Syracuse, Ny.  – Dr. Boyce Watkins, a Syracuse University Finance Professor and CNN analyst says that the State of the Black Union Conference, held this past weekend, should be modified to rid itself of conflicts of interest.   Dr. Watkins argues that the presence of questionable corporate sponsors, mainstream media influence and political partisanship creates murky social waters for the forum.

“Imagine if congressional hearings were ‘Brought to you by Walmart’”, says Dr. Watkins, who is an expert on Finance, Business and Capitalism.  “The presence of a corporate sponsor ultimately waters down socialist and activist dialogue, since I am sure that conference organizers would not be allowed to spend much time discussing what companies such as Walmart have done to cause so many manufacturing jobs to leave urban centers such as Detroit.”

Dr. Watkins also notes the financial presence of Wells Fargo, a company accused of deceptive lending practices, leading to foreclosures on many African-American homes during the sub-prime lending crisis.  Watkins does not accuse conference organizers or corporate sponsors of any deliberate wrong-doing, but does note that the presence of such sponsorship minimizes the chances of having a meaningful dialogue.

“Some of these companies appear to be giving money to the forum to effectively pay for their sins,” says Watkins.  “This is the same thing that happens in Africa, where the leadership is paid off by major corporations, who then are allowed to go in and extract resources from the people without proper compensation.”

Dr. Watkins notes that the presence of mainstream media and partisan politics of a presidential election year are also problematic.

“Whether Tavis Smiley intends this to be the case or not, the signal people are getting is that he is Hillary Clinton’s favorite man,” says Watkins.  “His attacks on Obama for not attending this year’s conference might be accused of representing his personal interest in legitimating his forum rather than him actually feeling that Obama needs to be there for black people.  The notion of black leadership peddling their influence in exchange for subtle endorsements and additional corporate money leads one down the path toward corruption.”

To contact Dr. Watkins, please email info@boycewatkins.com.  Visit www.BoyceWatkins.com for more information.  To see more State of the Black Union Video, click here.