Worst Home-front Disaster of WWII

On July 17, 1944, in Northern California, right off the Sacramento river, over 320 sailors lost their lives in an explosion that occurred as they were loading various munitions onto a naval boat during WWII. About 200 of those men were black. As was so often the case in the segregated armed services, black sailors and soldiers were ordered to perform many hazardous duties without first receiving the requisite training needed to perform them correctly. That's because they were considered expendable. In this matter Naval records showed the men had absolutely no training in handling depth charges, incendiary bombs and other munitions. None at all. Worse still, less than three weeks after the explosion, the black troops were ordered to resume their task of loading munitions onto naval ships. Their white counterparts were given additional time to recover from the explosion and were provided additional training beyond what they had already been given as well. Over 260 of the 300 AA men refused those orders, were court martialed and sentenced to up to 15 years at hard labor in prison as a result. The more fortunate of them were given honorable discharges. Today there is a strong move afoot to right that wrong from our segregated pass. President Obama, in fact, is trying to find a way to honor those men, pardon them and to put this matter into correct historical perspective. Indeed, let this past grievous incident remain as a learning lesson to the world.

We are respectable negroes: We All Can't Be Michelle and Barack Obama: A Commodity Greater than Gold--Black Women Discuss the Near Impossibily of Finding a Good Black Man

We are respectable negroes: We All Can't Be Michelle and Barack Obama: A Commodity Greater than Gold--Black Women Discuss the Near Impossibily of Finding a Good Black Man

Tiger

Tiger Woods has done to himself what none of his fellow golfers have been able to do on a consistent basis, and that's to beat him at his game. The world's greatest golfer, and one of the top golfers of all time, has lived a life off the golf course that has undermined the brilliant success he has had on it. That's regrettable. Of course, athletes have exhibited that 'boys will be boys' attitude forever, that mentality that seems to give them permissibility to act so carelessly as Tiger acted. No doubt there are some men who are jealous of the many Tiger 'conquests' they've been reading about over the last couple of weeks. I could care less about them. But what about the young children Tiger has helped, encouraged, mentored and for whom Tiger has been such a incredible role model all these many years? What about those of us who never really watched the PGA Tournaments before Tiger but now would never miss a match when he is playing? Mr. Woods has acknowledge that he wronged his wife and family and broken the trust bestowed upon him by his many admirers. He must apologize to all and ask for our forgiveness. He and his wife will undoubtedly separate or divorce so he has to work hard to have a relationship with her that will allow both of them to be good parents to their children. He must seek help for what appears to be an addiction to sex (a 'serial philanderer' as someone called him. And it's good that he's taking some time away from the game of golf to do all those things. It is that hubris and strong belief in self that has enabled him to be the worlds # 1 Golfer. But it is that same swagger that has brought him to his knees. I hope that in time he will be able to stand again.

Education Reform in Urban Centers

The education system in the U.S. continues to pale in comparison to the that of other countries, notably Japan and China where students excel in math, sciences and reading. That's critically important at a time when technological innovation is so much a part of this evolving world of ours. The NCLB (No Child Left Behind) policies of the Bush administration did very little to help elementary and secondary school children actually learn and catch up to their more fortunate peers. Instead, NCLB merely taught students how to take standardized tests. Of course those tests already have built-in cultural biases for so many of the students in the urban setting, black and white. The new Secretary of Education in the Obama administration, Arne Duncan, believes it is time for radical reform. But as he said, "reforming our education system will take more than tacking on a few hours to the day and year; teachers must facilitate and guide children so they learn early on. That will create a strong foundation for later years in high school and college, where excellent study habits and a tough work ethic are of paramount importance to achieving success." The parents have to do their part in the home as well, nurturing and guiding and indeed demanding that their children are curious about life and learning. Generation after generation will continue to struggle unless we break this horrible cycle.

Black Women and Breast Cancer

Ever since an independent National health advocacy group recently published a study that said most women would be fine to hold off until age 50 for their first mammograms, the response has been overwhelming. The American Cancer Society cited the steady decline in breast cancer mortality to early detection and suggested that women ignore the recommendation and continue to seek earlier treatment. Republican women in Congress seized the occasion to link the recommendation to the current Health care initiative as a clear example of the government interfering in our lives, and trying to save money at the expense of our well being. "This is how rationing begins. This is the little toe in the edge of the water. And this is where we start getting a bureaucrat between you and your physician." The Black Women's Health Imperative called the recommendations for delaying the start of mammograms a death sentence to women of color. Aggressive forms of breast cancer are often found in younger women, and that cancer is often less responsive to standard breast cancer treatment. Truth to be told, the health advocacy group made it clear that women should continue to seek the advice and counsel of their doctors. Further, the advocacy group suggested that women in high-risk categories should continue to have mammograms early than age 50. Certainly women of color and those women whose family has a history of breast cancer should definitely continue to have mammograms at an earlier age. Early detection of breast cancer increases the likelihood of successful treatment and long-term survival.

Parents File Suit Against State's Education System

Florida state educators are being sued by parents, and some students, who claim that the state is not properly educating children. Of course the state strongly disagrees. There is no question but that educational systems in many states throughout the country do a woeful job in educating our children. Too often children are taught to take standardized tests which, unfortunately, continue to be used as the bench mark for success. Children need to learn about history, English, math and the sciences instead. They need to be educated so they can compete in this challenging new world we face. They need to learn to love books and reading. They need to be curious about life and everything around them. But educating our children is not the sole responsibility of the school board and teacher's. Rather, it is the responsibility of parents as well. Mothers and fathers must spend time with their children early on when they are first born. They must encourage, stimulate, challenge and provide positive reinforcement. A child's formative years, from birth to three or four years old are critically important to their overall success in life. How often have you been on a subway only to see young mothers never engage their children, never even talk with them or acknowledge them during the entire ride. Conversation is stimulation and that's what's needed to help young children learn. Without that verbal and visual stimulation the brain will atrophy and it can never go back the other way, ever. So, whatever the role states and teachers play in educating our children, and it's an important role, education really begins and continues in the home, it complements and supports what goes on in school. Our children will be lost otherwise.

Desert Bayou

In the midst of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans in the summer of 2005 many hurricane victims were relocated to neighboring states, and still others to far off states that welcomed them and made provisions to house them at least temporarily. The 'Desert Bayou' is a story of 600 such victims airlifted to what they would later call 'the whitest state' (Utah) without their knowledge or for that matter, their consent. What began as a humanitarian effort on the part of so many well-intentioned people ended up raising deep questions and concerns as to 'whether or not such diverse cultures can coexist,' or whether the differences between those 600 Katrina victims and their new Utah neighbors were so extreme that the challenge was to great to overcome. This is a seldom told story of so many transplanted Katrina victims evacuated from their beloved but hurricane ravaged city and relocated wherever possible. It was one thing to be relocated from one southern state to another neighboring one, but this powerful documentary speaks to an extreme relocation from the Creole culture of New Orleans to a vastly different, very foreign and, sadly, an often hostile world in 'the whitest state in the union.'

Evolution of Ebony Magazine

Founded by John H. Johnson in 1945 with a $500 loan from his mother, Ebony Magazine became the preeminent print vehicle for African Americans during the Civil Rights struggles of the 50's, 60's and 70's. In the 80's & 90's the magazine drifted a bit and lost its way, especially after the death of legendary founder John Johnson. Interestingly enough, though, its subscription base held steady in what must be a true testament to the depth of the relationship between the magazine and the millions of African American readers that followed it. Remember, it was in the fact the black Life Magazine of its day and it provided national coverage of people and events in the African American market that were not otherwise covered by any national publications.
It was a voice when African Americans didn't otherwise have a voice.

