Postracial America

A compendium of articles published this week on the topic of “postracial” America provide a range of suggestions, opinions and research data.

From CultureLab, posting after the Ypulse Urban/Multicultural Conference:

Yes, Multicultural and inclusion are now more relevant than ever, however ethnic targeting from a marketing perspective is not that relevant:

What is important is a genuinely inclusive outlook and deep understanding of youth identity. Young people want to see themselves represented AUTHENTICALLY. Stereotypical and clichéd images will not cut it in this day and age. For marketers what is important is to create welcoming spaces for people and their identities.

Identity from my vantage point has to do with who you connect to, how you view yourself, your background, your geography,your social class, experiences, interests and racial background.

Understanding identity, the role of class, and connection is what is really important. For instance, a kid may be Hispanic, living in LA and his or her interest lies in skateboarding. The community of skateboarders, the fashion associated with it, and the indigenous language used by skateboarders have the biggest impact on that person’s identity, more so than the fact that they are Hispanic. Ethnicity is just one minor part of the mix.

Pepper Miller qualifies her previous enthusiastic response via Ad Age:

I was excited to see the youth perspective that I have been hearing in focus groups about race for some time. And among Black youth, many often say they want to be recognized for their accomplishments first and “blackness” second.

However, John Parikhal, a global leader in media strategy, marketing, research and consumer trends, and Ken Smikle, publisher of Target Market News, checked me — and rightly so.

Smikle agrees and adds this about Hispanics: “He [Walker] makes the point about the two identities that all people of color have: Hispanic/Skateboarder, i.e., Background/Interests. What he doesn’t get is that being Hispanic comes first. And it’s the only part of the identity that doesn’t change — ever.“

Parikhal’s opinions are formed from the following research – a huge Black and African American segmentation study called The Black America Study, conducted by Radio One and Yankelovich. Click here to download overviews for free.

In my consumer research experience, I have seen both of these perspectives validated. I would humbly suggest that the idea and sentiment of Post-Race is not applied equally across all decisions or questions in a consumer’s life, no matter how they self-identify. The emotionally charged arena of picking a mate, for example, is one decision where Black woman behavior clearly demonstrates that they are not “beyond race” – yet. We’ll have to see what this younger generation does in years to come, as they make bigger decisions, and if their behaviors and attitudes start to sync up with those of their elders.

Scan through some of the comments section of this recent article on The Root for an earful, where the author encourages her female friends to date as if they were Michelle Obama when she met Barack.

And this sobering editorial piece “Even Now, There’s Risk in Driving While Black.”