominent broadcasters.

Imus was initially suspended for two weeks after he called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air last week. But outrage kept growing and advertisers kept bolting from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast, which was canceled Wednesday.

“There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society,” CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. “That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision.”

Imus had a long history of inflammatory remarks. But something struck a raw nerve when he targeted the Rutgers team -- which includes a class valedictorian, a future lawyer and a musical prodigy -- after they lost in the NCAA championship game.

A spokeswoman for the team said it did not have an immediate comment on Imus’ firing. But Imus was scheduled to meet with the team Thursday evening, according to the Rev. DeForest Soaries, the pastor of coach Vivian Stringer, who had been helping negotiate terms of the meeting.

The cantankerous Imus, once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine and a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, issued repeated apologies as protests intensified. But it wasn’t enough as everyone from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey joined the criticism.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves on Thursday to demand Imus’ removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to defect.

Jackson called the firing “a victory for public decency. No one should use the public airwaves to transmit racial or sexual degradation.”

Said Sharpton: “He says he wants to be forgiven. I hope he continues in that process. But we cannot afford a precedent established that the airways can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism.”

Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program earns about $15 million in annual revenue for CBS, which owns Imus’ home radio station WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show nationally.

The news came down in the middle of Imus’ Radiothon, which has raised more than $40 million since 1990. The Radiothon had raised more than $1.3 million Thursday before Imus learned that he lost his job.

“This may be our last Radiothon, so we need to raise about $100 million,” Imus cracked at the start of the event.

Volunteers were getting about 200 more pledges per hour than they did last year, with most callers expressing support for Imus, said phone bank supervisor Tony Gonzalez. The event benefited Tomorrows Children’s Fund, the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the Imus Ranch.

Imus, whose suspension was supposed to start next week, was in the awkward situation of broadcasting Thursday's radio program from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey, even though NBC News said the night before that MSNBC would no longer simulcast his program on television.

He didn’t attack MSNBC for its decision – “I understand the pressure they were under,” he said -- but complained the network was doing some unethical things during the broadcast. He didn’t elaborate.

Sponsors that pulled out of Imus’ show included American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. Imus made a point Thursday to thank one sponsor, Bigelow Tea, for sticking by him.

The list of his potential guests began to shrink, too.

Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham said the magazine’s staffers would no longer appear on Imus’ show. Meacham, Jonathan Alter, Evan Thomas, Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff from Newsweek have been frequent guests.

Imus has complained bitterly about a lack of support from one black politician, Harold Ford Jr., even though he strongly backed Ford’s campaign for Senate in Tennessee last year. Ford, now head of the Democratic Leadership Council, said Thursday he’ll leave it to others to decide Imus’ future.

“I don’t want to be viewed as piling on right now because Don Imus is a good friend and a decent man,” Ford said. “However, he did a reprehensible thing.”

Imus’ troubles have also affected his wife, author Deirdre Imus, whose household cleaning guide, “Green This!” came out this week. Her promotional tour has been called off “because of the enormous pressure that Deirdre and her family are under,” said Simon & Schuster publicist Victoria Meyer.

People are buying it, though: An original printing of 45,000 was increased to 55,000.

Imus still has a lot of support among radio managers across the country, many of whom grew up listening to him, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio.

Yet he’s clearly became a political liability for CBS. (General Electric Co. owns NBC Universal, of which MSNBC is a part.) NBC News said anger about Imus among some of its employees had as much to do with ending the MSNBC simulcast as the advertiser defection.

Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and vice president and editor director of Ebony and Jet magazines, met with Moonves on Wednesday. It seemed clear Moonves and his aides were struggling with a difficult decision, he said. He urged them to take advantage of an opportunity to take a stand against the coarsening of culture.

“Something happened in the last week around America,” Monroe said. “It’s not just what the radio host did. America said enough is enough. America said we don’t want this kind of conversation, we don’t want this kind of vitriol, especially with teenagers.”

Rutgers’ team, meanwhile, appeared Thursday on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with their coach, C. Vivian Stringer.

At the end of their appearance, Winfrey said: “I want to borrow a line from Maya Angelou, who is a personal mentor of mine and I know you all also feel the same way about her. And she has said this many times, and I say this to you, on behalf of myself and every woman that I know, you make me proud to spell my name W-O-M-A-N.”

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Associated Press correspondents Karen Matthews, Warren Levinson, Seth Sutel, Tara Burghart, Colleen Long and Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

Essay 1989

Head games in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Snoop Dogg will do community service as part of a plea deal stemming from gun-possession and drug-related charges (see Essay 1983). But the artist may be allowed to continue enjoying marijuana, as he has a medical certification to use it for treating migraine headaches. Guess Snoop won’t appear in Tylenol ads anytime soon.

• Singer Marc Anthony owes the IRS over $2.5 million for failing to file returns or pay taxes for five years straight. He probably feels a migraine coming on.

• A new study showed Los Angeles has the country’s highest concentration of minorities living close to hazardous waste sites. A lead author of the study explained, “The most potent predictor of where these facilities are sited is not how much income you have; it’s race…. You don’t have many of these facilities in West Los Angeles, and you don’t have many minorities in West Los Angeles either…. You’ve got both in Vernon and surrounding neighborhoods.” Another researcher said, “We think that we’ve gotten so far in civil rights and creating a more equal society…. But when it comes to the environment, to the most basic things — air and water — we have a long way to go still.” Talk about headache-inducing news.

Essay 1988

Essay 1987

Big Tigger schools the masses via Courvoisier 101. More like Bizarre Ad Concepts 101.

Essay 1986

From The New York Daily News…

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Crock jock has burned thru too many chances

By ERROL LOUIS, DAILY NEWS COLUMNIST

Don Imus, now in free fall with yesterday’s cancellation of his lucrative MSNBC television deal, is a casualty — and he should not be the only one — of a culture war being fought by Americans who are sick of being asked to silently look the other way while vulgarity, obscenity and hate speech poison the public airwaves.

Big advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Staples and General Motors spent a week taking the national temperature and yanked their support after concluding that a critical mass of Americans — not all of them black, by any means — would not forgive the sight of 10 talented college athletes being cruelly slandered on national television as “nappy-headed” prostitutes.

Imus didn’t help his case by insisting he’d slipped up this one time and deserved another chance. The man has burned through second, third and 10th chances over the course of his 30-year radio career.

MSNBC recently apologized to an Islamic group after an Imus segment referred to Iraqi “ragheads.” Around the same time, Imus allowed a staff member to tell disgusting jokes about singer Kylie Minogue’s battle with cancer, then fired him when a public uproar ensued.

But the Imus commitment to vulgar insults has never changed. He once admitted to hiring a staffer whose main job, according to a profile of Imus on “60Minutes,” was to concoct “N-word” jokes for the show.

While Imus was off plying his ugly trade, a little-noticed national movement has been forming — documented by my colleague Stanley Crouch and me in the Daily News — that repeatedly challenges the demeaning and offensive lyrics, images and real-world violence of gangsta rap.

Web sites have started that call for an end to use of the N-word. Women’s groups have formed to blast rappers for using sexist, degrading lyrics and images. And grassroots coalitions succeeded in getting deejays at Hot 97 and Power 105 suspended or fired in recent years for crossing lines of basic decency.

Imus was probably unaware that a small but determined army of people has been mobilizing every few months to push back against one form or another of gutter-level bile disguised as entertainment.

The same groups are about to turn their attention to CBS Radio, which produces the Imus show, and make clear that advertisers and their customers have just as much free speech as deejays do. And we’re using it to say we refuse to support disgusting and demeaning programming.

Essay 1985

From The New York Times…

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Analysis: No Winners in Duke Case

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A year stolen from the lives of the accused. An accuser humiliated and discredited as the world watched. A prosecutor’s career in tatters, an elite university’s reputation tarnished.

As word spread Wednesday that all remaining charges had been dropped against three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting an exotic dancer, there was at least one point beyond dispute: This case was poison for everyone touched by it.

“There are no winners here,” said Larry Pozner, a defense attorney for 33 years and the former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “The landscape is littered with ruined reputations. Tell me who won. Certainly not the complaining witness. Not the school. Not the defendant. Not (District Attorney) Mike Nifong.”

The roster of potential winners is thin. The legal system -- eventually -- kept a flimsy case from going to trial, but not before much damage was done. The city of Durham kept calm, but still was portrayed as a place of sharp racial and class differences.

A long list of losers will be the legacy of the case.

-- THE PLAYERS. Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans no longer face the threat of prison time. But returning to their lives of 13 months ago, before the fateful off-campus party, is out of the question.

Evans has graduated while Finnerty and Seligmann, after temporary suspensions, have been invited back to Duke. Finnerty’s father told The Associated Press this week that the last year has been “horrific” for his son, who has been doing volunteer work. He is unlikely to return.

The three come from well-off suburbs -- a fact that played heavily into the class aspects of the case. But their families’ legal bills have been estimated as high as $3 million.

And though out of legal jeopardy, the players are unlikely ever to be viewed as entirely innocent victims. To some, they’ll remain the face of a distasteful jock culture at Duke that, at the very least, hired an exotic dancer for an alcohol-fueled off-campus party.

-- THE ACCUSER. A college student and single mother working as an exotic dancer, she initially attracted widespread sympathy. But her conflicting stories shattered her credibility. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday she may believe the contradictory accounts she has given, and she will not face charges.

“If she can keep herself out of the limelight, she can probably over a period of time regain her ability to live in and among the community,” said Woody Vann, a Durham attorney who once represented the accuser. “People have done worse than this.”

