I swear, Black Americans are the most  exploitable people on earth.  Seemingly all that anyone has to do is put out something and say that it’s black history … go see it!  And we gather like chickens at the trough for feeding time.  I saw Red Tails today and it sucked. Regardless of whose name is listed as director, it has George Lucas’ hack fingerprints all over it.  The dialogue is cringe-worthy, no attempt is made to place any of the film’s events into any kind of historical context, and the narrative is completely incoherent.  The real Tuskegee Airmen deserve to have their amazing story told in a first-class motion picture.  It’s a real pity this isn't it.  This is something straight out of an epic comic book (thus the comic book cover above).

If virtue was the sole or primary criterion for judging a movie’s worth, then Red Tails would score an easy five stars.  Sorry, but the movie was not directed well. The acting by many was horrible and unbelievable.  The re-shoots were obvious.  The special effects were excellent but the movie itself is not good.  George Lucas has indicated that, if Red Tails is a success, he’ll consider bankrolling a prequel and a sequel.  Based on what we have here, though, this would probably be too much of a bad thing.

I have a suggestion: instead of ensuring that this film is a success by pouring million$ into the hands of an already wealthy white American film producer, why don’t we come together and ensure the success of some of our local black business Americans?  Or, do we need a white person to tell us that first?

What if a scheming white film producer knew he could rake in millions of hard-earned dollars from gullible Black Americans by doing a documentary on Rosa Parks' life — but did a hack job?  Would you feel compelled to support it just because she was black?  Even though the advertising creatives created such a buzz that you would deem yourself doing her legacy a disservice by not seeing it?  I think I already know the answer to that … and it ain’t what I would do.

“I will go to the NAACP convention and explain to the African-American community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps,” said Newt Gingrich at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

“I do not want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money, I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money,”said Rick Santorum at yet another town hall meeting in a room full of his — (clearing my throat, eh hum) — supporters.  (Who, for the next several days thereafter, tried repeatedly to convince everyone that what he said was “blah-h-h peoples plives”.  Obviously to no avail.)

I know this has been discussed ad nauseam, but it’s been exasperating me ever since these phrases have been uttered.  What bothers me most is the perception that many whites have about the African-American community at-large.

Not a day goes by when nearly every black person I communicate with does so in an articulate manner and with a conviction and strong determination to achieve individual — and generational — success.  We seek to be wealthy as much as the next guy.  Who doesn’t?  I don’t know any.  Even those whom I’ve met along my life’s path (and yes, I grew up so-called poor) aren’t desiring to be poor.  That’s asinine to even assume that.  And these simpletons want to be president?  Of THESE United States?  Umm, I don’t think so.

They need to go to the NAACP with an open mind of what they’ll find; not going in with a depreciated expectation of what they’ll find.  Otherwise … well, let’s just say … they might need extra security getting back to the limo.  Know what I mean?

If it’s going to be, it’s up to me
That being said, I have my own dream: that in my lifetime, we are perceived to be as smart, congenial and thriving as a group in these united states of America.  I learned long ago when I was a child, that “if it’s going to be, it’s up to me”.  If you look at the history of business in America, the whites have trounced the blacks by being better funded.  It’s a known fact that banks aren’t going to finance you at start-up phase.  So, while we’re out buying stock in GE, Microsoft & Pepsi … all the while making investment companies like Bear-Sterns richer on top of riches, we have the wherewithal to enrich ourselves … we just don’t think that way.  Our own communities have entrepreneurial-minded individuals who need you to put “stock” in them.  As for me, I wouldn’t be caught dead with a food stamp in my pocket.  I’d rather work to the bone than to stand in a line waiting to accept government cheese.  Who else is with me?

Not really trying to push this idea down anyone’s throat, I’m just sayin’ … it’s here if we want it: Visit Black American Stock Exchange.

As we celebrate MLK Day, one thing comes to mind:  Whenever Dr. King spoke he made a “statement” about the mental capacity of Blacks in America.  He loathed the ignorant stereotype that others tried to pin on us.  Let’s honor his “dream” by showing the nation that we are not as ignorant as some of the stuff we post daily for the entire world to read and make judgement.

Please, before you post on social network’s like facebook, take a few seconds and PROOFREAD so your post doesn’t make you — or us — look illiterate.

I know it seems harsh, but remember the old saying: Bad things happen when good people remain silent.  Thank you.

