Black History Month isn’t corporate America’s finest hour

Target managed two gaffes in the first 18 hours. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a great-great-great-great-grandmother of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Black History Month? [A reason]( for hope. - Phones in school? Actually, [nope](. - Drive [a Toyota](? I’d rather eat soap. - Earth with less water? Here’s [how to cope](. Harriet Tubman’s Sweatpants Today marks the start of Black History Month, which means you’re about to see [corporate America]( do and say some [deeply atrocious things](. Target, for example, has managed two gaffes already: First, the retailer was forced to pull a [Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Activity]( off its shelves after history teacher Issa Tete [noticed]( some discrepancies in the product. “This is not Carter G. Woodson — this is W.E.B. Du Bois. Peep the stache. They got the name wrong,” she said. Then there is the case of the inappropriately located monogram. Or, as graduate student Tish Bullard [asked]( in a TikTok video: “Why is Miss Tubman’s name on the crotch of some pants?” Photos via @iamtishbullard on TikTok While I’m all for honoring Harriet Tubman’s legacy as an abolitionist, humanitarian and [Union spy](, I nevertheless must ask: Do we really need her last name plastered on our pelvic area? No, is the answer. We do not. There are better, more tasteful ways to honor the past. How about reading [a book](? Or wearing a sweatshirt? Or buying a doll for your child? Nia-Malika Henderson [says]( her daughter has a turquoise Rosa Parks sweatshirt and an Ida B. Wells sweatshirt. And she has a treasure trove of books about little Black girls dreaming of[ fire-engine red rockets](, wearing [bedtime bonnets]( and plotting to [keep the sun up forever](. “As for Black dolls, she has more than any 3-year-old could ever want or need.” It hasn’t always been like this, though. When Nia-Malika was a child, books books featuring Black children were pretty much nonexistent. “At times, my mom was so desperate for us to see ourselves in books, she would use a brown crayon to make the White characters look more like we did,” she writes. In school, too, there was minimal acknowledgement of Black history. “I was assigned one book by a Black author (Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison) in my 12 years of primary education at predominately Black public schools in my small Southern hometown,” she recalls. Although Nia-Malika says a lot has changed since her adolescence — [Aunt Jemima]( and [Uncle Ben]( are gone, for one — there’s still [a lot of work to do](. Consider journalism: Only 40% of Black Americans say their most important issues and events are covered in the news. [Recent layoffs]( mean that figure is unlikely to rise. About half of those who lost their jobs at the Los Angeles Times last month “[belonged]( to at least one of the newspaper union’s affinity groups representing Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and North African journalists. That’s a significant loss for a newspaper anchored in a city where only [about three in 10 residents]( are White,” Fernanda Santos [writes]( (free read). This nation needs newsrooms that aspire to look like the communities they cover. When you read headlines about [diversity and inclusion initiatives]( being targeted, or how it will take Black Americans [320 years to catch up]( to their White neighbors, it’s easy to feel defeated. But Nia-Malika isn’t giving up hope: “On the 1880 census there is a woman named Kizzy Jordan listed as living in Mississippi with her family. She was my great-great-great-great-grandmother. Born in 1804, she lived much of her life as an enslaved woman ... I don’t know anything about who she was. There is only her name and the horrific eras she lived through. But I can imagine she must have had considerable fight in her and some hope and optimism about the future being better than her present. And this is at the core of the Black experience in America. Let us note and celebrate that this month and every month.” Read [the whole thing]( for free. Taylor Swift’s in [Exile]( Let me ask you a question: What’s the quickest way to get Gen Z to care less about TikTok? Sure, you could tell them it’s harming their [academic performance](. Or you could note that excessive use of social media has been linked to rising rates of teenage [depression](, emotional distress and self-harm. Or, or, or, you could just [remove]( Taylor Swift’s entire discography from the platform, which might be more effective? The girlies are [clearly]( [distraught](. I imagine they’ll grow tired of a Taylor-less TikTok: This isn’t the [blank space]( we wanted. Even if there is a [mass exodus](, Bloomberg’s editorial board [says]( there’s a far simpler way to reduce the amount of time young Americans spend online: Ban mobile phones from schools altogether. 