-- DUKE. The elite university was blasted by some for failing to take the rape allegations seriously enough, then for not sticking up more for the players.

Students have moved on, and last year Duke enjoyed record donations and a near-record number of applications. But Duke President Richard Brodhead acknowledged to the AP last month that the university’s reputation with the general public has been harmed. On campus, there have been bitter faculty debates over its response to the incident. The case prompted a series of studies of big issues like the athletic culture on campus, but it’s unclear what will come of them given the faculty divisions.

-- FORMER LACROSSE COACH MIKE PRESSLER. After its 2006 season was canceled, Duke’s lacrosse team is back on the field and ranked No. 4 in the country. But former coach Mike Pressler isn’t with them. Pressler had a good reputation around campus for handling the team, and had expressly warned them before spring break last year to behave themselves. But as details of the party and a vulgar e-mail sent by one player after the party emerged, Pressler was forced out. Two goals away from the NCAA title in 2005, he now coaches Division II Bryant College in Rhode Island.

-- DISTRICT ATTORNEY MIKE NIFONG: Before the case, Nifong was a respected lawyer little known outside Durham. Now, he’s on the verge of being disbarred, facing ethics charges from the North Carolina State Bar that accuse him of withholding evidence, lying to a court and making inflammatory comments about the players. Cooper sharply criticized Nifong on Wednesday, indirectly referring to him as a “rogue prosecutor.”

“Why do we have all these ruined reputations?,” said Pozner, of the defense lawyers group. “Because a man with enormous power didn’t take his time and fairly look at the facts.”

-- THE MEDIA. The case had lots of hot-button issues -- sex, race, class, sports, an elite university. When it broke, a swarm of reporters and television trucks rushed to Durham and made the city the dateline for a string of sweeping stories about class, race and culture. The players and accuser were viewed less as individuals than as avatars of competing political and cultural agendas.

But the case itself proved far more complicated, and few of the stories grasped that Durham was a more complicated place, too.

There were racial divisions to be sure, but also a civic tradition that kept people there talking -- instead of shouting or fighting -- throughout.

Essay 1984

From The New York Daily News…

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He hit raw nerve in my nabe

By Errol Louis

In the black community, Imus’ sickening attack on a group of talented college women was seen as an attack on our daughters, cousins, wives and sisters.

Men and women of a certain age are conditioned to react to such attacks. When I was growing up, every boy I knew with sisters (I have three) heard the message loud and clear from their parents: If anybody hurts your sister, you put them on the ground. Period. It was neighborhood law, and one of the few excuses for street-fighting you would never get punished for.

There are a lot of us old-school types out there in newsrooms, civil rights organizations, corporations and churches. We have been fighting for years against the daily onslaught of cultural contempt aimed at our children, families and communities by Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the recording industry.

In this case, the college women slandered by Imus on national television and radio were the best of the best: high academic achievers at a school with tough standards, and hardworking, competitive athletes. Epiphanny Prince, a star freshman on the squad, is already a New York legend, scoring an unheard-of 113 points in a single high school game.

They did all anybody ever asked of them — they stayed out of trouble, got an education, worked hard and literally played by the rules. They deserved much more than to be dismissed as “nappy-headed ho’s” before a national audience.

Imus also hit a raw nerve with his sneering contempt for black achievement, playing out the worst fear of many black professionals: that in the end, everything you ever learned or accomplished might end up counting for nothing, dismissed with a racist epithet by a group of chuckling, middle-aged white guys with power.

That part of the Imus shtick started long before his latest outrage. Bill Rhoden, a talented author and sports columnist at The New York Times, was called a “quota hire” on the show. Gwen Ifill, who covered the White House for The Times and is now at PBS, was once lampooned as a “cleaning lady.” Sid Rosenberg, a former Imus sidekick who ultimately got fired from the show, once said that Venus and Serena Williams, the tennis champions, belonged in the pages of National Geographic.

This history of contempt comes from a man who got fired from NBC in the 1970s due to cocaine and alcohol abuse so severe that he missed 100 workdays in a single year, according to an article about him on the MSNBC Web site. Imus is the last man on Earth to be sneering at genuine achievement.

I happened to end up sitting about 6 feet away from Imus in the radio studio where he was mixing it up with the Rev. Al Sharpton two days ago. When I juggle the image of Imus — anxious, arrogant, desperate and ruined — against the bright, beautiful faces of the young Scarlet Knights and their ferocious, eloquent coach, C. Vivian Stringer, it’s not hard to choose sides.

“These young people continue to show us as adults what it means to have a moral fiber and how to conduct themselves,” Stringer said on CNN last night.

That was an understatement. These young women have a nation of fans cheering for them — and ready to fight long and hard for the removal of a vicious bully who tried to hurt them.

Essay 1983

Inflated figures in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Janet Jackson is facing a $120 million lawsuit from a fan who claims he was beaten by the singer’s bodyguards. The man charges he tried to pass a note to Jackson at a club in 2004, and two burly bodyguards wound up assaulting him. Jackson counters that she only had one bodyguard at the time, and the bodyguard does not fit the description given by the accuser. According to Jackson, her bodyguard at the time was 5-foot-8 and weighed 180 pounds. Somebody needs to school Jackson on how to pick a bodyguard — hell, throughout her career, Janet has often been larger than that.

• Citigroup is poised to whack up to 17,000 employees. The cuts were deemed necessary after a review of expenses that started last December. Not a good sign when a financial and credit card company has budgetary problems.

• Snoop Dogg was charged with two felonies — gun possession and a drug charge — stemming from an arrest last October (see Essay 1379). Aren’t handguns and marijuana standard gear for rappers?

• Don Imus was dumped by a few advertisers, including Staples. That was easy.

Essay 1982

Essay 1981

Pimp My Kicks.

Essay 1980

Changing times in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• In Ashburn, Georgia, high school students will break from tradition for the annual prom — by holding an integrated event. In the past, Black students and White students held separate festivities. “Everybody says that’s just how it’s always been. It’s just the way of this very small town,” said one student. “But it’s time for a change.” Hey, Don Imus is available to DJ the gala.

• Don Imus called his two-week suspension appropriate, but insisted, “I am not a racist.” During his daily broadcast, the radio personality declared, “What I did was make a stupid, idiotic mistake in a comedy context.” Well, if he’s stupid and idiotic, how can he be certain he’s not a racist?

• A new study showed a dramatic rise in Americans who are morbidly obese — at least 100 pounds overweight. In 2005, 6.8 million adults were morbidly obese (versus 4.2 million in 2000). “It is an emergency because the disability, the discrimination and the health care costs for this population are enormous,” said a researcher involved with the study. Don Imus probably remarked, “That’s a lot of fat, nappy-headed hos.”

Essay 1979

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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It’s time to let air out of MSNBC’s shameful broadcasts

By JESSE JACKSON

Does MSNBC peddle bigotry for profit? It’s hard to imagine any other reason for keeping Don Imus and his “Imus in the Morning” on the air. Imus has good ratings, at least compared with MSNBC generally, so the network “simulcasts” his radio show.

On April 4, Imus’ foul show took up the women’s basketball championship game, which featured an underdog Rutgers team against favored Tennessee. The Rutgers team -- comprising eight African-American women and two whites -- which made it to the finals by playing suffocating team defense, in the end succumbed to the talented Tennessee squad.

Imus opened the bit by saying that he had watched the game. His sidekick Sid Rosenberg announced the score. Whereupon Imus took the conversation into the mud: “That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos,” said Imus. His executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, interrupted: “Some hard-core hos.” Imus added insult: “That’s some nappy-headed hos there.”

McGuirk then compared the Rutgers team to Tennessee, suggesting it was a “Spike Lee thing.” “The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had.” (In Spike Lee’s movie “School Daze,” there was a rivalry between the dark-skinned Jigaboos and the light-skinned Wannabes.)

This is vile bigotry. Imus doesn’t know these young women. He’s racially taunting young women who have worked tirelessly to succeed at the highest levels of college sport.

Just humor, Imus said, initially refusing to apologize; just some idiot comment meant to be amusing. After two days of furor, Imus apologized for “an insensitive and ill-conceived remark.” But it’s not an isolated instance. Only a month earlier, when Sen. Hillary Clinton gave a speech in Selma, Ala., on the anniversary of the 1965 march that produced “Bloody Sunday,” McGuirk said she was “trying to sound black in front of a black audience,” suggesting she’ll “have cornrows and gold teeth before this fight with Obama is over.”

Imus once scorned PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, one of the few African-American anchors on television, as “a cleaning lady.” McGuirk dismissed Sen. Barack Obama as that “young colored fella.”

Former New York media critic Philip Nobile has documented Imus’ repeat racist offenses. He reports that Imus admitted to “60 Minutes” that McGuirk was brought on “to do nigger jokes.” Imus or his cohorts have called Patrick Ewing “the missing link,” Shaquille O’Neal “a carjacker in shorts,” the New York Knicks “chest-bumping pimps,” the Williams sisters “two booma-chucka, big-butted women,” and the Indian men’s doubles team “Gunga Din and Sambo.”

The list can go on. Imus is protected by his cache of insiders in Washington.

On MSNBC, of course, African-American anchors can respond to Imus, and reply to his racist jibes, giving as well as they get. Not. In fact, there are no -- zero -- African-American hosts on MSNBC. The network practices the discrimination that Imus peddles.

