Dr Boyce Money

Lawrence Watkins Explains Ujamaa Deals–How We Can Help Others Buy Black

2011-11-06T12:50:00.001-08:00

To sign up for Ujamaa Deals for free, please follow this link.

Impactful, Humble and BROKE…A Message to Nonprofits

2011-10-18T07:31:00.001-07:00

by Ryan Mack – President of Optimum

Last week I had a stimulating conversation with a group about the economy. We talked about the Occupy Wall Street movement and what it stood for, the need for fiscal responsibility within this struggling economy, and the value of entrepreneurship and its necessary role in a global economic recovery. This was not a one way conversation as all parties involved were extremely informed and well equipped to discuss complex issues. This conversation was not on CNN or in the green room, it was not for a graduate program at a major university, nor was it for a group of prominent intellectuals. I was speaking to a group of homeless teenagers in Brooklyn.

Yes…homeless teens in Brooklyn who were all living in the shelter system in New York City. They were part of a program that does tremendous work in preparing an underserved population to integrate into society and avoid becoming a negative statistic.

This is not an isolated occurrence for me. As an activist who teaches financial literacy frequently to underserved populations, I have to partner with those nonprofits who can give me access to groups of captive audiences in this demographic. I can talk for hours telling you about the great work and strong testimonies of peoples’ lives who have been changed through these organizations. The substance abuse battles that have been won, the transformation of lives of someone who was homeless and is now a tax paying citizen, or the formerly incarcerated people who had lost hope but now feel they have a new lease on life. However, amongst the diversity of positive testimonies there seems to always be a singular theme amongst the smaller grassroots nonprofits doing great work…NO MONEY!

I am sure most can share some stories about a local organization, or a few, doing great work but having problems with funding. There is another common thread I came across amongst these high impact but underfunded grassroots nonprofits…they are all very humble.

I love humble people. They are the salt of the earth and let their actions speak louder than their words. However, many people often mistake the trait of being humble with the lack of a need to have a marketing plan. Often times, these nonprofit organizations have no marketing plan at all because they feel it exerts a level of egoism which is contradictory to their core value system. Below are the types of statements about marketing I have heard from these saints doing such great work:

· “There is no need to market what we do because I will let my work speak for itself.”

· “I don’t need any recognition or praise for the work I do.”

· “I don’t want to exploit those people I serve.”

All of these statements are very noble but are also very wrong and destructive to the core mission of the organization. What many leaders in these local, high impact, grassroots, but underfunded nonprofit organizations fail to have a strong grasp on is the importance of visibility as it relates to funding. Think about a wealthy and philanthropic individual. That person is rich because he/she works hard and probably has limited time. They want to help and give back but don’t have the time to research those organizations that are doing great work. What is their answer? They give to organizations THEY KNOW ABOUT. They give to friends within their immediate network, their church, or to the Red Cross and/or United Way because they saw a television commercial highlighting an initiative that needs additional funding; these organizations get the nod when it comes to donations. If they were a fly on the wall in the workshops I have conducted in the urban communities I am sure they would reach into their pockets immediately to contribute to the cause. However, they are not a fly on the wall. They are rich and too busy to venture into the depths of these neighborhoods to find and to fund your mini movement.

It is time for these local nonprofits to understand that marketing is the most essential component of your nonprofit. How are you to raise funds if you don’t market or highlight your programming / initiatives? Putting together a marketing plan does not mean you have a large ego or are any less humble…it just means you understand the importance of getting your message out to more people, which will generate more interest, which will lead to more dollars, which you can use to empower those people you serve. Self-glorification only applies if you are glorifying your work for the benefit of yourself. You are not doing this for yourself; you are increasing visibility to better serve your constituents.

So it is time for you to…

· Create a channel for your nonprofit on Youtube.com.

· Purchase a flip cam to record the workshops and programs you are doing so you can put up clips of these initiatives on your channel for the entire world to see.

· Make sure you get video testimonies every workshop of the participants so funding organizations can see and hear for themselves the impact you are having in the lives of people in the community.

· Start blogging about your experiences and regularly posting the written pieces on various sites.

· Allocate a significant piece of your budget to advertise to the public events/program/initiatives instead of relying solely upon word of mouth.

· Form partnerships with other nonprofits in your community to enhance your outreach.

