Support Metro Foodland in Detroit! Support Black Business!

[Zacha341]

NO, I will not be watching/ listening to the broadcast. I am familiar with NNOI/ SOM, the doctrine and world view. I gather you are a member...?

[poobert]

Gushi, your parents likely lived in the city when all the jobs were in the city and the buses ran well in the city.

Now, there is virtually no localized employment in the city. The jobs - the entry level retail ones especially - are out in places like our glorious Hall Road. Our transit system is thousands of times worse since even a couple decades ago, and to aggrivate matters, many suburban communities opted out of it entirely. Then they go and decry those lazy blacks for not finding jobs. All they'd have to do is walk for six hours to get there! But we don't want them here anyway...

Take the bus? Let's do an experiment. Pretend you live at 6 Mile and Mound without a car. Now I invite you to find a job from there, and consistently make it there on time, and make a living on it. You couldn't cut it. I'd be you everything I have you WILL fail miserably. Many people are indeed shiftless, but tens of thousands more are not.

It is indeed relevant that this is a black-owned business in that the city is overwealmingly black but the business ownership is overwealmingly not. I can't see how anyone could ignore that fact. This isn't arguing for reparations - if anything this is arguing for American capitalism. Now, if this guy ran a shitty grocery store, that would be entirely different. I'm not black, as I've noted before, but I am a Detroiter, and I'd like to see my neighbors prosper and help the community at large that I live in.

As a caveat, I am quite always aware that I'll never really be accepted as a fellow-traveller because of the relative lack of melanin in my skin. Every day I'll hear brotha and sista but not directed at me. Am I not a man and a brother?

[dmike76]

Why does this have to be a black/white thing? The message should be.....support SMALL BUSINESS owners.

[Meddle]

Why does this have to be a black/white thing? The message should be.....support SMALL BUSINESS owners.

The message should be.....support LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS owners.

The only way to end racial division is to stop bringing it up all the time. Treat people as people.

[Zacha341]

My point PRECISELY! 18 years ago I was in between cars for a month and was working in Farmington Hills. No big deal, from near downtown I took two DOT buss connections to the SMART [[or was it SEMTA then?), up Grand River - Farm Hills, done - about a 1 hour 35 minutes. Long travel time but predictably useful.

NOW!? No way... two to three hours average to do that if possible at all. Even with the SMART buses staying on schedule, the DOT does not and there are few buses overall. Oh, yeah it's real easy to bus it to work... in an '38 hour' day world!

Gushi, your parents likely lived in the city when all the jobs were in the city and the buses ran well in the city.

Now, there is virtually no localized employment in the city. The jobs - the entry level retail ones especially - are out in places like our glorious Hall Road. Our transit system is thousands of times worse since even a couple decades ago, and to aggrivate matters, many suburban communities opted out of it entirely....

[Zacha341]

Yes, that point could be argued. There'd would be less distraction related to the NNOI 'AGENDA' paperweight.

The fact that this 'full-service' grocery store is black owned IS specific, and relevant in that it is the only one. That needed to be pointed out.

The message should be.....support LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS owners.

The only way to end racial division is to stop bringing it up all the time. Treat people as people.

[iheartthed]

This is starting to get ridiculous. On both sides.

Just cool down Calvin just posted a story about the store that the new nation of islam happened to report about. Just like the Detroit News would have reported about a local business.

To make a point they also stated that Mr Hooks is the only black owner of a supermarket inside the city. Kinda significant in a city that is mostly black! Gets you thinking.

Nevertheless the first post does seem like copy and paste. I didnt see any connection with title of the post on first sight.

Next time you post an article similar to this, calvin, you should just put in an excerpt with a link to the original article and add some words of your own to the post. Thats how i see it done around here and in other forums.
Anyone interested will take the time to read and will lead to conversation...

Ironically, the Detroit News actually DID publish an article about this exact same store and focused on it being the only black grocery store remaining in Detroit. I would link it but you cannot access it unless you have a subscription to the News since it's more than 30 days old.

ETA: The only reason the NOI is relevant, other than being the source that the OP used to start this thread, is that Metro Foodland has begun to cater to muslim shoppers with a halal foods section. I read that in the Detroit News version.

[Meddle]

Yeah, if it had been a DetNews or Freep article or one of the TV stations, rather than a radical activist article complete with headers and graphics, this thread might have gone in a different direction. The way the OP is posted makes it look the store owner is part of the organization and might have their agenda in store policies.

I actually think this did a dis-service to the store owner if indeed he does not let their ideology carry over into his business.

