From an Article Titled "For A Brighter Future...Black
Pride" Which Appeared in the December 1969 Edition of Brewers Digest:
ON MONDAY, November 24, [1969] a new beer, labeled ''Black
Pride," received its initial commercial distribution on the south side of
Chicago, Ill. -- an area which includes a large portion of the city's
approximately 1,200,000 blacks. It is more than a new beer label that has
entered the market; it is a concept that is being introduced as well and, in a
sense, the particular product -- beer -- is secondary to the concept.
Since the concept involves economic,
social and political implications, any one of these aspects could be used as
the starting point for describing the concept. Because the immediate challenge
for Black Pride, Inc., is to survive and to grow economically, the concept
might be most simply identified as a marketing concept born of the black
people's need to achieve economic stature in order to secure the political
power that will assure social justice and respect for themselves.
Black Pride, Inc., was born out of the dying embers of black
hope that the man (the whites) would magnanimously provide full economic
opportunity for the blacks -- embers that the founders of Black Pride, Inc.,
are well aware can all too easily be fanned into a vicious conflagration when
despair becomes desperation or when the justification for despair gives rise to
individual irresponsibility.
Self-Reliance
Without forsaking the need of blacks to continue to pursue
the right to equal opportunities through legal channels, the founders of Black
Pride, Inc., recognize that a major roadblock to black progress has been the
blacks' willingness to rely on white magnanimity. Too often the blacks'
patience has been mistaken for shiftlessness, and as often, the Black Pride,
Inc., founders acknowledge, many blacks have subserviently lived up to the
mistake.
But it is not enough, they say, for
the black simply to give up this psychology of dependence on white magnanimity,
for where a self-defeating mood of despair does not supplant it, an equally
self-defeating concept of presumptive "black power" will be likely to
prove most attractive. Rather, what is needed on the part of the black is
self-respect, a proper pride in himself. This is difficult to achieve and
impossible to sustain unless, to speak in reverse chronological order, blacks
have tangible evidence of personal achievement (among which would be upward
mobility within a corporate structure) and the opportunity for such upward
mobility and achievement. Thus, Black Pride, Inc., in the best tradition of the
free enterprise system, seeks to provide a means of such achievement for its
stockholders as well as for its employees and for those with whom it does
business. At the same time, as an economic institution within the black
community, Black Pride, Inc., hopes by the example of its success to reveal to
blacks the ability of the free enterprise system to measure to their needs if
they are willing to measure to its demands. Further, as an economic institution
within the black community, and with its stockholders and employees being
members of that community, more revenue in the form of profits, dividends,
salaries and wages will be available for the assumption of greater local
responsibility for community services and improvement. Finally, and here the
marketing implications are obvious as well, the promotion of a Black Pride
product intrinsically involves the promotion of the idea of blacks having pride
in themselves and the necessity of personal effort and involvement if that
pride is to be justified.
Founded in May
Black
Pride, Inc., was registered as a Delaware corporation on May 28, 1969, and
filed with the Secretary of the State of Illinois to do business in the state
as of June 14, 1969. Its stockholders elect a board of nine directors which
elects from within the membership of the board the officers of the company --
president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. The executive committee of
the corporation consists of the president, vice-president and treasurer.
The initial funding of the
organization derives from 75 stockholders, each of whom invested $1,000 in the
company. For further growth of the company additional stock is available for
sale, and application for small business loans from the federal government can
be made. Also, as the company develops, the board is authorized to devise
franchising or distributorship arrangements for its products outside the
Chicago area.
It is anticipated that Black Pride,
Inc., ultimately would become a conglomerate, or highly diversified
"umbrella" organization, with the addition of each new product or
service -- at least at the outset -- being based on and related to a previous
product or service. For example, the need to haul and deliver its beer could
justify the acquisition of trucks which in turn could give rise to the
development of a trucking division. Areas of further economic potential which
have particular appeal for Black Pride, Inc., include printing, maintenance,
surety, food co-ops, home improvement and investment.
Headed by McClellan
Black Pride, Inc., is the brain child of 47-year-old Edward
J. McClellan who, in his capacity as the Urban Program director of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Chicago, is well aware of
the need of the blacks to upgrade themselves economically. He is also
thoroughly aware by virtue of his previous professional experience of the havoc
that can result when people are frustrated by lack of the opportunities or
conditions conducive of such upgrading. Born and reared on the south side of
Chicago, he attended Chicago Public Schools and Illinois State University,
Normal, Ill. In 1942 he entered military service and served with the 93rd
Infantry Division in the South Pacific. In 1946 he became a counter-intelligent
agent and remained with the Army Counter-Intelligence Corps until he resigned
his commission in 1948. He then joined the Chicago Police Department, remaining
on active duty with the department for 17 years. Presently he is on leave of
absence from the department with the civil service rank of sergeant. Prior to
taking a leave of absence, he was the commander of the Human Relations Section
of the Chicago Police Department.
