Believers: Beyond BaggageThe New African American

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There is a New Understanding of Black Folks

It is an evolution 100 years in the makingWhich has become a revolution in the past 5 years

It is about how we think about ourselvesWho we areWhat our priorities areWhat we can be

A number of events coming together have made this happen for the majority of black people

And it is changing everything about us from now onBecause we are ourselves...plus so much more

So let’s see a snapshot of the journey that got us hereSo that you can be onboard where we are going

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Double Consciousness has been AA Culture“…this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”

“One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder…”

W.E.B. Du Bois,The Souls of Black Folks, 1918

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Understanding AA Culture:A Look Behind Closed Doors

The Way We Are: Double Consciousness• W.E.B. DuBois: African Americans understand that we

are seen as group members in America but amongst ourselves we are judged as individuals– Having this dual consciousness means that we put

on one face to function in America at large but in our own communities we are free to be our truer selves

• The challenge from this conflict means that we have to resolve our dual consciousness in a way in which we do not voluntarily adopt and carry the baggage of the negative perceptions of others into the way we think about ourselves and our resultant actions/behaviors

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HoldingBaggage

Letting GoBaggage

Double Consciousness Resolution

“It is to suggest that we blacks bring historical baggage to any such confrontation (the arrest of Henry Louis Gates in front of his house for breaking and entering); as a defense mechanism—based on centuries of ill-treatment at the hands of the instruments which have been used to suppress us (the police)—we’re always braced for the worse in any such encounter and therefore may be sensitive to a fault. But, again, we blacks didn’t create this charged, hostile racial environment—we can only react to it” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/07/26/gates-historical-baggage.html#sthash.wbOjMyHm.dpuf

“There was a moment, when I used to blame everything and everyone for all the pain and suffering and vile things that happened to me, that I saw happen to my people. Used to blame everybody. Blamed white people, blamed society, blamed God. I didn't get no answers 'cause I was asking the wrong questions. You have to ask the right questions...My conclusions: Hate is baggage. Life is too short to be pissed off all the time” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/quotes

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<10%

>75%

1920

The New Negro

Harlem Renaissance

1953

Brown vs Bd Of Ed

Freedom Fighters

1964

Civil Rights Act

Negro To Black

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And since then, what have we discovered aboutthe African American consumer...

Happiness: 1970’s until 2006“The difference in subjective well-being for black women and men in 1972 is very different from that seen for whites. Black women in 1972 were less happy than black men, while white women were happier than white men...”

“Trends in happiness among blacks show that (in 2006) happiness has trended quite strongly upward for both female and male blacks, erasing about two-thirds of the large racial differences in subjective well-being evident in the early 1970s...”

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2009, 1:2, 190–225

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The Reaction to the Great RecessionA Pew Research Center survey on Race notes that “despite the bad economy, black assessments about the state of black progress in America have improved more dramatically during the past two years than at any time during the past quarter century”

The report goes on to note that “in the teeth of what may be the deepest recession since the Great Depression, nearly twice as many blacks now (37%) as in 2007 (20%) say that the ‘situation of black people in this country’ is better than it was five years ago,” a result that is true of blacks regardless of age or income levels. The report also says that “blacks are even more upbeat about the future” with 53% saying that it will be better and only 10% saying that it will get worse

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The Census Revelation:A New Vision of Ourselves

A More AffluentAfrican American Society

A More Southern and SuburbanAfrican American Community

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Black Buying PowerBlack buying power is $1.1 Trillion

Source: Selig Center for Economic Growth; Terry College for Business; The University of Georgia

1990 2000 2010 2012 2017$0

$200$400$600$800

$1,000$1,200$1,400

$316

$600

$947$1,100

$1,307

Black Buying Power (Billions)

1990-2000 2000-2010 2010-2012 2012-20170%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 90%

58%

10%26%

68%

48%

8%22%

Black Buying Power (Percentage Growth Since 1990)

BlacksWhites

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The “Reverse” Migration Per the 2010 Census, the black population in theSouth is currently at 57%, which is the highest its been since 1960.

Black population grew by 11% in large southern metropolitans but by 15% in adjacent smaller counties, suggesting a strong movement of blacks to the suburbs.

Source: Many U.S. Blacks Moving to South, Reversing TrendPublished: NY Times March 24, 2011

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Who we areBlacks that are relocating to the South are typically• Typically Age 21-40• College Educated• Singles / young families• Professionals & Entrepreneurs

Primary reasons for relocating • First time home buyers• Employment opportunities• Better quality of life / COL• Better education for children• Cultural (getting back to their roots)

Source: Many U.S. Blacks Moving to South, Reversing TrendPublished: NY Times March 24, 2011

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The Obama Effect:The Fallout from Breaking the Ultimate AA Glass Ceiling

Less about a Post-racial Society:Changing the minds of everyone

More about AAs Releasing Baggage: Getting Out of Our Own Way

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The Obama Effect for Children“Minority children who had spent time thinking about the significance of the Obama election reported feeling less threatened in the classroom than those who had not, both immediately after this and six months later...