It is a stark statement of our times that a national network airs this trash. MSNBC clearly has no sense of common decency. We should recognize them for what they are. There is no reason for any African American or any person of conscience to listen to MSNBC. There is no reason to purchase any goods from any advertiser that sponsors or appears alongside the Imus show. We can at least take the profit out of peddling garbage.

Essay 1978

Essay 1977

More Crappy.

Essay 1976

The New York Times published transcripts of Monday’s conversations between Don Imus, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other guests who appeared on The Al Sharpton Show radio broadcast.

Much has already been discussed and written about this mess, so there’s not a lot to add. The interview presented the standard pathetic revelations.

Is Don Imus culturally clueless? Absolutely. From referring to Sharpton and others as “you people” to trotting out the stereotypical proclamations that he’s performed humanitarian acts for sick Black children to wondering why it’s okay for rappers to say the things he said, Imus displayed the classic symptoms of racial bias. Worst of all, he clearly doesn’t understand the wrongness of his remarks.

CBS and MSNBC have suspended Imus’ morning talk show for two weeks. If Imus isn’t fired before the end of April, the networks will have to introduce some breakthrough ideas for retaining the moron. For example, force his program to present culturally diverse content, with regular appearances from Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson — or publicly air Imus’ obligatory sensitivity training.

Then again, terminating Imus is the best solution for everyone.

[Click on the essay title above to read the transcripts. Plus, visit Racialicious.com for links to more commentary; additionally, Hadji Williams has a nice post at Knockthehustleblog.typepad.com.]

Essay 1975

From Newsday.com…

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Imus trades barbs with Sharpton

BY VERNE GAY
Newsday Staff Writer

Embattled radio jock Don Imus continued his mea culpa tour Monday afternoon when he traded sharp and occasionally angry comments with Rev. Al Sharpton and his guests during Sharpton’s nationally syndicated radio program.

“I didn’t come here to get slapped around,” Imus snapped at one point to a journalist who questioned his avowed commitment to battling sickle cell anemia.

At another point, Imus angrily exclaimed to Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick — a Michigan Democrat and member of the House Appropriations Committee who is black and criticized Imus during the call-in portion of the program — “I can’t get anywhere with you people.”

Sharpton then jumped in saying, “Who is ‘you people…?’”

Imus testily countered: “That’s jive — I mean you two people. You said you were going to be fair. Keep your word.”

Voice rising, Sharpton then replied, “I’m in charge here. I asked you a question…”

Imus later even referred to himself as “an old cracker,” and Sharpton interrupted him, saying: “I’d prefer you’d respect your own race on my show.”

Alternately contrite and combative, Imus clearly didn’t study the standard playbook that’s been well-thumbed by any number of celebrities over the years caught in verbal indiscretions, most recently Michael Richards. Hatless and hair neatly combed, he spoke Monday morning during his own radio program — simulcast on MSNBC — when he said he was “embarrassed” by comments last week — a reference to his now-notorious “nappy-headed hos” slur directed at the Rutgers women’s basketball — while later noting, “I’m not a bad person. I’m a good person, but I said a bad thing. But these young women deserve to know it was not said with malice.”

But from the outset, Sharpton attempted to push Imus off-message, and he appeared to succeed at several points during the two-hour long show. There was little doubt about Sharpton’s intention — prior to Monday afternoon’s show, he called for Imus’ resignation, and repeated the demand several times during the program, while at the outset noted, Imus “made statements that we find deplorable and inexcusable, and over the last two or three days, as the controversy grew, several people that knew him reached out to me [to] say he’s a good guy [and] asked me to meet with him. I refused to meet with him in private but said that if we had any discussions, it would be in public.”

During the interview, Sharpton kept pushing him for accountability, saying “It can’t just be glossed over, if you walk away from this unscathed, the next guy can.”

“Unscathed!,” Imus responded sharply. “Don’t you think I’m humiliated? Don’t you think I’m embarrassed? Don’t you think I understand?”

He then referred to his ranch in New Mexico, where he has cared for underprivileged children over the years: “Our job at that ranch is to restore the dignity of these young people. What made me think I could make fun of these young women?”

Imus, who joined the show around 1:30 p.m., spent the first few minutes explaining the context of last week’s comment — that it was meant to be “funny” though added that in hindsight, it clearly was not. He defended his producer, Bernard McGuirk, who referred to “jigaboos,” saying he was actually referencing Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” “I was thinking like ‘West Side Story’…”

Sharpton later wondered “Why do you think we’re out of order” asking for a resignation.

Said Imus, “You have the right to do whatever you want, but anyone who called me a racist or a bigot or said ‘I don’t know anything about him’ or ‘I’ve never heard him’ but ‘I want him fired,’ that’s an ill-informed decision.”

Bryan Monroe, the president of the National Association of Black Journalists, who also appeared on the show, and at one point abruptly challenged Imus while he was talking about the work he had done raising money for sickle cell anemia research, said that the magazines he works for had been calling for sickle cell research back when Imus “was doing car commercials.”

Imus then angrily responded, “Sir, sir, you can keep talking all you want [but] don’t insult me. Don’t talk to me about used car commercials….You don’t have to get in my face with this. I don’t have to put up with this man getting in my face.”

Within seconds, Sharpton broke for a commercial.

Essay 1974

From Adweek.com…

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

Barbara Lippert’s Critique: Uncle Ben’s Problem

By Barbara Lippert

Lately, just like real celebrities, many of our beloved ad icons have been forced into rehab.

Orville Redenbacher, who passed away in 1995, was reanimated for advertising thanks to some digital magic. The resulting resurrection is a horror show, made even creepier because we knew him as a living, breathing human being.

Last week, in a non-digitally imposed action, and after retiring the actor some time back, Maytag selected a new repairman from thousands of applicants clamoring to wear the hat. (This time the company might give him something to do.)

Fictional cooking doyenne Betty Crocker is a perennial; she gets a makeover every decade or so. In the ‘80s, General Mills turned her into a corporate executive and as such she’s gone from looking like Betty Ford to channeling Laura Bush. (Not a stretch, if you think about it.)

Obviously, advertisers want to keep the characters alive to cash in on all that brand equity. But why do consumers get so attached? My theory is that we first come into contact with these icons in childhood kitchens, and when we hold the boxes in our hands they loom large. (I thought my mother was the bonneted lady on the Sun-Maid raisins box.) They remain in our hearts and brains to an irrational degree ever after.

Then there’s Uncle Ben of Uncle Ben’s rice fame. He first appeared on rice boxes in the mid-1940s, 80 years after the Civil War. The name came from an actual African-American rice farmer known for the excellence of his crop, and suggests a holdover from slave and then segregated days in the South, when elderly black men were denied the honorific “Mr.” and instead were called “Uncle.” And then there’s the beaming image: the portrait was based on an African-American maitre d’ at a hotel in Chicago in the 1940s, and the bow tie suggests an old-time butler or porter—a person in a position of deference.

Similarly, Aunt Jemima, developed in the 1880s, was a racist “Mammy” stereotype. But she was quietly updated by removing the head wrap, subtracting substantial poundage and adding pearls. But at this moment in our truculent interactive culture, nothing is done quietly. Can the corporation (unfortunately named Masterfoods) proudly reclaim the Uncle Ben character, and change and defuse the negative connotations?

Well, much as I was ready for a “What were they thinking?” cri de coeur (and kind of cringed at the earnest announcement of a “fully integrated campaign”), the reality is that so far, the Web site, at least, is innocuous.

At unclebens.com, Ben (no last name, but at least it’s not Benson) has been elevated from some sort of server to chairman of the board. Users are invited to go behind the double mahogany door for a tour of his office. A clever kitchen-timer graphic device (the kind used for rice) pops up, as we get a 360-degree look at the executive inner sanctum, complete with the doodads on his desk. Users can even fool around with the chess set on the sideboard, although each click results in a word balloon in which Ben links chess to rice.

My favorite part is Rice 101, where I learned a lot of nice rice facts (“rice is naturally sodium- and gluten-free, and hypoallergenic”; “whole grain brown rice contains the germ and bran layers, wherein lie the majority of beneficial nutrients like antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals”). I thought the coolest thing was the “Rice Wall of Fame,” featuring a medical-type illustration of a blown-up grain of rice. You click on a microscope and learn the names of the various parts (like “endosperm,” the actual inside of the rice grain).

There’s a tone problem with the print, however, that doesn’t seem to match Ben’s new executive role. It comes across as less CEO-ey and more throwback folksy. Combined with the original portrait, this is a bit unfortunate.

Indeed, Ben’s image is unchanged from previous incarnations (including blue jacket, bow tie and smile). It sits on a yellowish-gold background alongside his aphorisms, or many “Benisms”—which are promoted, cleverly, as “common sense ‘grains’ of wisdom about rice.” But these tend to sound less informational and more like the funny, sassy statements on the bright yellow billboard promotions ABC did a decade back.

One of Uncle Ben’s print ads declares, “Rice. Because 6 billion people can’t be wrong.” Ba-bum. They can be wrong, if they’re starving. I realize there’s a limit to the information you can put in a print ad, but why not make them more instructive or helpful?

“How about some respect for the meat-and-rice man?” another asks. I get the wordplay (on meat and potatoes), but I find it awkward, first with the asking for respect thing (even if it’s jokey), and then suggesting as it does a song-and-dance man.

By the way, there are all different kinds of CEOs, including those who fancy themselves stand-up comics, who prepare and issue one-liners. We tend to find them annoying, regardless of race.

