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Who profits from Black consumers & How much we buy?

Update, February 2012

Click Here To See What Black People Can Do To Help Ourselves.

 

2011 Neilsen Black Buying Power Update. If we only spent

some of this in our own businesses think about how many Black

jobs we could create... Click Here! (This is a pdf document so give it time to load.)

 

 

African Americans are proportionately the largest users of mouthwash, deoderant , soap, toilet paper, cough medicine, laxitives and lotion. We spend over $10 billion yearly on our hair. We spend $60 billion on food in the grocery stores annually and this doesn't include fast food where we spend around $25 billion annually. Proportionately, we are major purchasers of athletic shoes and apparel. Yet, can you name for me any products sold in your local supermarket or drug store that come from Black own companies? Maybe 1 or 2. Lets look around our communities. Do you see any Black owned retail stores. Think about your average week. Do you spend any money with businesses that you know are Black owned? Even franchises, how many of those are Black owned, proportionate to what we spend. Very, very few. There are less than a handful of Black owned BMW, Toyota and Mercedes Benz dealerships nationwide, yet we love to buy these cars. Don't get me started about the diamond ear rings that young brothers like to wear in both ears.

Why do we love companies and their products that don't love us back? Our purchases create companies, jobs ,opportunities and wealth for everyone else but ourselves. Foreigners coming to America know that the easiest and cheapest place for them to set up a family business is in the Black community. They are told that African Americans really don't care who they buy from. We don't seem to really understand the basic principles of economic survival. If we don't begin to do business with ourselves, then who will. Now lets look at other minority groups. Every major city has a China town where many Asians shop. Furthermore these shops hire Asian employees. The same is true for Hispanics who are now the largest minority group in America. A recent survey in the Wall Street Journal says employers increasingly prefer to hire Hispanics over Blacks. This is only going to get worse as Black consumers continute to patronize everyone else but ourselves.

Target Market News Report On How Much Black Consumers Spend:

The report analyzes spending for black households in 2008 and finds that African-Americans began showing signs of the pending economic turmoil that would hit the entire nation. The pattern of purchases shifted dramatically in some categories. Contributions to churches and other non-profits dropped 16% to $11 billion. Expenditures on personal care products and services declined 10% to $6.6 billion. Spending on alcoholic beverages decreased 6% to $2.8 billion.

Purchases of items related to the home continued to increase despite the need for economic sacrifices. Appliance purchases grew 27% to $2.2 billion. Computers for home use climbed 28% to $3.5 billion. Consumer electronic expenditures went up by 32% to $4.5 billion.

"African-American households are facing this economy by being more focused in the purchases they make," said Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News and editor of the "Buying Power" report. "In 2008 black consumers had total earned income of $803 billion. They ranked 17th among the economies of the world in comparable gross national income. They continue to be a critical part of the American marketplace, and will contribute substantially in the economic recovery of American business."

The "Buying Power" report's 100-Plus Index section shows how black households continue to spend on average more than their white counterparts in categories such as food, apparel, appliances, personal care products and services and phone service.

Estimated Expenditures by Black Households - 2009

Apparel Products and Services	$29.3 billion
Appliances	2.0 billion
Beverages (Alcoholic)	3.0 billion
Beverages (Non-Alcoholic)	2.8 billion
Books	321 million
Cars and Trucks - New & Used	29.1 billion
Computers	3.6 billion
Consumer Electronics	6.1 billion
Contributions	17.3 billion
Education	7.5 billion
Entertainment and Leisure	3.1 billion
Food	65.2 billion
Gifts	9.6 billion
Health Care	23.6 billion
Households Furnishings & Equipment	16.5 billion
Housewares	1.1 billion
Housing and Related Charges	203.8 billion
Insurance	21.3 billion
Media	8.8 billion
Miscellaneous	8.3 billion
Personal and Professional Services	4.1 billion
Personal Care Products and Services	7.4 billion
Sports and Recreational Equipment	995 million
Telephone Services	18.6 billion
Tobacco Products	3.3 billion
Toys, Games and Pets	3.5 billion
Travel, Transportation and Lodging	6.0 billion

Source: Target Market News, "The Buying Power of Black American - 2010"

 

 The above statistics should be enlightening to both blacks and whites showing

how much Black consumer buying contributes to the overall well being

of the US economy toward the creations of jobs and wealth even for many

companies who refuse to hire us at all levels.

