Click to watch the interview with Lawrence Watkins, founder of GreatBlackSpeakers.com.
Click to watch the interview with Lawrence Watkins, founder of GreatBlackSpeakers.com.
Interview done by Dr. Boyce Watkins
Quite a few people took notice when Bishop Eddie Long went to YouTube to issue a very direct challenge to young entrepreneur Ephren Taylor over money that Bishop Long felt Taylor to have shaken out of his congregation. According to Bishop Long, Taylor should give $1 million to the members of his congregation who made investments in response to a seminar being offered by Taylor. Long's video seems to imply that Ephren had been unethical and misleading in the way he delivered the information and that people had lost thousands of dollars as a result.
I've never personally met either Bishop Eddie Long or Ephren Taylor, but I watched the Eddie Long video with extreme curiosity. I felt it to be entirely possible that Taylor could have been less than ethical, since pure capitalism tends to put ethics at the bottom of the priority list (legality is not the same as morality, so someone could be unethical while remaining within the boundaries of the law) . At the same time, there was also the possibility that Long's parishioners may not have read the fine print or had a misconception about what it means to invest. Some investors believe that investing means that you are guaranteed to make money. This is far from the truth. You can easily lose everything, so you should make sure you're prepared to stomach the risk before putting up your money.
by S. Tia Brown, Essence.com
First let me say this: I am single. However, just like you don't have to smoke crack to tell "rockheads" don't do it... well, you get the rest.
Second, I'm an avid, calendar-clearing, repeat-watching fan of the "Real Housewives of Atlanta." You know the type. I text my girls during the commercials. I feel like I know the "ins and outs" of the cast intimately. And, occasionally I pass judgment on their decisions.
With those two details out the way, it's time for my third assertion: When it comes to marriage, particularly to an entrepreneur, it can't always be tit for tat. Over the last few weeks I've watched Cynthia Bailey's now husband, Peter Thomas, try to pull out the dagger ripping his heart apart as his business -- their family's bread and butter-- revenue dropped lower than NeNe Leakes' cleavage line. Thomas shared his woes about picking up the pieces. Bailey worried about financing their wedding. Thomas grew angrier about not getting investors. Bailey balled about being owed her investment in his business. Thomas was forced to close his restaurant and rebuild. Bailey cried about not going on a honeymoon. All I kept thinking is, "where dey do dat at?"
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
During a four-year college career, most students take roughly 40 courses. Personally, I went to graduate school for another 7 years after college, taking an additional 40 - 50 more classes. During my entire undergraduate, masters and doctoral experience, I never had one single African American professor.
This experience made the educational process incredibly uncomfortable for me. I never experienced the privilege of my white classmates, who had teachers they could relate to, work with and connect with on a meaningful level. I did meet one African American professor (I never took his class) named Dr. Tommy Whittler. He is the sole reason I became a professor today because he was the first faculty member who'd ever taken time to mentor me as a human being.
Bishop Eddie Long did a Youtube appeal to former Capital City Corp CEO Ephren Taylor about members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church who allegedly lost money as a result of their investments. Taylors reps have responded with this statement below:
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
January 31, 2011
MEDIA CONTACT:
Candace Reese J.
Envision Global
(678) 367-3117
C.Reese@EnviGlobal.com
STATEMENT FROM EPHREN W. TAYLOR ON BISHOP EDDIE L. LONG
YOUTUBE VIDEO APPEAL AND NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST
CHURCH WEALTH TOUR 2009
ATLANTA, GA (EnviGlobal.com) – Business Accelerator and entrepreneur, Ephren W. Taylor releases the following statement regarding the recent Youtube.com video appeal posted by New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor, Bishop Eddie L. Long:
Due to many inaccuracies, and based upon what I view as a direct character assassination and an attempt to paint a picture of an inability, on my part, to take responsibility for the actions of City Capital Corporation during my tenure as CEO, I am extending facts relative to the aftermath of the Wealth Tour at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.