Getting Down to the TRUTH!

As a Woman, and a Black Woman who works in the Media I feel it's my Journalistic duty to make sure minorities are well informed.
Because if we aren't... we lack, when we lack we fall behind..... and falling behind eventually leads to our demise.
A lot of you may have recently read an email circulating on the World Wide Web discussing a marketing term known as N.U.D.,said to be an acronym for "Non Urban Dictate." Here's a copy of what I received Below:


NUD (Non Urban Dictate)
Tom Joyner wants this information to reach his listeners.....
You have probably heard of "NUD" as a result of the Tom Joyner morning show related to CompUSA. NUD is the acronym for a very subtle and little-known marketing term specifically directed toward people of color.
NUD stands for Non Urban Dictate. These three words essentially mean that a company is not interested in the Black consumer. A NUD label means that a company does not want their marketing and advertising materials placed in media that claim an urban audience(black folks)as their main target. There are legitimate reasons for companies not using urban radio.
It may be that Blacks don't index high in certain categories or that a company's strategy is to market to the Black consumer down the road after they have established a strong position in their primary target.
But NUD usually means that a company is not interested in the Black consumer. Companies evade discrimination liability by embracing it as theory rather than policy.
As a service to Black consumers, the Urban Institute will list all companies that have a NUD policy. Armed with this information, we feel that Black consumers will be able to make informed buying decisions.
Companies with NUD policies:
a.. Starbucks
b.. Jos. A Bank
c.. CompUSA
d.. Weight Watchers
e.. Keebler
f.. Life Savers
g. Continental Airlines
h.. Northwest Airlines
i.. America West Airlines
j.. HBO - Apollo Series
k.. Paternal Importers
l.. Calico Corners
m.. OM Scott
n.. Pepperidge Farms
o.. Ethan Allen
p.. Busy Body Fitness
q.. Mondavi Wines
r.. Builders Square
s.. Don Pablo
t.. Lexus
u.. Aruba Tourism
v.. Ciba Vision
w.. Kindercare
x.. Grady Restaurant
y.. Eddie Bauer

Please forward this information on to any other consumer that you consider a friend and advise them to do likewise. Remember, we can't act wisely unless we are informed wisely.

The Urban Institute
2100 M Street, NW.
Washington , DC 20037


After much research I found that this information was posted all over the Internet.
Some sites debunked it as a mere chain letter, while others took it to be the truth as if God had spoken himself. So I decided to go straight to the "alleged" writers of this message. Here's what they had to say:


Non-Urban Dictates
April 5, 2002 — "The Urban Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization, has been incorrectly cited in circulating e-mail and fax lists of companies with "non urban dictates," or N.U.D.s (NUDs). The email and fax incorrectly cite the Urban Institute as the organization that compiles or maintains the "NUD list."

The Urban Institute is not in any way associated with the purported research or with any supposed list of companies with NUDs, and never was. It has nonetheless been inundated with inquiries.

The Urban Institute was wrongfully credited with maintaining the "NUD list" four years ago, thanks to what is assumed to be a misspelling of Urban Insite—an organization that once claimed responsibility for the NUD list. Later iterations of the circulating email include the Urban Institute's address, phone number and Internet address. The fax version includes falsified Urban Institute letterhead.

As a response to numerous phone inquiries, the Urban Institute has dedicated a special phone line to explain the issue at (202) 261-5779."

You can also check it out here for yourself. Urban Institute


I also check out Tom Joyner's site and there was no mention of the email.
There's always two sides to every story..... and as a "confessed- addicted- shopper," some of the places on this list I frequent often.
As a journalist I'm taught to go to the source.... stay tuned for their takes!