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I asked people here at work, but maybe someone can respond: What the hell is a "Black Friday"? Why haven't we stood up against this as one unit and stopped advertisers from using this term? I am boycotting any store that allows it's advertisers to use this term.
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Friday, November 20th 2009 at 9:29AM
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It's not a racial slur, dude. Settle down. Retailers offer huge discounts to consumers hoping that on that day, shoppers will come into their stores in droves and spend lots of money; therefore putting them 'In The Black'. It's a positive not a negative.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 10:01AM
Craig Amos
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It does seem like a lot of negative is associated with the word black, you should read about the Black Plague that killed millions of people in the past. The term may or may not have anything to do with Black People, but if it did it would only be because of some unknown prophecy that unless the color black is helddown it will overpower others. We may never know the truth since we harbor so much jealousy, fear, and hostility against each other.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 10:43AM
Helen Lofton
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Hello to all,
I had blogged with vigor that intelligence is not a discipline of Black Americans. I am reminding us of our lack of intelligence.
I know what is happening here. We know that we all referred to as Black people or Black Americans. Therefore, when we see black-anything, such as Black Friday, Black Magic and The Black Plague, right away we emotionally believe that we are being talked about in a negative way.
Since we lack average intelligence, we are a paranoid people. We are always whining and complaining. We have our eyes fixed on every body, constantly looking over our shoulders. We are sensitive about anything that has the name Black in front of-whatever.
As an entire people, our IQ is below average. Am I right? You all know that the first positive sign of recovery is the first acknowledge that we are not doing well, am I right. Look! We cannot make out Black Friday has nothing to do with Black people.
We never agree with each other on anything that is good for us, as a people.
We need HELP and not just any HELP. We need divine HELP. We need the kind of help that God gave to the Hebrew people and Moses.
Tell me what you think.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 2:59PM
Harry Watley
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JANUARY 1966 -- "Black Friday" is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. "Black Friday" officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 10:20PM
Steve Williams
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Sorry Steve, but in this case it really is about stores hopefully coming out of the red and into the black. Sister Leah X is 100% not only about the meaning of " Black Friday" but also the other issue she addressed.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 11:43PM
Marquerite Burgess
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I should have included a citation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_...
It goes on to say:
The term Black Friday began to get wider exposure around 1975, as shown by two newspaper articles from November 29, 1975, both datelined Philadelphia. The first reference is in an article entitled "Army vs. Navy: A Dimming Splendor," in The New York Times:
Philadelphia police and bus drivers call it "Black Friday" - that day each year between Thanksgiving Day and the Army–Navy Game. It is the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year in the Bicentennial City as the Christmas list is checked off and the Eastern college football season nears conclusion.
The derivation is also clear in an Associated Press article entitled "Folks on Buying Spree Despite Down Economy," which ran in the Titusville Herald on the same day:
Store aisles were jammed. Escalators were nonstop people. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season and despite the economy, folks here went on a buying spree. ... "That's why the bus drivers and cab drivers call today 'Black Friday,'" a sales manager at Gimbels said as she watched a traffic cop trying to control a crowd of jaywalkers. "They think in terms of headaches it gives them."
Accounting practice
Many merchants objected to the use of a negative term to refer to one of the most important shopping days in the year.[12] By the early 1980s, an alternative theory began to be circulated: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this would be recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black).[13] The earliest known use, again found by Bonnie Taylor-Blake, is from 1981, again from Philadelphia, and presents the "black ink" theory as one of several competing possibilities:
If the day is the year's biggest for retailers, why is it called Black Friday? Because it is a day retailers make profits -- black ink, said Grace McFeeley of Cherry Hill Mall. "I think it came from the media," said William Timmons of Strawbridge & Clothier. "It's the employees, we're the ones who call it Black Friday," said Belle Stephens of Moorestown Mall. "We work extra hard. It's a long hard day for the employees."[14]
The Christmas shopping season is of enormous importance to American retailers and, while an examination of the quarterly SEC filings of major retailers such as Wal-Mart or Target shows that most retailers intend to and actually do make profits during every quarter of the year, some retailers are so dependent on the Christmas shopping season that the quarter including Christmas produces all the year's profits and compensates for losses from other quarters.[15]
Black Friday is also the start of the retail season in which stores are officially out of the 'financial red zone', or problem season, and into the black season.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 7:57AM
Steve Williams
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Of course the original Black Friday had nothing to do with Christmas shopping. Anyone think we'll have a good Christmas this year?
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 8:00AM
Steve Williams
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If now other, unrelated uses of the word black are seen as negative to black people, maybe it's time to go back to African American. Or we could stop talking about skin color altogether.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 8:03AM
Steve Williams
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I think black and red ink are simply old technology. What about bibles with the words of Christ in red? We haven't always had low cost CMYK inkjet printers. In fact there was an early controversy in the computer age as to whether there was even a need for color displays. I see in these blogs that our comments are in black, while our names and links are red. Is this all symbolic of race? Black ink goes way back to the invention of the printing press, well before the history of the U.S.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 8:38AM
Steve Williams
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Well I don't think the retailers will do too well this year, so maybe it will be a Red Friday.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 9:42AM
Steve Williams
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Steve reference to color is brought up more by people that are not of the same ethnic background then those of the actual background. The distinction is even made via all forms of media. In addition, the distinction of African American has nothing to do with the color of ones skin, but more so about the heritage of the people.