In December, 1966, Mr. McClellan was
named executive secretary of the Southside Chicago Branch of the N.A.A.C.P., a
position he still continues to hold. Since he assumed this responsibility, the
Southside Chicago Branch has grown from the ninth largest branch of the
N.A.A.C.P. in the country to the largest, and now boasts a membership of
18,000. (In all of Chicago, the N.A.A.C.P. claims a membership of over 24,000.)
Mr. McClellan serves as a special
consultant to the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice
and is a member of the Advisory Board to the Illinois Law Enforcement
Commission.
Earl C. Vivian, aged 42, is
vice-president of Black Pride, Inc. A native of Chicago, he attended the city's
public schools and the School of Pharmacy of the University of Illinois.
Following his discharge from the regular army in June, 1948, he joined the
Illinois National Guard and is currently assigned to full time duty as
personnel officer in the 33rd Military Police Battalion and occupies the
position of staff administrative specialist and assistant adjutant. While in
the regular army, Mr. Vivian served on the congressional board which submitted
for consideration the system of the Enlisted Military Occupational Specialty
now used by the U.S. Army.
Secretary and Treasurer
Serving as treasurer and secretary, respectively, of Black
Pride, Inc., are E. Winston Williams and Elliot Mathews. Mr. Williams, now in
his mid-fifties, is originally from Moss Point, Miss., but has resided in
Chicago for the past 43 years. The third vice-president of the Southside
Chicago Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. and a veteran of World War II, Mr. Williams is
business representative for the Chicago Dining Room Employees Union, Local
No.25, and is treasurer and manager of the Chicago Dining Room Employees Credit
Union.
Mr. Mathews, 37 years of age, was
born and raised in Chicago and attended the Chicago Public Schools as well as
City College. He is presently on leave from the Chicago Police Department with
which he had been associated for 11 years, the last five in the Community
Services Division of the department.
The location of the company's
headquarters and of the warehouse of the Beer Division is at 1215 East 73rd St.
on Chicago's south side.
Now a Distributorship
While Black Pride, Inc., has as its ultimate ambition to own
and staff a brewery of its own, at the present time the company is licensed to
operate as a beer distributorship for its own brand of beer, "Black
Pride," and for such other brands as might prove advantageous. Black
Pride, Inc., has entered into contract with the West Bend Lithia Co., West
Bend, Wis., for West Bend Lithia to brew and package 20,000 barrels of beer
annually under the "Black Pride" label. The contract also gives Black
Pride, Inc., the distributorship for West Bend's own brands -- "Old
Timer's Lager" and "Lithia Light" -- in the city of Chicago.
These include a full range of packages, starting with the seven-ounce bottle,
as well as draught beer. Finally, as the progress of Black Pride, Inc.,
warrants, West Bend agrees to provide blacks of Black Pride. Inc.'s designation
with "a full cycle of brewing experience after the designate has completed
satisfactory scholastic training in subjects basic to the art of brewing."
Brewed by West Bend
The West Bend Lithia Co., a 120-year-old brewery which for
the past 80 years has been family-owned, is presently headed by Charles W.
Walter, Jr. Located about 30 miles north of Milwaukee, Wis. (or about 120 miles
north of Chicago), the company's plant has an annual capacity at present of
about 75,000 barrels. The company is a member of the Wisconsin Brewers
Association and the United States Brewers Association.
Thomas Heipp is the master brewer
for West Bend Lithia. A graduate in 1934 of the Wahl-Henius Institute, a former
brewmaster school in Chicago, he has been with West Bend Lithia since 1934. A
long time member of the Master Brewers Association of America, Mr. Heipp has
served as secretary of District Milwaukee, M.B.A.A.
Traditional brewing materials will
be used and traditional procedures followed in the production of "Black
Pride" lager beer, the founders of Black Pride, Inc., being convinced that
blacks have no unique product characteristic preferences beyond that of high
quality. To insure consistency in such product quality, Black Pride, Inc., will
contract with an independent brewing laboratory for routine product evaluation.
Attractive Packaging
The simple but attractively designed cases, cartons, cans
and labels for "Black Pride" beer are dominated by black and gold
color and carry the slogan, "A beer as proud as its people."
Included, too, is the Black Pride, Inc., trademark: the letters "BPI"
within the flame of a torch -- indicative of the "look to a brighter future"
for all blacks that the Black Pride concept represents -- and a lion, a
reminder of the African heritage the blacks have in common.
Initially, only packaged "Black
Pride" is being distributed and in only six-packs of 12-ounce cans, loose
packs of 24 12-ounce cans, cases of 24 12-ounce export returnable bottles and
individual 32-ounce bottles. The company at the present time has two
International city delivery trucks and its warehouse has a capacity of about
20,000 cases.