Essay 1973

From The New York Times…

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

Contrite Don Imus: ‘I’m a Good Person’

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) -- Calling himself “a good person” who made a bad mistake, radio host Don Imus said Monday he would check his acid tongue after being lambasted for making racially charged comments about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

“Here’s what I’ve learned: that you can’t make fun of everybody, because some people don’t deserve it,” he said on his nationally syndicated radio show Monday morning. “And because the climate on this program has been what it’s been for 30 years doesn’t mean it’s going to be what it’s been for the next five years or whatever.”

Imus said he was “embarrassed” by the remarks, in which he referred to the mostly black team as “nappy-headed hos.” He said he had made the comments in the course of “trying to be funny,” but he was not trying to excuse them.

“I’m not a bad person. I’m a good person, but I said a bad thing. But these young women deserve to know it was not said with malice,” he said.

Imus said he hoped to meet the players and their parents and coaches, and he said he was grateful that he was scheduled to appear later Monday on a radio show hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has called for Imus to be fired over the remarks.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I’m not looking for it to be easy,” Imus said.

Sharpton has said he wants Imus fired and that he intends to complain to the Federal Communications Commission about the matter.

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

Essay 1972

Essay 1971

Shaving taken to a whole new level. But a hip-hop spokesperson is not exactly advertising taken to a whole new level.

Essay 1970

From The New York Times…

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

Imus Set for Sharpton’s Radio Show

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) -- Don Imus will appear on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show Monday, five days after Imus made racially charged comments on his own show about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, Sharpton and MSNBC announced Sunday.

Despite Imus’ scheduled appearance, Sharpton said his position was unchanged: He wants Imus fired and intends to write the Federal Communications Commission about the matter.

“Somewhere we must draw the line in what is tolerable in mainstream media,” Sharpton said Sunday. “We cannot keep going through offending us and then apologizing and then acting like it never happened. Somewhere we’ve got to stop this.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said his RainbowPUSH Coalition plans to protest Monday in Chicago outside the offices of NBC, which owns MSNBC, over the remark Imus made last Wednesday during his show.

Imus said members of the mostly black Rutgers University women’s basketball team were “nappy-headed hos.”

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

Essay 1969

Actual Ad versus Actual Intentions…?

Essay 1968

From The New York Post…

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

SHARPTON RAGES OVER IGNOR-IMUS

By PATRICK GALLAHUE, Wire Services

After years of offending just about everybody, Don Imus — radio’s original shock jock — may have finally gone too far by calling players for a beloved women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”

Black leaders turned up the heat on Imus yesterday, dismissing his public apology for hurling the racial epithet at the mostly black basketball squad as tepid and vowing to picket his studio if he’s not kicked off the airwaves this week.

“If he’s still working there by Friday, we’re going to start picketing,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told The Post.

In his apology last Friday, Imus called his remark “insensitive” and “ill-conceived.”

“We can only accept his apology if we accept his resignation,” Sharpton said.

Imus has a history of racially-charged remarks — he called PBS journalist Gwen Ifill a “cleaning lady” and The New York Times’ William Rhoden “a quota hire.”

But Sharpton said the latest barb was the worst.

“I think that he has done things before in an opinionated way,” Sharpton said. “But to attack a whole group of people in the most ugly graphic terms [is] straight out racist.”

Essay 1967

The Bling of Beers.

Essay 1966

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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

English only, please

IMMIGRATION: Despite himself, Newt Gingrich has a good point about how to teach native Spanish-speaking students. This writer ought to know; she speaks Spanish and has taught bilingual education.

BY ESTHER J. CEPEDA

Newt Gingrich stuck his foot in his English-only-speaking mouth last week in a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women when he said Spanish was “the language of living in the ghetto.”

Not good.

But what drove me nuts is that his dumb comment invalidated his original point. He started off with “We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity.”

That I can get behind.

For a few years, I was a bilingual teacher, the kind old Newtie would have liked. The kind who insisted on getting my students out of their Spanish comfort zone and into that language of prosperity he so values. The kind other bilingual teachers hated.

My parents -- like many parents who come here to give their kids a better education -- wanted me to speak perfect English; they’d take care of the Spanish part themselves. So off I went to kindergarten knowing only what Big Bird had drilled into me. Guess what? I, like all my other classmates, soaked that English up like a sponge and spoke only Spanish at home.

I vowed that as a bilingual teacher I would push my students hard to become fluent in English, hard enough to get them out of the bilingual education ghetto and into mainstream classes where they could start their lives with U.S.-born peers.

Yes, I used the word “ghetto.” It’s true: Kids who stay in bilingual education year after year end up getting short shrift. Illinois law says that if a school has 20 or more students who speak the same language, they get “support” in their native language. That support is defined by each school and could range from a fully certified teacher teaching in a certain language to a paraprofessional with special language skills.

The Illinois Resource Center, an organization that supports school districts that provide second-language services, estimates that 150,000 to 175,000 kids all over the state get some form of bilingual or English-as-a-second-language services, with Chicago Public School kids comprising a little less than 50 percent of the total. Spanish, at 80 percent of services provided, is by far the most common native language.

I taught both first grade and high school, and it shocked me how willing some bilingual teachers were to adamantly and passionately keep kids in self-contained Spanish-speaking classes. I’d ask them, “Well, if you keep teaching them in Spanish, when are they going to learn English?” I’d usually get a blank stare. Yet, there I was, teaching algebra to 17-year-olds, including a few who, although born here, had been in bilingual education their entire academic careers and still couldn’t speak English!

I was always the weirdo bilingual teacher who was looked at sideways by the other bilingual teachers because I insisted on speaking and teaching primarily in English with some Spanish explanations. And -- can you believe it -- my students picked up English!

First-graders were no problem, but my high schoolers hated it. They’d whine constantly for me to speak in Spanish like all their other teachers. “You’re supposed to be talking to us in Spanish,” they’d demand. But I wasn’t buying it. I’d tell them, “If you want to make it here and not end up mowing lawns or waitressing at Tacos El Norte for the rest of your lives, you’d better start learning.” More than a few of them thanked me at the end of the year.

Keeping Spanish-speaking kids in separate but equal programs kept them from interacting with English-speaking peers, further isolating them from the culture they eventually have to be able to navigate for that “better future” their parents sought.

In high school, it was too late. All the bilingual ed kids were so self-segregated they didn’t even hang with the U.S.-born Spanish speakers. Homecoming? Prom? Those events were not for them, they believed, they stuck to their own and spoke Spanish to each other.

So, I have to hand it to Newt, even with his foot in his mouth. He’s right.

The prevailing wisdom is transitioning students to English through Spanish while giving them core curriculum such as language arts and math in their native language -- often remediating poor Spanish language skills first -- is best. Maybe in a perfect world, with well-run bilingual education programs with high-quality teachers, that would be true. But that's not what I saw. More often than not, when students had to sink or swim, with a little help, they swam.

Essay 1965

From The New York Daily News…

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

Imus spews hate, should be fired

BY FILIP BONDY
DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST

Of all the very dumb and nasty things screamed on sports TV and radio these last few years, by everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Sid Rosenberg, what Don Imus said on Wednesday about the Rutgers women’s basketball team was the very worst, the most hateful of all.

What he said was terrible not only because of its content, which was despicable in its own right. It was even worse because of its target, a group of 19- to 21-year-old, largely African-American women from a nearby state university who had just accomplished something wonderful and unexpected by reaching the Final Four. What do you tell these women now, who did absolutely nothing to deserve such shameful scorn, to face such horrendous racist remarks?

And though this never will happen in a million years, Imus should be fired for it today — actually, yesterday — just as the National Association of Black Journalists demands.

He should be axed for one of the most despicable comments ever uttered on the air. If Limbaugh can be dumped by ESPN for an ill-informed opinion about Donovan McNabb, if Rosenberg can be dropped by WFAN for his vile comments about Kylie Minogue’s battle with breast cancer, then Imus deserves the same treatment, despite his status.

Of course, there are enormous profits to consider, and so the cowards at MSNBC and WFAN are simply standing back, distancing themselves from Imus, reminding viewers and listeners that the man speaks only for himself — even though he does it on their time and networks. The fact that he was even on the air yesterday, two days after his comments, was in itself a disgrace.

Here’s the deal, or what the deal ought to be: You don’t get to say these things, even if you finally decide to change your mind and apologize, nearly 24 hours later. You just don’t call young college women “nappy-headed hos.”

If you do, you should lose your microphone, whether or not you are the bread and butter and honey and cash cow of the local sports station.

You can talk about Imus just being Imus, about how he’s doing a shtick and should never be taken seriously. But even if you grant him the Charles Barkley exception, even if you want to say, “That’s just Imus,” you just can’t with this one. That’s how bad it was. Rutgers officials called his comments “unconscionable,” and that is exactly the right word for them.

Here’s how it went again, this mean discussion among four white men. Imus started it:

“That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos,” he said.

Bernard McGuirk, his producer: “Some hardcore hos.”

Imus: That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.

McGuirk: A Spike Lee thing.

Imus: Yeah.

McGuirk: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes — that movie that he had.

Imus: Yeah, it was a tough —

Charles McCord, a co-host: Do The Right Thing.

McGuirk: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Imus: I don’t know if I’d have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right?

Rosenberg (a guest commentator): It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

Imus: Well, I guess, yeah.

Anybody who listens to the Imus show regularly knows how this usually works. It is McGuirk who is supposed to utter the basest kind of racist innuendo. Then Imus goes tut-tut, wink-wink, and McGuirk is left out there as the chastened hatchet man.

This time, Imus foolishly diverged from the script. He brought up the subject himself, then confirmed McGuirk’s crudest remarks.

