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How else do you explain
mind-boggling success of hip hop music, which has become dominant music genre in America and around world?
These white kids simply don't care what artist's skin color is. They just like music. That's all they know and care about. It's decision makers running our private and public institutions, and largest companies whom apparently have biggest problem with race.
Yet, it's also obvious that vast majority of corporate America does not practice racism. This is evidenced by growing number of African American and other minorities appearing in television commercials as well as receiving their own tv shows on cable. So, perhaps what we're talking about here is more a problem of institutional racism, than anything else.
Perhaps that's why most of African American televison shows are on cable. And perhaps that's why major network television shows like Seinfeld, Friends, Home Improvement and many others present a world completely devoid of color. These shows are completely white. What major city in America has no black people?
Yet, there is no complaint from mainstream America about lack of proper representation of minorities on network television. And corporate America eagerly buys ad space on these lily-white tv shows. In fact, NBC used to boast about having a "Women Only" lineup with no African-American women. Since when is femininity solely realm of white women?
The aforementioned example speaks volumes about television executives in Hollywood. Until their narrow-minded, racist attitudes change, we'll continue to see "non-reality" television shows like Friends and Seinfeld on network television.
On flip side of that are Hollywood movie executives. They're finally starting to see "big picture" (no pun intended.) Never before in history of movie-making have we had six African American major box office stars, all at same time: Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson and Wesley Snipes.
Slowly but surely, corporate America is finding out hard way that racism just doesn't work anymore. However, learning those lessons has been extremely expensive for corporate America. In 1992, Shoney's paid $132.8 million to settle a class-action discrimination suit brought by 20,000 employees and unsuccessful job applicants.
In 1994, Denny's paid $54.4 million to settle two class- action suits brought by black customers who claimed some restaurants refused to seat or serve them. Yet, both companies appeared in FORTUNE magazine's inaugural list of best 50 companies for African Americans, Asians and Hispanics just four years later.
How did they become role models for diversity? First, by recognizing and acknowledging fact that race does indeed matter. Secondly, by finally opening their eyes and becoming business savvy by realizing that African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics spend an estimated $920 billion annually and that this is a business, not a social issue for them.
$920 billion annually and growing is a tremendous amount of clout and buying power. And any institution that consciously chooses to ignore specific ethnic groups responsible for those numbers, is not only engaging in abhorrently bad business practices, but stupidity as well!
Perhaps offending institutions should ask their stockholders what they think about that.
Marketing Basics specializes in writing articles that teach, explain and define basic marketing principles and techniques. http://marketingbasics.blogspot.com http://allsearchengineoptimization.blogspot.com
