Sorority | Pi Beta Phi

Why does everyone try to escape the high cost of a Black Address?

Why after more than 40 years after the riots of the 60’s does North Minneapolis, as well as most Black communities, look like a war zone of abandon buildings, of a boarded up business district, patrolled streets by squads of police similar to Iraq?

What? Huh? Yes. Does this fact appear shocking? If not, why not?

I ask, “Why does everyone try to escape the high cost of the Black address”?

Here is a list of a few of the events held by or for the Black community in the finest hotels, convention centers, and banquet facilities in America. None of these events however, will be held in ghetto neighborhoods.

The annual Minneapolis Urban League Dinner will be held in the Hilton located in downtown Minneapolis. The annual NAACP convention held in the finest hotel in NYC. The annual General Mills sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast held in Minneapolis Convention center. The annual corporate awards sponsored by Twin Cities Black MBAs. The annual galas held by the Black Sororities or Fraternities, and other professional organizations. This behavior repeats itself throughout Black America.

What? Huh? Yes. Does this fact appear shocking? If not, why not?

Ok, so that you might have another approach to viewing my point, let’s think of the opposite. The National Association of Any White Organization of America will be holding their annual events in areas such as North Minneapolis, Harlem in New York, South Side of Chicago, Gary, Indiana, or a ghetto nearest to you soon. Picture becomes clearer?

Let’s take a look at the ramification of such activities from the both the economic standpoint and social aspects. Let’s make sure we are speaking terms of dollars, millions of them.

The Minneapolis Urban League will be hosting their 83rd Annual Dinner at the Hilton Hotel located in beautiful downtown Minneapolis with guest speaker Michael Eric Dyson. Admission is $80 per ticket or a table of 10 for $1,000 (I know the math does not add up, but let’s leave that one alone). All the proceeds will go to the Hilton except for a small percentage to the Minneapolis Urban League. Expected are 800 guests which will include the community movers and shakers, politicians, etc. etc. etc.

When questioned, various reasons will be given why the events will not be held in the Black community for which the Minneapolis Urban League serves such as safety, available facility, and most importantly accommodations for getting that $80 ticket or $1,000 for a table of 10 (again, this is not a math class). Let’s keep this real as the targeted audience is supposedly corporate wallets. Being that the Twin Cities has several corporations, none of which are located within the Black impoverished community of North Minneapolis of which the Minneapolis Urban League is located. Ironically, corporations often buy the tickets as a token gesture, then pass them to their Black employees with the intent they will represent them proudly at the dinner.

Here is where this gets interesting. Given the Minneapolis Urban League has held these events for 83 years, where do you think the original events were held? Regardless if the event was the Urban League or any other benevolent society from the past? At what point in our Black history did it become more acceptable to hold events outside the community? Was this considered a step up, moving on out, what does it signify? The Minneapolis Urban League holds up the Black community as to which they supposedly represent as the benefactors of the proceeds of these events as due numerous other Black organizations. Well, let’s keep this real. The Urban League, as well as the others, are soliciting funds to pay salaries of the staff more so than administer programs. The Urban League has long since lost the right to state they are representatives for the lower and impoverished for which they exist today, or the views of Black America. The Urban League was not founded on the principles of assisting the lower population. Membership or support from the many individuals the corporations will give token dinner tickets will be almost non-existence. Might you know who the name of the President of the Minneapolis Urban League, or say the St. Paul, or even the National Urban League? If not, why not?

Let’s take a look at the money. Who will get the bulk of the proceeds? The Hilton receives payment for the facility, the meals, the bars, and most likely the hotels rooms because they will give a great rate for the attendees. More importantly, they get to keep the dollars away from the Black community. Oh, sure the Urban League will receive a few dollars. Now the Hilton has just received a huge injection of cash to help maintain their fine establishment. Will the Hilton be locating in a ghetto neighborhood in the near future? No, and nor should they. The president of the Minneapolis Urban League will be smiling from ear to ear as he pays the bill for the event. Our fine Black organizations keep going to Hilton’s.

Now would it be too much to request the catering be performed by a local Black catering company? Some of that good ole soul food served on that fine linen table cloth. Not. The Hilton has an exclusive catering contract that will not allow that great soul food from that Black owned and operated catering company. Imagine, even more importantly, the Hilton does that to ensure the needed cash flow to sustain and grow their catering operations from a portion of the $80 dollar ticket prices corporate America will be forking over to them.

Might these fine Black organizations planned properly whose focus is on helping the Black Community sponsoring all these dress up affairs chip in together, what might just happen? Hum, a business as successful as the Hilton might develop. Imagine the possible creation of a facility that can accommodate 800 people for a fine event. Wait, consider this, if safety is a concern, will the Black communities all across America not be a better place with more jobs created? Is economic prosperity not a deterrent for crime within the community? Isn’t that why the Hilton chose to operate in the better communities, more disposable income within the communities to pay for their services? This in not an attack on the Hilton, they are making money one customer at a time as any business should.

Let’s recap my earlier questions. Why does everyone try to escape the high cost of the Black address? At what point in our Black history did it become more acceptable to hold events outside the community? Was this considered a step up, moving on out, what does it signify? What? Huh? Yes. Does this fact appear shocking? If not, why not?

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 8:55 am and is filed under Sorority. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.