Premium Prices
Pricing of "Black Pride" will be maintained at the
premium beer level, and while the company is budgeted for advertising on a per
case basis, initial advertising expenditures will be kept to an absolute
minimum. Retail sales effort is being concentrated initially on the high volume
carry-out outlets -- supermarket chains, package stores and chain drug
operations -- with quick, concentrated follow up scheduled for on-premise
outlets.
Cooperating with Black Pride, Inc.,
in the development of its promotional efforts is a class in marketing communications
conducted by Dr. Harry Davis at the Graduate School of Business of the
University of Chicago on the city's south side.
Franchises Offered
Black Pride, Inc., which has received numerous inquiries
regarding franchises or distributorships from various parts of the country,
expects to have at least five such distributors operative by mid-1970. While
the franchise fee involved will be negotiated in terms of market potential, a
minimum fee has been set of $5,000 annually plus $.05 per case. All franchises
are subject to annual renewal, and Black Pride Inc., reserves to itself the
right to designate product producers and suppliers, display and marketing
techniques, employee training, administrative procedures, etc.
Why was beer chosen as the first
product with which Black Pride, Inc., has become involved? The answer is
simple, according to B.P.I. President McClellan. Surveys available to him
revealed that expenditures for alcoholic beverages in the black area are high
-- higher per capita than in predominantly white areas -- and that millions of
dollars are spent annually for beer. Those same surveys evidenced that over 70
per cent of the market was held by three large breweries in the country with
premium prices predominating. A ready market exists with a pricing structure
that is conducive of a reasonable return on investment. At the same time, beer
is sold to the retailer in Illinois on a cash basis, thus enabling B.P.I. to
generate the greatest productivity from its capital resources. Adding to this
is the relatively close shipping point of its product supplier, which results
in less of a tie up of funds in product inventory.
No "Big Names"
Mr. McClellan, whose greying hair belies his youthful
enthusiasm for the potential benefit to the blacks inherent in the success of
B.P.I., emphasizes that the company is not "star studded" and
involves no "big names" either as investors or as advertising and
customer contact personalities.
"Black Pride, Inc., is in every
respect a bootstrap, grass roots endeavor," he says. "Our investors
are 'plain folk' -- marginal income people who are pulling together without
waiting for the man's help. Far, far too often the white sees the black as
either a criminal or as someone on welfare. Ignored in the white's impression
is the vast majority of the blacks who endeavor to live responsibly -- people
who contribute much to the economy of the nation, but who have had too little
opportunity to grow in position and affluence."
Primarily, the black is related to
the economy as only a consumer, a customer, or as a salaried man or wage
earner, Mr. McClellan points out. "Black Pride, Inc., stems from the need
of black people to be able to exercise some control over the economics of the
communities in which they live and thus to be able to shoulder a greater amount
of responsibility for what those communities are. That economic control can
only be achieved by blacks entering into the mainstream of the American economy
as entrepreneurs, producers and purveyors.
Exodus of Dollars
"The exodus of dollars to the white suburbs which are
earned in the black communities," Mr. McClellan adds, "does nothing
to encourage the building of structures -- physical and social -- that are
necessary to the maintenance of an orderly, stable and progressive black
community."
Government action to encourage black
enterprise, he says, has been unsuccessful for the most part because of
bureaucratic waste and because "no one bothers to ask what the black
himself wants." Mr. McClellan emphasizes that if the black truly wants to
achieve full self-reliance or independence, he has to start by being
self-reliant, by making the most of what he already has available to him.
Mr. McClellan does not condemn the
white entrepreneur who does business in the black communities. "What we're
saying is simply that we want to exercise the same right to do business within
our own communities and to enable our communities to benefit from the profits
and occupational opportunities deriving from such business. To the white who
has reservations about our competitiveness, 1 would suggest only this: first,
we are endeavoring to operate within the best traditions of the free enterprise
system, and, second, the denial of the opportunity for, or the failure of, such
bootstrap effort is an open invitation for blacks to remain on public dole or
for the extremists to be successful in encouraging violence among the
disillusioned."
Question of Separatism
Does this display of black independence encourage separatism
by the whites from the blacks? "Hell," laughs Mr. McClellan,
"few blacks have felt that close to the whites that the 'encouragement of
separatism' has any meaning. We are separate, and the only way
we can bring ourselves into a mutually respectful relationship with the whites
is by securing the economic and political power that other minority groups in
the U.S. long ago secured for themselves. And, I might add, most of those
minority groups had a lot more going for them at the outset than had the blacks
-- they didn't arrive here in bondage and they had the psychological and
economic advantage of ties deriving from old world institutions -- the church,
fraternal groups and the like."
