Fort Wayne's NAACP Executive Director, Michael Latham Announces NO STRIKE for Wal-Mart

According to a source, Rev. Michael Latham, Executive Director of the NAACP, Fort Wayne, Indiana announced there will be no strike at the new Southtown Centre Wal-Mart. Latham rallied the troops to support marketing manager John Wolf by shopping at supposedly the largest Wal-Mart in the State of Indiana. With a parade of African-Americans workers on stage as a symbolic commitment by Wal-Mart to the southside with this display representing over 51% of Wal-Mart employees. In response, the audience gave a thundering round of a applause for Rev. Latham's heroic effort in getting Wal-Mart to buckle so early to the people's demands.

Wait a minute, I thought, demands had something to do with self-check-out lanes for its clients, the lack of a layaway at the store during the greatest spending spree season from October to December, for shoppers, last but not least, the issue of discrimination? All that has come to a shrieking halt based on the tiny offering that the store will have over 51% of his employees represented by the African-American community or the inclusion of other groups.?!! Come on now people, this is 2007, what about demanding more than token placement? What about managers and training programs to capture the population of African-Americans that make up over 90% of the population on the southside?

But more important, what about the CReED dollars that will be lost from those who will shop at the stores with layaways on the northside. Surely Rev. Latham was aware of this lost of revenue for redevelopment on the southside when he accepted the measly offer of limited employment, and smarter than just simply agreeing to a wink, smile, and a limp handshake. Southtown Centre is a CReED district meant to capture "increases in Sales and Income Taxes generated by the investment must be used by the local government for infrastructure and improvements within the district. " This information If not, surely had he talked with the council person who represents the southside, would have supported his boycott, maybe?

The media knew it was a CReED district and the issue did not come up. Did the media play Rev. Latham stupid by focusing on the layaway issue and not have to response to the discriminating impact of redirecting dollars that was targeted for the southside in the building of the Wal-Mart?
Instead of keeping the spotlight on Wal-Mart, which has a history of not doing right by the southside community, he has turned the platoon around and find a new target for the NAACP, Baba Akan, (formerly known as Carl Johnson, Fort Wayne Community Schools Board member.

Does not Rev. Latham know that this is a diversion tactic Superintendent Wendy Robinson, nor Baba Akan are the target? The puppet master is using him as a pawn to go after the huge hunk of money that is with the school system and which schools will be left standing. Does not Rev. Latham understand that it's never about improving our community but about the money and where it will be spent?

Shame on him.

This information comes from the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana webpage about Southtown Centre CReED was unable to link:

"Community Revitalization Enhancement Districts (CReED)
Designed to assist cities in overcoming significant obstacles to downtown development
Legislation allows 1st and 2nd class cities, with a CReED to designate one additional CReED. Indiana Code 36-7-13.
25% Investor Tax Credit for Qualified Investment. (Qualified Investment: the taxpayer's expenditures for redevelopment or rehabilitation of property located in the CReED and made under an adopted CReED plan.) Does not include cost of real property or equipment. Indiana Code Section 6-3.1-19.
For the Investor:
Dept. of Commerce approves and determines eligible portion of investment before project begins.
Except in certain approved expansion/relocation circumstances, the Tax Credit is disallowed if the investor substantially reduces or ceases operations in Indiana in order to relocate operation within the CReED.
The Taxpayer claims the credit on the taxpayer's annual state income tax return. If credit exceeds state tax liability, the taxpayer may carry the excess over to subsequent taxable years.
For the Local Government:
Capture of up to $750,000 Downtown / $1,000,000 Southtown annually in sales and income tax increment
Duration of the district designation is a maximum of 15 years, beginning with receipt of first increment.
Captured increases in Sales and Income Taxes generated by the investment must be used by the local government for infrastructure and improvements within the district. "

Wal-Mart Media Ping-Pong rally of the troops with the NAACP and the MEDIA

Just finished reading the News-Sentinel attack on Rev. Michael Latham's, executive director of NAACP attack on Wal-Mart. BobCaylor writes that Latham's call for a boycott could hurt the revitalization on the southside. Caylor suggests that clients on the southside are not entitled to the same treatment, because Wal-Mart is not a public service, but a privately owned business. In other words, Wal-Mart can do what ever they darn please. And just like Wal-Mart, the private citizens can do whatever they darn please, including boycotting the store.

But, let's take a closer look at the underbelly of the beast, meaning the body of the threat of a boycott, and the arms and legs of the media coverage of the threat of a boycott, and the market manager of Wal-Mart indifference to the threat. Begs the question, who is really benefiting from all of this posturing? I believe all three, the media sells paper, NAACP will get sponsorships, jobs or money, and Wal-Mart will hire less people to operate it store on the southside.

Wal-Mart is not doing the folks on the southside any favor. Wal-Mart is coming to the Southside because of the amount of disposable dollars spend on the southside. The author of the Million Dollar Slaves writes that a star athlete's father tells his son, to hold out for the best offer by a college. The college is not giving you a scholarship, you earned the scholarship. In other words, the son is bringing something that the college wants, no different for Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart wants the southside dollars to support it store, than it needs to listen to the wants of its shoppers.. scanner, lay-away, longer hours.

Besides, the SouthCentre Mall is not being developed for shoppers, it's a training center for police recruitment. The real development is happen on the boulevard to downtown. I just saw another business going in to meet the needs of the southside, a laundry mat. Ricker's City Laundry at 3817 South Calhoun, has invested in brand new washers and dryers in a building next to a gas station, ice cream place and bus stop. Somebody researched the market demographics of that area to meet the needs of the people. I just hope they use hot water unlike some of the laundries on the southside. All the money is going north to downtown, why else would the city want to build a baseball stadium downtown?

SouthCentre Mall is a sham, being used to drive up the prices of home in the area for homeowners who are going to need housing after the city's programs begin razing the homes closer to downtown.These rumors of a staged boycott, is just puppet master rallying the troops, to pretend that someone is looking out for the average hard working joe. Latham is just a puppet among the puppet master, but I stated earlier, I didn't say he was a friend of mines. But I have to hand it to him, the appointed honorary privileged representative of the Africian-American monolithic community does knows how to work the system. Matter of fact, this Saturday, I believe the NAACP is having an event in the downtown area, the Grand Wayne Center, September 16, 2006 at 6:00 p.m., but the media already knew this.

So who's zooming who?