Nov. 18, 2013

Rights Leaders Fight for Obama Justice Nominee
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Civil rights leaders, still shell-shocked over the GOP’s U. S. Senate rejection of Rep. Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, are now expressing vehement support for former NAACP Legal Defense lawyer Debo P. Adegbile, nominated by President Obama as the next assistant attorney general for civil rights.

“Debo Adegbile is one of the preeminent civil rights litigators of his generation and a bipartisan consensus builder. His experience as the two-time defender of the Voting Rights Act in the Supreme Court puts him in a class of his own when it comes to understanding the application and enforcement of complex civil rights issues,” says Wade Henderson, president/CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, in a statement. “Add that to his stellar career over ten years at the nation’s leading civil rights law firm – the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund – as well as his work in the Senate and in the private sector, and it becomes clear that Adegbile’s skill set, talents, and experience make him the perfect choice to head the Civil Rights Division.”

Henderson was among several civil rights leaders on a press call last week to push their support for Adegbile, who is currently senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a position he has held since July 2013. His nomination follows a major disappointment Oct. 31 when the Obama nomination of 30-year Democrat Congressman Mel Watt (D-N.C.) to head the FHFA was rejected by the Republican members of the Senate who refused to support advancing the nomination to a vote. The Senate's vote of  56-42 to proceed was four votes short of the 60 needed to filibuster-proof threshold needed to advance the nomination to a final vote. 

Watt, a Yale Law School graduate, specializes in corporate and real estate law and is a member of the House Committees on Financial Services and the Judiciary. The GOP senators’ refusal to give enough votes to even forward his nomination to a final vote hints at the possible battle ahead for other qualified Obama nominees.

“I am very disappointed that today the Senate failed to move forward with the vote of confirmation for Rep. Mel Watt,” said CBC Chair Marsha Fudge. “At a time where American families are still recovering from the effect of the mortgage crisis, Rep. Watt’s leadership of this agency would be critical to restoring the integrity of the housing finance system and return homeownership in this country as a key to building wealth.”

The White House and the Congressional Black Caucus have both called on the Senate to reconsider Watt’s nomination. Meanwhile, the political rejection of Watts has placed rights leaders on notice as they go to bat for the 46-year-old Adegbile.

“As we navigate the new Civil Rights-era, Debo offers precisely the type of leadership necessary,” says Fudge in a statement. “From reforming America’s criminal justice system to expanding equality for all Americans, Debo has the civil rights experience and expertise needed to head the Division. Debo’s integrity, professionalism and respectable reputation as a legal practitioner and litigator are evidence that he is the right person for this incredibly important role…Members of the Congressional Black Caucus strongly support President Obama’s nomination of Debo Adegbile and encourage our colleagues in the Senate to confirm him for this position without delay.”

During his 10-year career at the LDF, Adegbile served as acting president and director-counsel, director of litigation, and special counsel. Having twice defended the Voting Rights Act before the U. S. Supreme Court, civil rights leaders are counting on his legal acumen to continually deal with the voting rights issue after the important Pre-clearance Clause was gutted early this year. Other hot civil rights issues are stand your ground, police profiling, and economic justice.

The White House has forwarded Adegbile's nomination to the Senate. He would succeed Thomas E. Perez, who resigned.

“Debo has worked tirelessly to ensure that our nation lives up to its promise of equality for all Americans,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, NAACP-LDEF president and director-counsel. “He is highly respected as one of the Nation’s leading civil rights attorneys.”

Nov. 17, 2013

'Buying Power of Black America' Probes Economic Spending Shifts 

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - According to the data found in a new report, "The Buying Power of Black America," now may be the most opportune time ever for businesses to develop a strategy for increasing their share of the Black American market. With the nation slowly recovering from recession, Black consumers represent the margin of profitability in most consumer product categories, there report states.

"What the recession did to Black America's buying habits is to give them a reason to re-evaluate how they spent the billions of dollars they earned collectively," said Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News and editor of the report. "Before tight economic times, companies felt they could afford to take their loyalty - especially to top brands - for granted. That changed during the downturn. Price was a bigger factor driving purchasing decisions. Now brands have to earn the loyalty of Black consumers all over again. Black consumers are asking brands, 'what have you done for me lately?'"