Congrats to my shorty, Corbin Grant Amos … and thanks for representing! With a starting field of 400 entrants (local Scripps National Spelling Bee), only 22 made the final stage. My son — the only black male representative and one of only three blacks total — finished a very respectable 5th for the second consecutive year. We were hoping for a championship this year but each of the 22 finalists is a champion just for making it this far.

Craig L. Amos, proud father

In today’s digitally driven, snap-judgment world, virtually every major product, company or institution has a “brand,” i.e., a popular reputation by which it is known, for better or worse. The strength of a brand today determines levels of consumer support and the ability of political parties and candidates to attract voters (as in “Brand Obama” or “Brand Gingrich”). It also impacts potential for government funding, and even the ongoing quality of media coverage.

Think about this: Both the Mini Cooper and the Volkswagen Beetle are small cars.

However, while significant numbers of people who otherwise want a small car believe that driving a Mini is trendy, smart and a sign of environmental consciousness, those same people wouldn’t be caught dead driving a Beetle.

The Volkswagen Beetle’s brand, once all-powerful, is in a tailspin, and the company is now trying to re-brand the vehicle so that more men will find it an attractive option.

That example demonstrates the power of a brand, and increasingly, that challenge is also being faced by nations, cities, neighborhoods and even, racial and ethnic groups.

Over the past 20 years, or so, China has changed its brand from being a heavily populated but marginally important global player to being seen now as the world’s most important exporter and economic engine.

With that new “brand,” China has been able to create a new, more respected global reputation for itself, including the image of dominant military capacity, whether it’s actually true or not.

Over the same period, African-Americans have done an absolutely abysmal job of managing our own brand, and it’s now costing us dearly.

When most people in this country think about the mass African-American population, they automatically conjure up images that include “unemployable,” “uneducated,” “incarcerated,” “irresponsible,” “lack of ambition” and “economically marginal.”

Accurate description or not, that “brand,” perpetuated and enhanced by largely negative media coverage and our own lack of involvement in racial reputation management, has stamped Black folks as a less-valued commodity in the United States.  As such, even when we want jobs, people have an excuse for not offering them to us; when we seek political support, candidates, more and more, don’t want to be seen with us publicly.

The “Black American brand” more and more each day, therefore, is creating the new Black American reality.

Even worse, there seems to be no group and precious few individuals today serving as unabashed advocates for building the “Black American brand.”

At one time, while we were still largely poor, we were nevertheless seen as people who could be successfully transitioned into the economy, who wanted to get ahead, and who were capable of making a valuable contribution.

That was during a period when the “Black American brand” was being attentively managed by civil rights leaders, church pastors, elected officials, community activists and business leaders.  Today our reputation is being largely unmanaged, and is generally seen as undesirable and fading fast.

Sadly, much like cars, soft drinks, computers, athletic shoes and cell phones, a group or institution with unfavorable brand characteristics will not only be ignored by the marketplace, they can also be so marginalized as to become completely irrelevant. Sometimes in extreme cases, they can even cease to exist entirely.

In that regard, a recent news story has been circulating about Ron Paul's newsletters and what he thought of blacks.  In the midst of the District of Columbia’s crack cocaine epidemic of the ’80s, Paul wrote that “I think we can assume that 95 percent of the black men in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.”  While I've done further research of Paul and don't believe that he is racist; what worries me is the idea that we can be “branded” like that and some others assume that there’s truth to it.

I may come off a bit too harsh when relating to my own, but I am passionate about our image — I am a graphic designer and image is everything.  Furthermore, I am concerned about what type of country we are about to leave behind for our children.  I've got an incredibly gifted 10 y/o son who will do well for himself because I didn’t allow him to get trapped into the gangsta (or ghetto, or whatever it’s called now-a-days) lifestyle.  Wanting to remain true to “our culture”, one day while riding around I turned to 97.9 The Box.  Whhooooaaaa!!!  That lasted all but about half of one song.  Back to Mix 96.5!  At 10, if you want your kid to know the difference of R&B, rap & pop music, you have to almost introduce him to ignorance, eroticism and slothfulness.  I know we’re supposed to be different and think the slow walking w/the pants nearly on the ground is cool, but we are continuing to deeply damage our brand.

Don’t get it twisted, I love being black.  I’m a darkie and I love being a dark brother.  And I love it when speaking to someone of a different color, there is no variance of English being spoken between us.  I love it when my son — who wears ethnic hair twists and has his own GQ swag — represents among the smartest in his school; has been upgraded a grade level; is constantly selected for the spelling bee finals; and does it all among other gifted students in his classroom at a predominantly white school district.  Now that’s cool!  That’s the re-branding I believe we must do.  Approximately 150 years ago, whites were convinced that blacks could not learn beyond a 7th grade level, and that we could never understand English completely so they dumbed-down everything for us by spelling words by the sounds they make.  Ever read Facebook or YouTube?  It’s hard to believe that 150 years later we have come full circle.

