“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” Mother Harriet Tubman
“The True worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.” Mother Mary McCloud Bethune
“We do not realize that the massive deaths of Black males constitute the genocide of Black people (as it takes Black males to make Black babies and ensure future Black generations).” ― Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors
From now on, I am dedicating all of my posts to Black African American females because a race can rise no higher than its’ women.
As in all of my posts, UNDERLINED WORDS are links.
Researchers are tracking the TV habits of various ethnic groups and they have concluded that Black African Americans watch TV an average of 5 hours and 11 minutes per day, which is two hours more than any other ethnic group. Compare this with Asian Americans averaging about three hours of TV daily.
The primary goal of television is “mass programming” through “Progaganda.” which is nothing more than “mind control.” Whoever controls your mind, will also control your behavior. Once your behavior is controlled, it becomes a piece of cake to control your body. Read my post on Baba Tom Burrell’s book, “Brainwashed.”
The secondary gain from television programming is M O N E Y! Commercial Networks the world over make their money by selling advertising to various sponsors. Consequently, these network executives’ main concern is the size of their audiences. Their emphasis is on budgets and revenues.
It costs on average nearly $3 million per episode to produce a television drama, yet the pilot could cost as much as $20 million. This money, as well as profits comes from the advertisers, who pay a fee based on the projected number of television viewers.
The cost to advertise on Grey’s Anatomy was $419,000.00 per commercial. The most expensive television ad I found was for Guinness beer. I do not drink alcohol, so after viewing, I had to research the ad to determine what they were advertising because the ad did not sufficiently identify the product.
Advertisers are only spending $2.4 billion of their $75 billion annual budget, targeting Black African Americans, which some say is a doggone shame because if they spent more, we would BUY MORE!
Nielsen researchers looked at the viewing patterns of Black African American households across America for over six months and then compiled their report, focusing on consumer buying power and spending.
We are nearly 45 million strong according to America’s Census Bureau and Nielsen researchers says Black African Americans currently have a $1 trillion buying power which is expected to reach $1.3 trillion dollars by next year, 2017. In addition, we are also the most aggressive consumers of media, we shop more frequently and our proclivity for consumption is greater than any other group in America.
Black African Americans watch 37% more television and we make eight times as many shopping trips. These marketing researchers are aware that Black African Americans earns less than any other American group; yet, our spending accounts for 87 percent of our total income.
Researchers say that we read 28% more magazines and spend twice as much time on “social media.” Black African Americans buy nine times more ethnic hair, grooming and beauty products; and we shop more than any other American group.
This has a lot to do with our self-hatred, so we radically change our natural beauty and buy more $tuff that is artificial. This way we can try (we will never be White) to have the appearance of White America’s standards of beauty.
I was in the dentist’s office the other day flipping through the latest Essence magazine. The first 64 pages contained nothing but total advertising.
Black African Americans spend more money in fast food restaurants than any other group, which accounts for the horrendous increase in our obesity, diabetes rates and other dietary related medical problems.
I am part of the television generation and I grew up watching a lot of it. Although it was not until the late sixties that we got our first color television, most of the actors and actresses still remained all White, including those in the commercials.
Growing up in the 1950s, if a Black African American appeared on TV (even a commercial) while someone was out of the living room, (we only had one TV) we’d excitedly call them and say, “Hurry up, there’s a Negro (we were Negroes then) on television. Even back then, comedy was king and we looked forward to watching “Amos ‘n Andy.”
I find it hypocritical that the NAACP considered “Amos ‘n Andy” too demeaning, yet, they have nothing but praises for “Good Times,” “House of Payne ,” or any of today’s Blaxploitation Sitcoms, Reality Shows, BET Programs, Religious Infomercials, or Dramas etc.
According to the 2013 Nielsen Report Black African Americans watch substantially more TV (two hours more) than any other group in America. At the time of this report, the top TV shows were Reality TV and Scandal. I am sure, “Empire” is now included in this ranking.
The network channels still do not feature too many Black African American casts and the cable channel emphasis is on “reality shows” like the Real Housewives of Atlanta , Real Husbands of Hollywood, and Love & Hip-Hop, ect.
Unfortunately we have become so brainwashed by the media that we fail to see there is nothing “real” for most Black African Americans in these so-called “reality shows,” because they are only fantasies.
In fact, I categorize all of these “reality shows” as “minstrel shows.” They are nothing more than a whole lot of degrading buffoonery ( “A ludicrous or bumbling person; a fool”) which is to our detriment as a race because we become what we are being programmed to think about.
By thinking of them as “reality shows,” we wholeheartedly embrace them as such. Consequently, many of us fantasize about taking on the persona of our favorite “reality” star.