Today, advertisers are spending less and media generated revenue has decreased significantly. And the world of traditional journalism and magazine publishing both continue to morph to and in the new media arena. It's well-known that Ebony has business issues and continues to look for a larger, general market partner for a potential buy-out as well. Amidst all that, Ebony announced last week that's its new December issue will feature a "Power 150" list celebrating black trailblazers in business, science, technology, education and other fields. Additionally, "Ebony Interview" will be a new features series which begins in December with an interview with 'eco-warrior Van Jones, former White House special advisor for green jobs and a "Legend" series that kicks off with an interview with poet Maya Angelou. The magazine said it will announce additional changes to print, digital, entertainment and consumers products in the coming months. Whether or not these changes will be sufficient for helping Ebony to keep existing subscriptions and find new ones remains to be seen. It may be too little, too late. But let's hope not. John Johnson had writer/editor Lerone Bennett, Jr. as a 'partner' to help him grow Ebony Magazine. It's imperative that Ebony find a future oriented writer/editor who can work closely with Linda Rice Johnson, the founder's daughter and now owner of Johnson Publication, and her staff. An excellent writer/editor is needed, someone who is a passionate story teller and a true visionary who can help reinvent this icon and take it into the future so it will be relevant for generations to come. Let us hope such a person is found.

Health Care Reform

Now that Congress has passed its version of a new Health plan the debate will get even hotter as the bill moves through the Senate for deliberation over the coming weeks. Different and alternative amendments will be shared and arguments about them will be had. Undoubtedly the debate between democrats and republicans, between liberals and conservatives will be contentious. But often lost in that debate is a failure to acknowledge that the present health care system is broken at best, exclusionary and cost prohibitive. Insurance premiums for small businesses increase at the rate of 10 to 15% annually. People with preexisting conditions are denied coverage or forced to pay excessive and unaffordable monthly premiums to maintain coverage. And over eight million children in America don't have any health insurance at all. What about those who are our future leaders? It's estimated that 45,000 people die every year because they have no health insurance. That make no sense. Insurance companies can't continue to make excessive profits at the expense of the American people. Those who argue for a public insurance option would say that we need choices. But what we really need right now is the support of the everyone for the best possible health care plan we can get through the Senate. We need to rally around those who are fighting for universal coverage and for some form of a public option that is strong enough to serve as a viable choice to an American public that otherwise doesn't have one. But a health plan won't be passed by the Senate without the support of all of us. So march in the streets, write and express yourself on the Internet and in newspapers and magazines and let your voice be heard. President Obama can't do it alone.

African Americans Slam Obama in White House Protest

Over the weekend several hundred more radical African Americans gathered outside the White House and protested against the Obama administration. They are upset with both Obama's International policies in Iraq and Afghanistan and his domestic agenda. "We were not looking for a change in the occupant of the White House from white to black, we were looking for change in foreign policies and domestic policies," said Charles Barron, a New York city councilman and former Black Panther who has accused President Obama of ignoring the plight of African Americans. After the first nine months of his Presidency Obama finds himself between a rock and a hard place as he so far has not been able to appease any of the constituents who helped elect him. Even the moderate and more mainstream African Americans are beginning to feel that Obama is less a visionary and change agency and more a politician, albeit an able and smart one. Some have suggested he is 'not black enough'. To white liberals he is too conservative in his overall approach and he embraces big government and socialism. To the independents he has failed to improve the economy as evident by the 10.2% unemployment figure, and he hasn't ended the war in Iraq as promised. Even worse, he's considering sending more troops to Afghanistan . The GLBT community feels Obama has outright abandoned them and their agendas. "If the election has shown us anything," said an Ope-ed in The Onion, "it's that a black man still can't catch a break."

African American Women and HIV/AIDS

It's hard to believe that African American women make up 60% of all women living with AIDS. How is that possible? Is it because, as many think, some African American males are living on the 'down-low' as bi-sexual, infecting their wives and girl friends as a result? Is it promiscuity among African American women who have sex with multiple partners and 'feel they don't have a choice' to practice safe sex and don't? Is it injecting heroin and drug abuse? Some would argue the large number of African American men incarcerated in our prisons and the homosexuality practiced within contribute as well when they are paroled. Still other site the continued disparity in health care for people of color. Then there's the black church whose leaders fail to have an open, honest dialogue with their parishioners about HIV/AIDS.We need to inform and educate, to fight for state and federal funds to set up counseling programs in schools and community centers. Left alone AIDS/HIV will continue to run rampant in our community.

"Good Hair"

In his film, "Good Hair," Chris Rock points out that African American women spend over $9 billion annually on their hair. That's a lot of money. How much do they spend on their health care issues by comparison? Experts agree that over 50% of all African American women can be considered obese, that's up considerably since 2001. African American women are more likely to die from heart disease, twice as likely to have diabetes and are more likely to die from breast cancer. "With any luck, "Good Hair" will no only keep the dialogue going but also cause a cultural paradigm shift to healthy hair, healthy hearts, healthy attitudes and a healthy life."

An All too Familiar Story

Sarah Kruzan grew up in Riverside, California. She was often abused by her drug-addicted mother with whom she lived. In spite of that Sarah was determined to excel and did so. She consistently made the honor roll, ran track and even won a Young Author's Award for writing a book on the effects of drugs. But her mother's addiction continued and the abuse she handed out as a result became too much for Sarah to bear. So she ran away from home one day. As is so often the case with young women who find themselves on the streets, and homeless, it wasn't long before she met a 31-year-old man, G.G., who 'befriended' her and became the father figure Sarah and many of her young friends never knew.

G.G. was skillful. He took Sarah and her friends to the movies, bought them clothes on shopping sprees, went skating with them and basically endeared himself to Sarah and her friends. Naturally Sarah became dependent upon him and soon there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him. Sarah, like so many young ladies in comparable situations, didn't have a 'father' figure around to help them, someone to help nurture their dreams and provide shelter and comfort and advice. So G.G. filled that void nicely, just as the best of pimps do so well. It wasn't long before he raped her, and convinced her to sell herself to men on his behalf. It was his just reward for taking her in and providing for her and Sarah 'agreed.' She began a life of prostitution and 'fell in love' with G.G. Sarah didn't even have a chance.

Today, Sarah Kruzan is 29 years-old and serving a life sentence for having murdered the man who 'turned her out' at the tender age of 13. I'm not sure of the events that most immediately caused her to kill G.G., but certainly after long and continued physical and mental abuse by him, she felt she had no other way out. And while premeditated murder is never right we must learn to understand the root causes that lead to such tragic situations. Sara is smart, articulate and remorseful for having taken a life. Listen to her talk in the video that accompanies the story. The judge could have sentenced her as a juvenile but he didn't. I would argue that at some point Sarah should be released so she can live a productive life and help other young women avoid making the same mistakes that she made. And there are many, many young women like Sarah who are victimized by an older, savvy, manipulative pimps who have no other recourse. In many ways, society is the real culprit.

Unemployment

It's hard to believe that more than 15 million people are unemployed in the U.S. That number doesn't even begin to take into consideration those who long-ago stopped looking for work or those who are the unemployable. The number would be significantly higher otherwise and indeed frightening by comparison. High-school dropouts have very little hope of finding work. Recent college graduates are hard pressed to find employment even when they have graduated from some of the best Universities in the country. While the economy slowly recovers the less educated, the most recent college graduates and the middle class are suffering most. There are those who would argue that 'creative capitalism' is what's needed most to help stimulate the economy. They argue that the government should employ many more people as an alternative to simply providing handouts in the form of unemployment benefits and food stamps. Being able to work again for those presently unable to find a job would help bring a 'renewed self-worth' to them. That would be critically important at a time when many people see only despair and not hope. Something must be done and quickly so.

