Editor 's Note : Alfred Liggins is chief executive officer of Radio One Inc. and chairman of TV One LLC . The companies are aimed at an audience of African-American and urban consumers , and they own 53 radio stations in 16 cities , a cable network and a variety of Web sites . Liggins personally has contributed to Barack Obama 's campaign . Alfred Liggins says the black population in America has grown increasingly diverse . ( CNN ) -- If you think African-Americans will come out in greater numbers than ever before to vote for Barack Obama , you 're probably right . If you think you know how they 'll vote in the almost 500 House , Senate and gubernatorial races , you could be in for a surprise . Although politicians and their advertising gurus often speak to Black America as a collective , homogeneous group , the black population is anything but a monolith . In the past decade , the more than 40 million strong black population in America has become increasingly diverse : economically , socially , technologically and even philosophically . In the final push toward Election Day , as politicians and political hopefuls seek to penetrate this community , they may no longer understand to whom they are speaking . Are they addressing blacks or African-Americans ? Is racial prejudice as important an issue today as affording a college education for their kids or taking care of an aging parent ? iReport.com : Black college cancels class to vote . Radio One , the country 's largest broadcasting company primarily targeting African-Americans , recently commissioned a study to uncover Black America today . How do they identify themselves ? What do they care about ? How are they influenced ? What is most important to them ? Interestingly , the study found that 42 percent of those polled actually prefer to be called black ( these are more likely to be more affluent ) compared with 44 percent who choose to be described as African-American . And yes , it would be misguided to assume that dropping a Martin Luther King Jr. quote into a speech and focusing on America 's history of racial inequality is the sure way to sway black voters when one-third of blacks , particularly younger people , believe that there is actually too much focus on past oppression . And as insulting as it is to assume that all women vote for female candidates , it is equally inaccurate and offensive to say that blacks simply cast their ballots for people of color . Like all Americans , black folks vote on the issues they care about , and today those issues are less likely to be linked to race than they are to the economy , health care , education and a whole spectrum of social issues . As Georgetown University sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson recently said , `` black people do n't vote for candidates just because they are black . If Clarence Thomas ran for president , he would get five black votes . '' Given Black America 's extreme diversity today ( the study identified 11 specific groups ) it is easy to misunderstand who they are and how they can be reached . Yes , discrimination and racial issues are still incredibly important , particularly to middle-age and older blacks . But the younger populations are more concerned about starting their own businesses , paying for their education , taking care of their children and creating a better work/life balance . So how do politicians penetrate the multiple segments of Black America ? In 1992 , when Bill Clinton wooed African-Americans in church , he understood how to effectively reach that population . But that was before social networking sites attracted millions of teenage and young black adults . Now that the digital divide has faded , with roughly the same percentage of blacks online as the general population , ignoring black Web sites and social networking sites would be a big mistake . Although the history of black oppression in America is not the radioactive issue it once was , trust in the community -- whom blacks trust -- is still paramount . Of all institutions , they are least likely to trust credit card companies but also remain seriously wary of the mainstream media and tend to trust black media more than traditional media outlets . It has been almost a century and a half since blacks in America won the right to vote . It makes all the sense in the world that the black community has evolved and diversified over the years , but too often politicians make the mistake of assuming that blacks are still a monolithic group fixated on all of the same issues . Though Barack Obama will be able to count on a massive percentage of the black vote on Election Day , the rest of the ticket will need to dig deeper than the canned speeches dealing with racial injustice of the past to satisfy today 's black voters . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Alfred Liggins .
Alfred Liggins : America 's black population has become more diverse . 40 million population represents many different social , economic viewpoints , he says . Liggins : Discrimination still key issue , but other concerns have emerged . Liggins says politicians need to know that past appeals to race are outdated .