Thursday evening, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new web portal targeting African-Americans. The event was hosted at the African-American Museum in Fair Park. See the new web portal at www.visitblackdallas.com DCVB President and CEO Phillip Jones said that he considers the site part of the new face of Dallas. That face showcases Dallas' diverse citizens all working together. Mr. Jones said that he has targeted three African-American conventions that he hopes lure to Dallas now that the convention center hotel is coming on line: Bishop T.D. Jakes Mega Fest (South Africa '08) NAACP Annual Convention (Cincinnati '08) National Urban League Annual Conference (Orlando '08) Also having words at the event were State Senator Royce West, and Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce President Reginald Gates. Fitzgerald Dodd, Executive Chef at One Arts Plaza's newly opened SCREENDOOR Restaurant ,prepared hors d'oeuvrs for the evenings proceedings. Sederrick Raphiel and the design factory are responsible for much of the visual presentation involved in the project. They produced an excellent booklet, much of which is also present on the website. What I like most about how they presented African-Americans in Dallas is that all shades and colors are represented in the marketing pieces. The ...

Make sure to check out the Points section of Sunday's Dallas Morning News. I have a column that is scheduled to appear dealing with...well I'll let you find out this weekend. If you like it or if you don't, make sure to write (or email) the Morning News to let them know.

I'd like to start by thanking the family for keeping me up to speed on what's going on out there. I received an email today that's apparently been going around the web regarding Arizona Sweet Tea. Here are some of the contents of the email I received. FW: Arizona Sweet Tea is Racist! Black America DO NOT PURCHASE My name is LaMar McGowan and today was the first day of my life were I felt like less of a Black Man! When did Slavery become marketable? I'm calling for a nation wide Boycott on a drink company named " Arizona " which has a variety of flavors, I myself have bought a number of their drinks, but on 11/30 I bought my last one. Their is someone in the marketing dept. who told someone on the board that "We can degrade Black People and make money at the same time" and the board member agreed! Every Black person from the south knows how good it felt on those hot southern days to have a tall glass of sweet tea. " Arizona " has a flavor known as "Southern Style Sweet Tea" ...

CHICAGO, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Concern is building among African-American professionals about how the downward shift in the economy will affect them. Statistics prove they have good reason to be scared. Black median income had risen to a historically high ratio of 63.5 percent of white income in 2000, and it was on track to reach 63.9 percent by 2004. But the recession of 2001 and sluggish job growth widened the gap, and the black-white income ratio fell back to 62 percent in 2004, according to Washington, D.C., think tank the Economic Policy Institute. For the black community, the outcomes of the 2001 recession are still fresh. That downturn demonstrated that neither educational achievement nor work history could shield career professionals from massive job cuts. When the ax fell, a lot of those who got cut had attained master's degrees. Some of them were the highly sought-after superstars who had been plucked from the black talent pool. But after losing their jobs, many struggled for months and even years to recapture their previous salaries and career status ... and some never did. Recession is painful, and it affects spending, upward mobility and sustainability across communities and economic sectors. Job losses -- 49,000 in ...

  The Allen Group Announces Build-to-Suit Project at the Dallas Logistics Hub ADESA selects site at Dallas Logistics Hub for a 175-Acre Auto Auction Center DALLAS, Texas, (June 5, 2008) - The Allen Group, developers of the Dallas Logistics Hub, a 6,000-acre multimodal logistics park in Southern Dallas County, announced today that ADESA, a full-range auction, reconditioning, logistical and other vehicle-related services company, has entered into a 20-year lease for a new state-of-the-art auto auction center at the Dallas Logistics Hub. The build-to-suit facility will be located on 175 acres within the City of Hutchins.  The property will house three buildings totaling approximately 196,000 square feet of space for an auction arena, administrative and financial offices and reconditioning facilities.  ADESA projects that the facility will require several hundred full- and part-time employees once fully operational. "We are extremely excited to welcome ADESA to The Hub, as they are a great corporate tenant for the community through the creation of jobs, tax revenue and demand for retail and hotel services," said Daniel J. McAuliffe, President of The Allen Group's Texas operation.  "ADESA has found the location at the ...