Baba Amos Wilson said; “Fantasies prevents us from seeing reality and dealing with reality.”
While working in a maximum-security penitentiary, I walked into the break room where several Black African American women were talking. They were so animated and engaged in their conversation about Pastors, I thought it might have been someone I knew. As I listened further, to my astonishment, they were talking about the Pimps on “The Preachers of LA.”
In researching for this post, I watched the “House of Payne” while exercising and in one thirty minute episode, I counted two commercial breaks each consisting of ten (10) separate commercials. Furthermore, I was acutely aware of the “canned laughter,” or “laugh track” (recorded laughter) throughout the episode.
“Canned laughter/laugh tracks” operates just like a yawn. When many of us see someone yawning, we will spontaneously yawn also and jokingly say, “Yawning is contagious.”
Laughter has the same effect; therefore, if we are laughing while watching these minstrel shows, we will easily convince ourselves that we truly enjoyed it. As BET’s Mantra says, “WE GOT YOU!”
These marketing researchers even know that Black African Americans spend most of our TV time viewing BET, VH1, TV One, Bounce TV and Centric, all of which have a lot of reality shows.
If this is not “mind control,” I don’t know what is. Especially in light of the fact that many of us sleep with our TV sets on, saying, “I can’t sleep without noise.”
While researching this post, I became aware that Brother Martin Luther King III and Baba Andrew Young are two of the owners of “Bounce TV.”
Lets go to the movies now. According to BET Network’s “Reel Facts” 80% of all movies Black African Americans flock to see do not have predominantly Black African American casts.
Our viewing preferences are comedies (minstrel shows), action films and romance stories in this order. Therefore, we are an extremely valuable patron because if Hollywood makes it, Black African Americans will pay dearly to see it.
In spite of the fact that Sister Zoe Saldana is currently facing some flak for her portrayal of legendary singer Nana Nina Simone, Black African Americans will be flocking to the theaters on opening day.
According to this study, the top five key characteristics of African-American moviegoers are;
“1. Extreme Movie Buffs—African-Americans have no problem making that trek to the movies, accounting for 195 million trips to the movie theaters annually.
2. High Engagement and Receptivity—African-Americans see TV as the most influential medium to capture their attentions. The top three movie info resources valued highly by REEL Facts’ respondents are TV commercials (65 percent), in-theater movie trailers (55 percent) and family/friend recommendations (54 percent).
3. Repeat Viewers—62 percent of Black moviegoers admit to seeing movies they like multiple times, accounting for an additional $513 million in additional revenue to movie studio coffers.
4. Movie Goers Have “Platinum Shine”—On average, African-Americans are the most avid movie patrons, going to the movies more than two times per month and a minimum of 28 times a year.
5. Digital Techies—African-Americans are digitally inclined and consume heavy amounts of all types of media: 67 percent own desktop/laptop computers; 62 percent are heavy online users (11-plus hours weekly); 64 percent are gaming or music video enthusiasts; and 37 percent are heavy TV/DVR viewers.
Arbitron Black Radio Today 2013 estimates that 92% of Black African American consumers, from 12 years old and up are daily radio listeners, which they say, “is a reliable media companion of Black consumers.”
This study found that four out of nine formats specifically target Black African American audiences, earning 58% of Black African American listeners nationwide.
The ordering of these four formats are: Gospel (getting 93% of listeners), Urban Adult Contemporary, Urban Contemporary and Contemporary Inspirational.
I close with the following quote from our ancestor Baba Amos Wilson:
“When we get into social amnesia – into forgetting our history – we also forget or misinterpret the history and motives of others as well as our motives. The way to learn of our own creation, how we came to be what we are, is getting to know ourselves.
It is through getting to know the self intimately that we get to know the forces that shaped us as a self. Therefore knowing the self becomes a knowledge of the world. A deep study of Black History is the most profound way to learn about the psychology of Europeans and to understand the psychology that flows from their history.
If we don’t know ourselves, not only are we a puzzle to ourselves; other people are also a puzzle to us as well. We assume the wrong identity and identify ourselves with our enemies. If we don’t know who we are then we are whomever somebody tells us we are.”
“The late Dr. Amos N. Wilson, an Afrocentric psychologist (The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness, Afrikan World InfoSystems, New York (1993) p. 38)”
I ask that should you read anything in my posts that you can factually show me is false, please do so immediately. Although I have made every effort to verify everything I write, I do make mistakes.
Oh, what a blessing it is that my people are so Gullible because they do not read, think or use Common Sense says the Pastors, Pimps and Politicians.