It is impossible to imagine WFAN discovering a conscience on this matter. Here is the only reasonable hope. Those politicians who go on Imus’ show, those who pander to him during his “serious” segments, need to turn down the guest appearances. Maybe they will, at least until he launders himself. Those politicians he considers friends have been using Imus, every bit as much as he has used them.

Today, he is useless to them. He is worse than useless. He is McGuirk.

Essay 1964

Al Gore warned us about advertisements like this.

Essay 1963

From DiversityInc.com…

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

‘Nappy-Headed Hos’: Don Imus Apologizes for Slur Aimed at Rutgers Team

By Aysha Hussain

Don Imus has apologized—and has put his apology at the top of his web site—for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" after they lost in the NCAA finals.

Just when it didn’t seem possible, Imus, host of MSNBC’s “Imus in the Morning,” managed to reach a new low. While discussing the NCAA women’s basketball game between Rutgers University and the University of Tennessee, Imus openly described the Rutgers team, which has eight black and two white women on it, as “nappy-headed hos” after the show’s producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team “hardcore hos.”

This all happened Thursday morning during an on-air discussion between Imus and three others, including McGuirk, that was filled with both sexist and racist commentary. Other comments added to the thread included a characterization of Rutgers’ black team members as “jigaboos and wannabees,” a reference from the 1988 film “School Daze” written and directed by Spike Lee.

MSNBC tried to distance itself by issuing a statement late Thursday night, declaring Imus’ comments not its responsibility but admitting that the comments were offensive.

“While simulcast by MSNBC, ‘Imus in the Morning’ is not a production of the cable network and is produced by WFAN Radio. As Imus makes clear every day, his views are not those of MSNBC. We regret that his remarks were aired on MSNBC and apologize for these offensive comments,” MSNBC’s statement said.

What about Imus’ apology? On his web site, he has placed this apology prominently in the upper-right-hand corner: “[I] want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Imus said people should relax and “not worry about some idiot saying something meant to be amusing.” But the disrespectful and degrading comments made by Imus and others neither relaxed nor eased listeners. Instead, they spawned an immediate response from Rutgers University, stating: “We agree with Mr. Imus that this was, in his own words, an ‘idiot comment.’ We are very proud of the success of the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Coach (Vivian) Stringer and the Rutgers players are outstanding ambassadors for this great institution.”

The show, which is produced by New York City’s WFAN radio station and syndicated by Westwood One, did not provide any statements. The show reaches an estimated 3.5 million listeners each week, according to Arbitron, a radio-audience research company.

Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said Imus should be fired. “Those comments were beyond offensive,” said Monroe on the NABJ web site.

Essay 1962

The item above appeared in the Letters section of Adweek. The writer makes some interesting points; however, he’s technically wrong on a few notes.

Richard Smaglick asks, “Are ad agencies really so fearful of patriarchy that they can’t show a respectable father or husband?” The answer is no, but not for the reasons Smaglick might suspect. Ad agencies probably do a lousy job of showing respectable fathers and husbands for the same reason they do a lousy job of showing respectable minorities: cultural cluelessness.

Sadly, the industry that thrives on perpetuating stereotypes can’t even manage to accurately and/or positively depict the group comprising its own majority. Although to be fair, being male does not necessarily translate to being a father. And being a father — especially in a business where professional demands can lead to neglecting your family — does not mean you know how to be a respectable one.

To elaborate, many of the men in advertising may not yet be fathers. So these young turks more than likely create images based on sitcoms or perhaps even their own dysfunctional relationships with Daddy. Just as they’ll present racist stereotypes of minority groups based on a lack of personal insight, understanding and sensitivity, men in advertising have managed to let their narrow perspectives result in trashing father figures too. The same basic premise applies to the admen clocking 70+ hours per week on Madison Avenue — these sad patriarchs may be equally unaware of healthy parental characteristics.

Smaglick also charges “Madison Avenue is abusing its power because it has an agenda and because it sees itself as accountable to no socially accepted standard.”

The writer may be half right with this contention. As we’ve seen with the industry’s lethargic response to initiating diversity — opting instead to continue with blatant lies and covert racism — there is indeed a lack of accountability to socially accepted standards.

However, it’s unlikely Madison Avenue has an agenda. The truth is, the boys in charge are just plain ignorant.

Perhaps Richard Smaglick should team up with the New York City Commission on Human Rights and give admen a much-deserved spanking.

Essay 1961

Will Asian women find this ad twice as offensive?

Essay 1960

Junk news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• 2,000 items from Michael Jackson’s personal collection will go up for auction in May (select items pictured above). Jackson family members are selling the memorabilia in order to pay off debts to a New Jersey delivery company. Jacko is reportedly “extremely upset” that his stuff is being included in the sale. Wonder how much of the merchandise belongs to Tito and Jermaine.

• A city councilman and conservative radio talk-show host in Texas has apologized for remarks he made about Native Americans. The guy said Native Americans don’t deserve the “incredible” amount of federal assistance they get. “We conquered them,” said the moron. “That’s history.” He also said Native Americans were “whining” because they had been “whipped in a war.” The councilman posted an apology online stating he was sorry “not because I offended people, but because I was wrong. … My facts were wrong, and the basis of my facts was wrong.” Somebody should check the last election’s results — let’s hope the vote count was wrong.

• Disney will now allow gay couples to participate in its popular Fairy Tale Wedding program. No clever commentary necessary here.

Essay 1959

Essay 1958

Is it wise to take shoe advice from a barefoot sensei?

Essay 1957

Carmen Van Kerckhove of New Demographic, an anti-racism training company, has launched a new blog: Race in the Workplace. Per Carmen’s introduction, “This is a blog that explores how race and racism influence our working lives. You’ll find a mix of practical advice, personal stories, interviews with experts and authors, recommended resources, and much, much more. But perhaps most importantly, you’ll find a space in which you can discuss these issues with like-minded people.”

With New Demographic, weekly podcast Addicted To Race and a network of blogs featuring Racialicious, Anti-Racist Parent, Race Changers and now Race in the Workplace, Carmen’s dealing with more race issues that Danica Patrick.

Click on the essay title above to catch the all-new Race in the Workplace.

Essay 1956

Fighting words in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Forget about any truce between rappers in New York. The Game unleashed a song dissing 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, who was charged with beating up a 14-year-old kid. “What kind of a bitch nigger puts his hands on kids?” raps Game. Look for the Rev. Al Sharpton to make good on his threats (see Essay 1944). As soon as he can think of a few words that rhyme with boycott.

• Forget about any truce between Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. Brown was a no-show in court, prompting an Orange County judge to grant Houston a divorce, along with custody of the couple’s 14-year-old kid. Houston dissed Brown by saying, “He’s unavailable. … He doesn’t keep his word. … If he says he’s going to come, sometimes he does, usually he doesn’t.” Brown would probably respond, “It’s my prerogative.”

• Ohio Dominican University, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Columbus, will be offering more diversity courses to students after racist graffiti appeared on campus last fall. Swastikas, racial slurs and obscenities were carved into elevator doors; plus, a “Whites Only” sign appeared outside of a men’s bathroom. Maybe they should sponsor concerts for The Game and Bobby Brown.

Essay 1955

Essay 1954

Free Legal Advice to Immigrants: Avoid immigration lawyers whose ads are filled with typos.

Essay 1953

From Adweek.com: Tom Messner discusses three books, including Hadji Williams’ Knock The Hustle…

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Art & Commerce: Back in Business

By Tom Messner

“The problem with socialism is socialism; the problem with capitalism is capitalists.”

So said Herr William Schlamm some 50 years ago.

I didn’t overhear Willi getting off his mot, but I have read it enough times quoted by William F. Buckley Jr. in his column not only to remember it, but also to have the time for the reflection necessary to affirm its truth.

(Which is about five or six seconds each time, I’d say.)

Buckley, in fact, says he only used to quote Schlamm annually. But with the recent litigations, U.S. Attorney raids, RICO filings, SEC investigations, excessive avarice reports on ET, and random displays hither and yon of porcine corporate troughing, Buckley has come to quote Schlamm’s line so much, it’s become as well known as Buckley’s about the first thing he would do if elected mayor of New York when he was running in 1965. (“Demand a recount.”)

So what am I going to do about errant capitalists who give economic freedom a bad name? Darned if I know.

But three guys—one from academia, one via an ad agency in Chicago and another who pops up ofttimes in Rolling Stone and Forbes—have written books that caused me to break my business-book fast imposed after a binge-reading session last year which caused my hat size to go from 7 5/8 to Mardi Gras dimensions, with little of the joy of Bourbon Street in February.

The first, by former copywriter Hadji J.S. Williams, is Knock the Hustle: How to Save Your Job and Your Life From Corporate America. This is a true testament to the free enterprise system: Williams avoided the agent-publisher-editor route by starting his own publishing company, Prodigal Pen. Knock the Hustle is now in a second edition. The copy I read came with a cover warning: “This exclusive Promo Copy contains some occasional misspellings and other minor grammatical flaws.” I noticed none of them, but don’t go by me. It is the sort of book that is best read before you go into business, as it mixes the truly heroic with the truly pernicious in precisely the proportion you are likely to find in the world of commerce.

Williams, it appears to me, is trying to argue for a Christian-Jewish-Islamic-Pagan Capitalism, as he draws upon St. Luke, the Psalms, Malcolm X and Gore Vidal for inspiration. MBA programs should buy the book in bulk; it’s more valuable in the long run than Money and Banking or The Managerial Revolution. Flaws? Sure, but what the heck, I don’t even agree a month later with everything I write.

