You Know You're Black in Corporate America When...

1. A coworker sees you and several Black colleagues at a casual lunch. Back at the office he/she later asks, "What was that meeting all about?"
2. You arrive at work on time as usual. Your boss, making her rounds, peeks in and remarks with surprise, "Oh, you're here!"
3. A colleague says with a broad smile, "You know, I really like you. When I see you, I don't see color. I don't think of you as Black."
4. After a staff meeting, your boss suggests, "you need to work at making others more comfortable with you...why don't you smile more often?"
5. You tell your manager about a problem you are having and the response you get is "You've got to be exaggerating! I find that hard to believe."
6. You are told you are "rough around the edges" despite your completion of many professional development programs and it is suggested you emulate the behavior of a non-person of color colleague.
7. You continually get more responsibility, but no authority.
8. You are being recognized at a company banquet. As you approach the stage to receive your company's highest achievement award, your corporations' top executive exclaims, "Yo homeboy, congratulations".
9. You arrive at an offsite business retreat dressed in business casual attire. Your non-persons of color peers approach and ask why you are always so dressed up?
10. You are told you are decreasing your effectiveness with your aggressive style.
11. You are frequently asked why you change your hairstyle so often.
12. Your first name is arbitrarily shortened to one or two syllables without your permission.
13. You are asked every summer if Black people tan.
14. After a coworker returns from a weekend in the sun, they run to you on Monday morning and extend their arms to touch yours and say, "Hey I'm darker than you".
15. Walking through the hall with colleagues, you exchange greetings with two other Blacks you pass along the way. Your colleague says in amazement, "My you know so many people."
16. You are told your attitude is affecting others. You are asked to..."lighten up, not be so serious about the work. Smile and laugh more often, to make others more comfortable working with you".
17. You realize that at times you must "dumb down" appearing to be dependent and unaware, so that your manager and peers feel they are helping you...
18. You have to perform at 250% just to stay even.
19. You have to document everything. You've learned the hard way.
20. You assumed that all that was required of you was to work hard and get the job done.

I left Corporate America in 2002 to start my own consultancy. However this list brings back so many memories. Do any of the items on this list resonate with you? Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list?

Corporate Board Census Shows Significant Decline in Seats Held by African Americans

I have served on a number of nonprofit boards in my time. I have not had a chance to serve on a corporate board in my career. It appears that very few people of color are getting the opportunity to serve on corporate boards.

At least that is the conclusion reached in the corporate board census by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD).


ABD reported a surprising decline in the combined number of seats for women and people of color on the boards of the nation’s leading corporations. The largest decline was among Blacks. This year’s report found that in the Fortune 100 between 2004 and 2010, African Americans lost over 40 board seats while white men increased their presence on corporate boards, adding over 30.

Overall, women did not see an appreciable increase in their share of board seats. The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), an independent, non-profit corporation founded in 1986, is a founding partner in the Alliance for Board Diversity. ELC members are African American senior executives of Fortune 500 companies and equivalents. Considering the hundreds of board seats that became available during the six year period, ELC sees the combined decrease for all underrepresented groups and the steep decline for Blacks as disconcerting.

“It is troubling groups already severely underrepresented on corporate boards have collectively experienced a decline over the last six years,” ELC president and CEO Arnold W. Donald remarked in his assessment of the available data. "Most business leaders recognize that inclusion and the diversity of thinking that results from it creates real value. Shareholder value for most of the companies listed in the census is being compromised by the lack of board diversity. A decline in any single group of minorities or women is not good, a collective decline is troubling."

The ABD has worked collaboratively for more than six years to encourage corporations to increase the diversity of their boards. Catalyzed by sponsoring companies Altria and Kraft, the ELC has recently begun its own Corporate Board Initiative. ELC identifies and offers development opportunities to its members who are “board ready” and those who are nearly ready to assume the rigors of corporate board responsibilities. The organization has assembled an elite cadre of members prepared for board leadership and has worked with leading search organizations such as Heidrick & Struggles to prepare candidates and match them with opportunities.

Recent U.S. Census data shows that women and men of color comprise 66 percent of the U.S. population. Yet the ABD report indicates that more than 325 of the Fortune 500 have less than 25 percent representation, nearly 100 have less than 10 percent, and 37 companies have no women or minority representation whatsoever.