We've had a great new addition to Southern Dallas in recent weeks. Back in March, the first tenant of Wheatland Crossing (Target) opened their doors for business. Wheatland Crossing is a retail development just north or Interstate 20 and just west of Hampton Road. But as I drive around the "Red Bird" area, and especially Camp Wisdom Road, I wonder is Wheatland Crossing masking a significant net loss of businesses in the area. A number of tenants at Wheatland Crossing are simply packing up and moving down the street. The blame does not lie with the companies who are moving. The shopping experience at Target has been greatly enhanced since leaving the store that for years has been located at Cockrell Hill. But one has to wonder what will happen to the strip center that the store anchored - which is already only half to 2/3 occupied. The recruitment of new businesses to the area is key, but let's look at those who had invested in the area and are continuing that investment. Moving Over I remember a couple of years back when Chili's at Camp Wisdom and Highway 67 was open one day and closed ...

Thanks to Carmen D. for the heads up on the story of J.C. Watts and Comcast's plans to launch a Black News Network.  Check the story by R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News, here are some highlights. Washington D.C.-based Black Television News Channel (BTNC) announced Tuesday it has reached a multi-year carriage agreement with Comcast Cable for distribution in several of the MSO's urban-based systems beginning in 2009. The network, created by former U.S. congressman J.C. Watts Jr., will launch in 2009 and will provide original news programming with a distinctively African-American perspective, according to a network press release. The network would be the first cable service to offer 24-hour news targeted to African-Americans. Prior attempts to launch a full-time news channel have failed, mostly due to the high cost of developing news. ...

I wanted to share a couple of things that I came across at Electronic Village.  First, the 3rd Annual BlackWebAwards are now accepting nominations in over 100 categories.   You can click here to nominate your favorite blog (including this one) for a Black Web Award. Finalists will be announced July 14th. Villager also hipped me to Clutch Magazine's Summer Blog Academy.  This is from the Clutch site: The ladies behind Clutch are partnering with Black Web 2.0 and other social media experts to bring you the most current information on how to succeed online. Get ready for two months full of how-to’s and advice from the best. So vote to let us know what you want to learn more about. And…it’s free! It's going to be a hot summer for bloggers.

I wanted to get some opinions of what the Dallas South Family thinks about King LeBron James on the latest cover of Vogue magazine with model Gisele Bundchen. The assertion is that James is striking a King Kongesque pose and Gisele is Vogue's version of Fay Wray. It's more than an assertion, it's an artistic reality. Whoever was in charge of this photo shoot was OBVIOUSLY going for the King Kong reference. Photographers get paid to see things that no one else does. Even the irony of a pose like this would not have escaped mention. Everybody's favorite Jason Whitlock writes exactly what I would expect him to write. In his piece Am I supposed to be mad about LeBron?, Whitlock says the following: According to the allegations, King James looks like King Kong clutching Fay Wray on the latest cover of Vogue, and the image, according to potential handbook writers, "conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man." Hmm, to LeBron and his handlers, he looks like LeBron clutching a pretty white woman on the latest cover of Vogue, and the image conjures up the idea that LeBron can race up court with a basketball and a supermodel. Vogue ...

Before the bodies of Lynn and Rufus Shaw were even cold, Dallas Observer muckraker (I'm sure it's on his business card) Jim Schutze posted an article at Unfair Park regarding a series of e-mails sent by Mrs. Shaw. According to the article, Schutze attempted to contact Lynn regarding his findings, but hours before her death, she faxed him a statement declining to comment. The e-mails are between Mrs. Shaw, radio host Willis Johnson, and Mayor Tom Leppert. Schutze said he received the information from "a group of respected black residents and activists, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution." Interesting. He also calls Shaw "the enforcer in a tight-knit group called 'The Inner Circle'." There's no doubt both Johnson and Shaw were an integral part of Leppert's "Southern Sector Strategy" in both his mayoral campaign and the defeat of the Trinity referendum. But to intimate (Mrs. Shaw did, not Schutze) that Johnson is in someway the gatekeeper of Southern Dallas was wishful thinking at best. I don't think anyone one in the African-American community could imagine "John Price, Don Hill, Royce West, Ron Kirk, or anyone else," asking for Willis Johnson's permission to speak with ...