Did Rap Kill The Black Male Singer?

Did Rap Kill The Black Male Singer?By Pearl Jr. How many of you know who the best selling Black male singer in the world for 2008 was? I bet you'll never get this right, without a few clues. Well, he's 50 years old, considered washed up and too controversial to sell, plus the majority of his songs are more than 25 years old. It's Michael Jackson, who sold more than Usher, Chris Brown, Ne-yo, John Legend, and Seal. The King of Pop sold nearly as many records worldwide as the #1 best-selling artist in the US regardless of race, Lil Wayne, whose genre of hip hop lost 19.8 percent in sales from the previous year. Michael Jackson's song catalog sold 2.9 million copies with Thriller 25 topping over 2.3 million by itself, plus Michael didn't even promote it and performed nowhere! Shocking isn't it! (Lil Wayne sold nearly 3 million) Before the 1990's, it seemed one could find a million-selling Black male recording artist on other every corner, and, at least, 20 in every Black church. Today, it's becoming more and more difficult to ignore the facts that Black men are headed to the bottom of, yet, another statistical chart. Music, the savior of the Black race, made bearable the horrors of slavery, soothed during Jim Crow racism, and bonded in segregation. This type of Black love and togetherness ushered in the perfectly pitched passion of singers like Smokey Robinson singing countertenor (a male soprano), Michael Jackson a solid tenor, David Ruffin a baritone, and Barry White, the maestro, bass singer. Even now writing this article, name after name of remarkable Black male singers come to mind like Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Ronald Isley, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and singing groups like The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Stylistics, Chi-lights, Jackson 5, Earth Wind and Fire, The Moments, The Manhattans, New Edition, and Boys II Men. The list goes on and on. But today, where are the Black male singers that made Black women buy every Right On Magazine and scream with excited hysteria whenever their favorite artists appeared? In today's world of rap music, the last solid genre created in the Black community, seemed to have seduced too many Black men wishing for their spot on the top of music entertainment fame, to speak rhythmic poetry instead of singing the melodies of love and longing. The irony is that while the loving lyrics of Motown dominated the Black airways for decades, Black love was in bloom, and so was the growth of the music industry. Now too many Black men in the game of hip hop slop are volunteering to label Black women bitches and hos, promote criminality, excessive spending (bling), and speak of love making as purely a one night stand have contributed to the widespread decline of Black love and progress. It's no coincidence that Black love is down at the same time Black music is at its lowest levels ethically and well as financially. This decline has little to do with the recession because these declines started to manifest 6 years ago, and ringtones along with 99 cent downloads just ain't paying the bills. Could the absence of Black male singers be correlated with the lack of decency taught in rap crap chants? Does it take the desire to love completely and thoroughly to enhance the singing style of Black men? Throughout the history of television, there have been numerous talent shows, such as the competitions at the famed Apollo Theater and Star Search. But the last few seasons of American Idol have not produced one top Black male singer and I think Simon is in shock due to this! Season Eight of American Idol's top 12, Oops 13 doesn't have one Black male singer and only one Black male singer was in the top 36. Season two winner, Reuben Studdard and the like, are now extinct for six straight years. He was the only Black male winner in American Idol history. Black men have lost their way in so many more different categories, such as low high school graduation rates, high incarceration rates, high rates of low self-esteem or undeserved self-gratification, and too many Black men are not in the home taking care of their children and not marrying their baby's mothers. There are simply prices to pay for not loving and respecting your women! Nature just wasn't meant to fail like this! Perhaps, the Black male's continual downfall spiral will be due to too much bad karma. Have Black males lost their singing dominance with their souls and are now out of the emotional loop of wanting to give true love to a Black woman? What happened to lyrics like, "The Way You Do The Things You Do", "Just My Imagination", "Your Precious Love", "Maybe Tomorrow", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Lonely Teardrops", "Isn't She lovely", "Love Ballad", "I Can't Help Myself", "Mighty Love", "Reasons", "Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart", "Oh Girl" and "Ooh Child". Even later group like Boys II Men released hits like "I'll Make Love to You" and New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" seems like those were the last true love song that touched the heart in just the right place to make herds of girls run to the record store and lay out their, many times, strapped money to experience love's possibilities through music. Even, Michael Jackson, the best-selling artist in the world achieved his greatest heights when he was filled with Black pride and surrounded by Black people, especially his Black mother and sisters who lived at the family home with him, because all of his brothers had married and moved away. One might wonder if Michael Jackson still has Black fans. Well, as the owner of one of the largest and most successful Black-themed and Black-owned bookstores in Los Angeles (Eso-Won) told me that Thriller 25 was the best selling product in his store. Remember, the last women the world saw Michael