Business Focus
Briefs
Black Chamber making plans
for Black Business Street Festival
The Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce is
making plans for its first Black Business Street Festival, to
be held Sept. 21 on Highland Avenue between East Fifth
Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. There w ill be food and entertainment. Vendor space is
available to chamber and nonchamber members. For more
information contact Hobart Jones Sr. at 978-0062 or Miri
am McCarter at 724-0334.
Judge rules against Liberty Life
for basing premiums on race
COLUMBIA. S.C. - A judge has ruled against a
South Carolina life insurance company, saying it illegally
charged black customers more than whites for similar poli
0 cies 40 years ago. o
Liberty Life Insurance Co. was contesting state penal
ties imposed in December by the state Insurance Depart
ment, which said the disparity was in violation of South
Carolina law and the state constitution.
In his ruling Friday. Chief Administrative Law Judge
Marvin Kittrell wrote. "It is difficult to believe the Legisla
ture intended to allow whites and African-Ammcans to be
divided into separate classes for purposes of setting insur
r- ance rates based upon nothing more than their skin color."
The Greenville-based company was given a $2 million
fine by the state Insurance Department and suspended from
selling life insurance in the state for one year.
The request for a hearing automatically delayed the
Insurance Department's penalties. Now, any penalties will
be determined by the court later.
Liberty Life's black customers paid up to one-third
more for burial insurance policies than white people, Insur
ance Department Director Ernst Csiszar said.
The department issued the fines because people still
were in possession of race-based policies.
Liberty Life said it charged black customers more for
insurance only because blacks had shorter life expectancies
than whites when the policies were sold years ago. The
rates have been the same for about four decades, Liberty
spokesman Jim Phillips said Friday.
Phillips said his company was disappointed with the
ruling but optimistic the case would be resolved soon.
Hampton to finance hotel
a
Hampton University has announced plans to finance
the construction of a beach hotel in Virginia.
The Hilton Garden Inn will be funded with the univer
sity's endowment fund and will be part of the business and
residential complex known as Town Center.
"It's a very good business deal," Hampton University
President William R. Harvey told reporters. "This public
private partnership is good. It's a quality firm, quality uni
versity. a very progressive city like Virginia Beach and a
well-known brand such as Hilton."
The university will lend approximately $18 million to
Chesapeake-based developers Armada/Hoffler to build the
inn. file university will break ground on the hotel next
month.
Taco Bell settles discrimination suit
CULLMAN, Ala. (AP)- A federal judge has approved
settlement of a lawsuit filed by members of an extended
black family who said they were denied service at a Taco
Bell restaurant in Cullman.
U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith Jr. approved the
$160,000 settlement, which ends the suit filed by members
of a St. Louis family. Family members were returning to
Missouri from a family reunion in Montgomery when they
stopped at the Cullman Taco Bell on July 5, 1998.
The federal lawsuit claimed that most of the family
members went into the restaurant but were not served.
The lawyer for the family members. David Cutchen.
declined to discuss the settlement, saying the terms were
confidential. Efforts to reach a Taco Bell attorney were
unsuccessful.
Filings in Birmingham's U.S. District Court said if the
case had gone to trial. Taco Bell would have shown that the
Cullman restaurant had not received any racial discrimina
tion complaints before or after the one filed by the St. Louis
family members.
In their filings. Taco Bell attorneys said that on the day
the black family members visited the restaurant, there was
only one working cash register. Taco Bell also noted that a
white customer who entered the store as the plaintiffs were
leaving also received extremely poor service.
But the family members, who were riding in a char
tered bus. said in their filings that they would have pre
sented evidence they were forced to wait about 15 minutes
after requesting service. While they said they were not sub
jected to racial slurs or epithets and were not asked to leave
the restaurant, they said white customers were served
immediately before they entered the restaurant and imme
diately after they left.
Golf tournament raises $150,000
The I Ith annual Lowes Foods Golf Tournament raised
$ 150.000 for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest
North Carolina. Over the course of 11 years, Lowes Foods
has presented nearly $1.5 million to the food bank through
the tournament.
"Our employees take great pride in being able to sup
port the food bank in this way." said Lowes Foods Presi
dent Curtis Oldenkamp. "The tournament gives us an
opportunity to have some fun while raising money for a
great cause, and increasing awareness of the critical service
the food bank provides."
