Wild Bill Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Can you imagine if a white person did this about his/her own race in America? The left-wing press and leftist hate groups would be all over them! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1 Couple's 'buy black' experiment becomes a movement ATLANTA (AP) - It's been two months since 2-year-old Cori pulled the gold stud from her left earlobe, and the piercing is threatening to close as her mother, Maggie Anderson, hunts for a replacement. It's not that the earring was all that rare—but finding the right store has become a quest of Quixotic proportions. Maggie and John Anderson of Chicago vowed four months ago that for one year, they would try to patronize only black-owned businesses. The "Empowerment Experiment" is the reason John had to suffer for hours with a stomach ache and Maggie no longer gets that brand-name lather when she washes her hair. A grocery trip is a 14-mile odyssey. "We kind of enjoy the sacrifice because we get to make the point ... but I am going without stuff and I am frustrated on a daily basis," Maggie Anderson said. "It's like, my people have been here 400 years and we don't even have a Walgreens to show for it." So far, the Andersons have spent hundreds of dollars with black businesses from grocery stores to dry cleaners. But the couple still hasn't found a mortgage lender, home security system vendor or toy store. Nonetheless, they're hoping to expand the endeavor beyond their Chicago home. Plans are under way to track spending among supporters nationwide and build a national database of quality black businesses. The first affiliate chapter has been launched in Atlanta, and the couple has established a foundation to raise funds for black businesses and an annual convention. "We have the real power to do something, to use the money we spend every day to solve our problems," Maggie Anderson said recently at a meet-and-greet in Atlanta. "We have to believe that black businesses are just as good as everybody else's." Now, the Andersons are following up with 4,000 people who signed up for the experiment on their Web site to gauge their commitment and set up online accounts to track their spending. Hundreds have also joined the experiment's Facebook page, Maggie Anderson said. Gregory Price, chairman of the economics department at Morehouse College, said black visionaries like Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey made similar calls to action. "The idea is a sound one, given that black Americans are still underrepresented in the ranks of the self-employed and that entrepreneurship is a key component to wealth," Price said. There are one million black businesses in the United States accounting for more than $100 billion in annual sales, according to the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The latest U.S. Census numbers report that blacks have more than $800 billion in expendable income each year. The Andersons track their spending on their Web site and estimate about 55 percent of their monthly spending is with black businesses for things like day care, groceries, car maintenance and home improvements. One of the businesses highlighted by the Empowerment Experiment is Brenda Brown's Atlanta wine boutique, a shop with a growing black clientele. She said the project can help overcome the problems many black consumers lament. "When we were a community of black folks who could not go to the white stores, our community of black stores flourished," Brown said. "When we were given the opportunity to go into the white store, it was like nothing else mattered anymore and we wanted to go to the white store, regardless of what the black store provided. We could have the same or better products if we supported (black businesses) in the same way." Lewis Peeples, 45, lives in a black neighborhood in southwest Atlanta but didn't think to spend his money with black businesses until a friend told him about the project. "So often, we make purchases and decisions and aren't even mindful that there is a a need to support our own businesses," said Peeples. "Now, I'm reaching out and making sure I know that I have an option when I look to make a purchase." Two months ago, he committed to patronizing black businesses and found a black dry cleaner 10 minutes from home. Even when he was dissatisfied with his black doctor, he was able to find a new one. He suggests both to friends and refers others to the experiment's Web site, where he tracks his expenses. Dallas Smith, who owns a commercial real estate firm in Atlanta, said mainstream retailers have undervalued black consumers. He lives in a black neighborhood in southwest Atlanta, where he tries to dine at black restaurants. He lamented the lack of quality businesses catering to black customers and said blacks should appreciate such businesses more. "We've still got that 'the white man's water is colder' mentality," he said. "We can't take us for granted. When we go to our establishments, it's almost like we're doing a favor. That ought to be a given for us." The Andersons remain encouraged by their momentum online and in the media. At the end of 2009, they hope to show $1 million in spending with black businesses among supporters across the country. "The response has been so huge," Maggie Anderson said. "We think so much can come out of this. We're in movement-making mode now." Price, the Morehouse professor, said defining the project's success won't be easy, since the real barriers to black advancement are poor access to capital and lack of training opportunities. "It would be nice to see some real, hard data," Price said. "Otherwise, it could just be an episode of ethnic cheerleading." Link to comment
tattooedhusker Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 wow...if i did the opposite, that would be "racist" Link to comment
hosker Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 i don't have a problem with it(either way, black/white), but i also have no respect for "political correctness" i just think its stupid someone would go out of their way to do something like this... Link to comment
SOCALHUSKER Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 They're free to do as they please. However, this might be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. Talk about heading in the wrong direction!! Prosperity in the market is created when competition/choice is at the maximum, so lets limit our choices and hope to prosper that way!! Link to comment
HuskerJen Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1 Maggie and John Anderson of Chicago vowed four months ago that for one year, they would try to patronize only black-owned businesses. Umm let me see if I can adequately express my feelings here towards this couple... F'ING IGNORANT RACISTS A**HOLES! It's people like this that make me want to vomit...f'ing racist piece of excrements. Link to comment
redout22 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Wow does it really mean that much to them. Racism at its finest Link to comment
SOCALHUSKER Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 The more I think about this plan, the more and more ridiculous it sounds. Do these people actually believe when they buy product from an black-owned establishment that all the proceeds benefits the blacks? Do they think that all the products are created, produced, and distributed by blacks? If not, exactly what are they accomplishing? Link to comment
huskertim Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 My first instinct when I saw this article was to be repulsed. I hate racism and can't for the life of me understand how it can be so openly condoned because the one perpetrating it is a "minority". Having said that, I thought this was intesting: "We've still got that 'the white man's water is colder' mentality," he said. "We can't take us for granted. When we go to our establishments, it's almost like we're doing a favor. That ought to be a given for us." Not that this excuses the underlying bigotry, but I find it interesting to see a call for the black community to examine it's own motives instead of only pointing the finger of blame at everyone else. "We kind of enjoy the sacrifice because we get to make the point ... but I am going without stuff and I am frustrated on a daily basis," Maggie Anderson said. "It's like, my people have been here 400 years and we don't even have a Walgreens to show for it." Putting aside the fact that 400 years places them here before the first permanent colony, Mrs Anderson may have something of a point. As is alluded to later in the article, it is through entrepeneurship and ownership that people advance in society but since the civil rights act, It seems black political leaders have focused only on what someone else can do for the black community rather than on what individuals should be doing for themselves. I have been encouraged lately to see a change in this tactic, though it has been slow and slight. I hope for a future werein these debates are mute. Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Buy Black!, Couple's 'buy black' experiment becomes a movement So... No mention of our team going to "Black Jerseys"?!?!? Link to comment
huskertim Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Buy Black!, Couple's 'buy black' experiment becomes a movement So... No mention of our team going to "Black Jerseys"?!?!? No, evidently, we couldn't find a minority producer of black atheletic gear. Link to comment
HuskerJen Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 since the civil rights act, It seems black political leaders have focused only on what racist white liberals, who think that blacks are too stupid and incompetent to do anything for themselves, can do for the black community... There, I fixed your post for you. Link to comment
killer cacti Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1 Maggie and John Anderson of Chicago vowed four months ago that for one year, they would try to patronize only black-owned businesses. Umm let me see if I can adequately express my feelings here towards this couple... F'ING IGNORANT RACISTS A**HOLES! It's people like this that make me want to vomit...f'ing racist piece of excrements. Wow. My sentiments exactly Jen, good post. Link to comment
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