“In addition, students ...who had thought about Obama’s election showed increases in their grades in Quarter 2 (post-election) as compared to their grades in Quarter 1 (pre-election), where no changes were found in the control condition...”

Angela Grippo, “What will be Obama’s Psychological legacy?” Psychology Today, February 21, 2013, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-wide-wide-world-psychology/201302/what-will-be-obamas-psychological-legacy

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The Obama Effect for College Students“Researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election

“The inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans, the researchers conclude in a report summarizing their results”

Sam Dillon, “Study sees an Obama Effect as lifting black test takers”, NY Times, January 23, 2009

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The Obama Effect for Adults“And yet the new president has spurred an outpouring of optimism among African-Americans. A CBS/NY Times Poll released Monday found that the percentage of blacks who say that both races have equal opportunities has risen by twelve points since last July. And seventy percent of blacks now say the country is headed in the right direction, up from 21 percent in January 

"There's a new sense of optimism, and a breaking down of many of the stereotypes that have been so profound in this country against African-American males," said Hilary O. Shelton, vice president for Advocacy at the NAACP...”

Brian Montopoli, CBS News, June 18, 2009http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-4975732.html

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There’s a change in the air...In 2009 and in 2011, a Pew Research Center studied conflict between societal groups as measured by whites, blacks and Hispanics

The Pew Study found in 2009 that conflicts about immigration (55%) and rich and poor people (47%) outranked racial conflicts between blacks and whites (39%)

The Pew Study in 2011 found that conflicts between rich and poor had eclipsed the conflicts of immigration and race still remained 3rd

In March 2012 the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press indicated "that African Americans had a positive overall

assessment of the state of race relations. About three-quarters of African Americans (76%) said blacks and whites got along “very well” or “pretty well”

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<10%

>75%

1920

The New Negro

Harlem Renaissance

1953

Brown vs Bd Of Ed

Freedom Fighters

2008

Obama EffectThe Census

Believers: Beyond Baggage

1964

Civil Rights Act

Negro To Black

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BBB and ClassWhile BBB is the mindset that we associate with a growing number of AAs, we believe that class structure still has a mitigating impact on their consumerism

Middle Class BlacksLiving a middle class allows them economic options to address the needs of their lifestage in a unique manner but they are still beholden to their income’s limitations

Upper Class BlacksWith greater financial flexibility they have moved beyond being concerned about fulfilling their needs and can pursue a lifestyle oriented towards experiencing their wants

INDEPENDENTS TRANCENDENTS

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Believers Beyond Baggage: Broadening the definition of whatit means to be an African AmericanAA Adult Media Categories

The diverse media preferences of adult African Americans across the income spectrum is a reflection of who they are and their interests, and the impact that finances make on their life concerns

Source: MRI and Personics

AA Middle Class Independents

• Children• Working Mom• Home Design/DIY• Entrepreneurs• Online Product Reviews

AA Upper Class Transcendents• Money• Golf/Tennis• Architect• Science/Nature• Independent Films• Religion• History• Technology

• Fashion• Music• Sports (NBA)• Travel• Food & Wine• Movies• News• Medicine• Health/Fitness• Cars

Both Groups Share

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From Dreamers to Believers

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Obama EffectThe Census

Believers: Beyond Baggage

1920

The New Negro

Harlem Renaissance

1953

Brown vs Bd Of Ed

Freedom Fighters

<10%

>75%

1964

Civil Rights Act

Negro To Black

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BBB Marketing Implications:Explorers Who Are True to their Roots

Broadening the Perspectives of what is Black

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Marketing to BBBs Unlike other ethnic groups who have made economic and social progress in America, the cultural parameters of African Americans remain intact. Mendelsohn’s study on Affluents notes that seventy-five percent (75%) of blacks respond affirmatively to the question "my cultural or ethnic heritage is a very important part of my life" which sharply contrasts to the 32% of white affluents

What we find with BBBs is that they are broadening the parameters of the content of African American culture by exploring personal concerns and approaching new content with our unique process

So what is new for BBBs is that everything is fair game

What is AA culture about BBBs is how we approach everything: the way we do what we do

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There is a New Understanding of Black Consumers

The hurdles of our past are no longer barriersWe now see a life without limits

And as we explore being the master of our destinies we are open to exploring a new consumer world

It is not too strong a statement to say that we have freed ourselves to explore who we are and be ourselves at last...for the first time

None of us think that the past is gone or doesn’t still existIt is just that now WE don’t believe in its power to limit us

Because, as we have freed ourselves of the idea that the past is destiny, we are now able to be the captains of our souls

Make sure that your brand is on the tour...