Nearly 600 golfers played in the Aug. 13 tournament at
Thnglewood Park, which attracted 113 sponsors, including
T W. Garner. Edens & Avant. Pepsi and S&H Greenpoints.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North
Carolina collects and distributes food and grocery products
to more than 400 agencies with 580 programs that feed the
poor and needy in 18 counties. Since opening in 1982. the
food bank has distributed nearly 55 million pounds of food
and grocery products.
Gettin' Paid
Magazine ranks top black celebrity endorsers
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
NEW YORK - Golf great
Tiger Woods tops the Black
Enterprise editors' list of biggest
and most-influential celebrity
endorsers, as announced in the
September issue. Woods, with an
estimated $54 million a year in
endorsement earnings, ranks No.
I on the list of notables, which
also includes grand slam sisters
Venus and Serena Williams, bas
ketball legend Michael Jordan,
and L.A. Lakers MVP center
Shaquille O'Neal, the cover sub
ject of this issue.
Powerhouse endorsers like
Woods can deliver a product
message successfully to urban
markets while also drawing gen
eral audiences because of their
extraordinary celebrity.
It is estimated that, by 2006,
the buying power of affluent
African-Americans will reach
$292.4 billion, with the entire
African-American market total
ing $682.5 billion. Advertisers
seeking a piece of this multibil
lion-dollar pie often turn to the
power of celebrity to generate
huge revenues, with the added
benefit of mass-market appeal.
BE culled information from
various sources to determine the
list. The top five most influential
celebrity players are:
1. Tiger Woods - Sports
superstar takes endorsement deal
making into
tne next
strato
sphere.
Woods has
re-ener
gized the
game of
golf and the
sales of' its
p ro d u c t s.
His lucra
t i v e
Joyner Q
endorsement deals include top
notch brands such as Nike,
Titleist. Buick. American
Express and Rolex.
2. Venus Williams - She
received a $40 million contract
from Reebok, the largest ever
paid to a female athlete.
3. Michael Jordan - He is a
savvy businessman who has
maintained his marketing appeal
w ithout overexposure or blurring
brands. Jordan averages $40
million a year from product
endorsements.
4. Shaquille O'Neal - Cur
rent deals include Swatch. Nes
tle's Crunch. Starter. Radio
Shack and Burger King.
5. Allen Iverson - Even with
his current legal issues. Iverson
remains popular with youths and
retains a $100 million lifetime
Reebok deal.
The People's Choice: BE also
asked readers to make their own
celebrity selections. The editors
received 1.000 responses to a
survey gauging the credibility of
black celebrity endorsers on con
sumer buying habits, which was
posted on http://www.blacken
terprise.com/. The survey listed
20 African-Amerioun celebrities
with current endorsement deals.
Basketball hero Michael Jordan
soared as the people's No. 1
choice, followed by Revlon
spokeswoman Halle ftarry in the
No. 2 slot. Other favorites of BE
readers included Tom Joyner
(No. 3). funnyman Cedric the
Entertainer (No. 7) and soul
songstress Mary J. Blige (No. 9).
The September issue of
Black Enterprise arrived on
newsstands Aug. 27.
File Photo
Tiger Woods is the top African-American celebrity endorser
according to a new list released by Black Enterprise.
A New Gig
CAT-TV6 announced this
week that it is hiring Rey
nard "Rennie" Corley, far
left in picture, as its new
part-time executive direc
tor. In the position, which
has just been formed, Cor
ley will help coordinate
fund raising and community
S outreach efforts for the
public access station. Cor
ley has 40 years of broad
ej casting experience, includ
ing stints at WXII as gener
| al manager and president.
Ad Council takes MLK project
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Washington. D.C.. Martin Luther
King Jr. National Memorial Project
Foundation announced last week that
The Advertising Council will create a
national public service advertising
campaign to support the development
of the memorial.
Peggy Conlon. president and
CEO of The Advertising Council,
noted: "The Ad Council's Proposals
Review Committee voted unani
mously to approve the proposal. We
share the firm belief that a national
public service campaign can help
realize the important goal of erecting
a monument to Dr. King on the Mall
in our nation's capital. "
Harry Johnson, president of the
foundation and 31st president of
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.?.
commented: "This partnership brings
us one step closer to our goal of
breaking ground on the memorial by
November 2003. This campaign will
help us educate all Americans about
the importance of this memorial and
the opportunity to support the cre
ation of an historic new addition to
our monumental core."