 

Why Buy Black? Click Here

 

It also tells Black Americans that in comparison to third world countries,

we aren't as poor as the media would like America to believe.

Our major problem as Black Americans is we have yet to use

our buying power to create jobs and opportunities for

Black entrepreneurs in our own communities and as leverage with

corporations who don't respect our buying power.

We must stop seeing ourselves and our ability to control

our own destiny and communities as powerless.

Today is National Black HIV/Aids Awareness Day

We are 12% of the US population ,yet we now account for over 50% of all HIV cases. Recently, the New Black Leadership Coalition applauded President George Bush's call during last Tuesday night's State of the Union Address to reauthorize a modernized and improved Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. Up for reauthorization by Congress in 2006, the Ryan White Act must be modernized to alleviate inequities in treatment, primarily affecting the poor and minority Americans, according to the PR Newswire.

But the least we can all do today is buy a package of condoms . Use them and give them to our friends and relatives who aren't married and who are sexually active. We must constantly warn our young people of the dangers of unprotected sex. Our future as a people depends on it. What do you think...

Gay Black Men...What do you think?

Black Women Must Protect Themselves

I tell my daughters, they must protect themselves first. What do you think?

Black Men Must Take Better Care Of Our Health

Black Women And Breast Cancer

Faith Leader Urges Black Churches to Support the Sister Study

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the Presiding Prelate for the Thirteenth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church is encouraging A.M.E. churches to spread the word about the Sister Study , a landmark breast cancer study to learn how environment and genes affect the chances of getting breast cancer. Bishop McKenzie also challenges other faith leaders across the country to help spread the word to women in their congregations and communities.

Black History in the Making

Bishop McKenzie serves as the 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Her historic election in the year 2000 represents the first time in the over 200-year history of the A.M.E. Church, in which a woman had obtained that level of Episcopal office. In 2004, she again made history becoming the first woman to become the Titular Head of the denomination, as the president of the Council of Bishops, making her the highest-ranking woman in the predominately Black Methodist denominations. Bishop McKenzie has been honored for her community service, outstanding achievement and being a religious role model by a number of diverse civic, educational, business and governmental leaders.  She is also the National Chaplain for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. an international public service organization and life member of the NAACP.

Tune in to the Tom Joyner Morning Show on
Wed., Feb.13th at 6:45am CST
to hear Bishop McKenzie
express her support of the Sister Study. >

Almost Half of HIV+ People Are Black

In the United States, the HIV/AIDS virus is most prevalent in the Black community. Although Blacks only account for 13 percent of the U.S.population, they accounted for 51 percent of all new HIV diagnoses between 2001 and 2005. "In the U.S., we see that AIDS is a Black disease no matter how you look at it," Phil Wilson, executive director for the Black AIDS Institute, told DiversityInc.

Today marks the eighth observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and researchers say it is a day for concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 1 million Americans are living with HIV, and 47 percent of them are Black. "The rate of HIV diagnosis for Black males is nearly seven times that of white males and more than twice the rate of Hispanic males," Jennifer Ruth, a spokesperson for the CDC, told DiversityInc. "The HIV-diagnosis rate for Black females is more than 20 times that of white females and almost four times that for Hispanic females."

Black youths between the ages 13 and 24 account for 61 percent of diagnoses.

"We are still trying to get the message across to people that, where HIV is concerned, silence is not golden. It's a killer," says Garth Graham, head of the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "We have a responsibility to talk about how people can protect themselves from HIV, including what to do when they are tested and diagnosed."

National HIV/AIDS organizations are rolling out new programs to help curb the issue, especially among the country's Black youth. Advocacy groups are teaming up with churches, civil-rights groups and community organizations to fight the pandemic, says Wilson"Without a vaccine or a cure, prevention and other positive public health messages, such as the ABC strategy (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use Condoms), are our only real hope of stopping the spread of HIV," says Graham. 

While the HIV/AIDS rate among Blacks is still alarming, the CDC report there have been no indications of increases in the overall rate of new HIV infections among Blacks. "There have been signs of possible reductions in new infections among Blacks in some areas hard-hit by HIV, such as the state of

Florida and in populations hard-hit throughout the country, including injection-drug users and African-American women," Ruth says.