IT’S TIME TO RE-BRAND, PEOPLE!

First and foremost, allow me to say a very big THANK YOU" to all who supported our second Annual Adopt-a-Family 2K11 effort.  We really do appreciate it!

Secondly, allow me to share our experiences this year.  What started out as a slow donation exercise, we began to question whether we'd be alone in this process and on the hook to supply the needs of at LEAST one family … let alone three or more.  But as the deadline approached, we began to receive financial donations, emails indicating our boxes had been filled with food items, clothing and toys.  Then, just this week, we solicited the help of some valued customers to partner with us and the end result was phenomenal!

Last year, three representatives of the Houston Black Book delivered gifts that included a basketball goal; winter coats; footballs; gift cards; food and more to a few families — and the response was … well, how to put this politically correct … less than enthusiastic?  Although "we" felt good about the deed, neither of us felt the same response from the recipients.  But that's cool.  It's about helping and that's what we did.  Now, this year, my lead assistant, Denise Hadnott, could not make the trip and so I decided — as envisioned the year prior — that I would take my son along so that he could experience the other side of Christmas: the joy of giving.  But before anyone even thinks anything of the sort, my son will be getting all that he wants and/or needs.  In fact, at 10 y/o, we were able to hold an insightful discussion beforehand.

Earlier in the day, we picked up some last few items from two donors — including a freshly baked cake from Evelyn's Spice Bakery — then proceeded to layout everything and decide which family gets what.  Although we were still awaiting word from two other donors — because it was four days before Christmas — we knew that the kids would want to enjoy the pre-lighted Christmas tree for as long a time as possible, rather than wait another day or two.  So together, myself, my son and his 10 y/o cousin drove across Houston to distribute the goods!  When we headed out, I told them the day would be special.

The two young elves led the charge into recipients homes bearing boxes of toys, clothes, educational games and a laptop loaded with educational software … trip after trip … and I followed with more goodies.  The "thank yous" were deafening.  The appreciation was definitely present this year.  My son got to know each kid by name and talked to them about the gifts they were receiving (they weren't wrapped, so he didn't reveal any surprise).  But when a family w/two small twin boys wanted to hug & embrace him before leaving is what made my day really special.  After our final delivery, he uttered three simple words that spoke volumes to me: "that felt good".  All I could do was give him some fist-dapp otherwise my voice would have quivered.

Ultimately, we had to make some tough choices of which family we would help and who we could not.  And while others may not believe in what we're doing, we certainly believe and more importantly, applaud those who do also:

The World Youth Foundation & affiliates
Evelyn's Spice Bakery (Karen Franklin)
So You Wanna Dance.com (Trina Lowery)
Houston Bayou City Dance Association
Anytime Swing Line and Dance Studio
Main Event Bar Shops (Andre Lewis)
ReMax All Stars (Denise Hadnott)
Thompkins Media Group LLC
BJ Selmon

These are the partners whose names we know.  Our hats go off to the anonymous donors who simply dropped items off — we appreciate your selfless acts of giving as well!
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Your comments are welcomed!

I was in a waiting room at a dentist’s office one day and a black family came in, a mom and two kids.  The kids were playing, jumping around just like all kids do.  The youngest one (around two) walked off and the mother called out to the child “Lacadia!!  Cums ova hea!  Gets ups off dats darer.”  The child looked at the mom and went back to playing.  The mother — a large woman, if you know what I mean — then turned to her slightly older child (about four) and said “Gogets ya sista”  The older child replied with “Huh?”  The mother said again “Goes gets ya sista.”  Again the child did not understand.  Then the mother straightened her back and looked the child sternly in the eye and said it again as plain as a white person from the Midwest “Go get your sister”.  The child said “OK” and did as his mother asked.  Then the mother went right back to speaking “black”.  This happened a few times.  The child could not understand the mother until she said it in plain English.  Why teach kids to speak like this?  Is it really that hard to speak correctly?  People all over the world would kill to learn English in America and this mother is just throwing it away.