The Buffalo Soldiers

Several of my deceased uncles fought with the Buffalo soldiers during World War II. At a recent annual reunion of the black soldiers who comprised that 92d Infantry Division, they reminisced about those times long-ago when they fought side by side against the enemy. Of course there are fewer living buffalo soldiers these days. They fought with pride, dignity and excellence in segregated units to maintain freedom for all Americans even though they didn't have freedom themselves. My Uncle, Eugene Gailliard, lost an eye during the war. Uncle Ted and Uncle Alvin fought bravely as well. These were men who fought hard and greatly distinguished themselves during the war. Many of them died. 'A soldier was a soldier,' they would tell me long ago when I was a child. 'We fought the enemy just like everyone else.' When white troops wouldn't let blacks play bridge with them, the black soldiers created a game they called bid whist instead. One of the former soldiers at the reunion became a bit emotional, wondering if anyone will remember them and their sacrifices when they are all dead. Their contributions are too important for the world to forget them. No, I believe they will live one forever as their stories are passed down through generations to come. We should dedicate ourselves to that memory and make sure that is the case.

Education Results in Michigan

In a recently released study statistics sadly show that students in Michigan of all races are falling farther and farther behind their peers in other states. In fact the math achievement scores of Michigan's African American students are now the worst in the country, trailing even Alabama and the District of Columbia. That's a sad commentary on a state that long prided itself in providing excellent education for students of all races, from grammar school through college. What happened? And why is that Alabama and the District of Columbia, two other 'state's with large African American populations are also doing poorly. Where are the teachers and what are they doing? Where are the administrators? The government officials? Don't they care? How can we not at least adequately prepare a whole generation of students to be competitive in this new, global world of ours? The sad truth is that they won't be able to do so. How can parents fail to hold the schools and their administrators accountable? Because of the demise of the automobile industry Michigan currently leads the nation in unemployment. Unless significant changes are demanded and immediately so, it is likely that this story will only become worse over the coming years. Shame on all of us if we allow that to happen.

To Pat Buchanan

Pat Buchanan needs a primer on racism and colonialism. He needs to understand the impact those policies had and continue to have on the lives of people who were excluded from full participation in this country through the Jim Crow laws of segregation. And let us not forget that much of the world was oppressed by colonialism and then neo-colonialism. "Was white racism really responsible for those black men looting auto dealerships and liquor stores, and burning down their own communities, as Otto Kerner said -- that liberal icon until the feds put him away for bribery?" Of course racism was at the heart of most of that, Pat. Read Franz Fanon's "Wretched of the Earth" and then tell me who is to blame for many of the inequities in our country and indeed the world. Fanon, a noted Dr. of Psychiatry, is still considered to be the Father of the Algerian revolution against France. His book will help you understand why there is so much black on black crime as well. It is important to know your history. Not to dwell on it, but rather to learn from it and understand how it impacts our lives today. But I agree that people of color can't stand idly by expecting someone to do our work for us. No. We can't continue to make excuses. Instead, we must inspire,help educate, be entrepreneurs and become more responsible and demanding parents. And we must reach across and bridge the racial and economic divide and encourage others of all persuasions to do the same. We must take our own destiny into our own hands and continue to be agents of change. Someone once said during the Civil Rights struggles of the 50's and 60's, "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Out of those demands came the freedom we have today, but also the continued struggles.

Immigration Changing the African American Landscape

Are you African American? Afro Latina? A true African American, Caribbean American, Haitian American? The immigration story is changing the African American landscape.
A good, short trailer. Creating businesses to service this diversity of ours represents an excellent business opportunity as well.

Health Care Debate

At a time when Congress continues to debate universal Healthcare coverage it's important to remember that there are well over 46 million Americans with no health insurance. That's a frightening number of people whose lack of access to health care makes it impossible for them to maintain a healthy, basic quality of life. Ultimately that lack of preventive medicine places an undue and costly burden on taxpayers. And of course Hispanic and African Americans comprise a disproportionate share of those uninsured. There has to be a better way. Congress must find a way to have health care in America that provides coverage of everyone.

"Can You Dig It? Black in vogue"

African American films of the late 60's and early 70's are often called 'Blaxploitation' films. That's because many people feel the films exploited black people by perpetuating the stereotypes depicted through male characters like John Shaft, Black Caesar and Nigger Charley; and women with names like Cleopatra or Coffy or Foxy Brown. People felt the movies glorified the role of pimps and prostitutes and gangsters. But there are those who would disagree. Stuart Baker's 'Can You Dig It?' argues that the term "blaxploitation is unfair. "Roundtree's John Shaft was groundbreaking," Baker said. "He was a James Bond strong man but this was a new representation of a black man in American cinema; he was single-minded and sexually uninhibited and could speak to both black and white people without feeling he had to doff his cap." Baker goes on to say that "the role of Nigger Charley, a character based in the Deep South of the 1850's manages to bring to the big screen all the bigotry and inhumanity of slavery in Americas history in a hip, knowing, entertain and funny manner." Undoubtedly this debate will continue forever.

African American Marketing

It's even more important today that corporations invite multicultural consumers into their brands by developing relevant communications based upon brilliant strategic thinking and powerful insights. Those clients who understand that, and who know that the marketing communications need to intersect with the consumer at all their touch points, will benefit greatly and grow their brands significantly. Those clients that don't, won't.

I was Black Before the Election

While on the Dave Letterman Show, Barack Obama was asked about Jimmy Carter's statement that "people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be President because he happens to be African American." Obama reminded Letterman and the audience that , "first of all, I was black before the election.' The overwhelming majority of people,' he went on to say, 'simply want 'common sense, honesty and integrity.' Obama considers it an extraordinary honor to have been elected President, of course. And he really feels that any time someone is proposing significant change in the status quo, people are more likely to strongly react than not. "FDR was called a socialist and communist," he said. People accused Ronald Regan of trying to team down the country.' What else would you expect Obama to say? We all know Jimmy Carter is indeed right. But Obama is much better served staying away from discussing race in any other way because it is otherwise a 'can't' win proposition.

Racism on Madison Avenue?

Sad to say that advertising agencies continue to be as segregated today as they were yesterday. Is that by design or circumstance? Given that there are as few African Americans in advertising today as when I first began in advertising thirty-four years ago I would tend to think the former is the case. Or perhaps we could call it benign neglect. Others, notably Sanford Moore, would call it Apartheid. And he would argue that just as economic boycotts were used to force the end of the rule of an oppressive South African regime and their racist, apartheid policies, the same pressure needs to be brought to bear today on Fortune 100 clients and their advertising agencies.

Is it Racism?

With the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the first African American President of the United States, political pundits and journalists alike talked on and on about the 'post-racial' society of America. Obama's election was proof positive, they said, that race could no longer be used as an excuse for underachieving. "America has completed its evolution into a racial meritocracy," said Phillip Morris of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. And Laura Hollis of TownHall.com simply said "racism is dead."

As the summer progressed and the contentious debate over health care ensued we were appalled when town hall meetings took on a nasty anti-Obama tone. To be clear, people have strong genuine feelings about health care and other issues, and passionate, partisan discourse is healthy. Free speech is at the heart of democracy. But it was as if Obama's blackness was permissibility enough for people to defy him and be nasty and threatening in their behavior toward him, and it was ubiquitous. Even in the hallowed halls of Congress, a Republican Congressman dared to call the President a 'liar'. That had never, ever happened before. That's the kind of behavior that can incite violence. No, this was definitely something more than disagreements over health care.

Jimmy Carter felt strongly that this behavior was racism and said so in no uncertain terms at Emory University. "When a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the President of the United States as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried Obama with Kennedy, those kinds of things are beyond the bounds. I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be President because he happens to be African American.” And the debate rages on.

David Brooks, writing for the NY Times, said, "No, it's not about race." He came to that conclusion while watching the social interaction between the 'Tea Party' protesters mingling with the mostly Black Family Reunion celebrants whose event just happened to coincide with the 'Tea Party' protest. Brooks had been jogging and stopped to observe the behavior of the different groups interacting. "These two groups were from opposite ends of the political and cultural spectrum. The tea party people were buying lunch from the family reunion food stands. Yet I couldn't discern any tension between them." Could well have been smart entrepreneurship on behalf of vendors who were trying to do business. Maybe the tea party crowd was simply getting nourishment so they could continue their protest.