"Few will debate that inclusion and the diversity of thinking that it brings to business challenges creates real shareholder value," further stated Mr. Donald of ELC. "That's why the decline in the collective presence of underrepresented groups on the boards of America’s largest corporations as reported in this study is more than a little concerning. We at ELC, together with our ABD partners, plan to make a meaningful contribution in helping America's corporations address this missed opportunity."

Do you have any thoughts on why there are so few African Americans on the corporate board of directors? It would seem that Corporate America could do better in the 'age of Obama', don't you think?

Taser Advisory to Cops: 'Our Guns May Cause Heart Attack'

Taser International, the maker of taser guns is advising police officers to avoid shooting suspects in the chest with the 50,000-volt weapon, saying that it could pose an extremely low risk of an "adverse cardiac event."

The advisory, issued in an Oct. 12 training bulletin, marks the first time that Taser has suggested any risk of ill effects on the heart from the use of its 50,000-volt taser guns.

Critics, including civil-rights lawyers and human-rights advocates, called the training bulletin an admission by Taser that its guns could cause cardiac arrest.

For years, Taser officials have said in interviews, court cases and government hearings that the stun gun is incapable of inducing ventricular fibrillation, the chaotic heart rhythm characteristic of a heart attack.

This is a stunning reversal for the company, which for years has maintained that the gun was incapable of inducing a cardiac arrest.

But Taser officials reply that the bulletin does not state that Tasers can cause cardiac arrest. They said the advisory means only that law-enforcement agencies can avoid controversy over the subject if their officers aim at areas other than the chest.

"Should sudden cardiac arrest occur in a scenario involving a Taser discharge to the chest area, it would place the law-enforcement agency, the officer and Taser International in the difficult situation of trying to ascertain what role, if any, the Taser . . . could have played," the bulletin says.

The bulletin recommends that when aiming at the front of a suspect, the best target for officers is the major muscles of the pelvic area or thigh region. "Back shots remain the preferred area when practical," it says.

Police departments across the United States reacted immediately to the bulletin, with some ordering officers to follow Taser's instructions and begin aiming at the abdomen, legs or back of a suspect.

The guns are used by more than 12,000 police agencies across the country.

Advocacy groups such as Amnesty International allege that Taser guns are often used by police as a compliance tool on unarmed individuals who pose no deadly threat, who are drunk or on drugs and simply quarrel with officers.

This is the first time that we've seen a chink in the taser-happy armor of the manufacturer and the police. I wonder if police will think twice before using tasers outside of the 'use of force continuum' policy? [NOTE: Gunfighter is a law enforcement officer who conducts training on the 'use of force continuum'. He provides a comprehensive explanation that I encourage all villagers to read].

What are your thoughts on this admission from Taser International?

80 Companies Join Boycott of Fox's Glenn Beck Show

Glenn Beck simply went too far. The Fox News host called President Obama a “racist” who “has a deep-seated hatred for white people” during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

ColorOfChange.org called on its 600,000-plus members to sign a petition urging companies who advertise on Glenn Beck to cut off their advertising support of his work. Since then, more than 280,000 members have responded to the call by signing a petition directed at advertisers.

Today, we learned that another 19 companies agreed to join the boycott of the Beck Show. The impact continues to be felt by Glenn Beck as we now see 80 companies pulled their advertising from his show. These advertisers are:

1. Aegon


2. Airware


3. Allergan (maker of Restasis)


4. Ally Bank (a unit of GMAC Financial Services)


5. AmMed Direct


6. Ancestry.com


7. Applebee's


8. Ashley Furniture


9. AT&T


10. Bank of America


11. Bell & Howell


12. Best Buy


13. Binder & Binder


14. Blaine Labs


15. Broadview Security


16. Campbell Soup Company


17. Capital One


18. Citrix Online


19. Clorox


20. ConAgra


21. Concord Music Group


22. CVS


23. The Dannon Company


24. Diageo (a London-basd alcohol company that produces Guinness and Tanqeray)


25. DirecTV


26. Discover


27. Ditech


28. Eggland's Best


29. The Elations Company


30. Equifax


31. Eulactol USA


32. Experian


33. Farmers Insurance


34. GEICO


35. General Mills


36. GetARoom.com


37. Hoffman La Roche (maker of Boniva)


38. HSBC


39. ICAN Benefit Group Insurance


40. Infiniti


41. Jelmar


42. Johnson & Johnson


43. Jordan McKenna Debt Counseling Network


44. Kraft Foods
    


45. Lawyers.com


46. Lowe's


47. Luxottica Retail (owner of LensCrafters and Pearle Vision)


48. Men’s Wearhouse


49. Mercedes-Benz


50. Metropolitan Talent Management


51. NutriSystem


52. ooVoo


53. Overture Films


54. Procter & Gamble


55. Progressive Insurance


56. RadioShack


57. Re-Bath


58. Regions Financial Corporation


59. SAM (Store and Move)


60. Sanofi-Aventis


61. Sargento


62. SC Johnson


63. Scarguard


64. Schiff Nutrition


65. Seoul Metropolitan Government


66. Simplex Healthcare (creator of Diabetes Care Club)


67. Sprint


68. State Farm Insurance


69. Subaru


70. Toyota-Lexus


71. Travelers Insurance


72. Travelocity


73. United States Postal Service


74. The UPS Store


75. Verizon Wireless


76. Vonage


77. Waitrose (a popular British supermarket chain)


78. Wal-Mart


79. Woodland Power Products


80. Wyeth Consumer Healthcare

I suspect that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the other wingnuts that mobilize and motivate the Republican Party will think twice before they go buckwild on the President of the United States in public.

Farmers Insurance Pulls Ads from Glenn Beck Show on Fox News

Soulclap to the folks at POLITICO for reporting that Farmers Insurance is the 21st company to pull their ads from the Glenn Beck show on Fox News.

Farmers spokesperson says, "We advertise on Fox News Channel, which places our ads in the Network programming, and we ceased placing on Glenn Beck a week ago."

We have been reminded by village voices that just because advertisers pull ads from Beck's show doesn't mean the network will lose any money. A Fox News spokesperson told the Daily News yesterday that "advertisers referenced have all moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network so there has been no revenue lost."

Folks can spin this in any direction that they want. Bottomline is that Beck called our nation's president a 'racist' and he is paying a price for it. My hope is that all villagers will sign the online petition in support of our efforts to boycott any corporation that advertises on the Glenn Beck show.

John McCain Sells Out to Big Oil

I notice that John McCain is becoming a one-note candidate with his constant rants in support of the Big Oil companies. Standing before a room of oil company executives in June, John McCain flip-flopped and declared support for coastal oil drilling. Now the Washington Post is reporting that, within days, oil and gas execs ponied up nearly $1 million to elect McCain.

When people think of Bush, they think "oil," but that's not true of McCain yet—even though his energy policy is almost identical to Bush's and his campaign is literally run by oil lobbyists! Check out this video for details:



What say u?

Letter from Olympic Corporate Sponsor * Microsoft

I recently joined other villagers in sending messages to Olympic corporate sponsors asking them to use their influence over China to make things better in Darfur.

Here is response that I received from Microsoft:

---

Thank you for your recent letter to Microsoft regarding the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Beijing Olympics present an opportunity for countries to come together in athletic competition, and to draw attention to universal values such as individual and team endeavor, fair competition, excellence and achievement. The Olympics have the power to transform global relationships, create unity and accelerate positive change in the world.

Microsoft respects the International Olympic Committee’s decision to select China as the host country of this year’s games and is pleased to be able to support the games as a software supplier and a distributor of licensed Olympics coverage through our partnership with NBC Universal.

Like people all around the world, we are shocked and horrified by the violence and human rights violations in Darfur. We commend Dream for Darfur and other organizations for their leadership in casting a spotlight on this atrocity and the need for immediate international resolution. Governments and international organizations – the United Nations chief among them – as well as humanitarian relief organizations - will need to continue to work together locally and globally to address the problems in the Sudan. Microsoft will continue to support these organizations in their mission through technology assistance and other resources.

We appreciate having this opportunity to clarify our position and activities and thank you again for taking the time to share your views with Microsoft.

