Support Metro Foodland in Detroit! Support Black Business!

**mcsdetroitfriend** · July-19-12, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by CalvinJam

So the fact that unemployment in the Black community is higher than the unemployment rates in other communities - That shouldn't be relevant to me?

I shouldn't even care about that? I shouldn't worry about that at all?

What he's getting at, and other's in the thread are getting at is you could've helped advertise the man's business in the same way, but with out categorizing his religious beliefs, or his race; they would've been interested regardless.

They're irked because you made a point to put those two facts in there like it mattered. When it comes down to it, as several people have stated, it really doesn't matter if the owner is black white yellow pink purple or red, follows God, the Devil, or any other deity, what matters to them are the products and all you had to do was make the same pitch with out the other stuff.

Peace and love

CalvinJam · July-19-12, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

What he's getting at, and other's in the thread are getting at is you could've helped advertise the man's business in the same way, but with out categorizing his religious beliefs, or his race; they would've been interested regardless.

They're irked because you made a point to put those two facts in there like it mattered. When it comes down to it, as several people have stated, it really doesn't matter if the owner is black white yellow pink purple or red, follows God, the Devil, or any other deity, what matters to them are the products and all you had to do was make the same pitch with out the other stuff.

Peace and love

Well peace and love to you too, but you didn't read what I said - obviously.

Again, I never categorized the man's religious beliefs.

The man is not a Muslim. I never said he was a Muslim.

So why are you telling me that I categorized his religious beliefs?

The second thing is, you just told me that it doesn't matter if the owner is black, white, yellow, pink, purple or red; but wait a minute.

Again, the national unemployment rate in the Black community is higher than the unemployment rate in any other community.

The national average is 8.2%, but the unemployment rate in the Black community is approximately 15% [[or higher).

There are hundreds of supermarkets in the city of Detroit, which is a predominantly black city; but only one supermarket in the city is black-owned.

Now these are facts that you can go and verify for yourself. But for some reason, you and some of the other posters in this forum are "irked" that I'm merely voicing something that is verifiably true.

You're trying to tell me that those facts don't matter.

I mean, let me ask this: Could you explain to me why it shouldn't matter that the unemployment rate in the Black community is higher than the unemployment rates in other communities?

Could you explain to me why it shouldn't matter that Detroit is a predominantly Black city with hundreds of supermarkets, but only one of them is Black-owned?

**mcsdetroitfriend** · July-19-12, 11:15 PM

What I'm saying is it feels like you've got a lot invested in this for never meeting the owner.

You could've just said "check out this awesome grocery store"

Originally Posted by CalvinJam

Well peace and love to you too, but you didn't read what I said - obviously.

Again, I never categorized the man's religious beliefs.

The man is not a Muslim. I never said he was a Muslim.

So why are you telling me that I categorized his religious beliefs?

The second thing is, you just told me that it doesn't matter if the owner is black, white, yellow, pink, purple or red; but wait a minute.

Again, the national unemployment rate in the Black community is higher than the unemployment rate in any other community.

The national average is 8.2%, but the unemployment rate in the Black community is approximately 15% [[or higher).

There are hundreds of supermarkets in the city of Detroit, which is a predominantly black city; but only one supermarket in the city is black-owned.

Now these are facts that you can go and verify for yourself. But for some reason, you and some of the other posters in this forum are "irked" that I'm merely voicing something that is verifiably true.

You're trying to tell me that those facts don't matter.

I mean, let me ask this: Could you explain to me why it shouldn't matter that the unemployment rate in the Black community is higher than the unemployment rates in other communities?

Could you explain to me why it shouldn't matter that Detroit is a predominantly Black city with hundreds of supermarkets, but only one of them is Black-owned?

CalvinJam · July-19-12, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

What I'm saying is it feels like you've got a lot invested in this for never meeting the owner.

You could've just said "check out this awesome grocery store"

Well, I have a lot invested in the community. That's all I'm trying to say.

That's the only point that I wanted to make with this entire post - We have to support the good people and good things in our community that are benefiting us.

That's what the Son of Man teaches. It doesn't matter if it's Black or White owned - if it's something that is benefiting us [[people period), then we should support it.

**Hermod** · July-20-12, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by CalvinJam

Could you explain to me why it shouldn't matter that Detroit is a predominantly Black city with hundreds of supermarkets, but only one of them is Black-owned?