with two Black women named Grace Rwamba (reportedly MJ was going to marry), his assistant and Raymone Bain, his spokesperson. All is not totally lost. There are a few Black male singers, but only one comes to mind. Usher, who is the last best selling new Black male singer, remains on the scene, but he is a rare reminiscent of days long past. Usher's album and song, "Here I Stand" earned him the #2 best-selling Black male singing title of 2008 because that love song exudes the unrelenting emotion every Black woman needs to hear to believe that to be loved, honored, and cherished is attainable. By the way, Usher is married to a beautiful Black woman. It's always been Black women that have purchased nearly all the recordings by Black male artists, period! Examine the recent careers of post-platinum selling artists akon, Baby Face, Brian McKnight, John Legend, and Seal who are all good singers, but once they are found out to not chose Black women as their mates, those sales dropped like hot potatoes. No one else will have the guts to say this or ASK THIS SERIOUS QUESTION. Is it the Black woman who brings out the natural emotional PASSION in Black men or is it Black women that feel abandoned by the very artist they put in the rich house AND stopped buying their music because now it is difficult to imagine that singer is singing to directly to them? The answer to both is probably a big yes. Either way, the Black male singer is the loser in all this when he chooses to abandon the already abandoned, use the already abused, and fall prey to manipulations that tell him to be wrong is to be right. Men are natural providers and protectors of their women, children and community, therefore, when Black men refuse to do their jobs as men, nature jumps in and creates a cataclysm of castigation. The Black race will not improve until Black men OVERWHELMINGLY take their responsibility seriously. Even with the latest abusive disaster with singer Chris Brown against his girlfriend Rihanna, whose first albums attained platinum, one of Chris' first music videos (from his second album) shows him chasing non-Black women and even jumping over Black girls to get to a non-Black girl. The highly publicized relationship between Chris and Rihanna jump started Chris' quickly declining records sales, because sistas just wasn't having it. Now, why would Black females purchase an album from a guy who blatantly disrespects Black females like that? They don't and they won't. Chris' career will never recover from his felony charges for allegedly beating his girlfriend Rihanna-and Rihanna doesn't even realize that she does not possess enough love to save him. Rihanna's latest album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide, while Chris' latest stands around 2 million. During their heavily publicized crisis, Rihanna continues to sell, but Chris' sales are pretty much dead. It seems to be a trend for Black men to be with non-Black women in entertainment, but much of the Black female audience is tired of trying to be racially fair when it's obvious that union is in direct contrast with Black love and the returning of Black men to their male lacking homes and communities. This may be hard for many to hear, but it is the love between a Black man and a Black woman that unveils the often imitated, unique melodic beauty of Black music? Yet, the Black female continues to deliver love songs at her emotional high, but Black men apparently, have done too much wrong to be righted by the God's of good singing and good fortune. As the author of the book, Black Women Need Love, Too, at a glance one would think this manual was written for the sole benefit of Black women, not so! It is basically for the savior of Black men via love for Black women. Isn't it quite obvious by now, that not loving hasn't rendered any real long lasting cultural benefits? Rap Crap artists are the biggest losers in the music industry-they lead in deaths, incarcerations, and lost fortunes. It was always the Black woman that supported the Black male singer, but how many Black men appreciated it? So now, it has been taken away. When will the majority of Black men realize that to not love Black women, will only deliver more massive declines. White women have the best PR because White men demand it and realize that if they don't love their women and represent them as valuable; big declines will be the result. You see, men are innately motivated to thrive for success when they want to be loved by a woman--take that away and chaos is the consequence. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, named his autobiography "To Be Loved" because that is what motivated him to succeed. At that time, he only dated Black women and Motown was filled with Black married couples--a correlation that supports this hypothesis. The old divide and conquer methodology, used by the non-Black music executives who have hired too many uneducated weak-minded sell-out thug-able young Black male performers to do their dirty work, has succeeded once more. How else did despicable words like the "N" word get into Black music? Motown didn't use it, Casablanca Records didn't use it and both these companies that Black men had ownership and control of hired tremendous Black talent and made lots of money. My man is the son of music executive and part owner of Casablanca Records, Cecil Holmes, who also worked in the record business and was kicked out in the early 1990's with a group of others, because they were too nice and decent for the massive mental corruption that was on the horizon. The Rap Crap Treason Act then took full effect. Now, the Black male singer seems to be a relic of the past. How many trick bags are we going to jump in? Do right by Black women, and Black men will see their own lives massively improve, which is attached to the upward mobility of the Black race! Hopefully, what was lost will one day be found again!

