Topic for
6/13/97:		 Should African American businesses exploit partnerships with non-minority businesses as a primary method to achieving their goals as in the case with BET and Microsoft, or, instead, should such businesses be prepared to achieve their goals without dependency on such alliances?



Name: Roses
Email: rozmarie@msn.com
Response: Yes it is good to expand our alliances as far as possible with all the people of the world. Finacial freedom can be achieved by money which comes from people of all colors. For hundreds of years we have been exploited and made others wealthy by giving our all (unwillingly) lets give others a chance to do for us what we have done for them. Lets be smart about this. We stand to benifit by the power of strength in numbers. We can also call on the strenghts of others and broaden our horizons being dispassionate and taking in as well as giving.


Name: K. Leonard
Email: k8wra1@juno.com
Response: African-American businesses should exploit every opportunity that is going to help them grow and prosper. Professional African-American athletes, actors, entertainers, and many others have done it for years. They just make sure they have good lawyers and keep alert. The more African-American businesses that make the grade, hopefully, the more good jobs there will be for other African-Americans.


Name: Jonnie
Email:
Response: This world is full of different people. Most African American businesses need to be as diversified as other businesses in order to succeed in this globally competing world. However, as with any alliance, they need to be very careful about who they associate with as business partners. Hopefully, they will have the skill and knowledge to make contracts in their best interest when forming these partnerships!


Name: Lisa
Email: hayden@ecst.edu.chicostate.
Response: I believe that Black people should join in business with anyone that can increase their profits.Why not? Far to often we as Black people are too concerned with what others will think.


Name: Mujahid Abdul-Hameed
Email: muja786@voyager.net
Response: I feel that these businesses should not look only to non-minority businesses to reach their goals. I personally feel we should look to each other whenever possible to reach our goals. Only then will we be physically, and mentally self-empowered. We learn, we can stand on our own. Non-Minority partnerships can be helpful, but should not be our only choice.


Name:
Email: s015lab@desire.wright.edu
Response: As long as I can pull up the BET website and find out upcoming events on the network, and as long as I keep receiving my Essence magazine in the mail every month, I don't care WHO they form a partnership with to get their word out. Of course we should utilize businesses from our own community when possible, but if not, go to whomever will give the best services for the most reasonable fee. In other words, what difference does it make as long as Black news is reaching Black folks? Besides, with whom else would BET partner up to gain website visibility? The last time I checked, there was no fortune 500 Black-owned computer network that Blackfolks could get all their internet and e-mail access from. If there was, then by all means, BET along with all the rest of us, should use that company. Until then, we should use any company, owned by whites, Asians, or any other group to ensure that our news media and communication avenues remain open and ever-expanding.


Name: K.Copeland
Email: GlenKen@AOL.COM
Response: To what extent have non-minority businesses used minority-owned businesses through advertising and sales? Take a look at the ads in Ebony, Essence and so on. How many fashion houses have used African-American designers and models toward their gain? So now what is the difference when BET finds another "stepping stone" for advancement? Hmmm...


Name: Drew Scott
Email: quadrivium@hotmail
Response: It depends where your loyality lies with your customers/client or with the BIG BUCK. Are these black businesses such as BET really concerned abouth their black audiences or only interested in getting more cash by selling more advertising time to advertisers and therefore bombarding their audience even more than it already has. If you really care about your people than you don't exploit them if you care about cash you exploit anything and anything one you can. Behaveior always tell the truth. +


Name: Avery Johnson
Email: ajohnson@heald.edu
Response: My answer is that as long as they know what they are getting into it is ok, but there are a lot of tricks and they know more than we do(in that department), so beware.


Name: Frances Murphy
Email: FrankieLou@aol.com
Response: Do you really mean "exploit"? I would think that most businesses whether they are Black or White have found that in the market place you look for like-minded partners-- businesses which have the same mission you have; businesses that want to reach the same goals. If this means that some businesses reach out to an all-Black busineses or to some White and Black businesses that's O.K.in my book. The bottom line is what do you want to accomplish. The saying-- "by any means necessary" is more apt for businesses today than ever before. If we in America don't learn how to work together with all of America's talents -- White, Black, brown and yellow -- the foreign markets are going to eat us up. CEOs need to find working partners among all races and creeds in order to survive in this rat race..


Name: Solomon Landers, Memra Institute
Email: Numberup@worldnet.att.net
Response: I would give a qualified "yes." It depends on the goals of the business and its measure of preparedness. I see nothing wrong per se in majority businesses reaching back and helping minority businesses to advance. At the same time, minority businesses need to have their own game plan, strong identity, and enough capital to make a true partnership. Minority businesses should not allow themselves to be co-opted or lose their identity as black businesses. I view it as a matter of "practical reparations." After all many, if not most majority businesses benefitted from the legacy of slavery, segregation, and second-class citizenship inflicted upon African Americans. Let them "give back" by funding and capitalizing in partnership the growth, development, and expansion of minority businesses.


Name: Nnamdi Nzingha
Email:
Response: I would work with the other businesses, but I would not become DEPENDENT on them, that would be business suicide. If we control over 400 billion dollars, if 10 million strong, conscious brotha's and sista's would send 5 dollars a month to a designated business each month, we could begin lay the foundations for a STRONG African community in this country. No one can convince me that 50 million dollars going to existing and new business will not help our people. We all spend 5 dollars a month on foolishness. This is the simplest and fastest way we can move into the free enterprise system in our country. Some people think I'm crazy by advocating this plan, but I think that if we can't contribute such a small sum ($5.00) toward our cause, we deserve anything we receive.