Sincerely,
Daniel T. Bross, Director
Stakeholder Engagement
Microsoft Corporation

---

Have you heard from any of the corporate sponsors that you wrote to about China's role in Darfur?

Corporate America Tells BET, 'Enough is Enough'

Procter & Gamble (P&G) spends more money on advertising than any other company in the world. General Motors (GM) is one of the best known companies in the world. It must be a bad day if both P&G and GM decide to pull their endorsement from your television network. Black Entertainment Television (BET) had a bad day as both P&G and GM finally said 'enough is enough'. The two large corporations pulled ads from BET’s Rap City and 106 & Park programs.

Rap City features music videos and artist interviews and 106 & Park is a top 10 music video countdown. Both shows attract a large under-18 audience. A recent study completed by the Parent Television Council highlighted high levels of sex, violence and profanity in both programs and reported, among other things, that Rap City featured on average 31.6 instances of sex, 25.3 instances of explicit language and 11.7 instances of violence per hour.

Drumbeats can be heard all over the afrosphere in approval of decision by P&G and GM executives. Enough truly is enough! What say u?

Day of Action for Darfur

One of the most powerful statements that I've seen by any blogger on the genocide in Darfur is posted by Purple Zoe over on the Ultraviolet Underground. Here is a taste of her message:

"My Pledge to Boycott the US sponsors of the Olympic Games Hosted by China

After having written to the sponsors of the Olympic Games and receiving empty letters of some (not all) of the sponsors that basically refused to apply pressure (Adidas was even sarcastic in nature and advised they are a sneaker company and not a grassroots political organization...), I am boycotting the corporate sponsors of the Olympic games who will not use their strength to persuade China to take serious action in regards to the genocide in Darfur, a region they have a great deal of economic influence over.

These companies will not receive a dime of my money as long they support China without challenging more resolute action for aiding Darfur. I may not spend a dime with them for the duration of the genocide in Darfur, and may never spend a dime with them again. Plain and simple.

Here are their names: Adidas; Anheuser-Busch; Atos Origin; BHPBilliton; Coca-Cola; General Electric; Johnson & Johnson; Kodak; Lenovo Group Limited; Manulife; McDonalds; Microsoft; Panasonic; Samsung; Staples; Swatch; UPS; Visa; and Volkswagen."

Villagers, I encourage to take a moment to read her full post on actions that we can take to end the genocide in Darfur. The question we must ask ourselves ... what are we going to do?

Who Sponsors Hot Ghetto Mess?

I watched the pilot show of Hot Ghetto Mess (by any other name) on BET. It was funny to see the new logo and show name. Obviously, it was too late to change the narration from Charlie Murphy as he repeatedly referred to the show as 'Hot Ghetto Mess'.

It also seems obvious that BET struggled to sell advertising time on the show. 80% of the commercial time was filled with promos of other BET shows.

One of the oddest moments during the show was a promo of an upcoming BET interview with Oprah Winfrey. I tend to believe that Oprah won't be happy to see her image and words used as a backdrop for 'Hot Ghetto Mess'.

However, there were three fools who had the audacity to spend their corporate dollars to sponsor the pilot show. My hope is that everyone reading this blog post will take a moment to make a phone call or send an email to these corporate sponsors to let them know your disappointment. Here are the three sponsors that chose to disrespect the African American community by spending our money (as customers of their products) on this mess.

The largest sponsor for the pilot show appeared to be ASCENDANT Pictures. The company is an independent film development, production, finance and foreign distribution company who paid BET to air multiple commercials about their upcoming movie called Who's Your Caddy. ASCENDANT PICTURES is run by Chris Roberts and Christopher Eberts. You can reach them right now by phone (310.288-4600), email (info@ascendantpictures.com), fax (310.288-4601) or mail (9350 Civic Center Drive, Suite 110; Beverly Hills, CA 90210).

A second HGM sponsor was the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. I was very disappointed to see one of my favorite cities... Detroit ... advertising on HGM. I have to believe that it will not take much to get them to remove their sponsorship from future shows with our calls or letters. My suggestion is that you place the call right now ... leave a message if it is after-hours when you are reading this message ... to Angela Gillis at (313) 202-1973 or you can email her at agillis@visitdetroit.com. Another unique way to get leverage on the DMCVB is to contact some of their influential members. You can click here to identify some of the business members. Share with them your disappointment in their decision to use membership dues in such a disrespectful manner to the Black community.