Source: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=x5oj9ycab.0.0.47eqbzaab.0&ts=S0389&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediatraffic.de%2F&id=preview
http://www.blackwomenneedlovetoo.com/
http://www.michaeljacksoninsider.com/

The Original Black Irish - A historical note

BLACK PEOPLE IN THE BRITISH ISLES AND EARLY NORTHERN EUROPE
By RUNOKO RASHIDI

Any comprehensive account of the African presence in early Europe should include England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Scandinavia. The history and legends of Scotland confirm the existence of "purely Black people." We see one of them in the person of Kenneth the Niger. During the tenth century Kenneth the Niger ruled over three provinces in the Scottish Highlands. (See photo)

The historical and literary traditions of Wales reflect similar beliefs. According to Gwyn Jones (perhaps the world's leading authority on the subject), to the Welsh chroniclers, "The Danes coming in by way of England and the Norwegians by way of Ireland were pretty well all black: Black Gentiles, Black Norsemen, Black Host."

There is also strong reason to suggest an African presence in ancient Ireland. We have, for example, the legends of the mysterious "African sea-rovers, the Fomorians, who had a stronghold on Torrey Island, off the Northwest Coast." The Fomorians, shrouded deep in mist, came to be regarded as the sinister forces in Irish mythology.

Photo: The Fomorians by John Duncan Scottish 19th century artist

A prominent Viking of the eleventh century was Thorhall, who was aboard the ship that carried the early Vikings to the shores of North America. Thorhall was "the huntsman in summer, and in winter the steward of Eric the Red. He was, it is said, a large man, and strong, black, and like a giant, silent, and foul-mouthed in his speech, and always egged on Eric to the worst; he was a bad Christian."

Another Viking, more notable than Thorhall, was Earl Thorfinn, "the most distinguished of all the earls in the Islands." Thorfinn ruled over nine earldoms in Scotland and Ireland, and died at the age of seventy-five. His widow married the king of Scotland. Thorfinn was described as "one of the largest men in point of stature, and ugly, sharp featured, and somewhat tawny, and the most martial looking man... It has been related that he was the foremost of all his men."

Click here to review the articles SOURCES:

"The Fomorians were an ancient sea-faring race it is thought that they originally came from Northern Africa or Asia as they are described as having dark hair and dark skin in the original accounts. The name 'Fomor' literally means 'beneath the sea' from the Gaelic faoi-mhuir. Today scholars believe that 'Mor' means 'phantom' or 'spirit' and therefore proves that the Fomorians were considered to be Gods with magical powers." Click here for source.

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Will The Real Brothers Please Man Up?

Will The Real Brothers Please Man Up?

by Kenny Pugh, Thursday, March 12, 2009

The African-American community is now at one of the lowest points in history. Critics and media weigh-in and begin placing blame and fingerpointing at the reasons for our societal and cultural demise. I agree that the liberated Black women’s movement has caused a shift in the traditional family structure, but we must applaud the desire for women to better themselves. Despite the varying issues our African-American women possess, you can often identify a man (father, husband, boyfriend, etc.) as the source of their troubles. What has caused this shift in our Black men?

