by:David Chase
The African American magazines or the black magazines are a
source of information and entertainment for the community with a
sense of identity, which makes it the most priceless of all
publications. To some the African American magazines or the black
magazines are considered as a source of discrimination in reverse.
There is a segment of blacks who are of the opinion that African
American magazines or black magazines have been used by the
blacks to segregate themselves from the rest of the community
and would only lead to reverse discrimination in the community.
The more discerning of critics are of the opinion that this
perception could not be further from the truth considering that the
black magazines are more of a necessity of the African American
community rather than an exercise in discrimination.
The communication wonder – black magic
The black community uses the black magazines as a media to
communicate and circulate exclusively black related issues but at
no stage does it communicate hate for other communities so
reverse discrimination cannot be further from the truth. The
mainstream magazines do not cover African American issues –
whether it is police brutality or civil rights issues. On the contrary
the mainstream magazines focus primarily on all white issues and
rarely if ever focus on the African American issues making it all the
more important for the black community to publish black
magazines. It is in appropriate to believe that the black community
excludes the whites from the black magazines – the reality being
that when black issues whether civil rights or otherwise are being
addressed the whites would be excluded just as when mainstream
magazines are published the blacks are naturally excluded
The merging cultures
The concept of having black magazines like Jet Magazines is not
racial – rather it is cultural – to have a all black magazine with all
black issues being tackled is not racist for all are invited to
comment or read – making it cultural rather than racial. To illustrate
- a Chinese restaurant serving all Chinese cuisine by a Chinese
staff is barely racial – it is cultural. The black magazines are known
to be supported by corporate America – coca cola, wal mart and the
likes. This only further reiterates that the black magazines are an
asset to the blacks community and not racial or an antipathy
considering that corporate America would not support a racial
movement – regardless of the fact that they are making a profit out
of these black magazines.
On the contrary it is a near amazing fact that the black magazines
in some instances are published in collaboration with the white
community too making it a highly cohesive move with the sole
motive of co existence of two ethically different communities in co –
existence with mutual respect for each other – be it the blacks or
the African American community as they are known and the whites.
The commercial sense associated with the black or African
American magazines underlines the need for a black magazine,
which would advertise black businesses other than addressing
black issues. This further enhances the scope of black businesses
like printing, publishing, PR firms and the like making a black
magazine more than just a source of entertainment – it is a
complete way of life for the black community!
David Chase is a fan of African American Magazines. You can visit his website: http://africanamericanmagazines.magazinepromotion.com or http://www.magazinepromotion.com to see magazine offers. David can be reached by email addalink@magazinepromotion.com or phone: 323-933-9291
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