Black America Buying Power

Black America's buying power in many of the categories listed below has almost double in the past 10 years.

since these figure were released.

THE BUYING POWER OF BLACK AMERICA - 2003

This is the eleventh edition of Target Market News' annual report on African-American consumers. Again, most of the increases were in categories most influenced by women's purchases. The economic slowdown continues and surely will have an impact on future spending. In 2003 black households had $656 billion in earned income.

Apparel Products and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23.0 billion
Appliances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Beverages (Alcoholic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Beverages (Non-Alcoholic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 million
Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32.6 billion*
Computers and Related Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 billion
Consumer Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 billion
Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12.3 billion
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 billion
Entertainment and Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 billion
Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  56.5 billion
Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 billion
Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18.0 billion
Household Furnishings and Equipment . . . . . . . . . .  11.9 billion
Housewares. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973 million
Housing and related charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145.2 billion
Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16.2 billion
Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0 billion
Personal Care Products and Services . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 billion
Sports and Recreational Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 million
Telephone Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14.4 billion
Tobacco Products and Smoking Supplies . . . . . . . . . . 2.8 billion
Toys, Games and Pets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 billion
Transportation, Travel and Lodging. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 billion

Copyright (c) 2004 Target Market News. All rights reserved. From "The Buying
Power of Black America - 2004" Do not cite without proper credit.
*This total does not include all automotive related expenditures listed
in the report.

Black Buying Power to Hit Trillion By 2015-Dollar Mark

Report cites population growth, entrepreneurship for economic gains

Minnesota is one of 10 states in the U.S. that have shown the greatest growth of Black buying power since 1990, a University of Georgia economic report says.

According to an annual report by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, although Minnesota did not make the top-10 list for states with the largest African American market, it did make the top-10 list for the largest buying power rate of growth during 1990-2006: Nevada (449 percent), Idaho (434 percent), Utah (386 percent), Montana (368 percent), Minnesota (354 percent), South Dakota (313 percent), Arizona (294 percent), Maine (294 percent), Vermont (289 percent) and Wyoming (251 percent).

The Selig Center 2007 report includes state-by-state projections of buying power for the country as well as for Blacks, Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics.

Buying power is not used as a measurement of wealth. It is defined as the total personal income an individual has available after taxes for spending on virtually everything that they buy.

The economic think tank determines its estimates and projections by applying economic modeling and forecasting techniques to data from various U.S. government sources. Despite the large population disparity between Whites and persons of color in Minnesota, the state ranks fifth in percentage increase of Black (354.2 percent) and Asian (486.5 percent) buying power, and eighth in Hispanic buying power.

Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center and the report’s author, reported in August that U.S. Black buying power will total $845 billion in 2007 and is projected to top $1.1 trillion by 2012. Furthermore, the share of buying power controlled by Black consumers will rise in 47 states, including Minnesota. Mississippi (24.3 percent), Maryland (22.2 percent) and Georgia (20.8 percent) will show the largest market share increases, along with the Distinct of Columbia (30.6 percent).

By 2011, the combined buying power of Blacks, Asians and Native Americans nationwide will be $1.8 trillion – nearly quadruple its 1990 level of $454 billion, a gain of $1.3 trillion or 289 percent, the Selig report continued. The combined buying power of these three ethnic groups will account for 14.3 percent of the U.S. total buying power in four years.

The center reported that the U.S. Black buying power has risen from $318 billion in 1990, to $590 billion in 2000, to $799 billion last year, and will rise to $1.1 trillion in 2011 – a 237 percent increase in 22 years.

The report points out that Blacks spent a larger percentage of their income on natural gas, electricity, telephone services, and footwear, and a higher proportion of their money on groceries, housing and women’s and girls’ clothing than others.

Also, according to the report, Black consumers account for almost nine cents out of every U.S. dollar spent.

Humphreys also examined demographic data: The nation’s Black population will grow almost 34 percent by 2011, compared to 18.5 percent for Whites and 25.4 percent for the total U.S. population.

The gains in Black buying power reflect more than just population growth and consumer inflation, Humphreys said. He also pointed to the increasing number of Blacks starting their own businesses. Using U.S. Census data, Humphreys reported that the number of Black-owned businesses increased 45 percent from 1997 to 2002, exceeding the 10 percent increase in U.S. businesses overall.