· Create a few sweatshirts, t-shirts, polo shirts, and hats with your company name, logo, or a slogan on it so people will be intrigued to ask you about your organization and you can begin branding your image.

· Upgrade your website regularly with the work you are doing and make sure it is professionally done.

· Send out regular emails to your database using www.constantcontact.com to keep your network abreast of your efforts. Spend some time to make sure you are sending them something they will actually read and doesn’t sound so “sales pitchy”.

These tips and more are just a few suggestions that can lead to increased visibility which can lead to increased dollars. It hurts me to continue to see people struggling to raise funds especially when they are doing such great work. I don’t want to see another leader of a nonprofit have to close his/her doors because they don’t have the money to remain open.

To the public…it is time for you to step up to the plate and support those nonprofits you see doing the great work. I am sympathetic to those nonprofits who say they are so busy doing work they often forget to do the crucial job of marketing their efforts. If you see someone doing great work, do more than give them a praise…give them a dollar. Praise is great, but dollars keep the organization you were praising viable. Find a local organization in your community doing great work and pay them a visit. If you feel they are worthy, set up a regular donation schedule to support their efforts which are supporting your community. If you have time and really appreciate their mission, ask to join their board and offer your insight and assistance to help grow the organization.

Regards,

Ryan Mack, President of Optimum and Author of "Living in the Village"

Who is Ryan Mack?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUQENite18U

Pick up a copy of Ryan Mack's "Living in the Village" and empower yourself AND your community today!

www.livinginthevillage.com

[The "Living in the Village" Commercial] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrxiSnEeo1A

Great speeches are great...but in these hard economic times we need tangible solutions. Ryan Mack gives inspiring speeches, but his economic empowerment programming through his 501(c)3 is even better! Talk with him about putting something together programming for your organization, city, or community! See him in action by clicking either of the links below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsL-LWi1aL4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nrQPJwwtFw

The Ethics Problems of Wall Street: Dr. Boyce Watkins Breaks it down with Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship Expert Dr. Laquita Blockson

2011-10-16T15:11:00.001-07:00

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Dr. Laquita Blockson break down the ethical issues of Wall Street and the logic behind the movement to Occupy Wall Street.

Should Couples Be Given a 2-Yr Renewal Option in Marriage?

2011-10-08T10:20:00.001-07:00

Given the high cost of divorce, is there a better way? A legislator in Mexico says he has one.

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Oprah Blows Away the Competition on the Richest Woman List

2011-10-08T09:45:00.001-07:00

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Dr. Boyce: Why Black People Need to Occupy Wall Street Too

2011-10-05T07:25:00.001-07:00

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Tre Baker: Building Black Business by Being a Responsible Consumer

2011-09-22T21:56:00.001-07:00

by Tre Baker, Your Black World

I’ve done a lot of studying and research on economic development as it relates to the Black community, and, as you can imagine, I’ve found many critical issues that need to be addressed. But I think most of these issues stem from the same core problem: lack of ownership and control of the companies that we spend most of our money with. Economics can be complicated and boring, which I guess is why we kind of forgot to deal with it while we were worried about integrating in white schools and businesses and getting Black politicians elected during and after the Civil Rights Movement. But a half a century later, we’re not much better off relative to whites, economically, than we were when we were getting lynched and hosed down in the streets.

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T.I. Finds that Prison is Good For Business: Spike in Sales of His Clothing Line

2011-09-21T14:11:00.001-07:00

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Minority Business Programs in Jeopardy

2011-09-19T08:29:00.001-07:00

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Ryan Mack Takes the Less Talk, More Action Empowerment Tour to Detroit

2011-09-11T17:22:00.001-07:00

Ryan Mack, one of the nation’s leading experts on Financial Literacy, took his “Less Talk, More Action” tour to the city of Detroit this weekend. During the visit, Mack didn’t just make cameo appearances or complain about what’s wrong with America. Instead, he took the message of empowerment to the people, visiting churches, community centers, and even a local prison.

The video below highlights Ryan’s impact on the city.