The second book, Selling the Dream: Why Advertising Is Good Business, is by John Hood, who is president of the John Locke Foundation, a “think tank.” To be a real contrarian, try to defend junk mail, jingles and telemarketing.

Show that they are good for business and good for the consumer, and you have a refreshing argument, at least. For the second year in a row, the 4A’s is devoting its major conference to ROI (return on investment), and several ad/marketing blogs are inundated with debates about ROI. Advertising’s critics never question the return on investment that advertisers garner; they question whether advertisers, to achieve their massive returns, manipulate the young, the old, the naive, to do things their nature otherwise wouldn’t do, like buy a home air conditioner or use underarm deodorant. The “Good” in Hood’s title is more moral than practical, and Hood has written a book that absolves you of any guilt if you’ve ever worked on Fedders or Sure.

Those books are as helpful today as Adam Smith’s Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was in the 18th century to give a moral and practical foundation for an economic system that would bring prosperity to the masses. Oddly, just as I was writing this, I came across a review of a new book about Smith’s work, a sort of abbreviated Wealth of Nations by P.J. O’Rourke.

It’s 200-some-odd pages versus 900-some-odd pages, in 10-point type, albeit with beautiful, helpful serifs. Even before O’Rourke’s light-handed approach to Smith, the book had been undergoing a revival: a revival that extended to a product placement in the last episode of season three of the HBO series The Wire. Seems the late Russell (aka Stringer) Bell—drug dealer, graft bagman, arranger of hits in bars and behind bars and, worse, a real estate developer-had a well-worn leather-cover copy of The Wealth of Nations in his bookcase. Stringer Bell had been taking business courses at a community college, but he had certainly seen the effects of the visible hand of the state in his city, Baltimore.

The O’Rourke edition of Smith is part of a series of contemporary, shortened versions of great books that are forbiddingly long for the modern reader who is not a specialist or a masochist. With a good illustrator like Carmine Infantino or George Euringer, this could even bring a return of Classics Illustrated, a series without which I might not have graduated from high school.

Essay 1952

OMmmmmG! This ad sucks.

Essay 1951

Tasteless news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Mmmm…Toasty! A coyote wandered into a Chicago Quiznos on Tuesday, causing a minor stir. The animal inevitably left the restaurant, probably unimpressed by the prime rib sandwich.

• The mayor of New Castle, Indiana had to backpedal after approving a proclamation designating April as “Confederate History and Heritage” month. Surprised to learn the original decision caused controversy, the mayor repealed the act and said, “I don’t think there was any racial intent in this at all.” Perhaps the mayor needs a history lesson.

Essay 1950

From The New York Times…

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Another Dr. King Auction, and His Heirs Are Unhappy

By BRENDA GOODMAN

ATLANTA — Less than a year after a dramatic eleventh-hour deal by a coalition of civic leaders saved a large trove of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers and personal items from the auction block, a new cache of his documents has surfaced for sale to the highest bidder.

The owner of an Atlanta auction house, Paul Brown, said he was given the papers by an elderly Maryland woman who wished to remain anonymous. Mr. Brown said the woman told him she had accepted a large file folder of Dr. King’s letters, speeches and other writings to settle a debt she was owed by a radio station in Atlanta, where she once lived.

Mr. Brown said his auction house, Gallery 63, planned to put them up for bid on April 15.

Dr. King’s heirs say the papers belong to his estate, and they want the auction stopped.

“You can’t auction off what’s not yours,” Isaac Newton Farris, Dr. King’s nephew and the chief executive of the King Center in Atlanta, said Tuesday. “There could potentially be something improper or illegal about to happen.”

Mr. Farris said lawyers for the family were working to learn the woman’s identity so they could contact her to find out more about how she got the papers. He said that unless the woman had some sort of written transfer of ownership signed by Dr. King, the papers belonged to his family.

“The matter was only recently brought to the attention of the estate, which is looking into it and will proceed accordingly,” said Joe Beck, an intellectual-property lawyer in Atlanta representing the King family.

Last June, in a deal brokered by Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, the King family sold a collection of some 10,000 of Dr. King’s papers and personal items to a coalition of civic leaders for $32 million. A description of the papers on the gallery’s Web site, www.gallery63.net, says there are about 25 previously unknown documents, dated from July through September 1964, including speeches, position papers and interview requests. The papers’ existence was reported Tuesday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mr. Brown said that the documents had not been authenticated but that he had no doubt they were genuine.

“I’ve read every word,” he said. “It’s humbling to have them in your hands.”

While Mr. Brown said the market would determine the documents’ value, he guessed they would sell for as much as $300,000. He plans to display them starting on Monday.

Mr. Brown said his client, who is now in her 80s, was given the folder of Dr. King’s papers along with vinyl records and equipment from WERD, the first black-owned radio station in the United States.

“The station needed a few bucks to pay a bill or something,” Mr. Brown said. “She and her husband were friends with the station owners and loaned them some money.”

Mr. Brown said the woman’s husband worked as an engineer for WERD, which shared a building with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group started by Dr. King. WERD was sold to white owners in 1968.

Essay 1949

Essay 1948

Ford inspires bold moves — like recklessly leaping over a tunnel.

Essay 1947

Here’s the classic Calgon spot with the “Ancient Chinese Secret” line. Click on the essay title above to check it out.

Essay 1946

One more online response to the story presented in Essay 1937…

Get at me Brandon! Holla back! We up here in NY (yes, that was ebonically correct!) have also developed opportunities for marketers to reach the ‘urban’ consumer with greater impact than they might be able to have on their own; the problem occurs because too many marketers become scared to innovate, waiting instead to adopt a ‘me too’ attitude that they hope will resonate with the ‘urban’ audience but which more often than not, has lost its ‘cool’ factor. ‘Street cred’ with urban consumers BEGINS with innovation and NOT with copycatting, co-opting or purchasing one’s way ‘in.’ ‘Cool’ in this community has a defined timeline :- INNOVATIVE & NEW/I’VE GOTTA GET THIS!/MY ‘PEOPLE’ AND I HAVE THIS AND IT’S THE ‘JUMP OFF!’ (aka — It’s really cool!)/BEEN THERE, DONE THAT/IT’S OLD (aka — Y’all just finding out about that???!!). Too many major brands seeking to connect to this market, always end up at the ‘IT’S OLD’ stage, thinking that they’ve arrived at the INNOVATIVE&NEW stage! The so called ‘street cred’ is a much sought after asset that CAN be developed but only by understanding and then working within the parameters of how this ‘hotness’ is actually built in this community. First, gaining ‘street cred’ PERIOD, with a non luxury car (or even one that doesn’t look like one) with ‘urban consumers’ is all about innovating in ALL aspects of the product e.g. — design, functionality, aftermarket accessories or add-ons, cool new hi-tech applications and so on. (Can Ford develop a ‘Wi-Max’ on board accessory that allows us to stay connected online so we can e-mail, IM and do productive work while we’re on the highway — in the back seat of course!) Now, Flex is going to move (sell) some cars for Ford, but will the ‘cool factor’ Ford seeks last long enough for the impact to have an ‘umbrella effect’ on Expedition over a long enough period? Will Expedition suddenly begin to be a challenger to Escalade? No and no to both questions. Given that ‘urban’ consumers want to ‘trade up’ in looks, brand ‘feel,’ image and perception, much of the success of Escalade (apart from its great design) is the fact that it embodies a greater luxury brand status/heritage and it shows in every aspect of the vehicle. (Did Ford consider developing a brand extension, mid-luxury truck aimed at this market with better design, materials and positioning?) To make this product ‘cool’ will require a well planned evolution of this current strategy to offer the target consumer something that’s REALLY cool and not just a celeb endorsement. Can anyone say (a) consumer generated design contest (b) consumer generated soundtrack contest hosted by Flex and winning soundtrack gets used in all Expedition ads? (c) take the contest mobile via mobile content company/network Ndustrimobile, so that all submitted soundtracks can be heard and judged in real time by listeners on their mobile phones along with images of Expedition upgrades etc.? I hope someone from Ford is reading this! Holla back at me Brandon! — (RB - CEO, The Quantum Group - Jamaica, NY - creative1.think@gmail.com) — Jamaica, NY

Essay 1945

Three more online responses to the story presented in Essay 1937…

Jamaica, NY, you are absolutely correct about catch phrase, fad and face-of-the-week. Credibility, respectability, understandability and more can take 50 years in some cases and in some industries. For legal release, I currently own a Ford Mustang. Big deal. Ford is currently running at $10 billion a year MINUS for several years now. The idea that this company has vast resources may need to be re-examined? This is an opportunity to hit a gold mine with advertising Ford’s great new cars, trucks and choices. To promote a company’s product with digital and video…these corporations are soon going to own the medium and produce everything themselves. It will be the end of certain media companies like Fox or CNN, for example. What if Ford gave away 2 cars a day tax-free by watching their channel and shows? The announcement to call or email the Ford station for the car/truck/van could appear even during a commercial break??!! You will love Ford’s programming, which [gives you] special invitations to events if you actually purchase or recommend a purchase towards a Ford product (nagging your parents is acceptable — kids are allowed to call on a legal guardian’s behalf!). Now…take the word Ford away and replace it with any other company in the world in terms of video ownership (leave off the minus $10B part). Ford can produce and distribute shows and music with its cars worldwide if it chooses. — Brandon, FL

