A group of top black media outlets called GM, CEO Mary Barra a racist in a full page advertisement published in the Detroit Free Press demanding that she meet with them. In the ad, Ice Cube and Byron Allen and others demands that she meet with them or resign. Ice Cube and Byron Allen call GM CEO, Mary Barra a racistIce Cube calls GM’s Mary Barra a racist
They are asking for an hour-long Zoom meeting with her or, demanding her resignation.
“We were seriously offended watching you stand on stage, after the death of George Floyd, saying “Black Lives Matter,” when you have refused to acknowledge us and you have consistently, over time and after multiple requests, refused to take a meeting with the largest Black Owned Media companies in America. Mary, the very definition of systematic racism is when you are ignored, excluded and you don’t have true economic inclusion,” the ad reads.
The ad is signed by the heads of the seven Black-owned media companies including rapper and actor Ice Cube, who co-founded pro-basketball league BIG3, TV and film production company Cubevision, and Contract with Black America (CWBA), which he started with the goal of initiating dialogues about racism.
Also signing the ad is native Detroiter Byron Allen, head of Allen Media Group, and former NBA player Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, who bought Ebony Media last year after bidding $14 million for it in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In response to the ad, GM said it aspires to be the most inclusive company in the world, and that includes how it allocates its advertising expenditures.
“We have increased our planned spending with both diverse-owned and diverse-dedicated media across our family of brands,” said GM spokesman Pat Morrissey in an email. He did not provides specifics.
The ad states that “less than 0.5% goes to media companies owned” by African Americans, calling that “horrendous, considering that we as African Americans make up approximately 14% of the population in America and we spend billions buying your vehicles.”
About two weeks ago, the group sent an email again to Barra. This time GM’s Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl responded indicating she would meet with them instead, Allen said. That was the final straw that prompted the group to compose the ad, which Allen said is currently running only in the Free Press. Ice Cube calls GM’s Mary Barra a racist
Read the full story at Black Enterprise here.
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