97% of US adolescents use their phones during class, browsing social media, YouTube and gaming platforms throughout the day. Although policymakers want to block access to social media platforms through Wi-Fi networks, kids would also still be able to use their phones to send text messages, watch videos and shop. “And regardless of how students use their phones, merely being in proximity to them impairs [focus]( and retention, while forcing teachers to waste valuable time [policing]( their use,” the editors write. Rather than try to control what kids do on their phones, Congress should remove the devices from schools entirely. Students should be playing the [recorder](, not [recording]( “get ready with me” videos. How else will we [discover]( the next Taylor Swift? [Skrrt Skrrt]( Source: I Think You Should Leave, ​​​Netflix What is it with car companies these days? Volvo announced today that it’s going to stop funding Polestar, its cash-burning EV offshoot. “The move appears designed to cauterize the damage to Volvo’s share price,” Chris Bryant [writes](. Shares of both companies were close to record lows, despite Volvo still having pretty decent financials. Then there’s Toyota, whose affiliate Daihatsu [uncovered more than 170 irregularities]( in safety tests in December and was forced to recall more than 300,000 vehicles last week. In the US, meanwhile, Toyota has [recalled almost 1 million vehicles]( due to possibly faulty air bags. As Tim Culpan [writes](: “Standards and compliance are what’s tripping up the company, and these need to be enforced from the top.” Bonus EV Reading: A [Texas business court]( might be less predictable than a Delaware one, but it will probably be OK with Elon Musk’s pay. — Matt Levine Telltale Charts Has mankind ever been this [thirsty](? Water — and [the vessels]( we drink it from — has been transformed into a [cultural phenomenon](. We now have water bottle [medical scares](, TikTok [dances]( and fancy [ice recipes](. But when it comes to the actual supply of water, we’ve never had so little of it. Groundwater is vanishing worldwide, but Mark Gongloff [is confiden](t we can rescue it. “As the planet warms, more people will need to develop water consciousness,” he writes. There are plenty of things authorities can do preserve the supply of groundwater, such as piloting conservation efforts or introducing fair taxes. Maybe they can even come up with some viral dance videos to help curb use. It’s no secret that young people [aren’t happy]( with Starbucks. The coffee chain’s double drip of drama — a messy battle with its union and anger over the Israel-Hamas war — has generated a ton of negative backlash on social media. “Up until now, Wall Street had been hesitant to give much credence to the idea that Starbucks’ embroilment in a firestorm of social, cultural and geopolitical issues could impact its financial performance,” Beth Kowitt and Leticia Miranda [write](. But Gen Z is willing to do more than just rant on TikTok and Instagram. They’ll actually put their money where their mouth is. So don’t expect to see many of them order Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Créme Frappuccinos this [Valentine’s Day](. Further Reading Jerome Powell’s [off-the-cuff comment]( about a March rate cut hurts the Fed’s flexibility. — Mohamed A. El-Erian Lula’s failure to tackle [Brazil’s fiscal deficit]( threatens economic growth. — Juan Pablo Spinetto Although Apple’s revenue got a [holiday boost](, Tim Cook still has [many challenges]( ahead. — Dave Lee [The border]( is not Biden’s problem alone, nor was it solely Trump’s when he was in office. — Mary Ellen Klas Wealthy countries can’t fault Africa for [producing more oil](; poverty is not a viable climate strategy. — Ken Opalo The UN relief agency for Palestinians should no longer exist, so [end its purpose](. — Marc Champion So far, India’s Narendra Modi has been able to do [populism on the cheap](. That may soon change. — Mihir Sharma Punxsutawney Phil Isn’t Out of a Job. Yet. Tomorrow is Jobs Day — and Groundhog Day! Will economists see six more weeks of low unemployment? Tune in as Jonathan Levin joins Nick Colas for a [live analysis]( of the numbers. ICYMI The mother of a Michigan shooter [testified]( in a manslaughter trial. Hulu is [cracking down]( on passwords and people [aren’t pleased](. Scientists discover more about why most [autoimmune patients]( are women. Eric Adams drove to his press conference in [a garbage truck](. Kickers The [tote bag outrage]( heard around the world. Is [coffee milk]( a thing outside of Rhode Island? Australia’s [snake swinger]( saved a guinea pig. Pennsylvania’s [domestic beheading]( drama. (h/t John Authers) Notes: Please send coffee milk and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? 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