Very easy, Calvin. Back in the bad old days of Jim Crow in the south and residential segregation in Detroit, there was a predisposition among responsible blacks to own their own business. Somewhere in the 1960s this began to change and all the little black retail establishments and craftsmen began to close as their owners grew older and/or died off. The younger blacks just were not interested in owning their own businesses. As a result, inner city businesses have gone by default to Koreans, Chaldeans, Hmongs, etc. who are still interested in self-ownership.

**iheartthed** · July-20-12, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by Hermod

Very easy, Calvin. Back in the bad old days of Jim Crow in the south and residential segregation in Detroit, there was a predisposition among responsible blacks to own their own business. Somewhere in the 1960s this began to change and all the little black retail establishments and craftsmen began to close as their owners grew older and/or died off. The younger blacks just were not interested in owning their own businesses. As a result, inner city businesses have gone by default to Koreans, Chaldeans, Hmongs, etc. who are still interested in self-ownership.

Uh, what? lol.

No. Black business ownership is pretty high in the Detroit area, they just happen to not own grocery stores! Why? Because the economic fundamentals of owning a grocery store in a major American metropolitan area doesn't really favor the small business model anymore. How many grocery independent grocery stores [[i.e. non-chains) with owners of any race still exist in the Detroit area?

**Hermod** · July-20-12, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Uh, what? lol.

No. Black business ownership is pretty high in the Detroit area, they just happen to not own grocery stores! Why? Because the economic fundamentals of owning a grocery store in a major American metropolitan area doesn't really favor the small business model anymore. How many grocery independent grocery stores [[i.e. non-chains) with owners of any race still exist in the Detroit area?

Just drive up John R from 9 Mile to 15 Mile and you will see quite a few if you are talking the Detroit "area".

**313WX** · July-20-12, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Uh, what? lol.

No. Black business ownership is pretty high in the Detroit area, they just happen to not own grocery stores! Why? Because the economic fundamentals of owning a grocery store in a major American metropolitan area doesn't really favor the small business model anymore. How many grocery independent grocery stores [[i.e. non-chains) with owners of any race still exist in the Detroit area?

The thing is, majority of the black-owned businesses in Detroit are generally LLCs or the owners work as independent contractors, thus you wouldn't know about most of them, or see them right in your face them by simply driving down streets such as Gratiot or Grand River like the Gas Stations, Beauty Supply Stores, Dollar Stores, etc.

**Zacha341** · July-20-12, 10:44 AM

Excellent point...

Originally Posted by 313WX

The thing is, majority of the black-owned businesses in Detroit are generally LLCs or the owners work as independent contractors, thus you wouldn't know about most of them, or see them right in your face them by simply driving down streets such as Gratiot or Grand River like the Gas Stations, Beauty Supply Stores, Dollar Stores, etc.

**Zacha341** · July-20-12, 10:54 AM

Keeping the focus on the store, here's a review from yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/metro-foodland-detroit-2

AND HERE'S THEIR WEBSITE:

http://www.metrofoodland.com/contactus.php

**iheartthed** · July-20-12, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by 313WX

The thing is, majority of the black-owned businesses in Detroit are generally LLCs or the owners work as independent contractors, thus you wouldn't know about most of them, or see them right in your face them by simply driving down streets such as Gratiot or Grand River like the Gas Stations, Beauty Supply Stores, Dollar Stores, etc.

The Detroit area's black owned businesses tilt towards services and manufacturing. There are plenty of black owned auto shops, plumbing services, accounting services, law offices, doctors offices etc. in the Detroit area. Detroit is tied with Chicago for being the third best metro area for black owned businesses, according to the National Urban League: http://thegrio.com/2011/11/15/strong...ed-businesses/

**poobert** · July-20-12, 11:46 AM

[QUOTE=Hermod;331672]Very easy, Calvin...The younger blacks just were not interested in owning their own businesses. ...QUOTE]

What an absurd, uniformed, ridiculously simplistic view of history.

**Hermod** · July-21-12, 05:28 AM

[QUOTE=poobert;331717]

Originally Posted by Hermod

Very easy, Calvin...The younger blacks just were not interested in owning their own businesses. ...QUOTE]

What an absurd, uniformed, ridiculously simplistic view of history.

That meme wasn't original with me. It was from a Washington Post column in the late 1980s by the late newspaper columnist William Raspberry [[1935-2012).

He segued into it from an observation on the lack of black street sellers on the Washington Mall where he noted all of the different nationalities selling sunglasses and other schlock on the sidewalk and very few blacks doing a business with very low capital costs and entry requirements.

He related his experiences growing up in segregation to the realities of Washington DC in the 1980s. He concluded that up and coming blacks with ambition were not going into small businesses.