Appearances aren't always what they seem. During slavery, plantation owners insisted that their slaves were happy 'Negroes' because they were always singing in the fields. The plantation owners didn't realize that songs like 'let us break bread together on our knees' were actually messages to meet down at the river-bed to plot strategy for their escape.

Racism is deep-seeded and instilled in the fabric of our society. It is dangerous because it is often an unconscious, rote response to long years of legal and defacto segregation. It is a part of our culture and affects all of us - black, white, it doesn't matter. I would venture to say that much, if not most, of the venom coming from the protesters has to do with the fact that Obama is a Black man. The repressed anger coming from those who never wanted to see him become President in the first place has 'festered over like a sore, and run,' as Langston Hughes long ago wrote. We must find a way to get along with one another. And we should have as many 'teaching and learning moments' as we can, and move on. There is no room for hate. Bring on the Echo boomers.

Educating Clients on Multicultural Marketing

If we don't continuously educate our clients on the subtleties and nuances of the multicultural marketplace then we'll never have the opportunity to help grow their brands, nor ours. However frustrating it may be - and it is often very frustrating - we must take it upon ourselves to constantly inform our clients, passionately debate with them the issues of multicultural advertising, particularly as those issues relate to targeting the African American customers. We must help them understand what we do and why we do it. Then when they 'let' us do what we do, we have to get it right. Only then will they see for themselves how smart, nuanced, relevant and targeted communications connect emotionally with their customers and help grow their brand.

The New General Market

Today is a very different day than yesterday. The Echo boomers are the first generation to grow up in this new media world we live in where boundaries are endless and networking is in real time and interactive. People today are growing up and being influenced by cultures around the globe. They in turn influence others. It's as if a pebble dropped in a pond of water causing ripples to move out from the center only to ripple back again. It begins as one 'something' but comes back having been influenced by many things.

The Madison Avenue Initiative...

Here we go again. The general market agencies have been tasked to find AND HIRE African American talent to diversify their typically otherwise all-white group of employees. We've heard that before. Will the outcome this time be different? Will the fact that Cyrus Mehri and the NAACP are involved and are talking directly to the Fortune 100 clients make a difference? Will those clients mandate that their general market agencies finally do what they long ago should have done? How is it that a Fortune 100 client can otherwise entrust his or her global brand to an agency that is not in any way representative of its customer base. And I'm not talking about secretarial or administrative positions. While there is nothing wrong with being a secretary or working in the mail room - areas of employment that undoubtedly over index for people of color - the key is to hire those senior managers who interact with the most senior clients and who can affect strategy and marketing communications so both are more inclusive based upon cultural insights and nuances

Multicultural Marketing...

It's always important to develop a strong, ongoing business relationships with our clients. That's especially true in multicultural marketing because we're often educating and informing at the same time we're developing overarching strategies to help grow the clients' brands. When the client knows their brand is at the heart of everything we do, they're more likely to listen to us and consider our POV. A passionate debate about our clients' brands is a healthy thing.

Relationships

Without strong client relationships we're left to guess at and wonder what the client is thinking and feeling as opposed to knowing for sure. Certainty is otherwise replaced with concern and apprehension. Confusion becomes the order of the day. Gross inefficiencies follow. If we are to be stewards of our clients' brands we must have an ongoing dialogue with them. Silence in this regards is not golden, for sure.

We are Global

Someone referenced a great quote by Herman Melville in an article I saw today. I wanted to share it with everyone. 'America was settled by people of all nations...You cannot spill a drop of American blood without spilling the blood of the whole world. We are not a narrow tribe."

Client Relationships

Unless we have relationships with the most senior clients on the Brand; those who are the decision makers, those who live intimately with the nuances of the brand and who in fact own the brand...then we're not really doing our job as their agency partner and steward of their brand. It's difficult to passionately debate the brand direction with someone who doesn't know its essence. That is especially true in the multicultural marketplace.

Our clients

We can't wait for our clients to tell us what they want us to do. No, we must have a strong POV as to what we think the client should be doing based upon our intimate and ongoing knowledge of their brands and their customers. Unless we are engaged in passionate debate of the brand on their behalf we are not really their partners.

Our Role as An Agency

It's important that we manage our clients' business as if it is our own. That means we must know the brand and its customers intimately. We must predict consumer behavior so we're certain that as the Brand evolves it will continue to maintain its Brand promise and converge with the customers at all the right touch points. We must have a strong POV based upon informed judgement for everything we do on behalf of our clients. We can't wait for them to tell us what to do - why would they hire us as an agency if that's the case? No, we must passionately debate the Brand with them. We can't really be their partner otherwise.

Madison Avenue Initiative

It's important that general market agencies hire senior level employees of color throughout all departments in their agency. But the inclusion of a more diverse group of people does not guarantee the development of relevant messaging and communications. No, that alone is not the answer. The key is to make sure that those who are responsible for developing the overarching strategies for the brand, and the corresponding positioning statements and creative briefs as well, have the requisite background, knowledge and skill set to understand the influence of all cultures and the subtleties and nuances of race in that strategic process. That's more important than anything else.

Being Pro-active...

It's important that we know our clients' business and their customers intimately. How else can we 'see around the corner' and predict consumer behavior? How else can we make sure that the consumers and the brand are moving together with one another? Brands stray when no one owns them. The recent, disastrous redesign of the Tropicana packaging is a case in point.

Post-Racial Society?

Too many people and news media believe that the election of Barack Obama officially ended racial discrimination in the US. Well, of course that's not true...not even remotely so. And I think more and more of the public is beginning to understand that...in large part because of the 'Gates' incidence and the obnoxious behavior of people protesting health care at various Town-hall meetings throughout the country. Rest assured if Obama was white the town hall meetings would take on a much more civil tone. No, the uproar is really about race at the end of the day. People who don't want to see a Black president are venting. Sad, but true.

Our colleague lost his mother yesterday, to illness and old age. I never met her but I've worked with her son, Charles, over the last several years. His mother must have been an extraordinary woman because he is an extraordinary man. His intelligence is matched only by his passion for developing strategies that powerfully position and guide our clients' brands in the marketplace. He is our Director of Brand Strategy and he does that brilliantly well, by any standard. That's because his mother made sure he and his siblings where possessed with the knowledge and skill set that allowed them to have choices in life and enabled them to compete with anyone anywhere in the world. She did what more parents need to do. She made sure they had a real thirst for knowledge, an insatiable desire to read and learn and travel and go to movies; and to the theatre and museums and learn and travel some more. Not just for the sake of acquiring knowledge, but rather so each of her children in his and her own way could do those things in life they loved doing. So as Charles' mother passes through the door of another life she leaves behind a son who is poised to continue doing research and developing strategies for the 'new global general market' like no one has even dared to talk about or develop before. And all his colleagues at Footsteps will continue to share that passion with him because it is ours as well. That's the only way we know how to work at Footsteps. We will take that incredible journey together as his mother continues hers...

Relevant Communications...

A few months ago, US General David Petraeus, head of the Iraq military operations, paid a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center to see Lt. Brian Brennan, a soldier badly wounded by a roadside bomb that killed three of his comrades in Iraq. Lt. Brian Brennan lost both legs and survived the bombing but was in a deep coma as a result. On a scale of 'one to ten' with 'ten' being the most grievous injury, Brennan was diagnosed as a 'one;' he was said to have significant brain damage and was not expected to survive his wounds. His family and friends tried to bring him back from the coma but to no avail. General Petraeus was trying to do the same thing but was unsuccessful as well. However, just as Petraeus was leaving the hospital room he returned to Lt. Brennan's bedside for one last attempt. He shouted "one, two, three...Currahee," a Native American phrase that means 'we stand alone.' It was also the motto that every member of Lt. Brennan's 101st Airborne Division lived by. Amazingly, Lt. Brennan began thrashing wildly, quickly moved his 'stumps' on the bed, and came out of his coma. He is now walking on his new prosthetic legs and speaking clearly and intelligently about his experience. Miraculously, he has made a full recovery. Talk about relevant communications...

