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Saturday, July 22, 2006

BellSouth in Collusion with Target Stores to Deceive NAACP?

What's going on here? You say the oldest organization for the promotion and protection of the civil rights of blacks and all people in the United States, the venerable NAACP- doesn't want folks to shop at Target because the top retailer's performance in the black community is graded to be an "F"?

You say while taking away the dollars on one front the retailer is colluding with BellSouth, the telecommunications corporation that received the highest grade among its industry companies for its activity in the black community?

Yes, Virginia, even with all that high-minded talk at the NAACP convention during last week it seems BellSouth lauded by the NAACP as being a "a 3.5 out of a possible 4.0" is working with the enemy. Of the 50 companies contacted by the NAACP, five ignored the survey, including four retailers: Dillard's Inc.; Kohl's Corp.; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; and Target Corp. All were given "F"s for not answering. The other company that failed to answer was Excel, a telecommunications company; it also received an "F".

BellSouth, the Atlanta-based telecommunications company's Chief Diversity Officer, Vice President Valencia Adams says "They take it to heart and really work hard on it." Is that so, Valencia?

I suppose BellSouth Vice President, Retail Markets-- Joseph Schultz , didn't get the memo. Since June of this year the company has been sending sales letters signed by Schultz inviting former BellSouth local and long distance customers to return. Many of the telecommunications so called "WinBack" customers are African Americans. You'll receive "bundled services" at a low monthly rate; and if that's not enticing enough, BellSouth is offering a Target gift card valued at $100 to lure you. So black folk you'd better hurry. This offer ends December 31st 2006.

Okay maybe this is the corporate remedial thing Bruce Gordon, president of the NAACP was speaking of. NAH! Not very likely. Corporate America doesn't respond to the minority community's requests that quickly.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this is one of those "oversights". It happens all the time in business. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing; and vice versa. Could it be the right hand doesn't care about what the left hand is doing, and vice versa?

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