1. Why are so many of us not finishing high school and opting to underachieve? We identify cancer as a disease that eats away at a person’s body. Similarly, underachievement is one of the cancerous demonstrations that we as men, are contributing to a community that is already dying a slow death. When men make conscious decisions to live a below average life, it is a slap in the face of the many trailblazers who fought for our equal rights. Education, freedom, motivation and a strong work ethic are things that used to matter to the ones formerly known as ‘head of household'. However, many of us are satisfied at utilizing ‘the white man’ and ‘circumstances of life’ as reasons to continue living as generational underachievers.

2. Why are so many of us looking for the quick-fix hustle? The media and entertainment industry glorifies the hip-hop lifestyle, sports figures and often associates popularity with purpose. However, the harsh reality is 99% of men will NEVER make a hit album or play professional sports. It is the responsibility of mature African-American men to make sure our younger generation is prepared to be successful in ALL walks of life. It is okay to encourage our young people to excel in football, basketball, baseball, golf, etc. It is also necessary that we balance out their athletic appetite with a healthy dose of academic reality. Unfortunately, we have dropped the ball and today’s generation is reaping the results of our neglect.

3. Why are we quick to make babies but slow to take care of them? According to singleblackparents.com, 63% of African-American households are headed by a single parent. Over 85% of single parents are women and 46% of them have attended college. Well, the statistics allow us to see a trend of men who are not solidifying the God-ordained structure of the household. The statistics also show us that contrary to popular belief, almost half of single mothers have some level of college education. This means that they are still pursuing their dreams despite encountering a bump in the road of life called love masked in the form of a non-committal, immature, unmotivated and irresponsible man. It is amazing how minutes of pleasure lead to the destruction of a child, family and ultimately a community.

Parting Thought -

Although white America has seemingly written us off, we serve a God that is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think. Don’t allow the past curses of your family to keep you from living the abundant life that God has called you to live. The African-American family needs strong, Black men more than ever. We are not only basketball players or football players, but we can also become influential members of society. There is nothing wrong with becoming a doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur (legal of course) or corporate executive. Start dreaming big, but remember that an entire generation will be lost if we continue at our current pace.

Kenny Pugh is a minister, coach and sought-after speaker on relationships. Kenny is creator of the blog, Chat Kafe, and is a frequent guest on various radio broadcasts.

http://www.rushmoredrive.com/News/DetourAuthor.aspx?a=08ae5ff1-4467-4c3f-955e-23c11e885a3a
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Did Rap Kill The Black Male Singer?

Did Rap Kill The Black Male Singer?

By Pearl Jr. pearljr@trutalk.ccsend.com

How many of you know who the best selling Black male singer in the world for 2008 was? I bet you'll never get this right, without a few clues. Well, he's 50 years old, considered washed up and too controversial to sell, plus the majority of his songs are more than 25 years old........................................ It's Michael Jackson, who sold more than Usher, Chris Brown, Ne-yo, John Legend, and Seal. The King of Pop sold nearly as many records worldwide as the #1 best-selling artist in the US regardless of race, Lil Wayne, whose genre of hip hop lost nearly 19.8 percent in sales from the previous year. Michael Jackson's song catalog sold 2.9 million copies with Thriller 25 topping over 2.3 million by itself, plus Michael didn't even promote it and performed nowhere! Shocking isn't it! (Lil Wayne sold nearly 3 million)

Before the 1990's, it seemed one could find a million-selling Black male recording artist on other every corner, and, at least, 20 in every Black church. Today, it's becoming more and more difficult to ignore the facts that Black men are headed to the bottom of, yet, another statistical chart. Music, the savior of the Black race, made bearable the horrors of slavery, soothed during Jim Crow racism, and bonded in segregation. This type of Black love and togetherness ushered in the perfectly pitched passion of singers like Smokey Robinson singing countertenor (a male soprano), Michael Jackson a solid tenor, David Ruffin a baritone, and Barry White, the maestro, bass singer. Even now writing this article, name after name of remarkable Black male singers come to mind like Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Ronald Isley, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and singing groups like The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Stylistics, Chi-lights, Jackson 5, Earth Wind and Fire, The Moments, The Manhattans, New Edition, and Boys II Men. The list goes on and on. But today, where are the Black male singers that made Black women buy every Right On Magazine and scream with excited hysteria whenever their favorite artists appeared?

