By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Just as many African-American women have been labeled“Angry Black Woman”, there are people who’ve tried to label our beloved President of the U.S., “Angry Black Man”. They have done so without success because no matter what label some have tried to pin on him, he has emerged victoriously, and you know that Black women have continued to achieve highly no matter what label is placed on us.

Since Michelle Obama became our First Lady and Barack Obama became our President, we have finally figured out the truth about who is really angry! It’s the “Angry White Male”! The anger is being led by Senator John McCain who cannot get over the fact that he lost the 2008 election. Senator McCain began trying to discredit then Senator Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign. One example is the time during a debate when he referred to Mr. Obama as “that one”.

Now, Mr. McCain, with a less than stellar record, finishing near the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy, is obsessed with demeaning Dr. Susan Rice, U. N. Ambassador and Rhodes Scholar. It floors me that this Angry White Man can’t get it through his head that there are a lot of brilliant Black women and men who are far better educated, with a far better temperament than he has. We’ve always had brilliant Black people with talent, but not opportunity. Obviously Angry White Men never noticed. Now that we have so many brilliant Black women and men on the national and international stage, it’s hard for them not to notice and they are going crazy!

Ironically, Angry White Men have always seen and welcomed Black athletes and entertainers with little or no formal education or noteworthy experience—some of whom often ran afoul of the law. Some less than brilliant behavior included domestic violence, drug problems and other problems. They were never referred to as “Angry Black Men”.They are celebrated as good friends.

Dick Cheney publically referred to Senator Patrick Leahy in gross terms. Pat Buchanan is a white man fired for racist rantings. A white man shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Hitler was a white man. A white man blew up the building in Oklahoma. A white man shot Dr. Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers. White men lynched many. White men beat and kicked Fannie Lou Hamer and on and on and were never referred to as “Angry White Men”, but that’s what they were. All of this anger now seems to be reserved for brilliant African American women and men.

I’m told colleagues and staffers who’ve seen Senator McCain erupt angrily say they’re confounded by his behavior. They say they cannot explain why a former POW would work so hard to keep POW/MIA information from coming out. One veteran has said he sees McCain as “a not at peace with himself man, having a sense of disgrace”.

If you don’t understand Senator McCain’s anger/shame, read his own words in his book called Faith of My Fathers--much of which is devoted to his years as a prisoner of war where he expresses guilt and disgrace at having broken under torture and given the enemy a taped confession, broadcast over the camp loudspeakers. He said he was a war criminal who’d, among other acts, bombed a school. “I felt faithless and couldn’t control my despair,” he said, while admitting to two half-hearted attempts at suicide, as well as living in dread that his father would find out. He said, “I still wince when I recall wondering if my father had heard of my disgrace.” We have heard Senator, and wonder if you and men like you are now heaping your anger on others with more stellar records?

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is Chair of the National Congress of Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org. 202/678-6788)

By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As Black organizations spend millions of dollars a year on conventions at major hotels across the U.S., a study by the NAACP reports that “a dismal 0.9%” of the industry’s supplier contracts is spent with African-American owned companies even as hotels and lodges draw more than $120 billion a year.

“Moreover, the industry averaged a dismal 0.9% for supplier contracts with African American- owned companies, though individuals in this group ages 18-64 comprise 12.3% of the population. For these reasons and many more, much work remains to be done in the lodging industry to mitigate the racial economic inequality that threatens the future of this country,” states the report released Nov. 30 during an NAACP press conference in Atlanta.

The report, The NAACP Opportunities and Diversity Report Card: The Hotel and Resort Industry, “examines the representation of African Americans and people of color as a whole in the industry’s workforce, supplier diversity and hotel ownership,” states the executive summary.

Racial inequities remain a reality across the U. S. even as projections show that Whites will become a minority population by 2050. Despite this fact, “racial economic inequality increasingly impedes the country’s economic advancement,” the report states. “During this period of high unemployment and declining wealth, Americans need living wage jobs with long-term career tracks now more than ever.”

The 45-page report is being released into a climate in which unemployment rates among African-Americans remain well into double digits and the impact of the economic quagmire has disparately hit Blacks and Latinos. The NAACP says it will explore several major industries in order to point out and attempt to resolve racial voids in employment and contracting.

The organization “will regularly examine the current state of diversity and inclusion in various U.S. economic sectors, highlighting the ones that exhibit the greatest potential for African Americans and other people of color. Furthermore, the NAACP will partner with industry leaders to advance best practices for racial and ethnic inclusion and diversity,” the report states.

According to the report, the largest hotels were included in the study on a voluntary basis. They included Hilton Worldwide; Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Marriott International, Inc.; Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.; and Wyndham Hotel Group.

The study graded the industry in three categories, including hiring and job advancement; contracting and procurement; and ownership. Among the findings quoted from the report:

• Marriott International received a B grade—the highest rating out of the five industry leaders reviewed in the study. The B “indicates an overall performance that exceeds industry norms in inclusion.”
• No corporate leader received a grade of A, which would “indicate that the corporation greatly exceeded the industry norm.”
• Because “the industry rate of inclusion for people of color is quite low in governing body representation, management, property ownership, and supplier diversity, it is clear that corporate leaders in the hotel and resort industry—along with leaders in many other industries— still have far to go to ensure their workforce, leadership and suppliers adequately reflect the demographics of the United States.”
• Two out of three (65%) lodging industry employees work in the service sector and it is projected that its five largest occupations – food preparation and serving workers, janitors, waiters and waitresses, restaurant cooks, and housekeeping cleaners – will add more than one million jobs this decade. Like other service industries, hotels employ many low-wage, part-time/seasonal workers.
• Although African Americans comprise the largest percentage of travelers of color in the United States…and while the lodging and hotel industry is largely staffed by workers of color, racial and ethnic minorities remain inequitably disbursed throughout the lodging workforce. They overpopulate entry-level and lower-wage positions while being underrepresented in higher-level, more lucrative positions, such as that of general manager.
• Out of all jobs in the lodging industry, hotel owner positions show the greatest lack of diversity. 

