I don’t want to be in the room when Beyonce and Jay put on a rap-hip hop concert for the Robin Hood Foundation in Brooklyn. The show, which will include Nicki Minaj among others, is set for the Barclays Center on October 15th.
I’m not sure if the black artists involved are aware of this or not, but the snow white Robin Hood Foundation has thirty eight people on its board of directors, and another fifteen or so on its Emeritus Board. Of the thirty eight, three are black. Of the fifteen or so, none are black.
The three African Americans on the Board of Directors are Geoffrey Canada, Marian Wright Edelman, and Ronald Fryer. Canada is head of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Edelman is an icon, and Fryer is a Harvard professor.
The boards boast not one black media person, entrepreneur, or financial leader. Richard Parsons, former head of Citigroup and before that Time Warner, would be a natural choice. Not there. Russell Simmons, one of the great entrepreneurs and philanthropists, also might be thought of. And what about that woman who used to have a talk show? Oprah Winfrey? Her pal, Gayle King? Debra Lee of BET?
Hmmm…
The Robin Hood Foundation at Barclays should be one interesting night since the tickets will be Robin Hood-expensive–up to $100,000 for VIP packages. Yes, what a night that should be. Tickets start at $50 (for the nosebleed seats) and I know people who will pay that just to see Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs duet with Nicki Minaj.
PS A quick check of Stubhub reveals plenty of affordable seats…
