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The Changing Economy and How African Americans are Taking a Lead Role in This Transformation

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African Americans have had a uniquely difficult history in America, one that has been marred by obstacle after obstacle. Not too long ago they were even considered to be two-thirds of a person and were prevented the essential, inalienable rights that we all enjoy today.

Due to great strides made by the African American community and its allies, this is no longer the case. Today, the African American demographic is increasingly making headwinds into higher education, the economy, politics, and virtually everywhere else imaginable. So, many of you are probably wondering, “what are the implications for the United States given that African Americans are slowly, but steadily closing the gap on inequality?”

First, let’s have a look at these demographic statistics coming from the Nielsen Corporation:

  • From 2000 to 2014, the nation’s Black population grew 35% more quickly than the total population and at more than double the 8.2% growth rate of the White population.
  • By 2060, the Black population will increase from 45.7 million to 74.5 million, comprising 17.9% of the population.
  • The percentage of Black high school graduates enrolled in college jumped last year to 70.9%, exceeding that of Whites and Hispanics.
  • African American income growth rates outpaced that of non-Hispanic Whites at every annual household income above $60,000.
  • The average age of African Americans is 31.4 years compared to 39 years old for non-White Hispanics.

Upon examining these numbers, it should be fairly evident that the African American demographic is one of the most dynamic demographic groups with a promising future in the United States. For the economy, this is quite beneficial. Given the fact that consumers tend to be younger and more influential to modern-day trends, this places African Americans in the driver seat of economic innovation. Companies and entrepreneurs must now compete for the attention of the African American consumer, needing to create a unique way to develop and foster relationships with them.

In order for companies to successfully target the African American demographic, however, they must understand the habits and trends taking place among the community. Look at this chart below that illustrates the growth of African American incomes in the United States.

Income Growth

 

What this chart tells us is that African Americans are increasingly becoming wealthier, meaning that they are more likely to undertake greater financial investments such as property acquisition, stock investment, and automobile purchases. In order for a company to design a product or brand image, they need to understand that they are dealing with a growing and sophisticated market base, not the stereotypical lower class that some people seem to think of.

For African Americans earning between $70,000 and $100,000, the annual basket ring (the average amount of money spent per household, per year) is $7,358 dollars which is 25% higher than the rest of the Black population. For companies, this is particularly useful because it helps to identify the most effective products that should be developed or focused on in order to turn a larger profit based on income level. Take a look at the chart below.

Spending Habits

Breaking down the expenditures of the typical African American consumer, as shown above, the chart shows us just how important and wide-ranging of an impact Blacks have on the economy. African Americans who earn above $70,000 dollars are more likely to spend on housing, personal insurance, pensions, retirement, and apparel than the rest of the population. There are many misconceptions about the typical African American consumer so it is important to dispel any preconceived notions that may draw inaccuracies when developing advertising and marketing methods to attract black customers. This chart proves that point.

So, what are some ways that entrepreneurs and business executives can develop relationships with their African American customer base? Well, one of the most obvious ways this can happen is through the digital media outlet. Technology has played a major role in the dissemination of information and considering that most individuals own at least a television, cell phone, or computer, it would be very effective to reach out to customers in this way.

African Americans spend much more time using technology like smartphones, spending most of their time on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This presents a wonderful opportunity for advertisers to reach out to the African-American consumer base by targeting these websites with their products or messages. Take, for example, the fact that brand affinity indices “show that people who tweet about Empire are 24% more likely to tweet about wireless provider brands than other brand categories or people who tweet about Black-ish are 38% more likely to tweet about travel services.” Understanding these behaviors can better allow marketers to target a specific demographic, but it also reveals how impactful social media and the internet can play on brand exposure.

In particular, African Americans are 96% more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to consider purchasing a product when the product is endorsed by a celebrity. Celebrities can have a major impact on the decision-making process for African Americans when buying products so it is in the best interests of companies to consider utilizing this to their advantage. Using celebrities to promote a brand can most certainly determine whether or not a product will ascend to the coveted status of success.