Walter Cronkite

There was no one better and certainly no one as trusted. He spoke to us, not at us. And he was very knowledgeable and informed so we believed what he said. He earned our trust, comforted us through bad and difficult times and celebrated extraordinary accomplishments and major feats. That's why we invited him into our homes every night. That's a powerful relationship between a brand and its consumers, a relationship that is earned over time. A brand is but a promise kept; and Walter Cronkite certainly kept his promise to millions of consumers. We will miss him but we'll never forget him. The world must use his benchmark as a standard of excellence and cultivate and nurture those journalists who choose to follow his example;those who can write and tell stories and report in an honest and heartfelt way. We will listen to and be inspired by them, just as we listened to and were inspired by Cronkite. The 'news readers' of the day must step aside for those who are considerably more gifted and have so much more to share.

Part Five: Journey of a Black man in advertising...

Part Five

Michael was patient as a filmmaker. He would simply let the story unfold before him and capture it. Not that he ever imposed himself on anyone or any situation. Instead, he always had one eye in the viewfinder while using his other eye to see what else was about to unfold in the scene. He was very intuitive and could ‘feel the moment.’

We spent weeks just getting to know people, hanging out with them and first establishing trust between us. By the time we began filming people were oblivious to the presence of the camera and opened right up. We were the proverbial fly on the wall and cinema verite at its best.

That’s how we were able to create a number of documentary films on such varied and provocative topics as gentrification and the Appalachian community in Dayton; juvenile delinquency -- how first-time offenders often became hardened, lifetime criminals; the mental anguish and pain experienced by mothers from Parents Anonymous, a national organization founded in 1968, now the nation’s oldest child abuse prevention organization. The film, Save This Child of Mine, focused on a group of white, affluent suburban women seeking help and support from one another in confronting their continued abuse of their own children.

We also tackled the love/hate relationship between pimps and their prostitutes in our documentary on Project Cure, one of the first drug rehabilitation programs in the country. Many of the people desperately wanted to free themselves from the shackles of heroin addiction by using methadone, then an alternative treatment offered by Project Cure. We watched as some of them worked hard to turn their lives around so they could stop lying to and stealing from family and friends who still loved them.

Run by Brother Zafr, Project Cure was one of the first drug rehab programs in the country to offer methadone as an alternative to heroin. Brother Zafr was a former addict himself who had spent most of his life in prison for dealing drugs and robbing banks. But he was a brilliant man who earned several degrees and learned several languages in prison where he also became an Orthodox Muslim. He was such a role model, teacher and a real inspiration for so many of the addicts who went through Project Cure.

When we were filming in the East side of Dayton, the primarily poor, white, Appalachian neighborhood that was being gentrified by more affluent professional people who were buying older homes and restoring them. Michael had befriended some of the younger, ‘toughs’ who strolled the neighborhood at night and often found themselves in trouble with the law. One of them called Michael late one night and told him his best friend had just escaped from the Ohio State Juvenile Facility and was hiding out in the attic of his home.

He had been abused in that facility by slightly older and much tougher inmates; and often brutalized by some of the guards themselves. Under the circumstances, Michael went carefully in the night to the house, up into the attic and filmed only the escapee’s eyes as he told his story. A few days thereafter the police found out what Michael had done and came to our offices looking for both the film and Michael. The young escapee was still on the run but we had no idea where he was.

After a couple of years Michael left Dayton and moved to Carbondale, Illinois, where he taught at Southern Illinois University until he recently retired. My documentary film making had a major influence on how I’ve approached advertising throughout my career.

NEXT: The journey continues…Wilberforce and W.B.Doner & Co.

Journey of a Black man in advertising...Part Four

Part Four: 6.08.09

Michael Covell was a professor of film at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, then one of the best film schools in the country. Michael was an underground documentary filmmaker, a wonderful human being and an extraordinary cinematographer. He was truly a renaissance man and passionate about sharing his knowledge of film making with others.

I knew he was the perfect choice for the documentary project but I decided instead to hire, Roy McKay, a young African American filmmaker who had just graduated from Howard University. Roy was a good man, but he had no real practical experience at film making either either, so we couldn't learn from one another. It was truly the blind leading the blind.

We struggled through our first documentary, on women in policing, shot mostly in Washington, DC and Dayton, Ohio. Thereafter, I quickly ended the relationship and moved Roy back to DC where he lived. Luckily Michael Covell was still available and very much interested in working with me. He laughed when he heard the “start-up horror" stories. It was the beginning of an incredible journey for both of us. NEXT: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: PART FIVE

Judge Sotomayor

Let's hope Judge Sotomayor does not become the 'Judas' that Clarence Thomas turned out to be. Ironically, Thomas, the only African American on the Supreme Court and its most conservative member, is, sadly, the least qualified to serve at the same time. Which is precisely why he perpetuates the stereotype he actually believes he spent his life breaking. On the other hand, while Sotomayor's 'rags' to 'riches' story parallels many aspects of Thomas' story, Judge Sotomayor's legal acumen is as impressive as that of any member of the present Court. Those skills will serve her well in the passionate debates with her colleagues on the Court over so many important issues in the years to come.

Targeting the African American Consumer

The most effective use of client resources is to develop emotional messaging that touches the heart of the targeted consumer YET crosses over and resonates with the general market as well. That can only happen when you dig deep and find those universal truths that are applicable to all of us. The key is to leverage the commonalities and celebrate the differences.

Multicultural Marketing

Multicultural advertising agencies, especially those targeting the African American market, must constantly reinvent themselves in order to stay relevant in today's changing world. It's always been difficult to educate clients and get them to see the business opportunities for their brands in the African American market, even in the best of times. In this economy it's that much more difficult as multicultural budgets are often some of the first to be cut. Admittedly the new business opportunities are even fewer and farther between as a result. But those agencies who are smart and have strategy at the heart of everything they do will be the ones to survive. And those agencies who understand the multicultural market is now really the general market, and who continue to produce smart, inclusive yet carefully targeted work as a result, will thrive and prosper.

Vivo Natural Products

What a great idea started by a talented young man who is a visionary and innovator. "His environmental and philanthropic soaps are cleaning up this planet, one shower at a time." By using shea butter, one of the most natural properties that's especially good for skincare, Michael Talve has created an product that will help keep the people of the world naturally clean, in an affordable way. To be sure there are other shea butter products, and even bars of shea soap. But what makes this story even more remarkable is that Michael went to Toga, West Africa, where a collective of women produce their own shea butter. He wanted it to be pure and unprocessed, and he also wanted the women in the collective to be his partners. Wow! An entrepreneur with a social conscious. As an advertising man who spent several years in the early 90s reintroducing Dove Beauty Bar to Europe; and introducing it to Central Europe after the iron curtain had dropped, I've watched women around the world fall in love with the softness of Dove on the one hand, and 'cried' on the other hand as it dissolved away quickly forcing them to purchase even more bars. VIVO, on the other hand, lasts 'forever.' I've sworn by Dove and don't use anything else. I even pack it when traveling so I don't miss it while on the road. My daughter, who is now twenty-two, has never experienced anything but Dove. That's because Dove delivers on its promise and keeps skin soft and prevents it from drying. Which is why Dove has found a place in my heart. I have been a disciple for it ever since. But now I am smitten with an idea and product that is potentially even more promising and I can't wait to try it. It's exciting to think I'm on the verge of starting a new love affair with a bar of soap. It would be just as exciting to work with Michael and help him differentiate his brand from the other shea products that are in the marketplace. That will help him deliver the promise of VIVO Natural Products to the rest of the world in a way that they too will fall in love with the VIVO brand and own it with him. After all, that's how brands are born. It's a love affair, really.

