Educational resources for:
Poverty, Progress, & the Rise of African-American Businesses & Professionals
Thematic Overview
The segmentation of the African-Americans into a new middle class and an existing underclass was a major theme in American economy and society during the last quarter of the 20th century. ABJ interviews with black leaders and reformers highlight the ways that the restructuring of the rustbelt economy perpetuated some barriers to achievement as it opened new opportunities to the increasing number of skilled African-Americans.
Featured Show Segments
Comprehension Questions
Questions:
According to Cornel West, what impact has America’s market culture had on families?
Questions:
How does Cornel West describe the popular image of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.?
What does West say is the challenge facing black leadership in the struggle to have society address the concerns of African Americans?
Questions:
What does Cornel West say about the relationship between love and hope?
Questions:
Why did Erma Henderson stay in the mayoral election race, despite the adversities she faced in the campaign?
Questions:
What were some of the key issues Erma Henderson tried to advance in the campaign?
Questions:
Who are some of the famous figures that Erma Henderson met and got to know?
Questions:
What are the two kinds of clout that Earl Graves identifies that African Americans have?
What does Dave Bing identify as the key factors in his company’s growth?
Questions:
Why did Dave Bing consciously avoid doing business with the federal government?
Questions:
How does Earl Graves describe the concern that black consumers don’t fully support black businesses?
Questions:
Questions:
What was Berry Gordy’s intent in writing his book?
Questions:
How did Berry Gordy get the money to produce his first record?
Questions:
Why does Berry Gordy believe so many people do not achieve their potential?
Questions:
What does Coleman Young say are the city of Detroit’s main needs?
Questions:
Why does Coleman Young not support Jesse Jackson for president?
Questions:
What does Coleman Young identify as some of the positive results of a recent crackdown on crime?
Questions:
What are some of the contemporary problems Julian Bond sees facing the African American community?
Questions:
What are the key issues Jesse Jackson believes need to be addressed in the upcoming presidential election campaign?
What does Jesse Jackson have to say about mobilizing African Americans around those key issues he identified?
Questions:
Why does Jesse Jackson believe it is important for African Americans to build coalitions with other groups in society?
Thematic questions
What qualities do you see in such people as Berry Gordy, Dave Bing, Erma Henderson and Coleman Young that you think might have contributed to their success?
What kind of barriers to success for African Americans do such people as Cornel West, Earl Graves, Jesse Jackson and others identify, and how do those barriers limit the advancement of African Americans?
What similarities and differences do you see in the strategies such people as Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Julian Bond and Earl Graves propose for overcoming the barriers that face African Americans?
Websites
The Bing Group
http://www.binggroup.com/
Official site of the “certified Detroit-based minority business enterprise dedicated to uplifting our community.” The metals processing and products manufacturing company was founded in 1980 by African-American activist Dave Bing.
Black Enterprise
http://www.blackenterprise.com/
Since 1970 Black Enterprise has been a source of financial and business information dedicated to an African-American readership. A multimedia company, Black Enterprise also develops programs to assist African Americans “become financially empowered.”
Time Magazine – “America’s Rising Black Middle Class”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879319,00.html?promoid=googlep
A June 17, 1974 feature article on the subject of the state and growth of America’s African-American middle class. This article can be seen as a bridge between the 1969 ABJ episodes and the 1980s and 1990s episodes. Interesting and at times shocking to the contemporary reader in its content, this article provides context for the missing commentary of the state of the black middle class in the 1970s.
PBS’s Generation Next: Speak Up and Be Heart – “MTV’s Racist Programming Contradicts Its Theme of Tolerance”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/generation-next/blog/mtvs_racist_programming_contra_11-28.html
An op-ed piece by a young woman on the subject of African Americans in the media, namely a critique of MTV programming. The article is on the companion site to the series Generation Next which documents the voices of young people on various topics, including racism, politics, and the media.
