At last--in-depth, qualitative insights paint an eye-opening picture of Black culture and the Black lifestyle and how to connect your products and services with Black consumers.What's Black About It? presents historical, psychological, and cultural influences that delve far deeper into the Black experience than the demographics that are at the heart of other ethnic marketing books and market research reports. Now you will be able to break through stereotypes to better understand and relate to African-American consumers.Other ethnic marketing books may include a general chapter or two on Black consumers. What's Black About It? focuses on African-American consumers and engages you with bold graphics, pop-culture sidebars, insights from focus groups, and examples from current advertising and marketing campaigns.

"Sociologist Chelsea Mary Elise Johnson uses interviews, media analysis, and participant observation in beauty shops, online blogs, and natural hair meet-ups around the world to trace how Black women use natural hair culture to reimagine their bodies, the beauty industry, and racial politics"--

"Coming-of-age never looked so beautiful." - Kirkus (Starred Review) "[A] powerful story of growth and change, brimming with honesty and hope." - Publishers Weekly "Students who might not yet be ready for Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give will find an equally compelling narrator and story in Pretty." - VOYA Reviews Sophie's perspective on what being pretty really means changes drastically in the second adjective-busting novel by the author of Husky, Justin Sayre. Sayre details the private and public life of a thirteen-year-old burdened with far more than the middle-school adjective of Pretty. Though she appears confident, stylish, and easygoing at school, Sophie lives a nightmare at home. When her mother's alcohol addiction spirals out of control, Sophie's Auntie Amara steps in to help. She teaches Sophie new lessons about her family and heritage, while also challenging her to rethink how she feels about friends, boys, and even her sense of place in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she lives. Sayre, a master storyteller in the coming-of-age genre, asks readers to confront superficial assumptions about gender and beauty, and breathes new life into the canon of middle-grade realistic fiction.

This book looks at several successful African American women and chronicles their success, obstacles, challenges, and lessons learned. The authors have first person access to each of these women and break down their stories to help other aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of starting or owning their own business.

The Amboy Affair Rick is thirty-six and was fired from his job as a commodities broker. If losing his job wasn't bad enough, his girl friend of two years terminates their relationship a week later. Rick is so depressed and heartbroken that he decides to leave St. Louis and head for Santa Monica, California to look for employment. He had always dreamed of following Route 66 across country and figured this was his opportunity. He stops in the small, remote, desert town of Amboy on Route 66 in California for gas and a bite to eat. He finds it to be peaceful and quiet there, so he decides to rent a motel cabin for three nights to relax and try to rid himself of feeling depressed. He meets a pretty girl at the restaurant that had stopped by to eat, and she invites him to accompany her on her monthly business trip from San Diego to Las Vegas. On the way they discover that she unknowingly has been transporting large sums of drug money to be laundered. Their greed for money results in their double-crossing the drug dealers by taking the money and going into hiding, which results in his once dull life becoming entwined in love, betrayal, intrigue and the constant fear of being tracked down and murdered. Sudden Change Once upon a time a baby girl was born to very wealthy parents and raised primarily by a nanny who catered to her every need. The parents also employed a full time maid, chef, chauffeur and servants, so she never had to do anything for herself. When turning sixteen, she demanded her parents buy her an expensive sports car, because she didn't want to be seen driving anything less, and she received one. She attended the very best private schools, and during her summer vacations she traveled the world. At the age of twenty-one, she had become an arrogant, selfish, self-centered individual. Her personality was such that no one cared to associate with her, and even her parents couldn't tolerate her un-forgiving behavior. They realized now they were the ones responsible for creating this unsociable monster by the way they had raised her. They felt it was their duty to try and correct the situation, or otherwise she would live a very lonely life and one without love. They deemed it necessary to take drastic corrective action to change her personality, and what the parents had planned for their daughter was beyond anyone's imagination.

Covering everything from sports to art, religion, music, and entrepreneurship, this book documents the vast array of African American cultural expressions and discusses their impact on the culture of the United States. According to the latest census data, less than 13 percent of the U.S. population identifies as African American; African Americans are still very much a minority group. Yet African American cultural expression and strong influences from African American culture are common across mainstream American culture—in music, the arts, and entertainment; in education and religion; in sports; and in politics and business. African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs covers virtually every aspect of African American cultural expression, addressing subject matter that ranges from how African culture was preserved during slavery hundreds of years ago to the richness and complexity of African American culture in the post-Obama era. The most comprehensive reference work on African American culture to date, the multivolume set covers such topics as black contributions to literature and the arts, music and entertainment, religion, and professional sports. It also provides coverage of less-commonly addressed subjects, such as African American fashion practices and beauty culture, the development of jazz music across different eras, and African American business.

Elizabeth Johnson's Resistance and Empowerment in Black Women's Hair Styling develops the argument that one way Black women define themselves and each other, is by the way they style/groom their hair via endorsement by the media through advertisement, idealized identification of Black female celebrities, and encouragement by professional celebrity hair stylists who serve as change agents. As a result, hair becomes a physical manifestation of their self-identity, revealing a private and personal mindset. Her research answers the following questions: What is the relationship between Black females' choice of hairstyles/grooming and transmitted messages of aesthetics by the dominant culture through culturally specific magazines?; What role do the natural hair blogs/vlogs play as a change agent in encouraging or discouraging consumers grooming their hair in its natural state?; What impact does a globalized consumer market of Black hair care products have on Hispanic/Latinas and Bi-Racial women?; Are Black female Generation Y members more likely to receive backlash for failure to conform their hair to dominant standards in their hair adornment in the workplace? Johnson thus demonstrates that the major concern from messages sent to Black women about their hair is its impact on Black identity. Thus, the goal of Black women should be to break with hegemonic modes of seeing, thinking, and being for full liberation. This critical and deep consciousness will debunk the messages told to Black women that their kinky, frizzy, thick hair is undesirable, bad, unmanageable, and shackling.

Public school students in many states are given the opportunity to choose a potential job to pursue or path of study in one of the 16 national career clusters delineated by the U.S. Department of Education. Some of these career clusters include (1) agriculture, food and natural resources; (2) audio/visual technology and communications; (3) architecture and construction; (4) business, management and administration and (5) education and training. This book provides an excerpt of interviews of 57 professionals in different occupations (teacher, lawyer, doctor, entrepreneur, etc.) to help students learn of jobs for successful employment. The book is also designed to help students visualize how their background fits certain characteristics of professionals so they become inspired to pursue a defined career path. Each professional's occupation in the chapters is linked to one of the 16 national career clusters supported by definitions of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium. Finally, the book provides a review of best practices various schools have used across the country to prepare students for college and careers.

A book with answers to every question you have about your hair, real solutions that work. Cutting edge information that takes the guesswork out of hair care, showing you exactly what to do, how to do it, and why.