That occurred some time ago, and I’m only posting it now because it drives me mad when I read online conversations among “friends” the way we abuse the English language.  I know, I know … it’s texting — or whatever; but whether correctly or incorrectly, people do judge  how smart you are by how well you communicate.  Whether verbally or otherwise.  Including when you’re just kickin’ it online among “friends”.  I'm sure you've seen the posts.  Some are intended — some others … hmm, not so much.



The History of Ebonics
In the early days, whites believed that blacks were only 2/3 humans and could/would never grasp the English language.  So, they taught a simplified — dumbed down — version of English composed of primary letters closely matching the intended word i.e.: “its time 4 u to cum eat” … or … “wats dat noiz comin from da bak room?” … or … “where yo momma at?”  Seriously.  That’s documented history.  So, in today’s 21st century, why in the HELL do we embrace that kindergartner approach to grammar and post it for the whole world to see when MOST of us know better?  Why give anyone an opportunity to judge you/us in such a mentally undeveloped way?

I have met loads of people in my lifetime who’ve insisted that they know when to turn it off and on, so to speak.  And almost 90% of the time I listen to otherwise seemingly intelligent black folk speak publicly and professionally, a black Ebonics moment will slip in.  For example, they’ll be rolling along quite eloquently then all of a sudden forget to add an “s” on a singular verb.  “Well, Bob, everything in the industry seems to suggest that the economy will be viable for years.  Even Mr. Connolly say that …”  DAMN!  Did you catch that?  Even Mr. Connolly “say”?  Practice, man!  Practice?  Yes, Practice, man!

Come on my peeps … let’s yearn for embracing a smarter, 21st Century culture!  It’s all good to keep our customs and flava — but let’s also start inserting linking verbs and learn the proper usage of subject and verb unions.  It’s not that hard.  Even in comfort speech.  Why straighten our backs and speak like we have common sense only when speaking to people of a different skin color?  Then act just the opposite among our own kind whom we’re supposed to love and cherish with all our heart?  Does anyone else see the irony in this?  Because I just don’t get it.

First of all, I thought I had grown tired of seeing these types of shows.  I only watched it b/c I woke up around midnight last overnight and nothing else intriguing was on.  Now I'm super glad I watched.  So, let's get right to my take on it …

Okay, the show’s about eight black entrepreneurs who are seeking funding for their individual projects.  They move to Silicon Vally for nine weeks to seek out Angel Investors.  The show is a constant reminder that Silicon Valley is “mostly white and Asian”; and that there are close to ZERO black entrepreneurs who come looking for funding.  But the show also makes a point that blacks are electronic consumers and not electronic developers.  Fair enough … we’ve all heard that before.  Then, of course, there’s the successful businessman from India who points out what everyone around the world already knows, that our people don't work together.  And makes this crude assessment: “You have an entitlement attitude b/c your ancestors were slaves; you feel others are responsible to work out your problems.  Our people are just the opposite.  We feel that we must work out our problems ourselves."  (Paraphrased slightly.)

Let’s pause and ponder for a moment, shall we?  If you've ever hit a homerun in baseball, or the sweet spot on a golf club or nailed a forehand, top-spin winner in tennis, then you know this feeling: dude just NAILED it!  And it's something that I’ve said for many, many years and which is the foundation on why we produce the Houston Black Book and its affiliate organizations.

By 2014, Black Americans are expected to have over $1.1 TRILLION in spending power … why in the HELL do we feel the need to run to anyone other than ourselves to seek investors?  Right here in Houston, I have shaken hands with several millionaires and know a couple personally.  And I'm not talking about athletes.  Ever seen the show, Shark Tank?  Many of those start-ups are not seeking a million dollars.  No.  Some go in only seeking about $50,000 or less.  Why is it that a guy whose guaranteed $30 million in the NFL can’t at least consider taking this on?  And I am NOT in the “whoa is us” “gimme, gimme game”.  I believe in working hard for every dime I spend!  But it’s also crystal clear to me that many of us struggle as entrepreneurs b/c we simply do not have the proper funding to actually “launch” a successful business — or corporation.

Where do we go from here?
That being said, I rarely complain for the sake of complaining without offering at least some idea of a solution.  We've recently launched our latest website which seeks to pair investors with black entrepreneurs.  We hope to secure at least four successful business people who wouldn’t mind sitting in our newly opened office in City Centre and taking into consideration ideas of start-up entrepreneurs with the potential of making angel investments — either separately or collectively.  Much the same way as it’s done in the Shark Tank.  Oh, we’d have to come up with our own groovy name, so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

This can be done.  It's what … uh, humm (clear throat) … white folk did to create Wall Street in the first place.  And just look at them.  As one of the guys said on last night’s show, “by us not thriving as entrepreneurs and business owners, we’ll almost certainly become a permanent under class”.  Enough said.