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The President’s Plan Expected to Create Over One Million Jobs

2011-09-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

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Economic Policy Expert Claud Anderson Writes Open Letter to President Obama

2011-09-07T11:12:00.001-07:00

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Black Unemployment Skyrockets in August

2011-09-02T10:25:00.001-07:00

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The Congressional Black Caucus Continues to Push on Black Unemployment

2011-08-22T15:41:00.001-07:00

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Duke Professor Sandy Darity Offers a Solution to the Employment Crisis

2011-08-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

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Is President Obama Being Supportive of the CBC Jobs Initiative?

2011-08-10T07:23:00.001-07:00

by Ayvaunn Penn, Your Black World

For the initial CBC jobs initiative report courtesy of the White House Office of Communications, click here.

The Congressional Black Caucus launched its 5-stop tour on Monday starting off by taking thousands of job opportunities to Cleveland, Ohio. Many unemployed citizens are excited about the new job opportunities the CBC has worked to make available with their Congressional Black Caucus “For the People” Jobs Initiative. At the same time, some are wondering why President Obama is not showing more support for CBC efforts. Further more, some are just unhappy that Mr. President is going off on his own job initiative mission in the middle of the CBC jobs initiative campaign. The Washington Post reports:

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The White House Issues a Statement about the Historic Downgrade of Federal Debt

2011-08-06T14:30:00.001-07:00

Your Black Politics received this message from the White House today. It is President Obama’s first response to recent reports that for the first time in U.S. history, federal government debt has been downgraded from AAA status.

In Monumental Move, S&P Set to Downgrade US Gov’t Credit Rating

2011-08-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

According to CNN, the Standard & Poor’s rating agency has told the Obama Administration that it plans to downgrade the U.S government’s AAA credit rating. The ruling has not been announced to the public and it is reportedly being challenged by the White House. The move would be unprecedented, for the United States has long been considered one of the most credit-worthy financial entities in the world.

Continue reading →

The Debt Ceiling Debate is Now Reaching Critical Levels

2011-07-27T09:01:00.001-07:00

by Ayvaunn Penn, Your Black World

Valuable time is ticking away, and there is now less than a week left until the U.S. runs out of money. Government leaders around the world are getting nervous. According to Reuters, a board member of the Bank of Japan stated, “As the world’s biggest economy, the U.S. would have an immeasurable impact on global financial markets and Japan would not escape the damage. Valerie Pecresse, France’s budget minister says, “The global economy needs an American agreement…WRAPPED UP IN A BOW.” Simply put, everyone’s nerves are being frazzled by this U.S. governmental stalemate. Reuters reports:

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Dr. Boyce: The Debt Ceiling Battle is a Symptom of Much Greater Economic Troubles

2011-07-24T16:26:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action

In early 2001, America’s economic future was rosy: Our government was sitting on a massive budget surplus, and the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the next 10 years would carry our nation down the path of seemingly endless prosperity. This was a good time for President George W. Bush to push through a set of massive tax cuts, significantly reducing government revenue at a time when we didn’t quite seem to need the money.

Five Tips to Survive and Thrive in this Changing Economy

2011-07-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

What is Your Business Model?

There is a saying that if you continue to do the same things the same way and expect a different result, that is the definition of insanity.

There was an article, Business Models for Industries in Crisis, that discussed how five industries must change the way they do business if they are going to survive and thrive.

The same is true for a lot of us! We are in a state of crisis. If we want to survive and thrive in the current economy we have to change our strategies and tactics.

So, the question for each of us is what are we willing to do differently?

For example, if you are looking for new employment, do you continue to do it the same old way or have you employed new tactics? You can't afford to literally and figuratively look for a job the "old fashion" way. It doesn't yield sufficient results in this competitive environment.

I have a friend who was interviewing for a position with an organization. He saw that I was connected to someone via Linkedin who worked at that organization. He called me to ask if I could make an introduction. A great way to network!

Another colleague of mine was interviewing with someone. When she looked him up on Linkedin, she saw that they were connected to a mutual person. She called that person to find out more about the person she would be interviewing with. A wonderful opportunity to be prepared for an interview by knowing a little about the interviewer!

Regardless, if you are an entrepreneur or not, you are the C.E.O of your life. Read 5 Tips to devise a winning strategy that will enable you to create a “business model” that will guide you through this ever changing economy.

Good Luck and Much Success!

Bio: Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

The Landscape of Entrepreneurship is Changing! What Side of the Fence Are You On?

2011-07-13T04:29:00.000-07:00

From what perspective are you looking at the lack of job opportunities?