Narratives of African American Art and Identity – The David C. Driskell Collection
http://www.artgallery.umd.edu/driskell/
An exhibition hosted by the Art Gallery of the University of Maryland. The exhibit showcases the work of various artists from the collection of artist and scholar David C. Driskell. The pieces by these artists “vividly document changes in African American identity and belief from the 1870s” through the 1990s.
Related Films
Two Dollars And A Dream
VHS/DVD. 56 minutes.
Directed by Stanley Nelson. New York: Filmmakers Library, 1988.
A biopic of Madame C.J. Walker, an African-American business woman who built her fortune developing beauty products for African-American women. This story also gives a portrait of the African-American from 1867 through the 1930s.
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Words
VHS/DVD. 86 minutes.
Produced by Stanley Nelson. San Francisco: California Newsreel, 1998.
A history of the black press and its role in the creation of “modern African American identity.” For teacher resources and other related materials, see the companion site: http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/
Black Is … Black Ain’t
VHS/DVD. 87 minutes.
Directed by Marlon Riggs. California Newsreel, 1995.
Explores the debates over Black identity, from stereotypes created by White American to definitions of “Blackness” created by African Americans. Filmmakers also tackle various issues in the black community including colorism, homophobia, patriarchy and sexism.
Books
Bell, Gregory S. In The Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street. New York: Wiley, 2002.
A history of African Americans’ experience on Wall Street, with emphasis on the past forty years. Discusses the barriers minority professionals had to overcome to be successful in finance.
Coner-Edwards, Alice and Jeanne Spurlock, eds. Black Families in Crisis: The Middle Class. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1988.
A collection of essays by educators, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers on the problems facing African-Americans of the middle-class. The authors explore how many individuals internalize various forms of oppression which consequently become stressors affecting their lives.
Rooks, Noliwe M. Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture and African American Women.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1996.
The author explores the social and political meanings of hair in African American women’s culture. She examines advertisements and women’s magazines to understand the “construction of an African American female identity and various positions surrounding the meaning of African American women’s bodies in a broad social context.”
Shelley, Green. Black Entrepreneurship in America. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1996, c. 1990.
An examination of the black social, economic and cultural experience and how it affects black entrepreneurship. Argues that black entrepreneurship is necessary to improve social and economic conditions in the black community.
Newkirk, Pamela. Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media. New York: New York University Press, 2000.
An investigation into how race continues to affect the media, coverage of African-Americans, and the role of African-American journalists.
Additional show segments and comprehension questions
Questions:
What is the main idea of the segment?
What does this skit suggest about the place of African Americans in the business world?
Questions:
What are some of the problems the students at Northeastern High School identify about their school and the education they are receiving?
Why does host and narrator Tony Brown think it is important for viewers to pay attention to the concerns raised by the students?
Questions:
What are some of the concerns raised by Ken Cockrel in the brief series of historical clips that begin the program?
What does the retrospective suggest about Kenny Cockrel’s political philosophy?
What are the qualities that the other interview subjects identify as Kenny Cockrel’s strengths?
Questions:
How does Mike Hamlin describe the focus of Kenny Cockrel’s life?
How does Mike Hamlin say Kenny Cockrel’s efforts affect the auto industry and the UAW?
Why does Dennis Archer agree that black male leaders are “walking time bombs?”
Questions:
How does Nathan Conyers, owner of an area automobile dealership, assess the progress in increasing the number of African American auto dealerships?
Questions:
According to Charles Harrell, what is necessary for black auto dealers to succeed in the face of location and credit problems?
Questions:
How does Theresa Jones respond to the reluctance of African Americans to buy cars from black dealers?
Questions:
What is the distinction James Brown makes between formal education and practical education?
Why does James Brown think it is important for artists and performers to have control over what they do?
Questions:
What does James Brown say about awareness and respect for African American culture?
Questions:
Why does James Brown say he keeps working so hard?
What does James Brown say African Americans should do to combat the disadvantages they face as a people in America?
