A blog post

Being Black is the New Black

Posted on the 06 March, 2009 at 1:29 am Written by in Client Stories

When President Barack Obama referred to himself as a mutt during his first press conference as president, he took the negative power out of the word and empowered a rainbow colored nation to embrace itself. Being a “mutt” myself, a tri-racial isolate or mixture of red, white and black, who was raised in the South, I understand how it felt to hear monkey sounds in the school hallways as Obama endured in his Kansas classroom. But, now, as the world basks in the brilliance of Obama, it feels to me like being black is the new black.

Kaplan Mobray, author of “The 10Ks of Personal Branding,” the Diversity leader for Deloitte, and a black, salsa-dancing, saxophone playing motivational speaker, says that young black men tell him how emboldened they feel to see another black man in a prominent position. He encourages them to see their diversity as an asset and broaden their horizons beyond sports and entertainment. He contends that corporations need diverse talent to compete.

Corporations, associations and universities are increasingly booking speakers who reflect the faces of the constituents they serve and the employees they seek, according to Lawrence Watkins, founder of Great Black Speakers. Due to an increased demand for diverse speakers since Obama was inaugurated, Watkins is adding Kaplan to his prestigious, robust roster of prominent black speakers such as movie director Spike Lee, CNN anchor, Don Lemonn and Gloria Jackson, the great-granddaughter of Dr. Booker T. Washington.

“We are getting requests from people who wouldn’t have considered a black speaker in the past,” said Watkins. “It’s a great time to be in the business of booking great black speakers!”

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