The final HGM sponsor is an Ohio-based company --> The Original Mattress Factory located at 4930 State Road; Cleveland OH 44134. The founder and president is Ron Trzcinski. According to Trzcinski: "Profit is a report card, a scorecard, a won-lost record. I don't sit in the mattress factory and say, 'How can we make a profit?' I ask, 'How can we do a better job? How can we make people want to come in? How can we help people see the value?' If you do all those things, you will make a profit." Let's reach out to Ron to let him know that African Americans are not interested in buying a mattress from a company that is so disrespectful to people of African descent. You can click here to email Ron or you can reach him by phone (216.661-8388) or send him a fax (216.661-2337).



Villagers, it is time for us to speak truth to power.
It is time for us to turn our consumer buying potential into action. I urge you to pick up your cell phone and make three phone calls right now ... before you do anything else ... let these fools know that we simply won't accept this nonsense any longer. State Farm and Home Depot did the right thing.

Let's help ASCENDANT Pictures, Detroit Convention Bureau and The Original Mattress Factory do the right thing as well.

Diversity in the IT Workplace Sucks

I have been active with BDPA for many years. BDPA is an association made up of IT professionals of African descent. As such I was disappointed to learn that the diversity within the IT industry over the last decade has not improved.

In fact, for most of us diversity statistics lag far behind the rest of the US workforce. African Americans represent only 6.5 percent of IT management and staff, as compared to 11 percent of all other industry management and staff professionals.

The percentage of African Americans in IT managerial and staff positions dropped nearly 26 percent over the past six and-a-half years, the percentage of whites increased by 2.3 percent, and employment within IT among Asians increased by more than 17 percent.

I took little comfort in the fact that whites are also under represented in the IT industry, with 75.2 percent of all IT employees being white while 82.1 percent of all other managers and staff professionals are white.

Asians currently hold 16.3 percent of IT jobs but only 4.6 percent of managerial positions in other professions.

Gina Billings is a friend and colleague. She is also the current National BDPA president. She believes that globalization, and the outsourcing of IT jobs, is to blame for the low percentage of African Americans in the IT industry. Billings argues that because many African Americans entered the industry later than their white counterparts, they were the first to get fired when jobs started moving oversees, and that negative experience has caused a ripple effect.

A study by Global Lead Management Consulting for the Information Technology Senior Management Forum indicates that many African Americans are now leaving the IT industry voluntarily. Of the survey respondents, all of which were employed African American IT professionals, 56 percent considered leaving their jobs in the previous 12 months. Nearly all of the respondents said they felt comfortable working with diverse peers, but fewer than half said they trusted their peers.
That is deep. It is rough to work in an environment where you don't trust your colleagues.

Anyhow, BDPA and ITSMF are coming together in a few weeks at a conference being held in Washington DC on August 15-18, 2007. I anticipate that this issue of poor employment results in the IT industry will be a topic of both formal and informal discussions. Perhaps I will see you there.

Top Companies for African Americans

I do some consulting work for a growing number of BDPA chapters in Austin, Charlotte, Dallas and New York. BDPA is a national organization that works for the career advancement of African Americans in the IT industry 'from the classroom to the boardroom'. The work that my company does with BDPA involves corporate sales, membership growth and fundraising. As such, I was interested in the Top 10 Companies for African Americans as determined by Diversity Inc.

The list was compiled after looking at demographics including work force, new hires, management in total and broken down by three levels—CEO and direct reports, direct reports to those direct reports, and all other managers—management promotions, and top 10 percent highest-paid employees. Other factors included retention rates for African Americans compared with other groups. Finally, supplier diversity and the percentage of procurement budget going to minority-owned companies, as well as mentoring programs and financial assistance for diverse suppliers were rolled into the mix.