Part Three: 3.25.09 – 3.31.09
Teaching was my primary source of income so I continued to do that at the university and pursue my masters at the same time. Teaching students historical and contemporary black political thought and challenging them to learn it was something I loved doing. I worked as a consultant on a number of federally funded programs as well. And Livin’ Black was now aired weekly.

Needless to say, I didn't have much time for anything else, so of course I got married in June of 1972 at the ripe old age of 24. My wife, Natalie Jane Bruce of Indianapolis graduated from St. Mary's of the Woods in Terre Haute, Indiana and was teaching music in grade school. At 22 she was even younger than me.

Natalie and I met as undergraduates when her choir traveled to Cincinnati one college weekend. We dated a little but had not seen or talked with one another for a few years. Natalie’s father, Dr. Reginald Bruce, was one of the most successful doctors in Indianapolis. He and Natalie’s stepfather, Charles DeBow, were Tuskegee airmen. On my way home from covering the First National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, for Livin’ Black I stopped in Indianapolis and called Dr. Bruce and asked for Natalie’s number. Four months later, June 1972, Natalie and I were married and living in Dayton.


As Livin’ Black continued to grow I was even more attracted to television and wanted to leave the university and pursue a full-time career in television. In 1972 the FCC began to require that television stations hire more minorities. That created a number of opportunities for me as an on-air news personality at television stations in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis; but that t wasn't what I wanted to do, much to the surprise of those who wanted to hire me to fill their minority quotas. “You should do this,” a news director said, “and in a couple of years the network will move you into a major market where you'll start making a lot of money.”

I was much more interested in writing, producing and creating content for television instead. “Oh,” the general manager of the station would say, “we don’t have any of those jobs.” So I continued teaching, consulting and working on Livin’ Black.
A year later, however, Dayton was selected as one of the five pilot cities in the federally funded Model Cities Program. And the city was one of the first in the country to have an Ombudsman’s Office, a joint center for citizens’ complaints modeled after the Ombudsman Office in Sweden founded in 1809. The first commercial I ever created was in fact a public service announcement for them.

Dayton was also home to the very first rape crisis center in the country and the first federally funded drug rehab program where addicts weaned themselves off heroin using methadone as a substitute. And the Dayton Police Academy was the first in the country to be called a Criminal Justice Center instead, shifting the mindset from teaching recruits basic police work to having them better understand their role in relation to the community. Remember, there were many riots in our urban centers during the late ‘60s and a lot of unrest generally, so a great deal of federal money was spent to educate, inform and sensitize police personnel. I was involved in some way with all those programs.

But racism is institutionalized and very powerful and trying to change something that was so ingrained in society was at best difficult. Whenever policemen had sniper practice at the Criminal Justice Center their favorite target was a silhouette of an African American male with Afro. In fact, it was the favorite target nationwide, so much so that the manufacturer couldn't keep up with the demand.

It was during this time that a colleague of mine and I submitted a proposal to the federal government to produce documentary films. The day they notified us that our application had been approved was an exciting one. I was finally going to be able to leave teaching and concentrate full-time on film making. However, except for the news film that we would occasionally shoot for some of the interview segments of Livin’ Black I didn't know anything about film or film editing. But I was determined to learn. NEXT: Trying to find a documentary cameraman…

Client spending in a recession...

Everyone knows we are experiencing an economy unlike any in our lifetime - for reasons that continue to be discussed and debated worldwide, we're in a recession. Ultimately consumers aren't spending and clients are budgeting significantly less to market and advertise their products as a result. But clients are approaching the problem very differently. Some of them understand the importance of developing overarching strategies that guide their every action - and they are less reactive and arbitrary in their decision making as a result. They understand the importance of continuing to engage the consumer as well. As their agency partners we must help them maintain the market share we've all worked hard to gain. At a time when fewer media dollars are being spent we must create ideas that are even stronger and more innovative than ever before. But clients must give their agency partners sufficient resources in order for us to do so. Those who understand that, are more likely to protect their current market share in this downturn and be particularly well poised to increase that share when the economy rebounds. Those clients who don't understand that, won't be. It's that simple.

Journey of a Black man in advertising...Part Two

PART TWO: 3.25.09
Our television pilot was a snapshot of some of the most salient aspects of African American history. Music and narration rounded it out nicely. It was the first television show any of us had created and we were excited when the pilot ran. We were even more excited when the station decided to air the show monthly...even if it was 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. But that would soon change.

The show was called, Livin’ Black. Ed Clay was the director. Before long it aired weekly and the station gave us a better time slot. There were only a few shows like ours in cities throughout the country. Tony Brown's Journal and Positively Black aired nationally. As did Director Stan Lathan's Say Brother, produced by WGBH in Boston. We were all pioneers.

Darlene Hayes was my co-host and a producer for The Phil Donahue Show, which had started in Dayton just two years earlier. Phil’s show was really one of the first talk show/audience participation programs and it quickly gained a national following. We didn't have a budget so he would bring noted African Americans to Dayton that worked for his show and ours. He did his show live, we taped Livin’Black afterwards and aired it weeks later to a different audience.

That’s how we were able to conduct interviews with educators, political activists and politicians: Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., just three months before his untimely death; Dr. Alvin Poussaint, world-renowned psychiatrist from Harvard Medical School; Reverend Jesse Jackson, then head of Operation Push; civil rights activists like Floyd McKissick, James Foreman, Amiri Baraka; and, of course, celebrities like Muhammad Ali.

I also conducted interviews with musicians like Herbie Hancock, shortly after his conversion to Buddhism; Jamaican-born pianist Monte Alexander and his Caribbean rhythms; George Benson, who was on tour to introduce the young, very talented Earl Klug; base player Eugene Wright, who played with the Dave Brubeck quartet in the‘50s and‘60s; saxophone legend Eddie Harris, who invented an electric sax and a reed mouthpiece for the trumpet that he said sounded like Halloween until he was able to master it; Dizzy Gillespie, who shared with the audience how he came to blow the trumpet with his cheeks puffed out , for which he was noted;Roy Ayers and Lionel Hampton dueling on the xylophones; the wonderfully mellow sounds of Grover Washington; and the poignant interview with Charlie Mingus as he sat, nodding in his chair, talking about his love of music and his unfortunate but longtime addiction to heroin.

It was quite a time in Dayton. Phil Donahue would soon have Marlo Thomas on his show, fall in love with and marry her. Len Berman, now of WNBC fame in NYC, was then the sportscaster at the station. And the weatherman was Dewey Hopper, who for a time reported the weather from outside the studio. Dewey would go on to a legendary career in Denver and Phoenix where he adopted a showbiz style of weather casting. Look for Part 3 soon...

Client Relationships

Our ability to manage and grow our clients' business depends upon our ability to forge and maintain a relationship with them. And that's especially important in the multicultural marketplace where so many clients responsible for managing multicultural marketing do not understand it to begin with. But that doesn't mean they don't want to learn. So we have to help them and educate them so they understand the subtleties and nuances of our market. We must be relentless in forging that partnership with them. And we can't do that by simply sitting in the office talking with them on the phone. We must leave our offices, walk their halls and spend quality time talking with them about ideas that will fuel the growth of their brand in our marketplace. We can't grow their business or ours otherwise.

Journey of a Black man in advertising...Part One

Little did I know that the documentary films I created about social issues, and the television interviews I conducted with legendary African American politicians and entertainers would lead me to a life in advertising. But that's what happened.