The report also points out some of the specific hindrances and solutions to minority economic progress in the industry. Among the findings quoted from the report:

• To advance beyond the plentiful lower-wage and entry-level positions in the lodging industry, workers must be educated about advancement opportunities. Hotels typically establish career tracks in marketing, public relations, law, accounting, architecture, and hotel operations. To qualify for a managerial or executive position, job candidates must acquire and develop business and operational skills.
• The National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) is one of several organizations attempting to address this issue by linking people of color with hospitality company sponsors, industry representatives, hospitality organizations, advisors, and mentors to support the leadership pipeline for people of color in the industry.
• The hospitality industry’s reputation with people of color is another barrier to diversity in hotel management. On the website The Black Collegian, Flora Gailliard states, “Although African Americans have had a wealth of experience in hospitality, it has not always been positive.”12 In the past, African Americans were relegated to solely low-level positions “in back-of-house … departments such as the kitchen and housekeeping.”
• Over the past several decades, hotel chains have attempted to reach out to communities of color through multiple diversity recruitment and retention programs. These programs enable hotel companies to diversity and have led to a higher retention of staff. However, with the recession, many hotels have reduced resources for diversity recruitment, retention programs, and diversity-based initiatives.
• Michael Roberts, an African American hotelier, thinks expanding minority hotel ownership could have a major impact on the industry: “African Americans’ ability to own produces job opportunities in leadership roles for other African Americans.”

Despite the grim numbers, the NAACP report gives hopeful projections for the industry if affirmative action is taken to improve diversity through outreach, education and specific programs.

“Though the majority of jobs in the hotel and lodging industry are lower-skilled, there are a number of career and employment pathways that can lead to management-level careers. As with most other industries, a college degree in the lodging sector is an important stepping-stone for promotion—a college degree in fields of study such as hospitality management will open many doors for advancement. Shadowing experiences, mentoring relationships, and internships also provide valuable ‘on-the-job’ experience that helps candidates stand out,” the report concludes.

Despite these remedies, the hotel and lodging industry, a subsidiary of the tourism and hospitality industries remains woefully short in its hiring and business exchanges with African-Americans. The report concludes: “For these reasons and many more, much work remains to be done in the lodging industry to mitigate the racial economic inequality that threatens the future of this country.”

By A. Peter Bailey

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Reading Ebony Magazine’s feature article, “100 Most Influential African Americans” in its December 2012-January 2013 issue, was very revealing on the low opinion the publication has of its readers in particular and of the larger Black community in general. A brief statement before the listing proclaims, among other things, “…In this issue EBONY selects the 100 primary influencers and game changers who have made vital accomplishments during the past year….”

During a year of a presidential election, of  continued economic dislocation, of the continued problem of dealing with Black-on-Black homicide among low-income Black males, the list published by the most widely distributed general interest Black magazine in the country  includes a 16-year old gymnast, Gabby Douglas and 19-year old pro basketball player, Anthony Davis.

It also includes “Influential African Americans” such as Recording Artists, Rihanna and CeeLo Green, Forward, NBA Le Bron James, Entertainer Nicki Minaj, Actor Jesse Williams, Forward, NBA Kevin Durant, Celebrity Stylist June Ambrose, Actress/Activist Jurnee Smollen, Artist/Musician/Activist Theaster Gates, Actor/Radio and Talk Show Host Steve Harvey, Comedian/Actor Kevin Hart, Film Critic, The Boston Globe Wesley Morris, and Gospel Artists Mary Mary.

Further listees as most influential African Americans are Event Designer Diann Valentine, Authors Ashley and Je Quavis, Entertainment Moguls Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Singer and Pianist Alice Hall Moran and Jason Moran, Director TJ Martin, Actor/Publisher Zane, Tennis Player Serena Williams, Television Personality/ Author Wendy Williams, Quarterback, NFL Cam Newton and President, The Style Network Salaam Coleman Sanith. The job titles are presented here just as they appear in the article.

I am sure that all of the above are talented individuals. But there is no way, considering the times in which we are living, that they could be the year’s “primary influencers and game changers” among African-Americans.

It is next to impossible to believe that they are more influential than Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who all year long has been delivering powerful, perceptive, solutions-oriented speeches and sermons at churches throughout the country, or than attorney Faya Rose Sanders, founder of the National Black Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Ala. and leader of a campaign against  honoring with a statue Nathan Bedford Forrest, the former Confederate general who ordered the cold-blooded murder of 300 captured Black Union soldiers during the Civil War and who also founded the Klu Klux Klan, a terrorist organization.

They are also not more influential than George Fraser, whose FraserNet continued in 2012 being the “largest network of Black professionals in the world” or than former Essence editor-in-chief Susan Taylor, director of the National CARES Mentoring Movement which advances educational opportunities for many Black youngsters.

There are numerous other Black folks who made major contributions in 2012. I once heard Ebony’s founder, the late John H. Johnson, whom I considered to be one of the major game-changers of the 20th century, say that his magazine basically reflects where Black folks are at any given time. If that’s still the case, this article is graphic evidence that today’s Ebony believes that many, if not most of us, are living in some kind of economic and cultural never-never land. Ebony should be ashamed of itself.

By Zenitha Prince