The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power : Media, Race, Economics

The second edition of this Palgrave Pivot offers a history of and proof against claims of "buying power" and the impact this myth has had on understanding media, race, class and economics in the United States. For generations Black people have been told they have what is now said to be more than one trillion dollars of "buying power," and this book argues that commentators have misused this claim largely to blame Black communities for their own poverty based on squandered economic opportunity. This book exposes the claim as both a marketing strategy and myth, while also showing how that myth functions simultaneously as a case study for propaganda and commercial media coverage of economics. In sum, while “buying power” is indeed an economic and marketing phrase applied to any number of racial, ethnic, religious, gender, age or group of consumers, it has a specific application to Black America. A new foreword by Dr. Darrick Hamilton, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy at the New School (in New York, USA), and a new chapter on cryptocurrencies are included in this new edition. Foreword 6 Preface to the Second Edition (2023) 10 References 12 Preface to the First Edition (2020) 13 A Brief Note On Meaning 15 Contents 16 1 Introduction 17 References 29 2 Propaganda Versus Economics: Constructing A Myth 30 References 41 3 Buying Power Not Protest: The Myth Prevents Unrest 44 References 70 4 The Myth’s “Big Three” Modern Purveyors: Reviewing Selig, Nielsen, Mckinsey 73 References 84 5 The Myth at Play: A Most Suitable Environment 85 References 109 6 Cryptoganda: The Newest Bottle for Very Old Brandy 113 References 125 7 Freedom Was the Call but “Instead, They Got a Bank” 127 References 135 8 Conclusion 137 References 144 Index 145