We continue to hear in the news about the lack of job creation for the American people. And we will continue to hear about it since both the Democratic and Republican parties are gearing up for the Presidential election in 2012 that is fast approaching.

One thing that both the Democrats and Republicans have agreed on is that “big business” is not the answer to the unemployment problem. As a result, the Federal Government has tried to collaborate with private industry to invest significant dollars in entrepreneurial programs such as Startup America.

In addition, there have been other programs developed like the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Initiative that has committed to investing $500 million to help entrepreneurs grow their business to create jobs. They thought this would be the answer to the unemployment problem. Not so!

There are some clear cut trends that are influencing small business owners and consumers that give some insight on why startups are starting smaller and adding fewer jobs to the U.S. economy. These trends demonstrate why it is much easier to start a lean business today.

What are these trends? Read more….

Bio: Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Dr. Boyce, Marc Lamont Hill, Steve Perry, Michael Eric Dyson Sign on for New Film, “Hoodwinked”

2011-07-08T08:12:00.001-07:00

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Another One Bites the Dust: Ebony/Jet Sells a Big Chunk of It’s Magazine

2011-07-07T12:58:00.001-07:00

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High-Flying Citigroup Executive Allegedly Robs His Bank with a Computer

2011-06-30T06:54:00.001-07:00

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How to Do Business with a Fortune 500 Company

2011-06-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

We can either talk about how opportunities are not being handed to us or we can discuss how to take advantage of the opportunities that are being given?

As a small business owner, I want to be part of a dialogue about how money can be made NOT about how I am being hindered from making money. What do you want to talk about?

There was an article about the discrimination by major organizations against black businesses via the “NON URBAN DICTATE” initiative. This particular initiative is geared towards black and Hispanic consumers NOT black businesses. That doesn’t make it any more palatable, it is just a point of clarification.

With that said, there ARE major organizations who want to do business with minority and women small business owners. They understand that African Americans and Hispanics will be the new majority in the 21^st century.

Therefore, they are looking to do business with minority business owners that can help them maximize the revenue that can be generated via these communities. I have said it before and I will say it again, in a capitalistic society, the bottom line is revenue.

Did you know that Macy’s had a Workshop at Macy’s initiative that held workshops this past Spring? These workshops were specifically targeted to minority and women small business owners to prepare them to do business with Macy’s.

The hard truth we need to face about ourselves is that, more often than not, we are not prepared to do business with major organizations like a Macy’s.

Are you ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes?

If you want to know how to do business with Fortune 500 companies, go to the Four Steps to Getting Business With Fortune 500 Companies to read and listen to the discussion I had with Ms. Lynda Ireland, President and CEO, of the New York/New Jersey Supplier Diversity Council (The Council)

In addition, I spoke with Corey Smith, Former Director of Supplier Diversity at NBC Universal to get additional tips on what it takes to get business with a Fortune 100 company! As a corporate member of The Council, his organization looks to The Council to provide viable vendors who can do business with NBC.

Let us not perish for lack of knowledge

As consumers and small business owners, we should be focusing our attention on the companies that respect us as viable consumers and viable strategic business partners.

If you are a serious about making money and about your business, then take the time to read and listen to my discussions with Lynda Ireland and Corey Smith. Nuff’ said!

Bio: Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Are You Planning to be an Accidental Entrepreneur? If so, think again!

2011-06-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Some bad news!

The unemployment rate continues to plague us. African Americans have been the hardest hit with unemployment. According to a survey that was done by Dr. Boyce Watkins, 38% of you have experienced a lay off in the past three years. If you haven’t personally experienced a lay off, you know a friend or a family member who has.

Across the board, we are in a dismal state: unemployment, wealth creation, and the value of our homes have diminished substantially. Recently, there has been much talk about how hiring has significantly slowed down again. We don’t need the economic reports to tell us what we already know.

Some good news!

Did you know that from 2008 to 2009, African Americans and older Americans had the greatest increases in starting their own businesses?

Although, that can be considered great news, we still must be cautious in our optimism. These challenging economic times can and has been a primary motivating factor for individuals to start their own businesses when they have been laid off for a significantly long time.

And now some ugly news!

One of the worst reasons to start a business is because you believe you have no other options. It’s like getting married just because the woman is pregnant. It requires too much sacrifice and hard work to do it for that sole reason. Here are Ten Questions You Should Answer if you are considering entrepreneurship.

