In Celebration Of Black History Month, Part 3

African-America Is Still Divided -- In A Plethora Of Positive Ideas

W.E.B. Dubois wrote in his "The Souls Of Black Folks" that the most difficult hurdle African Americans would face in the 20th and 21st centuries in America would be dealing with the duality of being black. In this, the third chapter in our current series for Black History Month 2007, we're going to examine that duality along a little more black history and the evolution of music. Also, we want to look positively on some progress that's been made in spite of the obstacles that had to be overcome.

One of the obstacles that continues to plague black America is poverty. Given the economic and social structure of how poverty reproduces itself, even though there are programs in place these programs are unfolding cataclysms for minorities. We have seen many of those programs exposed and eliminated, and yet there are still those who would use the fact that they once existed as a reason to deny benefits to those who have earned them and depend upon them.

But there are also positive examples of growth and progress. There are positive successful figures such as Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Robert Johnson, Magic Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Cathy Hughes, Denzel Washington, Doc Wynter and Jamie Foxx.

But for most of us in 2007, a society in which race doesn't hold us back is still a distant goal. All things are still not equal by a long shot. In many areas -- access to loans, health care and even the amount of face time black candidates get in the media -- the racial fault lines determine that blacks are treated less favorably than non-blacks, regardless of income or social class. We are still struggling for the same basic rights as other Americans. Policies seem to follow the rhetoric.

And so as we look forward we want to make certain that we haven't forgotten the past and those whose struggles allowed many of us to survive. They took their time and persevered. They gave us reason for hope. They struggled, often without even the most basic tools that most of us take for granted. So as we celebrate Black History Month 2007, we must not rush on and forget about them. They survived time.

The Crossover '70s & '80s

Now let's look back to two of the most incredible decades of musical progress ever for black music. First, let's flash back to the early '70s. There were well over 100 radio stations "beamin' black," or so they thought. They figured they were programming mostly to black listeners, but they were wrong. As a measure of assessing the popularity of black music radio, in the early '70s, audience research companies, including Arbitron, began touting the fact that not only had black radio arrived, but it had brought with it scores of non-ethnic listeners. Black radio had indeed crossed over -- in a big way!

What made black radio such a good indicator of musical tastes? First, an overwhelming proportion of blacks listened almost exclusively to it. Second, black stations found their audience had expanded so much so that, where there were strong signals, they consistently placed among the top five stations in the market. In many markets they were not only format-dominant, they were market-dominant. In such a highly competitive business arena, stations have to be sensitive to public tastes to stay in business. Advertising finances them. Thus, the larger their audience shares, the greater the advertising revenues and the greater the profit margins.

The influences these stations had on their Top 40 counterparts were tremendous as well. In Chicago, for example, whenever WVON or WBMX consistently placed songs in their top 10, there was little doubt that Top 40 stations WLS, WCFL and B-96 had to play most of these songs. The same was true in New York, where WWRL and WBLS influenced WABC, WOR-FM and Z-100. These same type of stations' influences occurred in Detroit, Washington, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Baltimore, Memphis, Charlotte and Birmingham.

Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio then, as now, continually crisscrossed the color line as each borrowed something from the other and, in some cases, added a few tricks of their own. It became a constant process of thievery, homage and inexact limitation. Eventually the cream rose to the top and, even in some highly "vanilla" markets, a lot of "coffee" had more "color" than it did previously. For the first time, some found that they actually preferred to have it black.

Despite its popularity, black music and radio faced many obstacles in their struggle for recognition and freedom of expression. Indeed, the fight for equality continued as the central theme in the African-American experience.

As we reflect the state of black music and radio of the '70s and '80s we find the conditions of African Americans overall in America constantly reflected in our music. The music and America both evolved together. The '70s and '80s were decades of rebellion, change and protest. Black music and radio mirrored that effort. Those were the days when the FCC's license-renewal requirements included ascertainment reports. There were times when one could hear public service shows on the weekend that were full of anger and protest expressed by community action groups who were "tired of being tired." Indeed, black people had come a long way, and the black rebellion was set against the great white put-down and our insistence on rights sprung from a newfound pride.

While unawareness was seen as the most serious barrier to the newfound pride and to easing the racial crisis, well-meaning whites could not shed a paternalist attitude toward blacks.

With the many activities of the '70s and '80s, being black became a new religion, and converts were made when the search for identity resulted in discovery. All of a sudden at major sporting events, blacks were singing and playing our national anthem. Some of you may remember the Grambling State marching band quick-stepping and playing it in 1975, for the second time. They did it first in 1968, which made them the only performer to ever twice play the anthem at the Super Bowl. Then Marvin Gaye gave our national anthem a new feeling with his soaring rendition. Somehow black people have been able to feel a sense of pride whenever one of us steps up to the microphone and puts some of us into a song that didn't have us in mind when it was written. This trend continues right down to today, when "his royal purpleness," Prince, set it out at this year's Super Bowl game in Miami with millions watching in front of Samsung flat screens in Hi-Def and surround sound.

With consolidation, Arbitron's PPM, HD Radio, iPods, voicetracking, Bluetooth cell phones, downloading and satellite radio continuing to change the landscape and wreaking havoc with our lives, now there is a new buzz that is attracting attention and spreading rumors that will soon become a part of our history.

We're a part of that history -- a growing part. A look at the updated facts of the African-American market shows that growth. The African-American and, lately, Hispanic populations have exploded -- increasing twice as fast as the majority population of the deep South, particularly in the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The most extensive growth in the black population did not come from immigration. Ninety-five percent of all blacks are native-born Americans.

The growth is part of our accumulated experiences and shared histories. Those histories and these people do, however, define our opportunities and obligations to the next generation. We need to help restore and inspire dignity for what they accomplished.

It is obvious that our industries are on the verge of a new era -- one that is filled with bold challenges, new opportunities and, for some, huge rewards. Despite the obstacles, the future looks bright and promising and success can be part of that tradition. It's a future that begins with looking forward and glancing back -- looking forward to a future filled with pride and glancing back to a past that gives us hope and another reason to keep the struggle and the dream alive.

Word.