In spite of the no doubt great amount of research done before signing this deal, this comes across to the ‘urban’ community as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction. I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Zimmerman! He's right on point with his assessment! Any hip-hop aficionado, African American or so called ‘urban’ individual can tell you that ‘street cred’ (itself, not an ‘urban’ catchphrase) is ‘earned’ and not bought. One cannot buy credibility within this market and certainly cannot gain it by co-opting the most visible ‘face’ to attach to your brand/product. How is it that Ford, with all of their resources, has not seen the evidence of this played out with so many other brands in the past? Evidently, Corporate America STILL ‘gets to the party late’ by recognizing the ‘hot’ personalities/trends/etc. well after they’ve already been made popular in the ‘urban’ community; a strategy that invites ridicule for the brand and widespread applause for the celeb involved for having negotiated such a deal. Does Corporate America not understand that with the ‘urban’ community, the media/marketing tenets of mass market metrics to validate your marketing ROI does not apply to identifying/developing/adopting the trends quickly enough to lend your brand some ‘cool’? Actually, the ‘urban’ market gives more props to Flex in this deal because he’s ‘gettin’ his paper’ by exercising his popularity and this isn’t necessarily going to give Ford the status it’s looking for. Actually, all this proves is that Ford and brands like them are still far off from having a meaningful dialogue with the urban community and even further away from beginning to understand it. Poor move by Ford, excellent move by Flex! — Jamaica, NY

HEY FORD…LISTEN UP. This is exactly what street cred is all about. Now…have a Rap version of American Idol. Make it kind of “underground” yet accessible by everyone. Ford loves music and entertainment! I think they proved that with radios in their cars and the #1 music show in TV history. Get this new DJ to get a huge national contest and star on the stage. Ford can allow downloads from its website of new acts and performers from around the world. Forget simply signing people up for cred…Ford has an opportunity to DEFINE what cred really means just like defining what an Idol can mean. Immediately announce this new music contest and you will receive millions of hits worldwide within a week for this star-making opportunity in the Rap music field. Oh by the way…sell some cars and trucks. — Brandon, FL

Essay 1944

Seeking spiritual guidance in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A student artist in Chicago raised hell with his sculpture depicting Sen. Barack Obama as Jesus Christ (pictured above). “All of this is a response to what I’ve been witnessing and hearing, this idea that Barack is sort of a potential savior that might come and absolve the country of all its sins,” said the artist. “In a lot of ways it’s about caution in assigning all these inflated expectations on one individual, and expecting them to change something that many hands have shaped.” The kid sounds like a goddamn moron.

• Meanwhile, spiritual leader Rev. Al Sharpton continues to play politics, getting involved with the feud between rappers in New York that led to Tony Yayo assaulting a 14-year-old kid (see Essay 1905). Sharpton has threatened to launch a boycott against The Game and 50 Cent unless the battles end. “We put the i-n-g in your bling-bling,” said Sharpton. “All of us have children who listen to your music. Some of us listen ourselves. But we don’t want to feel like we’re investing in the demise of our community.” The worst part of this scenario will be the lame rhymes and rhetoric generated by folks like Sharpton.

Essay 1943

Essay 1942

There should be a bilingual caption beside the woman that reads: Here’s how much it will cost to wire one dollar overseas.

Essay 1941

One online response to the article presented in Essay 1937…

1) I do agree with the name “Fairlane” being much too “suburban” for a vehicle seeking an “urban” audience. But Flex? How desperate to pander is that marketing department; how bereft of ideas? Something tells me FF “licensed” his name; hence, of course he’s “fine” with its usage… 2) I will submit that Funkmaster Flex as a “showman” for the vehicle is much too transparent for so-called “street cred.” What Ford is forgetting is that Cadillac has a history in the so-called Urban demographic; and thus, an Escalade can be seen as “real.” Ford will always have connotations of truck-driving ‘necks for that same audience; and hence they will find it hard to find “crossover” appeal, commercial DJ endorsement or not. 3) Mr. Perry’s quote on FF sums up the article in a nutshell. A “multicultural” marketing manager, asserting FF is “multicultural,” and hence the soundness of this strategy. Disturbingly humorous… — Kreig Zimmerman, New Britain, CT

Essay 1940

From The Miami Herald…

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‘Our young men are dying’

BY ANDREA ROBINSON

Dwight Jackson longs for those days 30 years ago when young black men settled their disputes the old-fashioned way: with loud trash talk and occasional fisticuffs. When the dust-ups were over, the combatants walked away and went home.

Not anymore. Simple disputes now too often turn deadly.

Jackson, 47, sees it in the back room of the Liberty City mortuary where he makes mangled bodies presentable for public viewing. Jackson, owner of Richardson Mortuary, receives at least 10 young, black homicide victims a month; that’s more than there were, say, 20 years ago, other longtime employees there remark.

“Inner-city [boys] are being killed over silly stuff … built on hate and envy,” he said, shaking his head.

Forty years after the Kerner Commission report -- in the wake of the Watts riots in Los Angeles -- tried to sort out why young black men were killing each other, Jackson keeps wondering how things could have gotten so bad in South Florida and the nation.

A new, first-time Florida initiative seeks to find the answers and save at-risk black males -- who state Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, calls “an endangered species.”

“This goes beyond public safety and prevention. It’s public health. It goes to our mental condition,” said state Rep. Frank Peterman, a St. Petersburg Democrat.

Peterman and Wilson sponsored legislation to create the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, which former Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law last June and which first met in February. The council, located in the Attorney General’s office and budgeted at $200,000 per year, will study a litany of conditions that negatively affect black males: escalating homicide, arrest and incarceration rates, poverty, violence, low income, the breakdown of the family structure and school performance and health issues.

And it will produce yet another report -- like so many other commissions have done around the nation over the past 40 years -- that will propose ways to change the driving forces that have left so many black males in prison or dead from Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Orlando and Jacksonville.

Wilson said the council will recommend legislative action to address the issues of concern. The first report is due by the year’s end.

Peterman promises the Florida commission won’t be a “touchy-feely exercise” and said it will examine the breakdown in the black family and the heavy toll it is taking on males. To do that, it will need solid information of the sort requested by council chairman Levi Williams last week. In a teleconference on Wednesday, Williams, a Fort Lauderdale attorney, asked the heads of state agencies for data on racial and ethnic disparities.

SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

Black males, Wilson said, are like Florida’s panthers and manatees: dying young and at the mercy of human predators.

“We’re so disproportionately affected by all of this [black-on-black male violence]. There are no men available to teach black boys how to become responsible men,” Wilson said.

That sentiment is echoed by Beverly Colson Neal, executive director of the Florida NAACP office in Orlando: “Our young men are dying. This didn’t just start.”

Florida is among a handful of states, including Ohio and Indiana, to have panels looking for ways to stop the rising violence that is a festering national problem, one the U.S. Conference of Mayors also hopes to tackle. The mayors’ meeting was held last month in Miami -- an appropriate venue to discuss violence because South Florida is a region under siege.

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

Essay 1939

Essay 1938

Why would you need a sport utility vehicle if you had the superhuman ability to walk on water?

Essay 1937

From AdAge.com…

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Ford Hopes DJ Signing Cranks Up Cred, Sales

Names Expedition after Funkmaster Flex, Eyes Caddy’s Path to Success

By Jean Halliday

DETROIT – Ford’s got escalade envy. The automaker has been watching the sales escalation of GM’s Escalade, which has become the ride of choice for big-name rappers, professional athletes and hip-hop trendsetters. It wants those influencers driving its SUVs too -- and it’s starting with Funkmaster Flex.

Ford’s hoping to co-opt his cool by introducing editions of its Expedition and Mustang named after the DJ, as well as ditching the Fairlane name for its upcoming concept crossover vehicle and redubbing it Flex. (There will also be a limited-edition Funkmaster Flex version of the Flex). The DJ told Advertising Age he advised Ford that the name Fairlane name suggests a soccer-mom-mobile instead of the “urban vehicle” it is. “So when they asked if they could call it that, I was cool,” he said.

The move aims to win Ford more of the urban street cred owned by Escalade. The Cadillac SUV has been featured in numerous rap videos, popped up in song lyrics by everyone from Jay-Z to J. Lo, and was once piloted onstage by Ludacris at the MTV Video Music Awards.

That limelight led younger consumers to covet the brand once driven by doddering grandfathers. Some 19% of Escalade buyers are black, according to USA Today, compared to 6.5% for the total Cadillac brand. And the average age of consumers who say they would someday like to buy an Escalade is 27. Compare that to the average age of 48 for Ford Motor Co.’s Expedition, as reported by CNW Marketing Research.

In January and February, Ford sold 13,644 Expeditions, or 8.2% more than during the same period a year ago. By comparison, GM sold 4,826—or 15% more—of its Escalade model during that time, though its sticker price starts at $20,000 higher.

In addition to the new models, Ford will be the main sponsor of the second round of “Car Wars,” which is hosted by the DJ and hits cable’s ESPN2 in late May as a weekly, six-episode reality series in which specialists from around the U.S. will trick out 2007 Ford Expedition SUVs.

Funkmaster Flex, who has solidified his car-guru reputation with his six-year-old “Custom Car and Bike Show” tour, will also appear in a Ford Expedition spot to air during the show, created by Uniworld Group, New York. The first seven-week installment of “Car Wars” started yesterday and is backed by BP’s Castrol Syntec motor oil.

The 2008 Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition will be unveiled by the DJ at the New York Auto Show this week. The automaker, which once told consumers they could have any color as long as it was black, is offering the Flex Edition in a unique red-and-black paint scheme with orange pinstripes. The version of the Ford Mustang will also carry a black-and-red color scheme, plus a six-cylinder engine that will produce more horsepower than Ford’s standard V-6 Mustang thanks to a special air-intake system, Funkmaster Flex said.