For a lot of us who have started our own business, we have tapped into our personal savings, 401k plans, and/or home equity. Of course, we expect a return on investment. More often than not, that doesn’t happen. Ninety-five percent (95%) of small businesses go out of business in five years.

Am I advocating NOT starting a business? Of course not!

If you have always wanted to start a business and you see this as an opportunity to do so, great! Most successful entrepreneurs started out in a traditional work setting where they learned some great skills that enabled them to make a successful transition to entrepreneurship. So, you have one thing in your favor.

If you want to know what else it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, read The Decoding of the Successful Entrepreneur – Here’s the Secret Formula.

What I am advocating is that if and when you take that leap into entrepreneurship make sure you acquire the essential business skills necessary to be successful. A lot of small business owners fail because they are great at their craft but don’t have the “know how” to run a successful business.

Don’t Just Do It!

Like marriage when entrepreneurship is done for the “right” reasons and there is a solid foundation of skills and know-how, it can be wonderful. When not, it can suck all your financial and emotional resources right out of you. Be Prepared!

Bio:

Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur.

Wealthy Woman Leaves $40 million to her African American Nurse

2011-06-24T05:22:00.001-07:00

And they say that good nursing can’t pay the bills…

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If You’re Not Telling Your Own Story, Someone Else Is.

2011-06-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

We all said our goodbyes to the Oprah Winfrey Show last month with regret, with glee, or with indifference.

However you may feel about Oprah, she deserves respect due to her ascension as one of the most powerful and influential women in the media industry. She has risen from talk show host to owning her OWN network which gives her the ability to decide what she wants viewers to see.

She was able to capitalize on this opportunity because of her great success with her own production company, HARPO Productions, which produced her show as well as other successful shows like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, and Rachel Ray. The verdict is not quite out yet on The Nate Berkus Show.

Recently, there was an article written about the relevance of Essence magazine for today’s black woman.

Although major companies like BET and Essence magazine were started by African Americans, they have since been bought by major conglomerates. The crux of the problem was touched upon but not really addressed. “Other” folks continue to define who we are and tell our story.

We fail to keep in the forefront of our minds that we live in a capitalistic society where the only thing that matters is what will bring in the greatest revenue. We get angry. A perfect example is the Father's Day Hallmark card for single black mothers. We ask ourselves and each other, why can’t they ever see the positive things that are going on in our community and write about that?

If we want our story to be told correctly then we have to tell our own story and manage the images and perceptions that other people have of us. It is imperative that we are sitting at the boardroom table where those types of decisions are being made. This applies to every aspect of our lives may it be media, entertainment, sports, and etc.

We have to give Oprah some credit. She could have BUT she didn’t sell Harpo Productions to the highest bidder after twenty five years. She decided to parlay her power into a bigger opportunity to bring about even greater influence. She decides what shows go on HER network.

We should take note. It should be clear to us by now that we must control our own destiny and create our own history. In a capitalistic society, where money yields power, one of the primary means to do that is to become extremely successful entrepreneurs in major industries.

I understand Oprah is not THE only black entrepreneur who has had significant success in the boardroom. Of course, there are others who are famous and not so famous!

Nevertheless, the time has come for us to create what we want for ourselves instead of waiting or expecting others to give us what we believe is our just due.

Bio:

Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur.

The Rush Card Under Investigation by Florida Attorney General

2011-06-20T07:15:00.001-07:00

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38% of African Americans Have Lost Their Job in the Last Three Years

2011-06-15T05:00:00.001-07:00

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Dr. Boyce: Black unemployment Rises Again– a State of Emergency Ensues

2011-06-03T14:40:00.001-07:00

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Yes, Bill Collectors May Be Following You on Facebook, Twitter and Everything Else

2011-05-31T15:25:00.001-07:00

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Dr. Boyce and Rev. Al Sharpton discuss Black Unemployment and the Onslow Ross Prosecution

2011-05-09T21:15:00.001-07:00

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Technorati Tags: al sharpton,black politics,black scholars,dr. boyce watkins

Pastor Onslow Ross: A Crook or a Victim?

2011-05-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

Is this pastor a crook or a victim? Why he got 10 years in prison.

