On stage preparations continue as people begin to gather at the Michael Jackson public memorial service held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Spencer Weiner-Pool/Getty Images

 

Time is not on our side today. The Michael Jackson memorial service is in the middle of the day in Los Angeles (and on Pacific time).

And, as well, we now that some of you are so over the whole thing.

But if the event does not mean something to all of you, it clearly means a lot to some of you. So, tomorrow we regroup and figure out what we can offer up that will balance those competing objectives, recognizing that we may not be able to.

And yes, we drilled down today. We did a particular focus on how the economic downturn is affecting African-Americans (pdf), in particular, and minorities, in general. I think there is a quiet Katrina-like situation brewing and it is revealed in the numbers in this report.

You can set aside the ideological underpinnings and, even a debate about how to respond, and still consider: what does this mean when a whole generation loses the wealth it worked for?

categories: More on Arts & Entertainment

1:39 - July 7, 2009

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