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50th anniversary
The Black Mecca 50 Years Later: Did Black Atlanta Get to the Promised Land?
By Kenya King
A one-way ticket to anywhere in the U.S. after Hurricane Atlanta, the bedrock of the Katrina brought a vast number of displaced New Orleanians Civil Rights Movement and to the hotbed of the South – Atlanta – where Black political birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther power precipitates African-American entrepreneurship, King Jr., also attracts African and where a cultural melting pot begets the crux of artistic Americas who want to stay conexpression from Mozart to hip-hop. Even since the 1970s, nected to the “Black experience.” and still today, Atlanta has been Christened as the Black Elder Bernice A. King, daughter of Mecca and for many and is a city where African Americans Martin Luther King Jr. and CEO are believed to have the best opportunities for prosperity of The King Center, which serves or for reinventing themselves. Fifty years after of the March thousands of visitors each year, conon Washington and the “I Have a Dream” speech, what has curs that Atlanta’s unique history of Black Atlanta achieved, and is it still a place for African African-American life and culture, Americans to thrive? especially related to civil “It’s no doubt about it,” said Herman J. Rusrights, is a magnet for sell, chairman and founder of H.J. Russell and people color. Company, which is a 50-year-old construction “I think when people come here they find and real estate empire based in Atlanta. Russell progressive-minded people,” said King. “They started his construction business at 16 years old find a hodgepodge of creative and gifted and is one of the living icons of Black business. individuals who are “Atlanta is still the anchor for Black entrepredoing substantial neurs,” said Russell. “Just for all phases of Black stuff. I think because leadership. To be in education, to be in contract I think it has a lot to business, or to just be a doctor – whatever you do with the history may [want to] be. Atlanta is one of the greatest and the spirit that cities in the world to have your enterprise.” emerged from AuFor decades, educational and employment burn Avenue in the Herman J. Russell opportunities have historically drawn African ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s and Americans to the Bible Belt South. According to the U.S. ‘50s, and I believe it’s a carryover Census Bureau, the percentage of African Americans in the from all of that and the fact that Southern region increased by 18 percent from 2000 to 2010, there are a number of African bringing in an additional 3 million, and in 2010, the State Americans in important places of Georgia ranked fourth for the highest number of African in leadership, although we still Americans in the United States. have a great deal of work to do in Mayor Kasim Reed’ President of Clark Atlanta University terms of power, leveraging true power in Carlton Brown agrees that education conAtlanta.” tinues to play a key role in luring people None the less, more than 40 years after to Atlanta. He also stated that Clark Dr. King made strides to improve the Atlanta, the only independent graduate social, political and economic conditions institution in the entire Historically Black for the poor in America, Atlanta seems College and University network, freto have experienced a seesaw effect in its quently has Fortune 500 companies from seat among progressive cities as people all over the world visiting the institution moseyed in and out of the city when the looking for employees with a firm mindrecession came in its purview. set toward diversity. “We have them comIn 1996, the Olympic Games brought ing all the time,” he stated. “The range Atlanta unarguably its highest level of of talent that arrives here is very, very visibility on an international scale, and strong. Of course [Atlanta has] 100,000 Atlanta was the place to be regardless of college students in the city -- that’s never race. During this time and the years fola bad thing -- and the proportion of them lowing, Atlanta’s business sector reached that are African Americans is increasing, a solid financial footing and the Metro particularly with the focus of the Atlanta Atlanta Chamber of Commerce reportUniversity Center with Clark Atlanta, ed that the Olympics made a $5 billion Spelman and Morehouse.” impact on the city.