In today's world of rap music, the last solid genre created in the Black community, seemed to have seduced too many Black men wishing for their spot on the top of music entertainment fame, to speak rhythmic poetry instead of singing the melodies of love and longing. The irony is that while the loving lyrics of Motown dominated the Black airways for decades, Black love was in bloom, and so was the growth of the music industry. Now too many Black men in the game of hip hop slop are volunteering to label Black women bitches and hos, promote criminality, excessive spending (bling), and speak of love making as purely a one night stand have contributed to the widespread decline of Black love and progress. It's no coincidence that Black love is down at the same time Black music is at its lowest levels ethically and well as financially. This decline has little to do with the recession because these declines started to manifest 6 years ago, and ringtones along with 99 cent downloads just ain't paying the bills. Could the absence of Black male singers be correlated with the lack of decency taught in rap crap chants? Does it take the desire to love completely and thoroughly to enhance the singing style of Black men? Throughout the history of television, there have been numerous talent shows, such as the competitions at the famed Apollo Theater and Star Search. But the last few seasons of American Idol have not produced one top Black male singer and I think Simon is in shock due to this!

Season Eight of American Idol's top 12 doesn't have one Black male singer and only one Black male singer was in the top 36. Season two winner, Reuben Studdard and the like, are now extinct for six straight years. He was the only Black male winner in American Idol history. Black men have lost their way in so many more different categories, such as low high school graduation rates, high incarceration rates, high rates of low self-esteem or undeserved self-gratification, and too many Black men are not in the home taking care of their children and not marrying their baby's mothers. There are simply prices to pay for not loving and respecting your women! Nature just wasn't meant to fail like this! Perhaps, the Black male's continual downfall spiral will be due to too much bad karma.

Have Black males lost their singing dominance with their souls and are now out of the emotional loop of wanting to give true love to a Black woman? What happened to lyrics like, "The Way You Do The Things You Do", "Just My Imagination", "Your Precious Love", "Maybe Tomorrow", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Lonely Teardrops", "Isn't She lovely", "Love Ballad", "I Can't Help Myself", "Mighty Love", "Reasons", "Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart", "Oh Girl" and "Ooh Child". Even later group like Boys II Men released hits like "I'll Make Love to You" and New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" seems like those were the last true love song that touched the heart in just the right place to make herds of girls run to the record store and lay out their, many times, strapped money to experience love's possibilities through music. Even, Michael Jackson, the best-selling artist in the world achieved his greatest heights when he was filled with Black pride and surrounded by Black people, especially his Black mother and sisters who lived at the family home with him, because all of his brothers had married and moved away. One might wonder if Michael Jackson still has Black fans. Well, as the owner of one of the largest and most successful Black-themed and Black-owned bookstores in Los Angeles (Eso-Won) told me that Thriller 25 was the best selling product in his store. Remember, the last women the world saw Michael with was a Black woman named Raymone Bain, his spokesperson.

All is not totally lost. There are a few Black male singers, but only one comes to mind. Usher, who is the last best selling new Black male singer, remains on the scene, but he is a rare reminiscent of days long past. Usher's album and song, "Here I Stand" earned him the #2 best-selling Black male singing title of 2008 because that love song exudes the unrelenting emotion every Black woman needs to hear to believe that to be loved, honored, and cherished is attainable. By the way, Usher is married to a beautiful Black woman. It's always been Black women that have purchased nearly all the recordings by Black male artists, period! Examine the recent careers of post-platinum selling artists akon, Baby Face, Brian McKnight, John Legend, and Seal who are all good singers, but once they are found out to not chose Black women as their mates, those sales dropped like hot potatoes. No one else will have the guts to say this or ASK THIS SERIOUS QUESTION. Is it the Black woman who brings out the natural emotional PASSION in Black men or is it Black women that feel abandoned by the very artist they put in the rich house AND stopped buying their music because now it is difficult to imagine that singer is singing to directly to them? The answer to both is probably a big yes. Either way, the Black male singer is the loser in all this when he chooses to abandon the already abandoned, use the already abused, and fall prey to manipulations that tell him to be wrong is to be right.