For the past 17 years, Target Market News has published the only report that breaks down in dollars the impact of the Black Consumer Market. Now approaching a trillion dollars in spending, the earned income of Black America is already the 16th largest market in the world, and is on the verge of surpassing the gross national income of Mexico.

This 105-page report breaks down how much of Black consumers' $836 billion in income was spent during 2011 on clothing, entertainment, food, beverages, toys, consumer technology, cosmetics, autos, travel and dozens of other categories.

Another factor causing a shift in the loyalty of Black consumers is social media and increased access to business information. The new edition of "The Buying Power of Black America" includes a section detailing the dollars spent by major companies on advertising in Black media. It also compares the ad spending of companies by categories.

"African-Americans can now rely on their own research about brands," said Smikle. "This is one of the reasons why we added a section that tracks how much leading advertisers spent in Black-oriented media. There is a correlation between building and sustaining Black consumers' patronage and the dollars spent to reach them through advertising. That fact has not changed in this diverse media environment - it has become an imperative for brands that want success."

Additionally, advertising is a key measurement of the economic relationship companies have with Black consumers. "The largest single investment that Corporate America makes in the Black community is in advertising," said Smikle. "That investment is about $2 billion a year, but it should be at least twice that amount given the importance of the market and the role these consumers play in any company's bottom line."

The spending of the top 80 advertisers in Black media are detailed in the report. The No.1 company, Procter & Gamble, spent $78.9 million in 2011, while the No.80 company, Apple, spent just $1.6 million. 

Nov. 18, 2013

Blacks Lead Digital Job Searches  

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - African-Americans are more likely than the public at large to use the Internet to look for a job, and particularly when it comes to using mobile devices and social media for that purpose, according to research unveiled today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

The report from the Joint Center, "Broadband and Jobs: African Americans Rely Heavily on Mobile Access and Social Networking in Job Search," was released at a Washington broadband technology forum organized by the Institute and featuring remarks from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The study, funded by the Joyce Foundation, explores the importance of Internet access to job search among African Americans. It found that African Americans are more likely than other segments of the population to use the Internet to seek and apply for employment, and are also more likely to consider the Internet very important to the success of their job search.

In addition, the report found that confidence in one's own digital skills correlates with a higher likelihood of using the Internet for job search, suggesting that efforts to improve digital literacy would allow more people to take advantage of the dynamic employment tools that the Internet has to offer. This is particularly important given the high and ever-growing proportion of job openings that can be found only through online platforms.

"This study not only underscores the potential of broadband and mobile technologies in driving policy solutions in economically distressed communities, but it also shows the success that African Americans are having in making the most of digital platforms in finding work.  It also tells us that ensuring digital literacy and broadband access and adoption in every community is a worthwhile endeavor that will pay off in real terms," said Joint Center President and CEO Ralph B. Everett.

The study's other key findings include:

African-Americans rely on social media and on mobile devices for job search at higher rates than the general population;

- 50 percent of African-American Internet users said the Internet was very important to them in successfully finding a job, significantly higher than the 36 percent average for the entire sample;

- 46 percent of African-American Internet users used the Internet at some point when they were last looking for a job, either by online search, emailing potential employers or using social networking sites. This compares to 41% for all respondents;

- 36 percent of African-Americans said they applied for a job online the last time they were in the job market, compared with 26 percent for all respondents; and

- 31 percent of African Americans said social networking sites are very important to job search, which is seven percentage points greater than the entire sample (24 percent).

"With so many employers insisting that job seekers apply for jobs online, online access is essential to finding work.  Closing broadband adoption gaps becomes more urgent when society expects people to carry out tasks using the Internet," said the study's author, John B. Horrigan, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow at the Joint Center.  "At the same time, stakeholders must close gaps in digital skills among all online users so that the Internet can help people turn opportunities into positive outcomes."

Copies of the report are available at the Joint Center's website, www.jointcenter.org

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation's leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African-Americans and other people of color.  

Nov. 17, 2013