The Martin Luther King Jr.
National Memorial will be the first on
the National Mall to honor an
African-American individual. The
site has been approved by the Nation
al Capital Planning Commission and
will be located along the Tidal Basin,
near monuments to Washington. Lin
coln and Jefferson.
The design, w hich has won initial
approval from the Fine Arts Commis
sion. was selected through a competi
tion that elicited more than 900
designs from 52 countries. The foun
dation has until November 2003 to
raise the necessary funds that will
enable the building of this national
memorial.
The public service campaign
developed by The Advertising Coun
cil and its selected advertising agency
partner will launch in early 2003. The
Washington. D.C.. Martin Luther
King Jr. National Memorial is only
the second in the history of the Ad
Council to be promoted through a
national public service campaign.
The first was the World War 11
Memorial, which was featured in a
series of highly successful ads star
ring Tom Hanks.
The Ad Council is a private, non
profit organization with a 60-year his
tory of marshaling volunteer talent
from the advertising and media indus
tries to deliver critical messages to the
American public. The Ad Council has
produced thousands of public service
campaigns that address the most
pressing social issues of the day.
Wilson
takes job
at FTCC
SPECIAL TO THE CHftONICLE
Van C. Wilson will become
vice president of student devel
opment services at Forsyth
Technical Community College
effective Sept. I. announced
Dr. Gary Green, president of
the college. Wilson's appoint
ment was approved by the
Forsyth Tech board of trustees
Aug. 15.
"I am thrilled to have some
one w ith Van's experience and
knowledge of the community
on our executive team," Green
said.
Wilson most recently
served as executive directpr of
enrollment management at
Winston-Salem State Universi
ty. Under his leadership, the
enrollment management area
recruited the largest freshman
class in the history of the uni
versity.
Wilson holds a bachelor of
arts in chemistry with a minor
in biology and a master's in
public affairs, public
affairs/management from West
ern Carolina University in Cul
lowhee.
As vice president for stu
dent development services, he
will oversee enrollment man
agement. including recruit
ing/minority services, student
data support services, admis
sions and records; special serv
ices/testing/ADA; and counsel
ing and retention services,
including the employment
assistance center, student activ
ities and the Shugart Women's
Center at Forsyth Tech.
M&F increasing financial literacy for students
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
DURHAM - M&F Bank
recently announced the' launch of a
companywide initiative focused on
increasing the level of financial lit
eracy among citizens of the hank's
markets.
In conjunction with their own
industry knowledge and experi
ence. M&F Bank stall will employ
a combination of modular curricula
developed by experts at the FDIC
and American Bankers Association
during the no-fee workshop-style
presentations. M&F Bank staffers
have effectively tailored curricula
to fit the specific needs of schools,
universities, church congregations
and' community-based organiza
tions.
The initiative begins with group
presentations to incoming freshmen
at N.C. Central University.. Saint
Augustine's College. Shaw Univer
sity. Johnson C. Smith University
and Winston-Salem State Universi
ty over the next two weeks
"We see this as a way to provide
a meaningful service to people in
the markets we serve, and to
demonstrate our commitment to
supporting community develop
ment. The more people know about
personal financial management the
better they are able to provide for
their own futures." said Lee John
son Jr.. president and CEO of M&F
Bank.
Studies conducted by the
JumpStart Coalition for Personal
Financial I MWOTjafefrA .**1 ? -
'""states with high fi'umooB of adults -
declaring personal bankruptcy also
have high numbers of 12th-graders
who are illiterate when it comes to
personal financial management "
According to Johnson. "This find
ing illustrates clearly that the need
to educate consumers about the
importance of personal financial
management has never been
greater. As a community bank and a
corporate citizen, we believe we
have an obligation to give some
thing back, and our initiative to
enhance financial literacy in our
markets represents a real invest
ment offime. energy and resources
by M&F Bank. In the long run.
there are tangible benefits to be
realized by the whole community
as consumers become better
equipped to make more astute
financial decisions."