When we combine the spending habits of the African American consumer, as well as their deep involvement with media and celebrities, along with the increase in education levels taking place across the country, it is indubitable to state that African Americans are in the midst of a demographic renaissance. While there are still many issues with regards to the advancement of African Americans in American society, Blacks in this country are now becoming wealthier, more educated, and more successful than ever before. For companies and entrepreneurs, this revelation is just as critical in the sense that rapid change is being brought to the marketplace. For companies looking to maximize their growth and potential expansion, it is necessary to identify these growing trends and changes occurring in the economy because older methods of advertisement and brand recognition are beginning to become obsolete. In a changing world in which African Americans and technology are rapidly proliferating and becoming closely integrated, companies ought to begin looking at newer, more effective ways of reaching out to this particular consumer base because if not, they will all but surely miss out on a great opportunity for sustained business growth.

Featured Image via Flickr/Tracy O

AFRICA

The UK paid Rwanda an additional $126 million for the contested migrant plan.

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As the tab for Britain’s controversial proposal to relocate asylum seekers to the East African nation continues to increase, the United Kingdom paid Rwanda an extra 100 million pounds ($126 million) in April. This was in addition to the 140 million pounds it had already provided Rwanda.

Even though the Rwanda project is at the core of the policy that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is employing to discourage illegal immigration, there have been no individuals sent to Rwanda as of yet due to legal challenges that have taken place since the initiative was introduced in 2022.

After Sunak’s immigration minister resigned this week, the polarizing policy is now regarded as a danger to Sunak’s leadership, which is anticipated to be challenged in the election that will take place the following year.

According to a letter that the British Ministry of the Interior issued on Thursday, the United Kingdom plans to give Rwanda fifty million pounds in addition to the 240 million pounds it has already provided to the East African nation.

The opposition Labour Party criticized the disclosures regarding the rising cost of a scheme that legal experts warned could collapse. Some parliamentarians within Sunak’s party are also expected to express their disapproval of the idea.

A statement by Yvette Cooper, the shadow interior minister for the Labour Party, on social networking site X, said, “Britain cannot afford more of this costly Tory chaos and farce.”

On Friday, however, the newly appointed minister for legal migration, Tom Pursglove, explained what he called the “investment” of 240 million pounds. He stated that once the Rwanda policy was operational, it would reduce the money spent on hosting asylum-seekers in the United Kingdom.

“When you consider that we are unacceptably spending 8 million pounds a day in the asylum system at the moment, it is a key part of our strategy to bring those costs down,” Pursglove explained to Sky News.

Pursglove stated that the money donated to Rwanda would assist in the country’s economic growth and help get the asylum relationship with the United Kingdom up and running.

There was no connection between the money sent to Rwanda and the treaty that the two nations signed on Tuesday, according to the letter from the Ministry of the Interior.

The treaty aims to respond to a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which stated that the deportation plan would contravene local laws based on international human rights standards.

“The Government of Rwanda did not ask for any payment in order for a Treaty to be signed, nor was any offered,” according to the correspondence.

After Robert Jenrick resigned from his position as immigration minister on Wednesday, Sunak made a plea to fellow Conservative parliamentarians on Thursday to come together in support of his Rwanda proposal. He stated that the emergency legislation the government had drafted to get the scheme up and running did not go far enough.

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UK interior minister travels to Rwanda to resurrect asylum plan.

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On Tuesday, the Minister of the Interior of the United Kingdom, James Cleverly, came to Rwanda to sign a new treaty. This was done to circumvent a court judgment that blocked the government’s contentious policy of transferring asylum seekers to the East African nation.

The Rwandan plan is at the core of the government’s attempt to reduce migration, and it is being closely monitored by other nations who are considered to be considering policies that are comparable to Rwanda’s.

In a decision handed down a month ago, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom stated that such a move would violate international human rights norms embedded in domestic legislation.

Following the decision, the United Kingdom has been making efforts to revise its agreement with Rwanda to incorporate a legally binding treaty that guarantees Rwanda would not remove asylum seekers brought there by the United Kingdom. This is one of the primary concerns of the court.

Several attorneys and charitable organizations have said that it is highly improbable that deportation flights will begin before the election. With a lead of more than ten percentage points in the polls, the opposition Labour Party intends to abandon the Rwanda policy if it is victorious.

A meeting between Cleverly, who arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, on Tuesday morning, and Vincent Biruta, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, is scheduled to take place to sign the agreement.