Men are natural providers and protectors of their women, children and community, therefore, when Black men refuse to do their jobs as men, nature jumps in and creates a cataclysm of castigation. The Black race will not improve until Black men OVERWHELMINGLY take their responsibility seriously. Even with the latest abusive disaster with singer Chris Brown against his girlfriend Rihanna, whose first albums attained platinum, one of Chris' first music videos (from his second album) shows him chasing non-Black women and even jumping over Black girls to get to a non-Black girl. The highly publicized relationship between Chris and Rihanna jump started Chris' quickly declining records sales, because sistas just wasn't having it. Now, why would Black females purchase an album from a guy who blatantly disrespects Black females like that? They don't and they won't. Chris' career will never recover from his felony charges for allegedly beating his girlfriend Rihanna-and Rihanna doesn't even realize that she does not possess enough love to save him. Rihanna's latest album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide, while Chris' latest stands around 2 million. During their heavily publicized crisis, Rihanna continues to sell, but Chris' sales are pretty much dead. It seems to be a trend for Black men to be with non-Black women in entertainment, but much of the Black female audience is tired of trying to be racially fair when it's obvious that union is in direct contrast with Black love and the returning of Black men to their male lacking homes and communities. This may be hard for many to hear, but it is the love between a Black man and a Black woman that unveils the often imitated, unique melodic beauty of Black music? Yet, the Black female continues to deliver love songs at her emotional high, but Black men apparently, have done too much wrong to be righted by the God's of good singing and good fortune.

As the author of the book, Black Women Need Love, Too, at a glance one would think this manual was written for the sole benefit of Black women, not so! It is basically for the savior of Black men via love for Black women. Isn't it quite obvious by now, that not loving hasn't rendered any real long lasting cultural benefits? Rap Crap artists are the biggest losers in the music industry-they lead in deaths, incarcerations, and lost fortunes. It was always the Black woman that supported the Black male singer, but how many Black men appreciated it? So now, it has been taken away. When will the majority of Black men realize that to not love Black women, will only deliver more massive declines. White women have the best PR because White men demand it and realize that if they don't love their women and represent them as valuable; big declines will be the result. You see, men are innately motivated to thrive for success when they want to be loved by a woman--take that away and chaos is the consequence. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, named his autobiography "To Be Loved" because that is what motivated him to succeed. At that time, he only dated Black women and Motown was filled with Black married couples--a correlation that supports this hypothesis. The old divide and conquer methodology, used by the non-Black music executives who have hired too many uneducated weak-minded sell-out thug-able young Black male performers to do their dirty work, has succeeded once more. How else did despicable words like the "N" word get into Black music? Motown didn't use it, Casablanca Records didn't use it and both these companies that Black men had ownership and control of hired tremendous Black talent and made lots of money. My man is the son of music executive and part owner of Casablanca Records, Cecil Holmes, who also worked in the record business and was kicked out in the early 1990's with a group of others, because they were too nice and decent for the massive mental corruption that was on the horizon. The Rap Crap Treason Act then took full effect.

Now, the Black male singer seems to be a relic of the past. How many trick bags are we going to jump in? Do right by Black women, and Black men will see their own lives massively improve, which is attached to the upward mobility of the Black race! Hopefully, what was lost will one day be found again!

Pearl Jr.

pearljr@trutalk.ccsend.com

Author, Black Women Need Love, Too!
www.TRUtalk.us
www.MichaelJacksonInsider.com
www BarackObamaHistoryDVD.net
www.BlackMediaReview.com
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Barnes and Noble in Coral Gables FL

Barnes and Noble had this as their store front display in Coral Gables FL in the Miracle Mile Mall.

From The Roland Report:

"My email box has been flooded with emails over the last few weeks regarding a display at a Cora Gables, Fla., Barnes and Noble that has a book about monkeys in the display window with a bunch of books about President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Instead of reacting, I reached out to Barnes & Noble to get their take on this, and got the following statement from:
“The photograph being circulated on the Internet was taken by a customer in one of our stores, who maliciously placed an inappropriate title in the center of a display honoring President Obama.
The store immediately removed the title from the display. Barnes & Noble finds this malicious act to be despicable.”
Mary Ellen KeatingSpokespersonBarnes & Noble, Inc.
I wanted Keating or someone else with Barnes & Noble to do my segment on the Tom Joyner Morning Show because them commenting is better than a written statement, but got this response: "Thanks but we are not available."
Now, what does seem suspicious about this photo is that the spot below the monkeys book is empty. I just don't see how a store worker would leave a spot empty on a display. Then the book is smack dab in the middle of all the others.
So, there you have it."
http://essence.typepad.com/news/2009/03/barnes-and-nobl.html

