Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bsi 2,110.53 +4.56 +.22%

LaToya called it.

BUY

Chocolate Genius

New album on the way.

SELL

Mike Tyson

Oh, Mike. Just... don't.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Bsi 2,104.28 -8.9 -.42%

The Index mourns the passing of photographer Roy DeCarava.

WINNERS

Black Princesses (BLKPR) 2.19 +1.36 +62.1%

Whether or not the movie is any good it can't be a bad thing to have some color join the Disney princess pantheon.

LOSERS

The Jacksons (JACK5) 11.29 -3.25 -22.35%

With This Is It reported to be performing up to 40% below expectations and a dreadful looking reality show on the way, perhaps we're learning that the public isn't quite as comfortable with cashing in on a tragedy as the family hoped.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Bsi 2,127.96 +24.87 +1.17%

Hey, Don Draper, do you have a Nobel Peace Prize.

Say my name, bitches!

WINNERS

Barack Obama (BHO) 283.85 +9.47 +3.34%

While a solid argument can be made that Obama has been given this award prematurely, that a sitting American president can stand as an international symbol of peace after that past eight years shows exactly how transformative a figure he is.

LOSERS

Australia (AUS) .29 -.52 -64.2%

Yahoo Seriously, Australia, wtf???

Friday, September 4, 2009

Bsi 2,129.04 +6.17 +.29%

The Index mourns as Michael Jackson is laid to rest.  Of course, we mourned for him more seventy days ago, but who's counting.

RIP MJ

WINNERS

Models of Color (MoC) 3.91 +1.37 +35.04%

Kudos to black models and fashion professionals for coming together to address the lack of diversity at major fashion weeks.

LOSERS

Roxanne Shante  (RXS) 0.0 -1.29 -100%

That great getting-Warner-Brothers-to-pay-for-her-PhD story from last week.  Yeah, well... all bullshit.  There is not PhD.  Damn.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Bsi 2,111.25 +5.1 +.24%

Saturday in the park... it must be Michael Jackson's birthday!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bsi 2,068.41 +6.6 +.32%

Looks like there might need to be a slight market correction as more and more evidence is pointing to the fact that negligence may have been a factor in Michael Jackson's death. Which may mean we owe LaToya an apology.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Bsi 2,027.95 +24.11 +1.19%

Wow.  Okay.  We were moved.  And so is the Index.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bsi 2,003.84 -17.61 -.87%

Scalped funeral tickets?  Yeah, I think it's safe to say this has turned into a circus.

BUY

Do The Right Thing

Love or Hate, 20 years later people are still talking about Spike's best film.

SELL

Marion Barry

Arrested.  Again.  

Not crack (this time), but seriously, brother, you need to take a step back.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Bsi 2,042.92 +22.16 +1.08%

Hey, BET does something right and turns its otherwise useless awards ceremony into a moving celebration of and tribute to the late King of Pop.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Bsi 2,020.76 -108.34 -5.09%

This truly is the end of an era. The most famous person on the planet. The King of Pop. The single greatest performer of all time, has died. And with him a connection that spanned generations and the globe.

In an age as diverse and fractured as ours it's hard to believe there'll ever be another figure as unifying as this. I think it's safe to say that billions of people listened to the music of Michael Jackson yesterday. Billions. No one else on the planet could have that many people thinking the same thing. Dammit if that's not a beautiful thing.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Bsi 2,078.66 -9.12 -.44%

While we don't know what exactly to say about the irony of a black man getting skin cancer (here at the Index we figure that was one of the few things Negroes didn't have to worry about), we will say that when Michael Jackson is involved anything is possible.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Bsi 1,978.25 -16.52 -.83%

The unwanted Michael Jackson money grab, er... comeback concerts, sends the Index lower for the day.

WINNERS

Craig Robinson (CROSU) 4.26 +1.98 +46.48%

No, not the super funny guy from The Office and all those Judd Apatow movies.

But the First Brother-In-Law and head coach at Oregon State University who this week who joked on ESPN radio about using the POTUS's influence in recruiting.

"I think the President has the right to call any citizen that he feels like calling any time he wants. I haven't had to use him yet, but I think I ought to petition the NCAA to see what the ruling will be on that before I do it."

Yeah, methinks that might just help recruit a few players to Corvallis.

LOSERS

Black Folk and the Sea (BH2O) 1.29 -.75 -36.76%

If the tragic disappearance at sea of NFL players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper illustrates one thing, it's that black folk and the sea do not get along.

Perhaps it had something to do with how we got here.

And we don't like camping much either.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bsi 2,134.94 +6.45 -.3%

President Obama's message to the Muslim world is one of the first of many steps to differentiate himself from the past Commander in Chief.

BUY

Kanye in Paris

By rocking a mullet/afro hybrid Mr. West again shows that he's a varied creative figure.

SELL

Thriller: The Musical

New Yorkers love to think of itself as the cultural heart of the country, however, of late the Great White Way has been as vapid and idea-free as Hollywood.  The latest, a planned musical adaptation of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.

As adapted as we need.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Bsi 1,389.46 +68.28 +4.91%

The Index shows another day of significant days as the Democrats leave Denver. The historic week ends thirteen percent higher than last Friday's closing bell.

WINNERS

President Bill Clinton (WJC) 21.54 +4.96 +23.02%

Clinton, whose presence on the Index may surprise some, has in the past months suffered a serious erosion from highs realized in the late 1990s. This week in Denver has started to reverse those losses.

I put my offices in Harlem, remember?

Toni Morrison (TNMSN) 19.91 +2.54 +12.31%

The prize winning author's bump is directly linked to the reversal of Bill "Black President" Clinton's fortunes on this Index.

Phew!

LOSERS

Michael Jackson (JACKO) 12.54 -1.33 -9.59%

The self proclaimed "King of Pop", another surprise listing on the Index, turns 50 today and continues to fail to live up to the lofty expectations established in the 1970s and '80s.

A nod to the better days.

THIS DAY IN THE BLACK MARKET

August 29, 2005

Bsi 654.32 -119.44 -15.44

The Index plummets in the wake of the levees breaking in New Orleans.

Never again.