Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/19029
Publisher’s Message in this issue of Black Meetings & Tourism. Reunions of all types are big business in the African-American community. For instance, did you know that 1.5 to 2 million families gather every year at reunions? Or that reunions are responsible for over 7 billion dollars in revenue each year? And most importantly, that 80 per- cent of all family reunions are African- American? It’s understandable that reunions are so pop- BM&T ular in our community, especially when you con- sider thatAfrican-Americans have been striving to “reunite” torn apart families ever since the days following emancipation. What started out as a search for kin who had been sold off during our ancestors’ time of enslavement has become a cultural tradition for many African-Americans who yearn to recapture that sense of unity among widely dispersed family members. Astute marketers should seriously target this niche within a niche,which has remained fairly robust and growing despite the current economic challenges that we all face. With the average attendee at an African-American reunion spending about $570 on travel and lodging, $330 on food and drink, $200 on entertainment and tours, $260 on memorabilia and shopping, and another $160 on miscellaneous expenses, you can see why. And according to all of the research we have conducted, there are no signs that this market niche is head- ed for a downturn. If anything, itmay even register a slight up tick, as the need for fellowship amongst family members in the African-American community seems to intensify during times of difficulty and strife. With this editorial feature on reunions in the September/October issue of BlackMeetings &Tourism,what better time, I thought, than to report on the first ever Herbert/Johnson Family Reunion, which took place this past July in my hometown of New York. It was a small gathering of familymembers, some of whomhad not seen each other in 30 years or more, and others who had never met. Relatives converged on the Big Apple from Michigan, Texas and California,aswell as fromfar-flung regions ofNewYork State. The reunion was mainly orchestrated by my brother Bill, who lives just outside of Detroit, and included several meal functions,one at the legendary Sylvia’sRestaurant inHarlem, a trip to the cemetery to visit the gravesites ofmymother and ’ s Annual Reunions Focus is one of several articles featured father, and a drive through our old childhood neighborhood in South Jamaica, that quite frankly, was hardly recognizable. The activities were varied and sundry, and provided the perfect opportunity for us tomeet new relatives, share stories, reminisce and build stronger ties with loved ones fromthe family tree’s several branches. One of the highlights of theHerbert/Johnson FamilyReunionwas our visit to the famed 369th Infantry Regiment Armory on Fifth Avenue, home of the all-Black “Harlem Hellfighters.” My father,William G. Herbert Sr., was one of the brave “Hellfighters”who shipped off in 1918 to France where he served 18months of combat duty fighting under French command (the U.S. would not allow African-Americas to fight along side of White soldiers at the time). He returned home with his com- rades a decorated war hero, having received a Purple Heart for injuries he suffered on the battlefield. During our visit to theArmory we donated a rare collec- tion of photographs, including the shot of my father and the other young, recently commissioned 2nd lieutenants in 1918 as theywere headed off to France. Wewent fromtheArmory to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, also in Harlem, to donate a similar photographic collection for their archives, and had the pleasure of meeting with Director Howard Dodson. Perhaps the most memorable accomplishment of our family reunion was the opportunity to cele- brate the life of our dearAunt Rubie Brodie Johnson, who at 92 (she turned 93 in August) was still sharp, still working, still singing in her church choir, and still a fox. So if you haven’t had a family reunion recently, have one. And if you haven’t targeted the African- American family reunion market yet, there’s no better time than the present. Don’t leave those dollars on the table. Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-In-Chief E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com Black Meetings & Tourism is published bi-monthly by SunGlo Enterprises, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207 •Telephone: (818)709-0646/Fax: (818) 709-4753 Copyright 2010 by SunGlo Enterprises. All rights reserved. Single Copies, $6.00 Subscriptions $45.00. Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. •Postmaster send address changes to Black Meetings & Tourism, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207. 4 Black Meetings & Tourism September/October 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com