MUSLIM TEEN SUES ABERCROMBIE & FITCH

Muslim Teen Sues Abercrombie & Fitch Over Head Scarf - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

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My Take:
Hmm… a tricky one. Now, I do agree that sueing has been exploited; “tit-for-tat-justice” has become an American tradition. Personally, I don’t believe she was discriminated against based upon her religion and/or race. However, it's not hard to imagine why she felt she was a victim of discrimination. Based upon the article, it seems she was not accepted for the job based upon the fact her overall individual character not being in sync with the company’s image. YET, this where it gets tricky; that basis alone within hiring processes is a recipe for corporate dishonesty. It dangerously borders discrimination.  Arguably, it is just that: indirect discrimination mascquerading as the company brand image.  The highly popular American couture retail line Ralph Lauren has also been cited by the EEOC.

This case is  either a long shot or will set a precedent.  I suspect this’ll be a hard sell (on her end) in the court room b/c despite that fact that everybody knows post 9/11 America has turned an xenophobic eye towards the Muslim community; fact remains that Abercrombie & Fitch has, is, and will surely always be a brand image geared towards the upper middle-class, “All-American”, Anglo-Saxon, Generation X-Y consumer market…. and a characteristically Muslim/Middle-eastern girl simply does not fit into that company's brand image.  Which reminds me of the term, “token black/indian/asian/gay/etc. guy or girl”.  Tricky situations like this is where this term derived from.  Apparently, some individual(s) are outside of the “norm” or tradition of an organization or group but are strategically placed there in order to appease a minority sector and by therefore achieving a politically correct image as well. It kills two birds with one stone and used as a clever marketing strategy.  For all intense purposes, target marketing is intrinsically biased by nature anyway; whether the intention is racist or otherwise.   Essentially, the manager in question was simply "doing their job" by complying with the norm.  Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem to be a right or wrong here, but a question of business principle and ethics...

How much influence should marketing have in corporate structure and at what cost?

ROXANNE'S REVENGE

Legendary rapper Roxanne Shante (born Lolita Shante Gooden), best known for her infamous single "Roxanne's Revenge", not only battled on the mic but against her former record label Warner Music. Two and a half decades after the young, rap diva was cheated out of her royalty checks she made the biggest come back of her life meanwhile setting an extraordinary precedent... 

"I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and YOU can still come out of it a doctor." 

Roxanne Shante first came into the rap game at the tender age of 14.  Unfortunately, that fact did not cut her any slack.  Her hit "Roxanne's Revenge" [an explicit dis against UTFO's hit 'Roxanne Roxanne'] was released in 1984.  In NYC alone the single sold 250,000 copies and made Shante hip hop's first female celebrity.  This accomplishment opened the door for female rappers to come such as MC Lyte, Yo-yo, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Lil' Kim and more.  Yet, she did not see the same success. "After two albums, Shante said, she was disillusioned by the sleazy music industry and swindled by her record company.  The teen mother, living in the Queensbridge Houses recalled how her life was shattered [Walter Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS]." 

"Everybody was cheating with the contracts, stealing and telling lies; and to find out that I was just a commodity was heartbreaking."

All hope was not lost.  A then, 19-year old Shante remembered a certain clause within her Warner Music recording contract: the company would fund her education for life.  However, the multi-million dollar label commenced to give her the run-around.  "They kept stumbling over their words, and they didn't have an exact reason why they were telling me no", Shante said [Warner Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS].  She continued to pursue the issue along with the help from her former Dean at Marymount Manhattan College, Marguerita Grecco.  "I told Dean Grecco that either I'm going to go here or go to the streets, so I need your help, Shante recalled. "She said, 'We're going to make them pay for this!' [Warner Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS]  Grecco was relentless. She submitted all academic bills to Warner Music. Finally, the label surrendered to the terms of the contract and agreed to pay [but] only after Shante threatened to go public.  Winning the battle against the reluctant label she eventually went on to continue her education at Ivy League institution Cornell University. In 2001 she graduated with her Doctorate degree in Psychology.  Her total tuition cost hit the tune of $217,000.  Warner Music paid every cent.  Now 38, Dr. Roxanne Shante is an active member within the community.  Notably, she has put her own unique twist to her therapy services by incorporating [you guessed it] rap!  Through these "rap sessions", she encourages her clients to unleash their inner MC.  Reportedly, she claims this method gets people to shout out their frustrations which in turn allows them to vent what is on their mind(s). Go girl!

KUDO - Gooden offers $5K in college scholarships each semester to female rappers through the non-profit HIP HOP ASSOCIATION as well as gives advice to young women in the music busines via her Myspace: myspace.com/roxanneshante