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Technorati Tags: pastor onslow ross,black preachers,african american preachers

Huffington Post: Black Unemployment and the Great Black Disconnect for Obama

2011-05-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

Dr. Boyce Watkins

Professor, Syracuse University

Posted: 05/ 8/11 03:51 PM ET

President Obama has a problem, a very serious one. The president's problem is what I would call "The Great Black Disconnect." This divide is the place where black America's love and appreciation for the Obamas disconnects from the intense economic suffering of the African American community. Like a festering and infected wound that remains untreated, President Obama's support within the black community is threatened by the fact that the people who love him most are suffering unlike anything our nation has seen over the last 50 years.

This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its unemployment numbers for the month of April. The figures were consistent with the jobless recovery that has taken good care of Wall Street, but created homelessness on Main Street. The national unemployment rate grew from 8.8 percent to 9 percent, which will surely perpetuate President Obama's somber ratings on economic performance.

click to read.

Technorati Tags: black unemployment,black scholars

Friday Flash Feature: Denise Bolds Teaches Single Black Moms How to Raise Their Sons

2011-05-06T13:54:00.001-07:00

Leslie DeTouche, Your Black World

Many single black moms are not sure how to raise their boys. Well, Denise Bolds has some solutions that work.

Click to read more.

Study: Minorities Still Locked Out of Most Institutions

2011-05-05T04:18:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com, Scholarship in Action

I took a look at an ABC News picture of President Barack Obama sitting in a Situation Room with lead advisers watching the assassination of Obama bin Laden. Everyone had a tense look on their face, as 10 years of hard work suddenly came down to the wire. I couldn’t help but notice, as I scanned all the faces across the room, that there were only two women present (Hillary Clinton and another woman in the back), and one bi-racial black man (President Obama). Every other person in the room was a white male.

What startles me the most is that millions of other Americans can look at this picture and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. The “white guy’s club” has always been the status quo in leadership positions.

It appears that this problem doesn’t just exist in government, it exists in academia, corporate America and nearly every other institution in our nation. Most interesting is that no one seems to care or take the matter seriously. Quite a few universities and corporations love to use the word “diversity” as if it were some kind of intellectual toilet paper, but most of them don’t actually practice anything close to what they preach.

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Teen Joblessness, Violence Expected to Hit Record Highs This Summer Due to Cuts in Federal Funding

2011-05-03T12:51:00.001-07:00

CHICAGO, Reuters — A record-low one in four U.S. teenagers will land a summer job in the coming months as a result of a still-poor job market and lost federal funding, according to a report issued on Monday.

As a consequence, urban studies experts said cities like Chicago — where summer unemployment among African-Americans aged 16 to 19 years approaches 90 percent — could experience a rise in street violence.

“Both national and local leadership continue to ignore the plight of youth who are most at risk for potential violence as a result of being left on the streets in the summer months when crime is at its most explosive,” Chicago Urban League President Andrea Zopp said in a statement.

The summer employment rate among U.S. teenagers this year was projected at between 25 percent and 27 percent, based on an analysis of four decades of employment trends by Andrew Sum of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. That would be a post-World War Two low, while as recently as 2006 the teen summer employment rate was 37 percent.

U.S. economic growth has been sluggish since the recession ended in June 2009, with job growth lagging the recovery and unemployment still at a lofty 8.8 percent.

The long-term impact of higher summer joblessness among young people is a less-experienced work force and increased government spending due to lower lifetime earnings, reduced tax revenues and higher prison costs, experts said.

In Chicago alone, nearly 700 children were hit by gunfire last year, with 66 deaths, though the city’s overall murder rate declined, said Jack Wuest, executive director of the Alternative Schools Network which commissioned the report.

“We cannot continue to ignore the correlation between youth violence and teen employment,” Wuest said. “We know if our teens are in school or at a job they are not on the streets.”

Federal stimulus dollars directed to cities and applied to summer jobs programs have run out and the funding was not renewed by Congress, meaning 18,000 more Illinois teenagers will be jobless this summer, according to the report.

Soulja Boy Is the Latest Rapper to Waste His Money on Stupid Stuff

2011-05-01T16:28:00.001-07:00

Your Black World Reports

Soulja Boy is now bragging about owning a $200,000 Bentley. He sent this message out on Twitter:

“ 2012 Bentley GT I'm the first one with it in Atlanta!!! Shipped from England.”

