Is an Organized African American Consumer Base Possible?

The Carrot Mob model is a possible means to stimulate some employment and possibly other changes in the way businesses deal with African Americans.

WHAT IS CARROTMOB?

Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott.
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I propose we adapt this model to consolidate our buying power and take advantage of something we already possess -our present consumer power. It surely can't hurt to study the model since it appears to be working for the "Greenies".
This technique is one possible means of competing with companies that are lobbying government for bills that are counter productive to our needs. For example we reward the companies with fair hiring practices and companies that lobby for things that benefit us. One possible name. Cocoa Mob.

It doesn't stop there we can join forces with the Carrotmob at times and create an even stronger consumer interest base.

The Congressional Black Caucus Attacks President Barack Obama

Boyce Watkins

It seems that the Congressional Black Caucus has a bone to pick with President Barack Obama. The 43-member group recently agreed to boycott a vote on a financial overhaul measure as a sign of protest toward the Obama Administration. The bill easily passed, but Rep. Maxine Waters made it clear that the caucus could cause trouble for future Democratic bills by voting with the Republicans. The protest was in response to what the CBC considers to be a blatant disregard for African American issues by the Obama Administration.

In response to the recent actions by the CBC, I only have one thing to say: Great move.

While I applaud the Congressional Black Caucus decision to stand tough when dealing with the Obama Administration, this move is not without it's problems. As the CBC swims into the dangerous realm of critiquing President Obama, a few points should remain clear:

1) The CBC is not attempting to tarnish Barack Obama's presidency. By standing strong, they are helping him to do his job more effectively: In politics, only squeaky wheels get oiled. Representative Maxine Waters has become Obama's new Jeremiah Wright, as she has made the Obama Administration uncomfortable by asking all of the really tough questions and calling for Presidential accountability. The problem is that unlike Jeremiah Wright, President Obama can't get rid of Maxine Waters, who is an entrenched figure in national politics. Waters, as well as Rep. John Conyers, understands that if you don't negotiate tough on Capitol Hill, you are going to get ignored. Thus far, the president has largely dismissed nearly all concerns of the African American community, in large part because he knows that black people are never going to complain about his performance. Barack Obama could join the Ku Klux Klan and African Americans would still give him a pass. By holding the president accountable, the CBC is doing its job of ensuring that its black constituency is near the top of the president's list of priorities, since he has thus far spent his time catering to those who hate him the most. George Bush was a terrible president, but at least he took care of his friends.

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Congressional Black Caucus Flexing Muscle

Congressional Black Caucus Flexing Some Muscle

from an article by

By GLENN THRUSH

"The long-simmering family feud between the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African-American president burst into the open on Wednesday, with members boycotting a financial overhaul vote as a warning shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The 43-member caucus — which included Illinois Sen. Barack Obama from 2004 to 2008 — has chafed against President Obama and his top aides since the Inauguration, complaining that the White House takes it for granted and plays favorites with conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

Ten CBC members decided to boycott the House Financial Services Committee vote en masse after a tumultuous morning meeting at the Capitol between Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel failed to yield a deal, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The bill passed easily, but Waters suggested the CBC’s 43 members could vote with the GOP to scuttle a variety of Democratic bills if Obama and Emanuel don’t address what she thinks is a lack of understanding of the CBC’s wide-ranging goals of reducing urban unemployment, home foreclosures and bank failures."

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Regarding Tiger Woods' LOVE Affairs.

Good Man Tiger

Make Love,

Not War.

The Warrior's Prayer

Lineup of African-American Soldiers, (Buffalo Soliers), Cuba.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division.

The Warrior's Prayer

Long since, in sore distress, I heard one
pray,
“Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,
Ever from war and strife keep me away,
My battles fight!”

I know not if I play the Pharisee,
And if my brother after all be right;
But mine shall be the warrior’s plea to thee—
Strength for the fight.

I do not ask that thou shalt front the fray,
And drive the warring foeman from my sight;
I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day,
Strength for the fight!

When foes upon me press, let me not quail
Nor think to turn me into coward flight.
I only ask, to make my arms prevail,
Strength for the fight!

Still let mine eyes look ever on the foe,
Still let mine armor case me strong and
bright;
And grant me, as I deal each righteous blow,
Strength for the fight!

And when, at eventide, the fray is done,
My soul to Death’s bedchamber do thou
light,
And give me, be the field lost or won,
Rest from the fight!

Paul Laurence Dunbar