“Rwanda cares deeply about the rights of refugees, and I look forward to meeting with counterparts to sign this agreement and further discuss how we work together to tackle the global challenge of illegal migration,” Cleverly says.

The United Kingdom aims to transfer thousands of asylum seekers who came to its beaches without authorization to Rwanda under the plan that was agreed upon the previous year. This discourages migrants from crossing the Channel from Europe in tiny boats.

In exchange, Rwanda has been given an initial payment of 140 million pounds, equivalent to 180 million dollars, along with the promise of additional funds to cover the costs of housing and medical treatment for any deported persons.

THE PRESSURE
A great deal of pressure is being put on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to reduce net migration, which reached a record high of 745 thousand people in the previous year, with the vast majority of migrants entering through legal channels.

“Stop the boats” is one of the five goals that Sunak has set for his government. The influx of asylum seekers who pay people smugglers for their crossings of the Channel, which frequently take place in boats that are overloaded and not seaworthy, is one of the aims that Sunak has set.

The Supreme Court determined that the Rwanda plan should not be implemented because there was a possibility that refugees who were deported would have their claims incorrectly evaluated or that they would be sent back to their country of origin to suffer persecution.

In the latter part of this week, it is anticipated that the new treaty will be followed by the release of legislation declaring Rwanda a so-called safe nation. This law is intended to prevent legal challenges against the planned deportation flights.

Despite this, this will probably result in a fresh set of political and legal difficulties.

An immigration attorney at Harbottle & Lewis named Sarah Gogan stated that the government’s policy will be challenged due to Rwanda’s history of violations of human rights provisions.

“Rwanda is an unsafe country and this is not a quick fix,” added the politician. “You cannot in a matter of weeks or months reform a country and turn it into one with an impartial judiciary and administrative culture.”

Another “gimmick” was what Yvette Cooper, the spokesperson for the Labour Party’s home affairs department, called the most recent measures proposed by the administration.

Whether or not to design the law in a way that would avoid subsequent legal challenges is still up for debate by the administration.

Several members of the Conservative Party in parliament are putting pressure on the government to incorporate a “notwithstanding” clause into Rwanda’s policy. This clause would disapprove the domestic and international human rights commitments of the United Kingdom regarding Rwanda.

However, some politicians within the ruling party, such as Robert Buckland, have stated that such a move would be “foolish” and undermine the Good Friday Agreement, which is primarily responsible for ending three decades of carnage in Northern Ireland. This is because the European Convention on Human Rights supports the treaty.

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Madagascar leader wins presidential vote, constitutional court says

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On Friday, the High Constitutional Court of Madagascar certified Andry Rajoelina, the current President of Madagascar, to be the victor of the election a month ago, essentially granting him a third term in office.

Following the dismissal of several challenges submitted against the preliminary results by the electoral board, the court said that Rajoelina collected 58.96% of the votes that were cast.

Florent Rakotoarisoa, the chairman of the High constitutional court, stated that “Andry Rajoelina is elected as the president of the republic of Madagascar and is taking his functions as soon as the swearing (is conducted) comes to an end.”

The rejected challenge was submitted by the politician Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, who received 14.39% of the vote, according to the court. This was one of the challenges that was denied.

Ten of the thirteen candidates chose not to participate in the election; nevertheless, their names were already on the ballot, so they could still divide the remaining votes. The court reported that the turnout was 46.35 percent.

The election on November 16 was preceded by weeks of demonstrations, during which the opposition accused Rajoelina of having fostered conditions that were unjust to the election.

The charges that the vote was rigged have been refuted by Rajoelina, and the army has issued a warning against any attempts to destabilize the country.

As far as the opposition is concerned, the voter turnout for the election was the lowest it has ever been in the country’s history.

Hajo Andrianainarivelo, a former minister who was one of the candidates who chose to abstain from voting, has committed to fight against what he has described as a lack of respect for the rules of the state and the tyranny of the people.

“The popular fight begins now,” he declared on Thursday referring to the ongoing conflict.

Rajoelina, now 49 years old, initially won power in a coup in 2009. After resigning from his position as the head of a transitional authority in 2014, he went on to win another election in 2018 and regain his position as president.

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