[Wintersmommy]

I find it very interesting & relevant that this is the only Black Owned Grocery store in a mostly black city...it’s hard to imagine that I wouldn't be interested in the salvation of the last remaining white owned business worthy support if I lived in a particular area. People rally behind ethnic stores/institutions all the time. Think Hamtramck or Mexican Town ect ect ect. How is this different? Perhaps it’s hard to understand the importance of such a place when one gets the privilege of never having this be a concern.

[Hermod]

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]

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]

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".

[Zacha341]

That would mean more fresh fruits, vegetables and good meats, per the diet of of many Muslims and other 'related' religions. The photo of the veggie section did look good compared to some stores in the city!

ETA: The only reason the NOI is relevant, other than being the source that the OP used to start this thread, is that Metro Foodland has begun to cater to muslim shoppers with a halal foods section. I read that in the Detroit News version.

[jolla]

I feel stupider for having read this thread.

[Wheels]

The agenda of the OP had nothing to do with the owner of the store. He is here to get people to visit a hateful sight with a racist message. Why else would he put so many specifics in additional posts with a message to join in the hate.

[Zacha341]

Hmm, I thought I was the only one who noticed the relentless plugs...? Hah!

The agenda of the OP had nothing to do with the owner of the store. He is here to get people to visit a hateful sight with a racist message. Why else would he put so many specifics in additional posts with a message to join in the hate.

[Meddle]

ETA: The only reason the NOI is relevant, other than being the source that the OP used to start this thread, is that Metro Foodland has begun to cater to muslim shoppers with a halal foods section. I read that in the Detroit News version.

I have no problem with focusing on the store carrying such items. How many stores carry Kosher items?

But that doesn't make it necessary to promote a separatist [[almost hate) group.

[CalvinJam]

Yes, that point could be argued. There'd would be less distraction related to the NNOI 'AGENDA' paperweight.

The fact that this 'full-service' grocery store is black owned IS specific, and relevant in that it is the only one. That needed to be pointed out.

Sir, as it has been noted already, the New Nation of Islam is only relevant in this post because the owner of Metro Foodland was interviewed by the leader and teacher of the New Nation of Islam, the Son of Man.

What "agenda" paperweight was attached to that?

As someone else noted, it would be akin to me posting an article from the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Metro Times, or the Chicago Tribune even.

As I stated before, if my post made it seem as if Metro Foodland is attached to the New Nation of Islam, then I can assure you that that was a mistake on my part.

I don't use this site all the time, and so I just copied and pasted the original email as my initial post.

As someone noted, that was not the correct way to post because it made a lot of people think that the store was promoting the New Nation of Islam, which is not the case.

[iheartthed]

I have no problem with focusing on the store carrying such items. How many stores carry Kosher items?

But that doesn't make it necessary to promote a separatist [[almost hate) group.

He wasn't promoting the NOI. The publication where he saw the story just happened to be associated with the them. He copied and pasted the words directly from that source, hence the references to NOI, Son of Man.

The text of the o/p was pretty benign. It made no incendiary statements about any group of people. It just said promote the store. It says pretty much the exact same thing that the Detroit News article said last month.

To be honest, I find it a bit ironic that some of the people making comments denouncing the messenger are so up in arms about this message. Is it because the NOI said it? It's a basic pull yourself up by your own bootstraps message, which is an ideology that certain members of this forum preach as gospel on here daily.

[313WX]

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]

Excellent point...

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]

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]

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]

[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.

[CalvinJam]

The Son of Man will be reading some of these posts over the air tonight, and he would like to give any and everyone here the opportunity to call in and freely express your point of view.

[[It doesn't matter if your opinion of him is good or bad - he would like to hear it.)

He wanted everyone to know that if he is doing, or even teaching and believing something that is wrong, then feel free to correct him on it. He said he is not above correction.

One thing is: He asks that all bigotry be left at the door. He wants to hear what anyone here has to say; and he only asks that you hear him out too.

So again, the broadcast begins at 9 PM eastern time, and you can listen on WHPR 88.1 FM or UHF TV33/Comcast 20.

The call-in numbers are [[313) 868-0351, 868-0342, or 868-4336.




If you can't listen on radio or TV, then you can still listen in by calling into this teleconference call:

[[712) 432-0075
Access code: 912932#

If you want to comment, simply press *6 to unmute your phone. Press *6 to mute your phone back.


The Son of Man is not inviting you because he wants to have an "insult session". That's not what this is about.

But as someone else said, it's time for everyone to treat people like people.

And for us to get to that point, we have to start talking to each other. We have to have an open line of communication.

So again, the Son of Man is inviting all of you to listen in, and if you would like to offer something in the way of criticism [[constructive or otherwise), he would really like to hear it.