Continuing his series on how liberalism failed black Americans, Tanner Colby explores the development of our segregated ad industry and the role affirmative-action policies played in encouraging it:
Culturally, legally, and economically, the industry settled into a pattern which ensured that “white” advertising happened over here and “black” advertising happened over there. White agencies did little more than token hiring and recruiting. Meanwhile, the few black hires who did make it in the door at white agencies now had a very strong incentive to turn around and walk back out to a black agency, because that’s where the short-term benefits were.
Life at a black agency offered decent money, a likelier shot at promotion, and a chance to join in the Black Pride movement that was taking hold in the 1970s. By the mid-1980s, black employment at general market agencies fell from 3.5 percent back to 1.7 percent, with high-profile black defectors frequently leavingwhitefirms to hang out their own shingles on the other side of the color line. Which might have been an acceptable outcome had the black agencies flourished and become a thriving industry of their own.
They didn’t. In 2000, the top 20 black-owned ad agencies combined accounted for 0.5 percent of total industry revenues. Integration on Madison Avenue failed. Black solidarity and empowerment failed as well. In trying to split the difference between the two, we wound up with neither.
Update from a reader:
I publish a neighborhood blog about Roosevelt Island, New York. I read your post and thought you would be interested to know that a Roosevelt Island resident is considered to be the Jackie Robinson of the advertising industry. His name is Roy Eaton and he wrote the Beefaroni commercial jingle. He is also a classical pianist. Here’s a recent post about Mr. Eaton and direct link to a Fox News story on him.
The Dish 