General Motors CEO Mary Barra refuses to Meet with Black Owned Media Companies
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Posted By: Roger Gates on March 29, 2021 Byron Allen's Allen Media Group and other signatories have published the following open letter to General Motors CEO Mary Barra in today's Detroit Free Press (March 28, 2021): General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra refuses to sit down with Black Owned Media Companies Mary Barra, Why??? We were seriously offended watching you stand on stage, after the death of George Floyd, saying, "Black Lives Matter," when you have refused to acknowledge us and you have consistently, over time and after multiple requests, refused to take a meeting with the largest Black Owned Media companies in America. Mary, the very definition of systemic racism is when you are ignored, excluded and you don't have true economic inclusion. General Motors spends billions of dollars in advertising and less than 0.5% goes to Black Owned Media (not to be confused with Black Targeted Media). This is horrendous, considering that we as African Americans make up approximately 14% of the population in America and we spend billions buying your vehicles. Mary, you have asked us to meet with your Chief Marketing Officer, Deborah Wahl. We have absolutely no interest in that because when Deborah was Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald's, in our opinion, Black Owned Media was, once again, severely neglected, minimized and discriminated against. To be clear, Black Owned Media and not minority owned, because minority includes white women and large corporations like General Motors can hide behind and tout their minority records while continuing not to do business with Black Owned Media companies. Mary, true leaders must lean in and personally address the real issues in our society and in business. We are publicly asking you to stop the systemic racism by General Motors against Black Owned Media companies. We are requesting a one hour Zoom meeting with you and several of your key board members and us, the largest Black Owned Media companies in America, so we can resolve this very important issue and have a long-term partnership that's mutually beneficial for General Motors and the African American consumers. Mary, we and others firmly believe that if you continue to hold the position that Black Owned Media doesn't deserve meaningful economic inclusion and we are not worth meeting with, then you should resign, effective immediately. Byron Allen Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. Founder, Chairman & CEO – Allen Media Group, LLC President & CEO - Black Enterprise Roland Martin Ice Cube CEO, Nu Vision Media, Inc. BIG3, Cubevision, CWBA Todd F. Brown, PMP Junior Bridgeman Don Jackson Founder, Urban Edge Networks HBCU League Pass Ebony Media Founder, Chairman & CEO – Central City Productions If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Roger Gates
Founder & CEO, Motivo Spec Hampton University class of 1995 Member Since June 1999 |
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