To the suggestion that in the
introduction of Black Pride products and services a very small minority of the
blacks are using a moral issue -- the plight of the blacks -- for private gain,
Mr. McClellan replies "Even if that were the case, at least the private
gain would be remaining within the black community. Obviously, far more is
involved than that. We're not using a moral issue; we're raising the moral
issue but in such a way as to make the black responsive with regard to his
responsibilities toward it. We want our success to serve as an example to
others of what we blacks can do, must do, for ourselves. Without this, a great
majority of our youth has little more to look forward to than degradation and,
ultimately, degeneration."
"Personal involvement," he
says, is vital to a satisfying life, but without the opportunity for
responsibility, for achievement and for the attendant rewards, there is little
stimulation to being involved."
Certainly "involvement" is
a key word in the operation of Black Pride, Inc. In purchasing stock in the
company, many of the people who had no previous knowledge of corporate
financial matters have been subjected to training in this respect through the
stockholders' meetings and other informal meetings with the company s officers.
To keep costs to a minimum, male stockholders are scheduled to assist in
unloading incoming beer shipments, and once the warehouse is taken over
completely by B.P.I. they will perform the complete clean up job. With this
done, some of the female stockholders will paint the walls.
While calls on the major off-premise
outlets are the responsibility of B.P.I.'s staff, each of the company's
stockholders is committed to spending the hour between seven and eight on
Saturday evenings making calls on on-premise outlets in their neighborhoods in
an effort to secure distribution.
This is not to suggest, says Mr.
McClellan, that any pressure tactics, threats of boycotts, etc., are used on
retailers. "A 'no thanks' or 'I'm not interested' would be graciously
accepted, but that hasn't yet been the response our people have received."
"Further," he says,
"all taste tests that we've conducted among consumers and retailers have
been highly favorable for our product, with most tasters identifying the
unlabeled product as one among the top sellers in the market."
A Major Problem
Mr. McClellan points out that one of the major problems for
B.P.I. is to convince the black community that there is no white money behind
Black Pride, Inc., and that "Black Pride" beer is a brand owned and
financed exclusively by blacks.
"The quality of 'Black Pride'
beer warrants, in our estimation, the premium price that we charge for
it," says Mr. McClellan, "and the premium price carries with it the
conviction of product quality. But for promotion of the product we will need to
rely heavily on word-of-mouth. In this respect, it is perhaps fortunate that
our lack of great capital resources has not enabled us to be tempted to become
involved in extensive advertising. The brewing companies through their own
brand advertising promote beer generically and, of course, we'll benefit from
that. But slick, professionally produced advertising appearing extensively on
TV and billboards on behalf of "Black Pride" beer at this time would
only reinforce any suspicion that we might be fronting for white money.
Actually, the only two advertising pieces that we have used are silk screen
bumper stickers which say simply 'Black Pride beer is here,' and a one-page
mimeographed sheet signed by myself which tells 'The Black Pride Beer Story':
from a beer of distinction to the concept which has distinct implications for
the black community."
What has been the reaction of the
community leaders on Chicago's south side to the Black Pride concept and to
"Black Pride" beer? Mr. McClellan states that to date it has been
entirely favorable. "Certainly no one better understands the problems of
the blacks than do these people and they are well aware of the importance of
local economic viability to the ultimate solution of those problems. Even some
clergymen while not inclined to promote beer from the pulpit -- ours or anyone
elses -- have evidenced positive interest in our efforts."
What of Competition?
And what of competition? "We're not kidding ourselves
about the strength of the existing brands within the market," says Mr.
McClellan. "We surely are aware that we can never do 100 percent of the
beer business, but we do hope to do a fair share of it. One of our problems at
this point, as it is for any company introducing a new product or a new brand,
is out to over-generate enthusiasm so that interest in the product is
dissipated when the product finally is available in a given area. As far as
competition from black owned companies within the black community is concerned,
nothing would please us more than seeing this develop for it would be the best
kind of proof that our concept had taken hold. And by competition in the beer
business, I mean something more than a few small and relatively unprofitable
distributorships."
"Actually," Mr. McClellan
goes on to say, "we are trying to be thoroughly realistic in our
projections and in our operations. Sure we have high hopes and high ideals, but
we also know that what translates hopes and ideals into a realistic circumstance
is personal dedication and sweat and more sweat. Of course, the possibility of
success implies the possibility of failure. We accept that possibility, but if
we fail, it will at least be on our own terms and it won't be because we
haven't tried to succeed. There's dignity in that, too.
If enthusiasm and dedication,
touched by wisdom and wrapped in humility and friendliness, are a measure of
proper pride, then as personified in Mr. McClellan, Black Pride, Inc., has the
necessary ingredients for success.
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