Now, check out our vision for Black American Stock Exchange!

Graphic courtesy of: Amos & Grant Design Management

One is a flamboyant, outspoken, ultra-conservative, Christian fundamentalist and unshakably pro-big business, cut government spending advocate while the other is a cerebral, moderate, pro labor, and expansive government advocate.

It’s still un­likely, but Her­man Cain’s quick rise to the top of the GOP pres­i­den­tial can­di­date heap makes Cain ver­sus Obama now at least think­able.

Cain cer­tainly talks like he be­lieves he can snatch the nom­i­na­tion from the pre­sump­tive GOP pres­i­den­tial fron­trun­ner Mitch Rom­ney.  With the mer­ci­ful sink to po­lit­i­cal non-en­tity and media dar­ling sta­tus of Palin and Michelle Bach­man, he’s got a media starved for a new fla­vor of the month in­fat­u­ated with him and head­lin­ing any and every ut­ter­ance by him.  He’s got the Tea Party and con­ser­v­a­tive evan­gel­i­cal zealots cheer­ing him on and pump­ing up his num­bers in straw polls.  He’ll prob­a­bly fat­ten his cof­fers with some deeper pocket con­ser­v­a­tive dol­lars.

If Cain can con­vince vot­ers that his can­di­dacy is not sim­ply hype and bom­bast to sell his book and get a gig on Fox News, and that his tax plan won’t soak the mid­dle class and poor at the ex­pense of the rich, his GOP pres­i­den­tial can­di­dacy would be in­trigu­ing on sev­eral counts.  GOP lead­ers would crow that it proves sav­age and re­lent­less pound­ing of the GOP as a party of big­ots is a false­hood.  It would give vot­ers the sharpest con­trast in liv­ing po­lit­i­cal mem­ory of lead­er­ship style and po­lit­i­cal phi­los­o­phy be­tween two pres­i­den­tial can­di­dates.  One is a flam­boy­ant, out­spo­ken, ul­tra-con­ser­v­a­tive, Chris­t­ian fun­da­men­tal­ist and un­shak­ably pro-big busi­ness, cut gov­ern­ment spend­ing ad­vo­cate.  The other is a cere­bral, mod­er­ate, pro labor, and ex­pan­sive gov­ern­ment ad­vo­cate.

The ul­ti­mate in­trigue is that both are black.  A Cain-Obama match up would be a text­book show­down on which di­rec­tion Amer­i­cans want gov­ern­ment to go in the com­ing years.  The de­bates be­tween the two over this ques­tion would be fierce and would tightly draw the eco­nomic and ide­o­log­i­cal bat­tle lines.

A Cain pres­i­den­tial can­di­dacy would also pose two other chal­lenges.  It would test whether, as he fondly boasts, he could pry a sig­nif­i­cant num­ber of blacks away from Obama and into back­ing him in­stead.  Cain told Fox News that in a hy­po­thet­i­cal gen­eral elec­tion match-up against Obama he'd se­cure at least one-third of the black vote.

He didn’t stop there.  He told an ABC in­ter­viewer that blacks won’t vote for him be­cause of his color but be­cause of his ideas.  If Cain is right and if he can dent by even a few per­cent­age points the solid wall of sup­port Obama gets from black vot­ers that proved piv­otal in his break­through elec­tion wins in Ohio, Florida, North Car­olina, and Penn­syl­va­nia, then it would in­deed be a mon­u­men­tal feat for Cain and the GOP.  Then pre­sum­ing that his sup­port among the GOP base holds up, the elec­tion could be a real horse race.

But Cain say­ing that a num­ber of blacks will vote for him doesn’t make it so.  Polls show that de­spite some grum­blings, talk of dis­ap­point­ment, and even a con­certed cam­paign by some left-lean­ing blacks to hec­tor Obama, African-Amer­i­cans still over­whelm­ingly ap­prove his per­for­mance.  And even those who raise some eye­brows that he’s not doing enough or could do more on black un­em­ploy­ment and poverty still stoutly de­fend him and blame GOP racists and ob­struc­tion­ists for sab­o­tag­ing every ini­tia­tive he puts forth and for cre­at­ing mas­sive po­lit­i­cal mis­ery for his ad­min­is­tra­tion. They will not break ranks with him in 2012.