Although Mark Perry, multicultural marketing manager for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, wouldn’t confirm the co-branded Mustang or Flex name, he hinted more Funkmaster Flex Fords could be coming. “We’ll march down the model line and see where he fits.” An executive close to the automaker said Ford’s research of the Flex name tested very well.

Funkmaster Flex’s main demographic is men in their early 20s to late 30s, and the celeb “brings coolness to the line,” Mr. Perry said. CNW President Art Spinella said the affinity of hip-hop urban males often trickles down to younger people in the suburbs.

What might be on the Expedition’s side is price. The Ford SUV starts at $29,995, a bit more affordable than the Cadillac Escalade, which starts at $54,000. Even so, most 25-year-olds aren’t likely to shell that out to buy the Ford, said Jeff Schuster, an exec director of auto consultant J.D. Power & Associates. Ford’s co-branded SUV can “create more of an image and awareness” among younger buyers, he added.

But that may just be the point. “Ford is doing this not for sales but for image,” said Mr. Spinella. A lot of 20-something males are buying used Cadillac Escalades to customize, especially in urban markets, he said. A used Escalade stayed on the lot for 12 days in Chicago and eight days in Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2007, compared to 39 days in Chicago and 32 days in L.A. for the Expedition, CNW data showed.

He added that virtually the only buzz the Ford brand gets among people under 30 is for its popular F-150 full-size pickup. Younger people perceive the brand as stodgy. “Ford needs to do something to get the attention of a significantly younger audience.”

But is Funkmaster Flex the one to do it? The Escalade was pretty much “discovered” on its own by the urban audience without a blatant association with a single celebrity. And then there’s the suggestion that Funkmaster Flex may be too mainstream to carry the same urban credentials as Escalade’s elite.

“Absolutely not,” said Ford’s Mr. Perry. “He crosses over very well, and that’s part of the attraction. He’s multicultural.”

Essay 1936

The CIA recruits Asian Americans by offering 91 different occupations — a veritable employment Chinese menu.

Essay 1935

From AdAge.com…

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Mars to Give Uncle Ben Ad Icon Greater Role

No Longer an Image on a Box of Rice, Character to Star in Print, Web Effort

By Stephanie Thompson

NEW YORK -- Long relegated to a mere picture on the package, Uncle Ben is once again playing a starring role in Mars’ new campaign for the rice brand.

Promoted to CEO of the fictional Uncle Ben’s Inc., Ben will gain full mobility as a modern-day executive wise in the ways of life (and rice) in a print campaign and online efforts that breaks this month. Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa Del Rey, Calif., handles.

Post-modern moment
“It’s a very post-modern moment,” said Robert Entman, Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University and co-author of the University of Chicago Press’s “The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America.” Mars, he said, has taken the Uncle Ben icon to the “extreme opposite, making him a busy executive vs. the faithful, loving slave in the house serving your meals” -- a clever approach to salvaging a brand they have invested money in for decades. Otherwise, he said, it would “require retiring the brand.”

“Uncle Tom characters designed to invoke the spirit of the South but not upset white values and dispositions don’t play a part anymore,” agreed Robert Passikof, founder and president of Brand Keys, New York. But that is hardly an issue for many of today’s consumers, he said, most of whom won’t remember when the Uncle Ben character was featured on the radio in a portrayal that today would be considered highly offensive. The new effort, Mr. Passikof said, “seems like a seamless way of migrating from the trade character on the box to something that allows [Mars] to create a better emotional bond between customers and the product.”

An initial first wave of “Ben knows best” print ads in publications such as People and Real Simple will feature “Benisms” such as “My rice is perfect with a side dish, like beef, chicken or fish.” Then Uncle Ben will become a walking, talking boss who welcomes employees to his office to share his knowledge about rice. According to Mars research, consumers said they saw Uncle Ben as a self-taught, self-made man who is witty, intelligent and wise, with a common-sense approach to solving problems and life in general.

Awareness vs. equity
Although Uncle Ben may be familiar to consumers, David Altschul, president of the Portland, Ore.-based agency Character, warned that “awareness is certainly not the same thing as equity.” But, he said, “it’s a great place to start.” Mars faces a situation, he said, not unlike Maytag, whose repairman character had “a lot of awareness and fondness but stood for something that was no longer motivating.”

Uncle Ben has a lot of heritage because he’s been on the package a long time, but Mars will need to use him to communicate something real and authentic about the brand today, Mr. Altschul said.

Mars aims to do that through a redesigned Unclebens.com, which offers a virtual tour of Ben’s office and will be updated to feature evolving aspects of the character.

Mars spent $181 million on Uncle Ben in the 52-weeks ended Feb. 25 in food, drug and mass stores excluding Wal-Mart, according to IRI.

Essay 1934

Masterfoods USA recently updated the Uncle Ben’s Rice icon as Ben the Corporate Chairman. Such a brilliant marketing move should inspire other brands to consider similar rebirths.


Introducing Rastus Ocreama! Rastus is not just running the premier hot breakfast cereal enterprise — he’s also running for President of the United States. Mark 2008 as the year America votes the first Black man into the Oval Office, while Cream of Wheat enjoys unprecedented approval ratings.


Reacquaint yourself with The Frito Bandito! The corn chip crusader is back, bringing a powerful voice to immigration rallies. The Frito Bandito draws the entire country together with tasty snack foods and a stirring speech titled, “Ay Yi Yii Yiii Have A Dream.”


Presenting Jemima! A media mogul and philanthropist, this bold heroine leads a breakfast foods company with heart and soul. Jemima built a $40 million waffle house for children in South Africa; plus, she’s funding research for the development of a maple syrup designed to eliminate diseases worldwide.

Essay 1933

Appealing to Asian Americans with Zen-like tonality plus Yin and Yang imagery is bad enough. But from Toyota?

Essay 1932

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Are civil rights groups still relevant today?

BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter

Chicago has long been a bastion for civil rights groups.

But are the Urban League, the NAACP and Rainbow /PUSH -- venerable foot soldiers in the decades-old battle for racial justice -- still relevant?

“It’s an insulting question,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson retorted. “It doesn’t reflect an analysis of what’s happening. Does voter registration matter? Does inequity in education matter? Of course it does.

“Those who ask that seek to diminish the historical significance of the relationship between protest and progress. Yes, things change,” Jackson said. “But they change because of protest. Then there is regress.”

The NAACP made headlines March 4 after the resignation of Bruce S. Gordon, its president of 19 months. Gordon and the board chaired by civil rights icon Julian Bond disagreed over his efforts to take the NAACP in a new direction. Bond had introduced Gordon with accolades in June 2005, and Gordon, at the outset, had proclaimed his goal of finding a new direction.

“It’s a family thing. Every family has its issues, and you don’t need to air it. But the NAACP is still very much relevant,” said Karl Brinson of the NAACP’s West Side chapter.

“I would have thought we would be out of business by now, but we still face the same issues. Instead of lynchings, it’s police brutality. Instead of segregated schools, it’s the quality of education …” Brinson said.

‘Crisis of divisiveness’
Confrontation used to be the weapon of choice to effect change. It was protests, press conferences and picket lines. Today, it’s negotiations and bridge-building. And when you talk to folks on the street, most feel disconnected to entities they once saw as champions.

“Civil rights organizations may not have the same profile we did 30 years ago, but that’s because, to a great extent, there’s a broader community of African-American leaders today,” said National Urban League President Marc Morial. “You have a large community of elected officials, many more nonprofit organizations, and mainstream organizations with African-American business and labor leaders. To a great extent, that was one of the objectives of civil rights.”

But to at least one observer, the apparent disconnect fuels the question of relevancy.

“We must become proactive about our own internal crisis of divisiveness; otherwise, it really doesn’t matter what the Urban League does, or the NAACP, or PUSH,” said the Rev. Hycel Taylor, professor emeritus at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston and a former national board president of Rainbow/PUSH. “We’re still going to be in the same predicament.”

Essay 1931

Say I Do … to the marriage of contrived and clichéd.

Essay 1930

From USA Today…

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Report: Tuskegee Airmen lost 25 bombers

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — At least 25 bombers being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen over Europe during World War II were shot down by enemy aircraft, according to a new Air Force report.

The report contradicts the legend that the famed black aviators never lost a plane to fire from enemy aircraft. But historian William Holton said the discovery of lost bombers doesn’t tarnish the unit's record.

“It’s impossible not to lose bombers,” said Holton, national historian for Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

The report released Wednesday was based on after-mission reports filed by both the bomber units and Tuskegee fighter groups, as well as missing air crew records and witness testimony, said Daniel Haulman, a historian at the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.

The tally includes only cases where planes were shot down by enemy aircraft, Haulman said. No one disputed the airmen lost some planes to anti-aircraft guns and other fire from the ground.

The 25 planes were shot down on five days: June 9, July 12, July 18 and July 20, 1944 and March 24, 1945, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

“All of these records have been here all along,” Haulman said. “It was just a matter of putting them together.”

The surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the U.S. Army Air Corps, received the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday from President Bush in Washington.

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

Haulman told the Advertiser he had discovered the claim that the Tuskegee Airmen had never lost a bomber they escorted to enemy fire first appeared on March 24, 1945, in an article in the black newspaper Chicago Defender. The newspaper’s headline read “332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss.”

The information was attributed only to “the 15th Air Force, Italy.”

“In fact, on the very day the claim was published, more bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort were shot down,” Haulman wrote.