Our Your Black World psychics see another tweet coming in about five years:

“Bentley just got repossessed by the IRS and I’ll be done with my bankruptcy proceedings tomorrow.”

Brothers….please learn to save and invest and stop making black people into the most ridiculous consumers in America.

Join the Your Black World Coalition at YourBlackWorld.com

Russell Simmons’ Open Letter to President Obama: Don’t Forget Our Plight

2011-05-01T12:06:00.001-07:00

Your Black World Reports

I listened to your speech last week at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network's 20th anniversary dinner, talking among friends and close supporters. This was an annual African American dinner, a very important one. While I know that any Democrat would have fulfilled their promise to come back if they had won the '08 election, I also know the significance, and the special burden it poses on you, as the first African American President, at the same time.

Still, I woke up the next day feeling uneasy, not because you didn't take issues of direct significance to the black community head-on -- like the fact that one in three black children go to jail once in their lifetime or that black people have an unemployment rate double the amount of white people -- but because nowhere in your deep and thoughtful remarks did you talk about the elephant in the room that affects ALL Americans, irrespective of color: the growing ranks of poor Americans, Americans struggling not just to meet their mortgage payments but to eat, sleep under a roof, educate their kids and pay their basic bills.

As a passionate advocate of yours since I joined your campaign in 2008, there is something you need to hear: in trying to soar above party politics, you risk forgetting your most important commitment to inclusion and empowerment. As you prepare for your speech to the nation tomorrow night, I write this letter to you as a friend and strong advocate.

The rich are already at the table, as are the Democrats, the Republicans, the Tea Party and the unions, the business interests and the moneyed interests. The poor can't afford for you to forget about them, and you cannot afford it either. Of all Americans, the poor are not just the real victims of this recession; they are the victims of a thirty year campaign of smear and neglect, to strengthen the rich on the backs of the rest of America in the dim and ultimately futile fantasy that the rich getting richer will somehow "trickle down."

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Black Americans Not Getting Good Financial Advice

2011-04-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

by TEWire
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspapers
Originally posted 4/27/2011

Only two out of every 10 African-Americans are on a path to achieve their retirement goals, according to a six-month-old survey of Blacks conducted by a major wealth manager.

The study, entitled “The African-American Financial Experience,” produced an alarming snapshot of Black Americans’ financial reality: African-Americans do not save as much money as Whites because they distrust the financial system, and are three times more likely to take money from their retirement plans to meet immediate needs.

The survey was conducted in November by Prudential Insurance of America, which interviewed approximately 1,500 Blacks between the ages of 27 and 70 who earn more than $25,000 a year. The study found that while Blacks invest conservatively and have scant relationships with financial planning professionals, their dreams of financial independence are more ambitious than those of Whites.
The survey concluded Blacks are twice as likely as Whites to dream of owning a business. It also found that 60 percent of African-Americans surveyed held less than $50,000 in a company retirement plan and only 23 percent of those

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Report: Newspapers and Websites Lack Diversity in Sports Reporting

2011-04-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Some 320 websites and newspapers that belong to Associated Press Sports Editors slightly improved their racial hiring practices last year, according to a study released Wednesday, though they failed again to make any strides in gender hiring for key newsroom positions.

The report, released every two years by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, gave those outlets a C plus, up from a C in 2008, for racial hires and an F for gender hires in jobs including sports editor, columnist, reporter and copy editor.

This is the third report that's been done for APSE since 2006.

Overall, it said, sports departments were still being led mostly by white men.

"When survival is at stake, like it is for so many places, I think the danger is that things that will be of long-term importance are less of a priority than say, keeping the economy of a newspaper going," said the study's primary author, Richard Lapchick. "I think it happens in all kinds ofbusinesses ... The old saying of last hired, first fired is still too much at play."

Lapchick said perhaps the worst news from the study was that the percentage of sports editors who were women or people of color fell 2.3 percentage points from 11.7 percent in 2008 to 9.42 percent in 2010. White males increased by 3 percentage points for sports editors.

The report showed that 97 percent of the sports editors at APSE newspapers and websites in 2010 were white, and 94 percent of sports editors overall were men. Just 5.5 percent of sports staffs are black men and 3 percent Latino men. Only 11.4 percent are women.

