ight hear the wind whisper, Wade in da Water Children, as it mimics the melodies of salvation seekers.As we became a more sophisticated church, we moved from the field of worship to the house of worship. In this house you could hear the moan of the wise deacon pleading, Lawdy, Won’t You Come By Here. God was sure to hear and sent His spirit to dwell with his people. You knew the Spirit had arrived when you heard the plank floor percussion section accompany the choir’s rendition of, Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand.As we continued to transform ourselves, our praise songs moved fromthe soulful sounds of Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland to the hip-hopsermons of Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond. Today, during our annual Choir Day, we will continue the tradition of our heritage. We will lift up songsof praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, we will make a joyful noise unto the Lord! African Americans are the largest minority group in the United States and the most frequently targeted by marketers. There are 35.1 million African Americans which makeup 13 percent of the total American population in 1999. African Americans spent over $400 billion on goods and services in 1999. Advertisers spend approximately $865 million annually to reach black consumers (Chapelle, 1998). Miller (1993) stated that the African American population is expected to reach 40 million by the year 2005, representing a $280 billion target market. A review of literature on the subject shows three avenues that Mainstream run into when targeting African Americans. One, being Mainstream ad agencies are not utilizing the full capacity of mass market media via African American owned radio stations, newspapers, or magazines when targeting African American. Two, Mainstream usage of African American Super stars to target African American consumers. The final problem consist of Corporations hiring Mainstream ad agencies to target A...