Cain will have to get mas­sive doses of Super Pac and GOP Na­tional Com­mit­tee fund rais­ing dol­lars to stay close to Obama.  But he will also have to get a clear ma­jor­ity of white votes.  Polls show that he’s within strik­ing dis­tance.  But those are early sea­son polls, based more on name iden­ti­fi­ca­tion, fad, and frus­tra­tion, than any in­di­ca­tion of deep voter sen­ti­ment.

At first glance, Cain seems to show that GOP con­ser­v­a­tives, the Tea Party flock, and maybe even con­ser­v­a­tive in­de­pen­dents will punch the Cain ticket. They’ve been the biggest rea­son for his poll surge to the top.  But if he’s there in No­vem­ber will they re­ally be there for him?

A Yale study in 2006 found that a sig­nif­i­cant num­ber of white Re­pub­li­cans and white in­de­pen­dents did not sup­port a black GOP can­di­date in past con­gres­sional races. But in the No­vem­ber 2010 mid-term elec­tions Black GOP con­gres­sional can­di­dates Allen West in Florida and Tim Scott in South Car­olina got a ma­jor­ity of white votes and eas­ily beat their De­mo­c­ra­tic op­po­nents.  But West and Scott won in lock­down GOP dis­tricts, and against weak, un­der­funded De­mo­c­ra­tic op­po­nents.  Their wins were re­gional wins with ab­solutely no na­tional im­pli­ca­tions.

Cain and Obama would be play­ing for the high­est po­lit­i­cal stakes in the race for the White House.  This will take money, top en­dorse­ments, ex­pe­ri­ence, a solid or­ga­ni­za­tion and most im­por­tantly the abil­ity to in­still con­fi­dence in a ma­jor­ity of vot­ers that the win­ner can han­dle the tow­er­ing prob­lem of gov­er­nance. An ide­o­log­i­cally dri­ven, or­dained Bap­tist min­is­ter and busi­ness­man with no po­lit­i­cal of­fice ex­pe­ri­ence run­ning against a sit­ting pres­i­dent de­fies all po­lit­i­cal odds.  But for now any­way, an Obama-Cain match-up is not an un­think­able pos­si­bil­ity.

The newly released Nielson Reports are out, and among them, a specialized focus on African-American spending and TV viewing habits.  There's something to be said about numbers.  What do the numbers below say to you?

TV Usage and Time Spent
In November 2010, African-Americans used their TVs an average of 7 hours 12 minutes each day — far above the total U.S. average of 5 hours 11 minutes.  Asians used their TVs the least, just 3 hours and 14 minutes on average.  African-Americans also used DVD players and video game consoles more than average.  Another fact to note: the VCR has virtually disappeared
for all groups.

Top 10 Most Watched Among African-Americans, Ages 18–49
Excluding Sports
January–June 2011 (In Millions)

1 The Game: Season 4 ..............................(3.08)
2 Real Housewives Atlanta ........................(1.76)
3 Let’s Stay Together .................................(1.56)
4 American Idol-Wednesday ......................(1.08)
5 House of Payne .......................................(0.97)
6 American Idol-Thursday ..........................(0.96)
7 Dancing With the Stars ............................(0.95)
8 Grey’s Anatomy .......................................(0.83)
9 Law and Order: SVU ...............................(0.81)
10 Apprentice 11 .........................................(0.80)

Does it not surprise anyone that we watch the most TV by far yet none of the shows appear on news channels?  Out of the "Top 10", I have honestly NEVER seen 1; 2; [never even heard of] 3; 4 [maybe twice]; 5; 6; 7 [maybe to check out how an athlete was doing]; 8 [I used to watch this when they had my boy, Washington on there.  I actually met both the black actors who had Houston ties in '08]; 9 [maybe an episode or two]; nor 10.

Maybe it's just me, but what's the old saying about "great people talk about ideas average people talk about things small people talk about other people".  "The Game"?  Number one?  Seriously?  Followed by "Real Housewives … Atlanta"?  You've GOT to be kidding me!  Really?

In my opinion — and I know about opinions and assholes —  these numbers speak volumes about why we are absolutely LAST (collectively) on the income earnings poll released every five years.  Perhaps we should work in a Wolf Blitzer episode on CNN, or even a Daily Show w/Jon Stewart, or be entertained by lively debates on Bill Maher or turn OFF the TV and read Chron.com, AOL, Yahoo, etc.  Just sayin'.  It just might do more than help raise our joint IQ's bottom line.
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While you're here, check out our calendar of events.

… and/or our black business directory.