My journey started in the spring of 1970 just after I returned to Dayton, Ohio, from the University of Santa Clara where I had completed my undergraduate studies. I began working on my masters in political science at the University of Dayton with an eye toward the fall semester when I was to become the assistant director for the new African American studies program, and a full-time instructor teaching historical and contemporary black political thought and philosophy.

It was a fascinating time, for sure, and often a volatile one -- the Soledad Brothers, Angela Davis, the Weathermen, SDS, Patty Hearst, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and the Black Panther Party, the Vietnam War, rioting in the cities.... Protests and boycotts were the order of the day on college campuses. The “massacre” of students by members of the National Guard on the campus of Kent State would occur two weeks after I returned to Dayton.

I settled into a house with my best friend from California, Peter, and began my studies. Shortly thereafter I received a call from a local high school teacher, Ed Clay, who wanted me to give a “guest lecture” on black history to his senior history class at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School. The students were excited to learn aspects of African American history and politics they had not heard before. It was an enlightening experience for all.

That summer I continued my graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I also fell madly in love with a wonderful woman I shall always remember. But that's another story. I was in Madison to study African and African American politics and literature with a group of faculty members from around the country. All of us were preparing for the fall term when we would be teaching ethnic studies at our respective colleges and universities.

I'll never forget the August morning when we awoke to discover that the east wing of Sterling Hall had been bombed, we found out, by SDS. Sterling Hall was the math building that also housed the physics department. SDS later said they had intended only to destroy the building and not hurt anyone, but a 33-year-old physics researcher who happened to be working there in the late night/early morning hours of August 24, 1970, when the bomb was detonated, had been instantly killed.

After returning to Dayton a few weeks later I begin teaching the fall semester. I received a call from Ed, who had left teaching to become assistant director for community affairs at the local AVCO television station, WLWD. He asked if I would help him create an hour-long, monthly show by and for the black community in Dayton. We agreed to meet at the television station to discuss the project. The day of the meeting I walked into the station and immediately knew this world, in some way, shape or form, was ultimately going to be my world. I was smitten.

When we were little kids my father and all my uncles had 8mm film cameras, so we were forever watching home movies. I later learned it was my father who introduced my mother’s family to 8mm film, and my brothers and cousins and I often made our own home movies, usually cowboys and Indians, and loved watching them. The families would get together to watch 8mm films of picnics, vacations, holidays and so much more. But it was not until that day, when I entered the television station in Dayton, Ohio, for my meeting with Ed that it all started to come together. I didn’t know how those feelings would manifest themselves but I immediately agreed to work with Ed on the development of the show – even without pay. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. My journey began.

What have we done for our clients today?

What have we done for our clients today? Not yesterday...but today. What ideas have we 'brought to their table' that will fuel the grow of their business in the multicultural marketplace, and beyond? In this challenged economy clients are looking for growth wherever they can find it...are we being pro-active and showing them where that might be? In order to do so we must first be abreast of the unique challenges their brands face at a time when the economy is as bad as it's been since the depression. Are we? And when our clients tell us their budgets are being cut and they're spending less are we able to show what their competitors are doing by comparison? Are we armed with case studies that quantify and help our clients understand brands that continue to spend during difficult economic times often gain market share as a result?

We must dig deep, leave no stone unturned, 'look around the corner' and passionately pursue every opportunity that might help our clients. Then we must develop innovative ideas that lead to brilliant marketing communications and deliver on that promise; after all that's the business we're in. And at a time when clients are spending less money those ideas have to be even smarter and work even harder than ever before. So let's stay focused on forging a partnership between our clients and ourselves, a partnership borne out of our mutual passion and determination to grow their brands in an economy that is otherwise not conducive to growing much of anything.

A moment of truth...3 of 3

But where will the general market agencies find the experienced African American talent they so desperately need? Rest assured, they won’t be calling us who own multicultural agencies seeking referrals. But they will certainly call and court our employees instead. At Footsteps, all our staff was trained at the best general market agencies; they couldn't work here otherwise. To those agencies I say thanks. And I will never stand in the way of any one who chooses to return to a bigger, general market agency -- sort of a reverse migration, if you will.

But why have those talented men and women chosen to come to us and be involved in multicultural marketing in the first place? They came here because they were passionate about the business of advertising and frustrated that at their general market agency they didn’t find an environment that nurtured their passion and pursuits, let alone rewarded them. That does not mean by the way that they should be treated any differently than anyone who is learning the business. Just the opposite, they should be treated the same…but the problem is they are not.

And they came because they wanted to work in the multicultural marketplace. At Footsteps, strategy is at the heart of everything we do. The positioning of our clients' brands is borne out of the insights and nuances our account group and planners work hard to identify. And while our creative is targeted it crosses over because it is based on universal truths. We can compete with anyone. And we'll gladly take the call from those clients who want a diverse group of wonderfully talented advertising people passionate about growing their business in the multicultural marketplace...and, beyond.

Excellence is colorblind. It is either excellent or it isn't, by anyone's standards. At Footsteps it is all about the business of advertising and we do it as well or better than anyone. In the world we live in and culture we foster “good is the enemy of excellence” and there is no other way to work. Our people could work anywhere but choose to work here, and our environment is demanding yet nurturing and respectful. Importantly, the rewards are directly commensurate with the effort.

But for those people of color who choose to work at general market agencies those agencies must first change their culture to one that is inviting to all people, one that truly provides an opportunity for all people. Being the only black person in a sea of otherwise whites is not an easy task. Especially since traditionally it meant having to work twice as hard and wait twice as long for promotions and rewards that never came. Not unlike Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man.’ The disparities continue to this day and they are many and great. It is a moment of truth, indeed.

A moment of truth...2 of 3

When I first moved into multicultural marketing at one of the country's oldest and largest African American agencies I received a call from one of my colleagues with whom I had worked for years at a general market agency. Naively, I thought he might be exploring a business relationship, turning to us to help them develop targeted marketing communications they couldn't otherwise develop on their own. I was wrong.

He needed something else. "I was in a meeting with one of our very big clients,” he said, “and she looked around the room and said, "our business is all over the world but everyone working on my brand is white. Why aren't there any people of color in this room?” I could only imagine the stammering that ensued -- how could they answer that question? “Well, we've been looking and couldn't find anyone.” Or, “we do have a black account person but she is already on all our other accounts and spread a bit thin...but if you want, we'll put her on your business too.”

So my friend was calling to ask if I could help him find a black writer to work on the account. That was over 15 years ago. Good for him that he reached out to me to help him; he is a smart man, after all. Even better for the client who insisted that people working on her global business be diverse. Clients don’t do that enough these days and their business suffers as a result. Carly Fiorina and I don’t share many political beliefs, but I like what she long ago said about diversity: "Diversity is at the heart of creativity...and creativity is at the heart of this economy of ours." She couldn’t be more right.

Two years ago I was in a meeting of agency CEOs and one of them actually said he had “other more pressing business concerns than spending time and resources to find people of color [he]
didn't know how to find anyway.” Is it good business when everyone in upper management at your global agency is cut from the same cloth and shares the same set of narrow values and perspectives on life? Is that good for your clients’ brands? I don’t think so. Don't get me wrong; it is very important that people working within any company embrace the ethos of the agency brand. But where are the diverse views and opinions that lead to passionate debates about the clients' brands and fuel their growth around the world? That CEO didn’t have a clue, which is perhaps why he is no longer CEO and someone else has come in to try and turn the agency around.

part 3 follows...

A moment of truth...1 of 3

As a black man who has been in advertising for over 33 years, I'm delighted to see the industry taken to task for not employing more people of color. There have been previous half-hearted attempts to increase 'diversity' over the years but now that Cyrus Mehri, “one of the nation's top civil-rights attorneys and a man who has been dubbed one of Washington's most feared lawyers,” has turned his attention to the ad industry's woeful diversity record, I suspect dramatic changes are in the wind.

