EthnicMajority

(Huffington Post) The 2011 American Business Awards were presented in front of a room of American business people by The Stevie Awards last night. Representatives from companies like Overstock.com, Apple and Groupon were in attendance to accept their accolades among the clattering of diners. Then there was a special honor bestowed upon the entrepreneur and philanthropist, Russell Simmons. The Difference Maker award was presented to Mr. Simmons and was described as “the first of its kind,” and was “presented to Simmons for his groundbreaking vision and influence on music, fashion, finance, television, film, as well as the face of modern philanthropy.”

It was the use of the term “modern” as a preface to philanthropy that truly resonated with me given the fact that in a room full of upper management and c-level suite business-gladiators, if you will, Mr. Simmons stood out as one of few Black men. Indeed, he was one of the lonely potential minority honorees in the venue altogether. Recent data suggests that the respective numbers for Blacks in blue-collar jobs and at senior pay levels in the Civilian Labor Force were 34,877 (1.8 percent) and 1,477 (0.07 percent), respectively, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management. Mr. Simmons’ career has spanned from the 1970′s to the present and noteworthy achievements include co-founding Def Jam Records. Still, the data suggests that the opportunities for recognition among Blacks and other minority groups for their contributions to “American business” is limited from the onset because few will ever be in a position to establish leadership.

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(NY Times) For the singer Larry Hernandez, the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards should have been a moment of pure celebration. But when it came time for Mr. Hernandez to accept his award as new artist of the year, he got drawn into politics, prefacing his remarks with a condemnation of the tough new immigration law that his home state of Arizona had just adopted.

“It is deplorable that they are discriminating against us just for the simple fact of looking Latino,” he said from the stage. “It’s not fair. We have to say no to that law.”

Mr. Hernandez’s name, however, is not on the list of prominent pop music performers who have declared that they will no longer perform in Arizona, one of the most dynamic markets for Latin music and culture. The boycott effort, called Sound Strike and led by the singer Zack de la Rocha of the rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, did get pledges from some big names, including the rapper Kanye West, indie rockers Sonic Youth and the trip hop duo Massive Attack. But it was light on mainstream “big tent” performers who can fill stadiums, and included no country music performers.

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