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October 3 - 9, 2013 Untouchable – Business Opportunities for African Americans Businessman and entrepreneur Tommy Dortch, who is CEO of TWD Inc. and founder of the Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, said that in spite of Atlanta’s challenges, it is still one of the best a places for African Americans to reach success. “I’ve traveled to every state in the U.S. except for two and I’ve been in all of the urban centers and I have worked with so many different people. It’s a city where people work together. Dale Bronner There are many people who have a difference of opinion. Once you leave Atlanta, you know the difference. When you look at [Washington] D.C., when you look at New York, when you look at Chicago – they don’t have the kind of cohesive coming together that we have,” he stated. Dortch also stated that based on the track record of entrepreneurial success among African Americans in Atlanta, one has to admit that Atlanta is likely the number one “Black Mecca” in the nation, not only in the South. In addition, Atlanta has had an African-American mayor for nearly 40 years, starting with Maynard Holbrook Jackson in 1974. “When you look at the legacy that Maynard Jackson left us, there is not another city in this nation that has a commitment to diversity and inclusion. For African Americans in this city to gain almost 38 to 40 percent of all the procurement opportunities in this city, there is not another place in this nation. When you consider this point, we’ve done almost $6 billion in the expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson [airport]. One billion [dollars] of that $6 [billion] has gone to African American-owned businesses. There is not another city that can touch that,” said Dortch. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s view parallels Dortch’s premise. “Atlanta has an undeniable legacy and long-standing tradition of supporting urban entrepreneurs. Many of the world’s greatest business ideas and ventures started here in Atlanta, which was named by Forbes magazine as the No. 1 city in the United States for minority entrepreneurs,” said Reed. “That’s a sign that opportunities for emerging urban entrepreneurs and women and minority-owned businesses in Atlanta remain unparalleled. I don’t believe there is any place better than the city of Atlanta to help develop and nurture talented and innovative African-American business owners, and minority and women-owned businesses.” James Bronner of the world-renown Bronner Brothers, who helps run the International Bronner Brothers Hair Show, recalls how his friends who moved to other places continue to view Atlanta as a great place for opportunities. “It’s still true, but you still have to work hard and be excellent at what you do in order to make it in Atlanta,” he said. “It’s not just a shoe-in. You still have to be innovative and push the envelope to succeed because of the economy. No matter what city you’re in now, you really have to be doing something extraordinary to be at the level you used to be.” In 2012, Bronner Brothers celebrated its 65th anniversary in business with the second generation of Bronner brothers in charge. Dortch contends that while people “love to hate” Atlanta and that at times, it’s a “tale of two cities,” when looking at the top five places for African Americans in the U.S., Atlanta far exceeds the others, especially when considering the level of generational success. “You look at the leaders like a Herman Russell, whose family now is a second generation, really almost a third generation,” said Dortch. “You look at the Bronner Brothers, you go down the line, and you look at what happens in this city. There’s nothing like it.”
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entertainment
October 3 - 9, 2013
Jay-Z and Beyoncé: Super Rich The Isley-Kem Project By Steve Holsey
By Steve Holsey
No one would have ever expected that the legendary Ron Isley and contemporary R&B artsist Kem would one day record as a duo, but they have. The result of their collaboration, “My Favorite Thing,” featured on Isley’s This Song Is For You album, was also written and coproduced by Kem. “This was one of the greatest moments of my life, let alone my career, to have Ron Isley singing my words,” said Kem. “I’ve fashioned a few of my songs with Mr. Isley in mind, so when he asked me for a song and said he’d love to do something together, I thought it would be a beautiful thing. This has truly been an honor for me to work with him.
“Sometimes I have to stop and be in the moment and recognize that I’m working with a legend.” Kem added that he hopes to have the longevity of Ron Isley who, starting with the Isley Brothers in the late 1950s, has been a consistent major attraction. Isley also had great praise for Kem. “Working with Kem was just like working with Marvin Gaye and like Luther Vandross,” he said, “because of the way he cares about the music and producing the record. I put everything in his hands, and everything turned out fantastic. This was special. He is a real artist.”
In May 2003, Columbia Records released a single by Beyoncé titled “Crazy in Love.” It was a huge hit and was, in fact, the hottest song of that summer. One would assume that she had her husband, Jay-Z, at least partially in mind. Well, the super couple is also “crazy in wealth,” as was expressed in Forbes, the biweekly magazine that publishes widely-read stories on finance, industry, investing and marketing, and is the premier source for these subjects. How rich are Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter? According to Forbes, the megastars made a combined $95 million in the period from June 2012 to June 2013. Consider, for example, that Beyoncé’s Mrs. Carter world tour grossed an average of $2 million per night, while Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne tour grossed $1.4 million per night. It comes as no surprise that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are also known for being shrewd business people. Assuming that their 2-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, might want to join the family business ventures, the Carters have trademarked her name for use on such items as baby clothes and toys.
The Emmy Eludes Black Actresses in Leading Roles By Steve Holsey
When the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards nominees were announced, hopes were high that an African-American actress — in this case, Kerry Washington, star of the red-hot series “Scandal” — would take home the coveted trophy. It had never happened before, and it didn’t happen that night, Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The category in question is Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The first Black actress to ever be nominated in that category was Debbie Allen, one of the stars of the ‘80s series “Fame.” Allen was, in fact, nominated four years in a row, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Next up was Alfre Woodard (“St. Elsewhere”), followed by Regina Taylor (two consecutive nominations for “I’ll Fly Away”), Cicely Tyson (“Sweet Justice”) and then Washington.
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