It turns out that these 10 companies are in seven different industries (telecommunications, banking, insurance, hospitality, auto, consumer products and media). A few of them have done business with the non-profits that I'm working with:

• No. 2: Wachovia - This company is very active with our BDPA Charlotte chapter. The company CIO is a well-connected brother. Thirty percent of its new hires are African American and 19 percent of management promotions went to African Americans.
• No. 3: Verizon - This company supports our BDPA Greater Tampa Bay chapter. The company reports that 20% of its board of directors are Black, as well as 20 percent of its total management.
• No. 4: JPMorgan Chase - Last year was the first time that BDPA actively engaged with JPMC. Strong presence in Columbus, New Jersey and Philadelphia. This banking giant has a work force that is 18.5 percent African American and a female work force that is 23 percent African American. Twenty-two percent of new hires are Black.
• No. 8: Cox Communications - Last year was the first time that BDPA engaged with Cox Communications. I'm hopeful to see them more engaged with our BDPA Atlanta chapter. Anyhow, the media company notes that 33 percent of its female new hires are African American and 17 percent of promotions in management went to African Americans.
• No. 10: Allstate - Frankly, this company has invested more in BDPA over the past decade than any other in the country. The largest BDPA chapter in the nation is led by an Allstate executive. The company has a work force that's 17 percent Black and reports 21 percent of new hires are African American. In addition, 15 percent of promotions in management went to Blacks.

I haven't had any success with the other five companies that make up the Top 10 Companies for African Americans. These companies are AT&T (#1), General Motors (#5), PNC Financial Services Group (#6), Pepsi Bottling Group (#7) and Sodexho (#9). I guess that I'll figure out a way to talk with 'em since they are evidently amenable to supporting Black folks.

I get a kick out of these Top 10 lists whenever they are published. When I was growing up in Los Angeles the local paper (LA Times) used to have a weekly featured called the Bottom 10 in the sports page. I wonder what companies would make the list as the Bottom 10 for African Americans?

Bilingual Black Folks

I have been visiting other blogs to learn how to improve the Electronic Village. I was amazed by the number of blogs that are written in French, Spanish, Japanese and other languages. Although, I don't know any official foriegn languages ... I am bi-lingual. [NOTE: That is me speaking tongues in the picture to the right!]

Like other people of African descent here in America ... I also understand the language that white folks talk in Corporate America. I worked in corporate environment for 23 years before I started my own business. As a result, I am painfully aware that people of color must battle stereotypes about being less hardworking, or less smart, or less punctual than white workers. We are forced to fight those perceptions throughout our careers.

There are so many stupid things that Black folks have to put up with in this world. If our name is "Black-sounding" then we lose out on opportunities in Corporate America. That is reason enough to support Senator Barack Obama in his presidential bid!

Many employers think that inner-city youth can't do math. That is reason enough to support the work being done by groups like BDPA as they create opportunites for high school youth to battle these stereotypes.

The University of Delaware completed a recent study on how stereotypes impact Blacks in the job hunting process. Of course, Black folks don't need a study to instinctively understand that we must wear the mask most of our time in Corporate America. I wonder how many Villagers reading this post know what I'm talking about?!

Don't Mess with Procter and Gamble

Procter & Gamble has been fighting some nasty rumors about satanism for over a decade. The company determined that one of their competitors -- Amway -- spread the rumors over official voice mail recordings to distributors back in the day. P&G sued the company for millions of dollars. The suit went back & forth over the years. It appears to have culminated this month with a $19 million judgement against four Amway distributors. Moral of the story? It doesn't pay to mess with an 800-pound gorilla!

6 Secrets to Deal w/ Racism

Whether you are a business owner, a busy professional or a blue collar worker, if you are African American, racism will affect your personal and professional success.

Instead of feeling frustrated, learn to focus on things that will help you succeed! This 45-minute teleseminar includes:

• Six secrets for succeeding in spite of racism
• Ten strategies you can use immediately
• Three things you should never do when confronting racism at work
• A short list of recommended books & web-based resources
• A link to download the free e-book: Racism Exists: Don't Let it Define You

Registration for this teleseminar is only $10.97 and you can sign up right now! Villagers have three separate opportunities to participate in this teleseminar: Mar 26 and Apr 23.

As an aside, the facilitator for this event is Tracy Brown. She is president of Diversity Trends and the author of five books on diversity in the workplace. The sister is deep!

I look forward to reading comments from any of you that attend any of these three sessions of this seminar.