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 2:31AM
Marquerite Burgess
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Leah, I would suggest leaving the comment so that the BIA site administrator can determine if it is possibly a bug with the BIA site. I am working with Irma to try and determine the cause. Everyone should be aware of phishing as a means to obtain a persons login info. I can explain this further if members are not aware of this problem. It has been known to happen on myspace for one.
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 9:07AM
Steve Williams
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Marquerite, thanks for your comments, and I am not trying to be argumentative. But tell me, do you think Black American or African American is a better description of your race (although I personally don't like the term race to sub-categorize the human race)?
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 9:13AM
Steve Williams
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Paging BIA administration team...Paging BIA administration team...
Mr. Culpepper???
Mr. Lee???
Ms. Hardgrow???
HELLOOOOOO???
Anybody home???
We have a problem here (I am not LOL)...
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 7:48PM
Siebra Muhammad
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Leah, are you getting private messages or just notifications of posts?
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 10:23AM
Steve Williams
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Mozell,
I've often wondered about this identity issue. We have had Negro, Colored, African American, people of color, now Black is the commonly accepted identifier. Is it possible we will ever get over this need to see people as different and place them is one group or the other just because of their physical or cultural characteristics? We all have in common intelligence, and the power of self determination. We all face obstacles of one sort or another. Strength of character, or weakness, are individual responses. Let us promote the individual? Or are we all just part of one or more collectives?
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 10:49AM
Steve Williams
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I have been a have and a have not. The question is, what is our character?
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 5:41PM
Steve Williams
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I'm not being argumentative with you Steve, but straight forward about the facts. What really gets me the most is that when facts of those I mentioned previously are made, someone claims another is or are being argumentative, which is furthest from the truth. Facts are what they are. Anywho, I'm a permanently tanned person ( which is my normal response to a question like that), but I am human first and foremost that is also a woman. In my opinion, any categories of distinction is done for one purpose and one purpose only: To continue the division of people. At one time forms made no mention of being Latino/a, now it is are you Latino/a and the next box wants someone to think specify if they are black, white or other (with a variety of others to select from). Here are some other facts. When your poor no one cares what color a person is and when your wealthy (financially) no one cares what color you are and only when your in the middle of the two are some people concerned about your color because that is when the real division starts.
I appreciate the fact Steve that you are attempting to learn and educate (yourself and others) about permanently tanned people (yes I did read that you married a woman that is permanently tanned, but you will never be able to truly understand nor see through our eyes, feel out hurts or know the depth of our experiences. You can imagine, you can feel hurt for that of your wife, children(if you have any) and many others, but you will never be able to truly grasp the depth of what many permanently tanned people have and continue to experience.
Tuesday, November 24th 2009 at 1:36AM
Marquerite Burgess
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True Marquerite, there are some things that I will never experience, but there are other things that I have experienced that hopefully you have not. Primarily being a crackhead for about 6 years. And we both know in what communities this drug causes the most devastation. Women selling themselves for a $10 rock, countless young men sent off to absurdly long prison terms, one dealer I knew killed by the police.
You are absolutely correct about division. And we need always to be learning, and teaching. But I am also now putting into action what I know, and that is to eliminate division. It is a mental discipline that needs to be constantly practiced, to see each person we meet as an individual and member of the one human race. And then to address the real issues of education and economics.
Tuesday, November 24th 2009 at 9:19AM
Steve Williams
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Prophet Harry,
You asked, "Would you accept being mistakenly taken for a Black person who is a descendent of slaves?" I have been intentionally taken for a Black person, by my good friend Ricky. It was an expression of the bond we had.
You said, "Because of the complications and complexities of slavery, Black Americans do not have self-determination." I was speaking of Individual self-determination.
You said, "In other words, the individual is never to be promoted above his people." I would say, the individual should be promoted regardless of ancestry.
Tuesday, November 24th 2009 at 9:57AM
Steve Williams
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Steve, I have never experienced what you are referring to, but I know people of all races that have and many are functional addicts that live in Suburbs. Right now Meth is ravaging that area and we hear little to nothing about it. Even hospitals personnel say it is worst than crack. I could go on, but this blog was in reference to something else and I will leave my comment about what you asked at this.
Tuesday, November 24th 2009 at 6:15PM
Marquerite Burgess
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I have no idea Leah X how that comment just above this one got there under my name...I know I din't put it there...what in the**&&%%%@@*is going on...
I am on my sister'computer and if you notice it, the lettering is not the same size!!!!!
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
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For retailers during this time period, sales are usually "in the red", whcih means that they see a loss. When they offer large discounts, their sales go "in the black", meaning they see a profit. It's a positove statement for retailers to be in the black.
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
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I do believe that Black Friday just as every thing else, can be made in to every and any thing somene wants to 'exploit" it into , but this cannobe done if one is EDUCATED to the reality of what it really stands for.(smile)
I avoid the stores on Black Friday mainly ,because there is too much hyp and hyp can bring out far too many people to be worth is for 'me'.The greater the Hyp the less likely that product will be there (shopper rage?)...LOL
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
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