The Selig Center report concluded that as the U.S. consumer market continues to grow more diverse, advertising, products and media must be tailored to meet each ethnic consumer market. The organization, which was established in 1990, makes their report available to businesses and the public.

Editor's Note: According to an annual report by the Selig Center for Economic Growth buying power is defined as the total personal income an individual has available after taxes.

To read the entire report, go to the Selig Center’s Web site at www.selig.uga.edu.

Click Here to see how change can start with one Black consumer at a time.

Black Teen Girls Have The Highest Incidence Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study that startled some adolescent-health experts.

Read carefully and listen to the NPR report below to find out why Black Teens are disproportionately effected and what we can do to save our children. As a father, I know it is my responsibility to be proactive in advising and warning my kids.  All parents must do the same.

Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection of both abstinence-only sex education and teens' own sense of invulnerabilty. Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention.

Only about half of the girls in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some diseases.

Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing — 40 percent had an STD.

"This is pretty shocking," said Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center's Children's Hospital in New York.

"To talk about abstinence is not a bad thing," but teen girls — and boys too — need to be informed about how to protect themselves if they do have sex, Alderman said.

The overall STD rate among the 838 girls in the study was 26 percent, which translates to more than 3 million girls nationwide, researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. They released the results Tuesday at an STD prevention conference in Chicago.

"Those numbers are certainly alarming," said sex education expert Nora Gelperin, who works with a teen-written Web site called sexetc.org. She said they reflect "the sad state of sex education in our country."

"Sexuality is still a very taboo subject in our society," she said. "Teens tell us that they can't make decisions in the dark and that adults aren't properly preparing them to make responsible decisions."

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the study shows that "the national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure, and teenage girls are paying the real price."

Similar claims were made last year when the government announced the teen birth rate rose between 2005 and 2006, the first increase in 15 years.

The new study by CDC researcher Dr. Sara Forhan relied on slightly older data. It is an analysis of nationally representative records on girls ages 14 to 19 who participated in a 2003-04 government health survey.

The teens were tested for four infections: human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and affected 18 percent of girls studied; chlamydia, which affected 4 percent; trichomoniasis, 2.5 percent; and genital herpes, 2 percent.

Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC's division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said the data, now a few years old, likely reflect current prevalence rates.

Disease rates were significantly higher among black girls — nearly half had at least one STD, versus 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-Americans.

HPV, the cancer-causing virus, can also cause genital warts but often has no symptoms. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains recently became available, but Douglas said it probably hasn't yet had much impact on HPV prevalence rates in teen girls.

The CDC recommends the three-dose HPV vaccine for girls ages 11-12 and catch-up shots for ages 13-26.

Chlamydia, which often has no symptoms but can lead to infertility, can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25. Trichomoniasis, also treatable with antibiotics, can cause abnormal discharge and painful urination. Genital herpes can cause blisters but often has no symptoms. It's not curable but medicine can help.

The CDC's Dr. Kevin Fenton said given the dangers of some STDs, "screening, vaccination and other prevention strategies for sexually active women are among our highest public health priorities."

Douglas said screening tests are underused in part because many teens don't think they're at risk, but also, some doctors mistakenly think: "Sexually transmitted diseases don't happen to the kinds of patients I see."

Teens need to hear the dual message that STDs can be prevented by abstinence and condoms, said Dr. Ellen Kruger, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.

"You've got to hammer at them," with appropriate information at each stage of teen development to make sure it sinks in, she said.

She said there are a lot of myths out there, too — many sexually active teens think the withdrawal method will protect them, or that douching with Coca-Cola will kill STD germs.

Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine, said some doctors hesitate to discuss STDs with teen patients or offer screening because of confidentiality concerns, knowing parents would have to be told of the results.

Blythe, who heads an American Academy of Pediatrics committee on adolescence, noted that the academy supports confidential teen screening

The headlines would lead you to believe that African American girls are more promiscuous, but the Center For Disease Contol points to an equality to health care as being the primary cause. Listen to what the CDC and teens have to:http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=88140117&m=88140090   After listening click your back arrow to come back to this site.