26 Jan ‘Madison Avenue is the very epitome of institutionalized racism’: Media mogul Byron Allen explains why he’s filing discrimination suits against advertisers

The Weather Channel CEO Byron Allen Interview on Black-Owned Media

Byron Allen has become the face of the Black-owned media movement that’s gathered momentum in recent years, filing a string of discrimination lawsuits against big-name advertisers including Comcast and McDonald’s.

In an interview with Insider, the 1980s comedian and owner of The Weather Channel said that he was not done pursuing legal action against advertisers. He also commented on how advertisers’ commitments to spend with Black-owned media companies are going, and what advertisers can do instead.

Excerpts:

It’s been almost a year since many brands pledged to spend more with Black-owned media. Has the needle moved?
Some folks have leaned in and done a 180 and thanked me and said: ‘You brought this to our attention and it wasn’t our intent to exclude Black-owned media.’ PMX [ad holding company Publicis’s media arm] and their CEO Talia Raviv is one of them. But the majority haven’t.

Some worry that such advertiser pledges are just performative acts by companies facing public pressure and threats of legal action. 
Nobody should be afraid of me. I’m here to help. If you’re racist, you’re going to be held accountable. But if you’re not racist, and you’re not excluding Black-owned media, why are you afraid of me? I didn’t sue McDonald’s because they weren’t doing business with Black people. I sued McDonald’s because they weren’t doing enough. They get the majority of their revenue out of Black America, and all of the money they spend on Black-owned media is less than CEO Chris Kempczinski’s personal compensation of $10.8 million a year.

What’s stopping more advertisers from doing more?
Madison Avenue is very white and very racist. It is the very epitome of institutionalized racism. They spend approximately $270 billion a year on advertising, and barely one penny is going to Black-owned media — not to be confused with Black-targeted and minority-targeted.

Some Argue that a narrow definition of Black media disqualifies many properties popular with Black audiences. Why do you draw a distinction?
Corporate America does a great job of redefining Black. We say Black, they say minority. We say Black, and they say BIPOC. And then they redefine minority as white women. There are no challenges, only excuses. It’s just racism.

How is that racism?
Black people represent about 14% of the population, and we should represent about 15% of your budget to be on par for all the years you didn’t do business with us. So on a bad day, you should be pledging five to 10% of your budget to Black-owned media. Black America built this country off the blood and sweat of our backs. And we own nothing.

What about other challenges advertisers have cited, like Black media companies not having scale? Martin Luther King said: ‘It is cruel to say to a man to pull himself up by his bootstraps. And he doesn’t even have a pair of boots.’ So when you exclude us, you are committing genocide against us. And when you haven’t included us, then you can’t say, ‘Well, you’re not as big as the white guys I’ve been supporting for a hundred years.’

How can the scale problem be solved?
If white corporate America really wants to fix the problem, they need to do sponsorships and stop saying: ‘Give me ratings guarantees like your white counterparts.’ Stop trying to compare apples to oranges. I’m talking about dollars earmarked to buy impressions or sponsorship. I’m talking Black-owned impressions.

Do you consider yourself an activist?
I am an activist for economic inclusion for Black America. The greatest trade deficit in America is the trade deficit between white corporate America and Black America. And I am determined to close that deficit. And sometimes you have to take the necessary steps to bring that issue to a resolution.

Why do you file lawsuits to resolve the issue?
When you’re Black, they put what I call the four D’s on you. First, they dismiss you. Then, they discredit you. Third, they demonize you. And lastly, they destroy you. Why do I file the lawsuits? Because then I’m following their process, and they can’t dismiss it. The only thing I regret about filing these lawsuits is that I didn’t start doing them 20 years ago. It’s the only thing that works.