From Sandra Rose:
A Barnes & Noble spokesperson claims a customer placed a book about monkeys in a window where Barack Obama books were on display.
Yeah, sure. Blame it on the customers. It makes you wonder how long it took Barnes & Noble employees to figure out why people were outside snapping pictures of their window display.

"Barnes & Noble would like to publicly apologize for what happened in our Coral Gables, Florida store. We believe that a customer played a cruel joke and placed an inappropriate title in the front window of our store, where we were featuring books written by or about President Obama. We want to assure our customers that the book placed by someone other than our booksellers was never intended to be included in our display and was removed as soon as we became aware of the situation. We are looking into it and are taking the steps necessary so that it does not happen again. From time to time customers will move titles from one area of the store to another. In this particular case, we do not condone whatever message may have been intended with the placement of this title in our Presidential display. It certainly was not part of our merchandising and we regret that we didn’t see the placement of this title immediately." "[LINK]

http://blacklegalissues.com/Article_Details.ASPX?ARTCLID=00458278c6


Another ‘Cruel Joke’ About President Obama
By Stacey Patton
“Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden . . .” so said Phaedrus, a first century Roman slave and writer of Greek tales.

In recent days, a photograph of a Barnes and Noble book display honoring the inauguration of President Barack Obama has gone viral over the Internet because it prominently includes a book about monkeys with the other titles. The circulation of this photo with calls to boycott the book chain comes in the wake of protests and editorials over a racist cartoon published by The New York Post that featured President Obama as an ape being gunned down by police officers.
But hold on to your wigs and britches folks. Before the NAACP, Rev. Al Sharpton and other concerned citizens pick up signs and start making demands to fire managers and employees or telling consumers to stop buying books from Barnes and Noble, there is another side to the story.
Yes the photo is authentic. And yes the incident did happen at the Coral Gables, Florida store. But it turns out that it was a cruel joke by a customer and not a decision made by the store.
“This was not a company driven decision,” Edgar Chang, the store manager, said in an interview with TheDefendersOnline. “We are not sure how the book got in the window, but we believe it was put there by a customer who didn’t like the fact that Obama won the election.”
The store is located in the Miracle Mile Mall on a busy stretch of highway. The display windows face that highway. While customers walking in or by can clearly see titles in the window, somehow the store’s manager and employees did not notice the monkey book for three or four days.
“We didn’t notice that it was there,” said Chang. “Employees park in the lot in the back of the store. We just put up displays but we never go up to the windows until it’s time to change them.”
Barnes and Noble spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating said that employees were interviewed and there was a thorough investigation of the incident.
“Barnes and Noble would certainly not do something like this,” Keating said. “We put up a display to honor President Obama. Once we discovered this, four days later, it was immediately removed.”
Keating said that the store deals with similar types of pranks on any given day. From time to time customers will move titles from one area of the store to another. In a statement issued to the media Keating wrote: “I’ve seen situations where someone put a book about sex in the children’s section,” she said. “In this particular case, we do not condone whatever message may have been intended with the placement of this title in our Presidential display. It certainly was not part of our merchandising and we regret that we didn’t see the placement of this title immediately.”
The story continues to grow and spread like a virus through cyberspace, with e-blasts and accusations that Barnes & Noble is racist. Some are calling for boycotts and firing of employees.
The incident has prompted the bookseller to consider ways to secure its display window so there won’t be a similar episode again. This is a classic example of how rumors spread in cyberspace, sparking strong reactions and often gathering support without thorough fact-finding or asking deeper questions. As a result, people can be misinformed, tensions can be inflamed and our attention can be diverted from the more serious, substantive issues of the day.

Stacey Patton is Senior Editor/Writer for TheDefendersOnline and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
http://thedefendersonline.org/2009/02/27/another-%E2%80%98cruel-joke%E2%80%99-about-president-obama/


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