Moving celebration
VOL. 61, No. 4
One Section/Inserts
www.tristatedefender.com
January 19 - 25, 2012
75 Cents
Beware: The tax preparer cometh Tax season ushers in reason for caution Special to the Tri-State Defender
by Sonya Young
Events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. unfolded throughout Greater Memphis, including the 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King National Holiday Parade last Monday (Jan. 16). For more King Holiday images, see MLK on page 8. (Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)
- INSIDE -
• A diverse U.S. population will not guarantee parity. See Opinion, page 4. • Cuba Gooding Jr. opines on playing Tuskegee Airman. See page 5.
African Americans tip less: Does it really matter? New survey digs deeper into the issue Special to the Tri-State Defender
Cuba Gooding Jr.
• Right and tight, says Electrolux; Remain vigilant, says Chism. See Community, page 10. • Embrace letting go and ‘hurt’ shall come to pass. See Religion, page 11. • A diabetic Paula Deen should encourage all of us to eat better. See Health, page 14.
MEMPHIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
H- 6 0o - L - 4 4o P.M. Sh owers
H- 4 9o - L - 3 7o Few Sho wers
H- 5 9o - L - 4 7o Partl y Cl o udy
REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS
Friday H-61 L-45 H-58 L-51 H-71 L-63
Saturday H-53 L-40 H-55 L-38 H-68 L-50
Sunday H-67 L-46 H-64 L-47 H-67 L-53
SEE TAXES ON PAGE 7
Racial, ethnic health gaps – is discrimination the missing link?
by Linda S. Wallace For years, waiters and waitresses have taken to the Internet to complain about tips left by African-American customers and their discontent has been widely reported. Now, after years of independent research, academics have reached the same conclusion: African Americans tend to leave smaller tips at restaurants than whites. The answer that has eluded them is why? Do blacks tip less because wait staff discriminate against them and provide inferior service? Or do they tip less because they simply are not familiar with the tipping norms in their community? Dr. Michael Lynn, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, recently designed a new online survey to put these and other popular theories to the test. The idea is to use research-based tools to determine cause and effect rather than rely on anecdotal personal opinions and experiences. Finally, African Americans have a chance to weigh in and contribute to the industry understanding of this issue by visiting http://bit.ly/xq1h5b and filling out the survey. “The purpose is to help me understand why blacks tip less than whites,” Dr. Lynn told The New Tri-State Defender (TSD). “I have tested a bunch of different explanations.” In 2008, the TSD wrote an award-winning series on tipping that explained the connection between minority tipping practices and jobs. If customers tip less at sit-down restaurants, then these chains will likely have higher staff turnover. In May 2008, median hourly wages (including tips) of waiters and waitresses was only $8.01. Many servers rely on good tips to make ends meet. If wait staff tips are too low, the chain experiences higher operational costs, which may then reduce profits. Thus, some industry insiders have reported that major restaurant chains have been reluctant to locate in African-American communities for fear that the below-normal tipping levels will hurt profits. This situation closes off a key gateway into the workforce for many unskilled AfricanAmerican youth – including those trying to get through college. The $604 billion restaurant industry employs more than 12.8 million, and is among the largest private-sector employers in the United States. If chains don’t locate in minority neighborhoods, many youth lose access
Amidah Jordan filed her first tax return in 2009. She walked into the tax preparer’s office with documents that would net her $4,000, but two weeks later found herself on the painful end of a scam that wiped out nearly half that amount. A year earlier, Jordan, then 26 with two children, had worked for about four months and ran a small daycare out of her home, earning less than $15,000. When it came time to file taxes, she followed the recom- Tax preparer mendation of a safety tips friend, whose Page 7 aunt managed a small tax company located in South Memphis. There was nothing suspicious, she said, about the initial visit. “I gave her my W-2 and papers showing how much I’d made each month doing childcare. She told me I would get $4,000 back and they would charge me $500 to file since I had self-employment (income).” Two days before her check arrived, the company’s manager contacted her with news that they were able to get her an additional $1,000 on her selfemployment claim. Jordan was excited. She had no idea what was about to come when she arrived to pick up her check. “I was told that I had to pay another $200 to the preparer and $500 to the manager for her fee,” she said. The manager even followed her outside and told her if she didn’t pay the additional fees, she would “mess me up with the IRS and have me owing them
New study points to ʻyesʼ
(Photo by Brian Ramoly)
“The purpose is to help me understand why blacks tip less than whites.” Dr. Michael Lynn
to job opportunities. According to the National Restaurant Industry, the industry is expected to add jobs at a rate of 2.4 percent, compared with the 1.8 percent expected for the national economy. In the next decade, the industry expects to add 1.3
million positions. If the underlying cultural differences surrounding tipping could be understood, Lynn said that he, and other industry experts, could develop suitable programs. But first, they have to know which issues to tackle! In the survey, responders are asked questions about how much they regularly tip as well as those that measure cultural attitudes and beliefs. For instance: If you leave a small tip do you think that is likely to reduce the quality of service during a future dining experience? It takes only a few minutes to complete the survey. Try to answer the questions honestly. Industry experts such as Lynn say they need an accurate snapshot of the complex issues connected to tipping practices to help restaurants respond in a manner that benefits their customers, their staffs and their investors.
Racial discrimination may be harmful to your health, according to new research from Rice University sociologists Jenifer Bratter and Bridget Gorman. That finding stands out in a study entitled, “Is Discrimination an Equal Opportunity Risk? Racial Experiences, Socio-economic Status and Heal Status Among Black and White Adults.” The authors examined data containing measures of social class, race and perceived discriminatory behavior. They found that approximately 18 percent of blacks and 4 percent of whites reported higher levels of emotional upset and/or physical symptoms due to race-based treatment. “Discriminatory behavior very well may be a ‘missing link’ in the analysis of racial and ethnic health disparities,” Bratter said. “It’s important to acknowledge and study its impact on long-term health.” Unlike most of the research on the topic, Bratter and Gorman’s study examines the health risks of discrimination among both whites and blacks, as opposed to just blacks. Their analysis was based on data from the 2004 wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing collaborative project between U.S. states and territories and the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This racially comparative focus is important because we examine whether discrimination is equally harmful to the health status of black and white adults – or whether experiencing discrimination is disproportionately harmful to either black or white adults,” Gorman said. “For example, since, on average, SEE HEALTH ON PAGE 14