The Naked Truth: Blacks antagonize black businesses
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The Naked Truth: Blacks antagonize black businesses
By: Hilliard Lackey
Tennessee Tribune
Originally posted 11/5/2003


Blacks patronizing Black businesses tend to want something for nothing or, at minimum, more than their money’s worth.

When Bob Johnson, America’s first black billionaire, explained why he sold BET to Viacom, he answered an age-old question with a startling announcement. He said, “The days of 100 percent black-owned anything are practically over.” He could have added that the days are also over for blacks coming to black-owned businesses with their hands upturned seeking tidbits and handouts.

There is a prevailing notion that if the provider is black and the customer is black, there ought to be a deal in the making. Blacks at banks, checkout counters, ticket windows and car lots are bombarded with deal seekers.

The all too familiar adage is that blacks spend their monies in white-owned establishments, but as soon as there is a family reunion, school function, church-sponsored program or anything else with full-page ads and patrons lists, they turn to black businesses.

These same consumers rush to the shopping centers and plop down plastic or cold cash to people they don’t know and might never see again.

The question was then and still is, “Why is it that blacks don’t patronize black businesses or black point-of-contact persons without trying to strike a deal?”

The answer is rather elusive. One would have to use either deductive or inductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion.

Deductive reasoning, going from a major premise to a minor premise, is that “blacks value relationships above all else and believe that those in a relationship should take care of one another.” Blacks feel a kinship to other blacks and readily discard any inhibition for making preposterous requests such as “Give me,” “Let me have,” “Hook a brother up.”

Inductive reasoning is going from a minor premise to a major premise.

An applicable example is the prevailing belief among blacks that if Oprah is black and Oprah is rich, then all blacks in business must be rich. Therefore, the blacks who are rich should “Give me,” “Let me have,” “Hook a brother up.”

There is also the basic belief among black consumers that there is a margin of profit being made by any business that ought to be waived by black businesses for other blacks. That’s stretching things a bit, but it’s basically true.

An entrepreneurial friend of mine set up as a vendor in the Pyramid in Memphis recently.

Sales were above normal and at the end of the convention, my friend decided to “Hook a brother up” by having a 50 percent off sale on the last day. To her dismay, the words she continued to hear in spite of the half price sale were still: “Give me,” “Let me have,” “Hook a brother up.”

Closer to home, my employer and I recently expanded a free pre-college summer program from the traditional 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. time slot into an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. time span. What a Godsend for parents. Or so we thought. What else could they possibly want? More! More! We want to drop our kids off on the way to work and pick them up on the way home. The cry went up for a starting time of 7:30 a.m. and an ending time of 5:30 p.m. These same people find it feasible to go the bank between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. They don’t complain; they just make adjustments. But in our case, they want us to make adjustments. “Give me,” “Let me have,” “Hook a brother up.”

This is like knowing the bus driver. Watch how people climb aboard a Greyhound or Trailways bus and if the roadway is slippery or the weather is inclement, they ride terrified gripping their seats in muffled whispers or stony silence for miles. Change the scenario and, for instance, let this be a church bus with a deacon driving under perfect conditions, the passengers constantly bombard the driver with jabs about driving safely, staying awake, and the temperature settings.

So it is with blacks patronizing black businesses. They “know the bus driver.” They feel free to say and do the things they usually would have only a slight stirring of an urge to fathom. Unfortunately, this does no one any good. It frustrates the supplier and renders the consumer unattractive.

The answer is as simple as one, two, three. First, business is business. The objective is for the product/supplier to have what the consumer demands. The consumer must then have the purchasing power to procure the product. Case closed. If the product is unsatisfactory in quality or in cost, the consumer should look elsewhere. If the consumer ignores the product, then the provider must change venues, change products or modify either the product or cost to render it attractive.

At no time are the phrases “Give me,” “Let me have,” “Hook a brother up” used in this scenario. That’s not business. That’s begging.
The Naked Truth: Black consumers should expect from black businesses and black points-of-contacts what they expect from any other business or representative: quality products, professional and quality services at competitive or reasonable rates.

Begging and bargaining only stresses the back-to-back relationship.

• Hilliard Lackey is a columnist with Young Sanford Marketing and Media Services, 3396 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111. Email hlackey@bellsouth.net.