Not because the general market agencies necessarily embrace it (the smarter ones long ago have done so); but because they will have no choice. “The ad industry doesn’t just have a diversity problem," Mehri said. It is guilty of “pervasive racial discrimination” that not only ‘under hires’ and segregates African Americans but pays them 80 cents for every dollar it pays comparable white employees.”

Some agencies and holding companies have partnered with advertising schools like Miami Ad School, the Portfolio Center, VCU and others to help develop a young, very diverse group of advertising talent that can feed their agencies. And they should be commended for their continued support. But where will they find those African Americans whose years of advertising experience enables them to service the clients' business and manage and grow their brands from the most senior of positions? Those who will also be the mentors and role models the young people of color will need in the general market agencies? And let’s be clear, everyone, regardless of color needs mentors and role models – that’s how aspirations and dreams are achieved.


part 2 follows...

Inauguration of Barack Obama

Yesterday's inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama led me to think about the road we have traveled...and the many miles we still have to go...

We grew up in the 50s in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where my father was the dean of the law school at South Carolina State College. Orangeburg was as segregated a city as you could find in the Deep South. As children we somehow navigated that treacherous landscape and survived its unforgiving times; from the "colored" and "white only" water fountains and restrooms to the segregated schools and movie theaters. Whites worked hard to instill fear in those who longed to undo segregation and years of legal disenfranchisement. The police were legally empowered to "keep people in their place" and use brute force to maintain the status quo. It was segregation de jure.

But there were those who were undaunted by the daily threats they encountered and continued to march in the face of danger. They fought for the basic freedoms guaranteed by our constitution. Some died fighting yet others stood ready to carry their cause forward. Their courage inspired people everywhere to embrace that spirit and to move forward and accomplish feats they never thought they were capable of doing. My father was one of those people.

As a lawyer and writer, he was enlisted by the movement to craft powerful letters of protest and impassioned pleas for justice that were sent anonymously to the governor and to newspapers all over the state. However, I didn't learn that until many years later when I met and interviewed then Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., for a television show in Dayton, Ohio, just three months before he died. He knew it was me who would be interviewing him, and as I approached, my hand outstretched to meet his, he said, "You look just like your father, Dean Gay." I was stunned. "That's right," he said, "your father would type those letters and we destroyed the typewriters because the FBI and state police were looking for us. Didn't he ever tell you that?" No, he didn't. But at that moment I finally knew why my mother whisked her children back to the relative safety of our hometown Detroit, fleeing the constant threats my father and others in the struggle received from the KKK. My father stayed behind in Orangeburg and continued to work in the civil rights movement and fight for justice. With others, he defended students who were spat upon during the sit-ins at the lunch counters and who were beaten and hauled off to jail. Years later, in 1968, police fired on a group of students from South Carolina State who were protesting segregation, leaving three students dead and 27 injured. It became known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

My father and so many others who fought for justice have passed from this world, but their spirit lives on in us. Their struggle is a old as our country itself. After hundreds of years we have come a long way, but still have so much farther to travel. Yesterday, that journey started anew, and now it's become a movement beyond any that preceded it.

President Barack Hussein Obama is a man who inspires people: Black and White, Asian and Hispanic, Native Americans, rich and poor, Muslim and Christian, Jews and Gentiles...people the world over. He is a catalyst for change and brings so much hope at a time when the world desperately needs it. We must seize the moment so we can help him. We must vigilantly defend that dream every day. Right is right, wrong is wrong. And after eight years of a woefully incompetent administration, Obama is ready to show us there is a much better way. But he can't do it alone. No, we must spread the word as his disciples, helping others to embrace the challenge he has put before us. Together we can realize his dream, which, after all, is the dream of the whole world ...Yes We Can.

The 'Big Three' lose their cache...

As a native Detroiter, it's sad to see the "Big Three" now reduced to the "Detroit Three," traveling to Washington, hat in hand, fighting for their very survival. But the predicament they find themselves in and the story that continues to unfold is really one of their own making...and one they've been writing for years.

There was a time when their automobiles were distinctive, the styling superb. People couldn't wait until the new cars were unveiled every fall. My uncles and many of their fellow black factory workers throughout the city jokingly referred to October 13 as the "first national Negro holiday," because that's when the new Cadillacs hit the showrooms. None of them went to work that day; they were all in the showrooms instead. So what happened? Why is there not that same excitement and anticipation about Detroit's cars today? The Pontiac Chieftains and Oldsmobile 98s that allowed families to comfortably travel down the highway between the northern industrial cities to which they had migrated and the southern states from which they had come are no longer to be found.

More later...

"I'm glad they killed that nigger"

Last fall when Obama was sworn in as the country's first black president, I couldn't help but think back to a time long ago when I was in college. A very different kind of day comes to my mind.

"I'm glad they killed that nigger," he said to me as the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor of the dorm where we lived. Henry was standing there with a smile on his face, celebrating the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was 1968 on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry was the most racist person on campus where only twelve of the 2,500 students were black.

He was a senior that year and I was a junior. He always tried to bait me into a fight and was known around campus for dousing small animals, cats or dogs, with lighter fluid, setting them on fire and throwing them, flaming, out of the sixth-floor window. So, I knew any fight with him would would be a fight to the death, and I wasn't prepared to go there. But get us on a football field playing intramural football and it was different.

The whole campus knew there was a bounty on my head payable to whomever was able to put me in the hospital. My friends feared for my safety and warned me not to take the field whenever we played. But I was determined that Henry and his friends would never hurt me and, except for one day when I was blindsided by two of the "bounty hunters" and briefly winded, they never did. Instead, I made sure they paid a physical price themselves whenever they tried.

One night I was with some of my friends at a local pub near campus that was frequented by students. Henry and his friends were celebrating their upcoming graduation. He came toward me and I was certain the "fight to the death" was at hand. Instead, Henry said, "You know, we wanted to really kill you on the football field, but every time we tried you hurt us instead. I like that. But I still hate "fucking niggers." I wonder where Henry is today?

Better to ask than assume...

It is always better to ask questions and know for sure rather than to assume we know. The former allows us to better understand one another and work together in partnership. The latter leads to confusion and mistrust and can only divide.

"Life..."

LIFE...

is not measured

by the number of

breaths we take,

but my the number

of moments that

take our breath away.

Kendra Grice-Brunson

"She's very smart..."

"She's very smart," one colleague said to the other, "and she can easily come up with some alternative approaches to this problem." "Yeah, you're right," the other replied, "but she has become a bit complacent in her thinking these days and keeps giving us the 'same old same old.' Continuing to do what we did for our clients yesterday or even today may no longer be effective in view of the current economic climate. The choice for our clients of "more of the same vs. change" is an easy one. Consumers are spending less and clients are competing harder to win customers. As our clients' partner, we must try things we never before tried or even thought possible; not with reckless abandon but based upon judgment and insight that is consumer informed and idea led. We must find more interesting and innovative ways to deliver messaging that resonates with the consumer. It is a "choice of the past vs. the future," as Obama said to his supporters after winning the Iowa caucus. The world is indeed changing and we must evolve and change with it. Our very survival as an advertising agency is dependent upon our vision of the future. So, as we kick off the New Year, let's adopt as our mantra what we heard over and over again from the American people in response to Obama's message of change (see link below): "Yes we can."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7RRBlng8fg

"Good is the enemy of excellence."

The whole is greater...

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The person who acknowledges what he or she doesn't know and turns to others for help and advice, is really the smart one; more likely to be successful. The person who pretends to know everything and shuns the counsel of others embarks blindly on a path that is destined to fail.

Difficult times = Opportunities...

Difficult economic times present challenges to our clients and their brands. Opportunities as well, but only if we think and act differently on their behalf. We have to be even more passionate in the pursuit of nuances that emotionally connect our clients' brands to their customers; and relentless in developing innovative solutions that engender long-term trust between them.