NNPA Chairman Challenges General Motors Company

 

Historically, there has always an imbalance between what goes out of the Black community and what comes in relative to goods, services and representation. As the chairman of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the Black press of America, Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. is seeking to correct some of these imbalances as it relates to advertising in the Black media.

He has penned a letter to the president and CEO of General Motors Company (GMC), Frederick A. Henderson, outlining the research data that has revealed what GMC’s market share is from the Black consumers in comparison to the company’s advertising and marketing budget. Research has established that though Black consumers’ spending represent 25 percent of GMC market share, the company spends less than .03 of 1 percent of its $3 billion annual advertising and marketing budget with the Black media.

To buttress his contention, and in addition to the market research and analysis, Bakewell has cited that GMC has received over $100 billion in bailout money (taxpayers dollars) of which Black consumers contribute their fair share. He added that the Black Press actively supported President Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and other legislators to vote for GMC to receive the governmental that it did. “We believed it was the responsible thing to do and now we find ourselves victim’s of GM’s racial profiling advertising policy,” he stated. “This policy is contributing to many of our publishers laying off staff and being on the verge of bankruptcy ourselves.”

At Reverend Jesse Jackson’s 10 th Annual Rainbow/PUSH Automotive Symposium, Bakewell, consistent with his advocacy for an increased in advertising dollars for the Black Press, posed the following question to a GMC representative, “Why is there such a huge disparity between the profit GM takes out of the Black community compared to what GM invests in advertising in the Black consumer market to reach Blacks through Black owned Media?”

Of course, that rhetorical question did not generate any specific response, however it laid the foundation for Bakewell to interface with current Members of Congress–including the CBC–to push for meaningful measures to see that those who receive governmental bailout dollars, are held accountable for spending those taxpayers dollars properly and appropriately in the same spirit they (the dollars) were received.

“I am making this my top issue as chairman of NNPA,” Bakewell continued. “We need real change and fast action now. Even if we have to take our 200-plus publishers to the board meetings of every corporation who is guilty, we will. This is an unethical and immoral public issue.” Furthermore, he make it succinctly clear that what the NNPA is seeking is fair representation and a seat at the table as the gatekeeper of the Black community. Bakewell made it clear, “The NNPA/Black Press of America wishes to engage GM as a partner, not an adversary. We are not asking for a handout or a bailout, but rather, just for GM to be fair and equitable with the Black Press by allocating Black

Advertising Dollars commensurate with the dollars the Black consumer spends with GM.”

Finally in reaching out to GMC, Bakewell posed the question, “Is it possible that GM’s Chairman, President/CEO and Board of Directors are not aware of this gross inequity?”

The next move is GMC’s!