James Neusom jneusom@yahoo.com
City Lights Reporter
Greetings Family,
Recently I've received numerous emails from BOBSA (Black Owned Beauty Supply Association) members asking me to support BOBSA's efforts to launch a congressional hearing into unfair business practices and discrimination, by Korean owned beauty supply and wholesale hair distributors.
BOBSA's (www.bobsa.us) mission is to encourage and facilitate the establishment of Black owned beauty supply stores nationally and internationally. They provide guidance to entrepreneurs in the development, purchase, and operations of Black Owned Beauty Supply Stores. BOBSA serves, within this industry, as an advocate for vocational training, job placement, and educational scholarships to the black community.
Currently the African American purchasing power for black hair care products is eight billion dollars annually. Based on a national survey and feedback from their membership base of over 600 Black owned business, they have reason to believe that both the South Korean Government and the American Government, under various support programs have aided South Koreans from Korea to the United States to establish black hair care product businesses.
African American women are the single largest purchasers of wigs and hair extensions both natural and synthetic in the United States, if not the world. The US Congress passed legislation shortly after the Korean War that prevented the importation of hair and hair manufactured wigs from China and India, only allowing those products to enter America through South Korea. This single act alone was the beginning of a monopoly of Korean owned businesses in South Korea and the United States. It is BOBSA's belief that money given to the South Korean Government has been funneled back in to the United States via Korean owned banks and various business organizations to finance control of this industry.
BOBSA recently conducted a national survey and produced a documentary (Black Hair) inquiring about the various discrimination practices that have been institutionalized by these various Korean owned organizations. The results of this survey showed this monopoly had an adverse impact on the African American hair care industry, black owned businesses have been forced out of the market impacting jobs and the recycling of money within black communities. In simple terms black products are not getting retail shelf space, black business owners are being forced in to unfair credit terms and in many cases denied the opportunity to even purchase products for their stores and customers.
BOBSA is asking for your active support in pressuring the US Congress to investigate their finding. They are asking for you to contact your local congressmen/senator, and local media to request they investigate discrimination in the hair products industry.
DATA COLLECTION SURVEY
Click here to complete the survey.
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Note from BOBSA:
This online survey expires 5/26/07
You will soon be able to complete this survey on the BOBSA Web site.
Do you have questions about this survey?
Contact: sam@bobsa.org Chairman of BOBSA (Black Owned Beauty Supply Association)
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