Not all the news is rosy. Although more young black women are going to college, for example, men of the same age are not keeping pace, according to Jacklynn Topping, a
business strategist and co-author of the study. But, she says, "the main point is that in times when you've got flat or declining sales, this is a growth market, and marketers need to look at it like
that."
Co-author Peter Franchese, founder of American Demographics, says that the increasing move of African-Americans to the suburbs is likely to make black and white Americans much more similar down the road. But for the short term -- five to 10 years -- he thinks marketers need to address African-Americans "with a deeper understanding of the cultural differences."
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