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In my opinion, any animus should be directed to Sprite not the UA ZTA Step Team. This whole thing was a business promotional; our (D9 orgs) has $$ in their eyes; but when you sign on to what mainstream Corporate America is doing you sign on to their agenda--never forget that! As Milton Friedman once said, "There's no free lunch."
On a broader note, this brings up the costs of operating in an "integrated" society. We, as black people, tended only to look at the benefits of access to institutions and services enjoyed by others but not the fact that this also meant that we would be some "assimilation" on our end. You can't have one without the other. The real issue is how this dynamic is navigated.
Sprite and corporate sponsors don't give a flip about the ethos and cultural aspects of Stepping and its history. They care about the "Benjamins." Bad publicity from this debacle, which may impact their bottom line, is what caused the change of decision. "Hate" for ZTA's performance and the first decision is misdirected.
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