Latino and Asian men increased by an average .54 percent in all categories covered, except sports editors. Latino men's biggest gain was in assistant sports editors (1.03 percent) and Asian men saw the largest gain in columnists (.66 percent).

ESPN formed a substantial part of the totals for sports editors and columnists both in racial and gender categories. It has two African-American sports editors and 23 African-American men and women columnists. Those figures represented more than 20 percent of the sports editors and half of the 41 columnists of color at newspapers with at least 250,000 circulations.

Lapchick urged APSE to adopt a "Ralph Wiley Rule," after the late African-American sports writer. It would be akin to the NFL's Rooney Rule, which calls for a diverse pool of candidates to be considered for all key vacancies.

"I am also encouraged that APSE has continued to request the report knowing that the news would not be good," Lapchick said. "I applaud its determination to get better."

Phil Kaplan, sports editor at the Knoxville News Sentinel, whose term as APSE president ends in June, said that while he applauds Lapchick's call, he isn't sure that it would be something the organization could mandate.

"I haven't discussed it with anyone yet, but it would be difficult to enforce," Kaplan said. "Our organization always wants to encourage diversity in newsrooms. There's no issues with that. But I don't know as a group if we could enforce that because of the corporate ties of many of our members."

Michael Anastasi, managing editor for Sports at the Salt Lake City Tribune, APSE's incoming president, said the organization has already implemented several initiatives aimed at fostering diversity in a changing media climate.

Earlier this month Anastasi participated in a panel discussion along with members of the Association for Women in Sports Media at the National Sports Journalism Center in Indianapolis.

"I am encouraged," AWSM president Amy Moritz said. "We've had good conversations and exchanges about ideas about how our organizations can work together and increase opportunities in sports departments, and particularly in management positions. That's one of the key areas -- getting diverse people in the decision making positions. I'm encouraged by the commitment and that other people are taking it seriously."

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Technorati Tags: black news,african americnan news

Oil Companies are Making Less Gas but Much Higher Profits

2011-04-28T20:50:00.001-07:00

Gasoline prices are skyrocketing — and so are oil company profits.
Exxon Mobil Corp. earned nearly $11 billion in the first three months of the year, a rollicking 69% increase over its performance for the same period last year. That's on sales of $114 billion.
It's the same story for the other big oil companies. Royal Dutch Shell turned a profit of $6.3 billion in the first quarter, and BP — despite lingering costs from the Gulf Coast oil spill— made $7.1 billion.

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Should You Need a License to Braid Hair? A Woman Files a Lawsuit Over the Issue

2011-04-28T06:28:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

Jestina Clayton is a woman in Utah who is originally from Sierra Leone in West Africa. She does African braiding part-time in order to make extra money. She is now being confronted with the loss of significant income, since a law in the state of Utah claims that you must have a full cosmetology license in order to braid hair.

Clayton filed suit this week in the court of law. She is being backed by the Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based organization that helps people like Clayton challenge unjust laws.

“African hair braiding is safe, and you shouldn’t need the government’s permission to practice this trade,” said Paul Avelar, her attorney. “Both the federal and Utah constitutions protect every individual’s right to earn an honest living in their chosen occupation free from pointless government interference. When the government imposes unreasonable regulations, as it has done here, courts must protect the individuals’ rights. No one should have to hire a lawyer or lobbyist just to braid hair.”

Clayton said that she’d originally called the Cosmetology Board to determine if a license was necessary for her to braid hair.

“They told me I did not need a cosmetology license as long as I was not using chemicals,” she said.

After someone reported her business, she is now faced with the daunting cost of trying to get the license, which can be as high as $18,000 and require 2,000 hours of coursework.

“Licensing laws are a convenient cover for protecting a regulated industry from competition,” explained Tim Keller, executive director of IJ-Arizona. “By forcing hair braiders to get an expensive license, cosmetology schools are
guaranteed tuition-paying students and licensed cosmetologists are protected from competition, forcing consumers to pay more.”

This case is an important one for Ms. Clayton to fight, because hair care is an important industry for slews of black women all across America. Additionally, black women should be insulted by the fact that the hair care industry that they put billions of dollars into is controlled by people who are not black. Ms. Clayton is right to fight fire with fire by taking this case to court, and other black hair care providers would be wise to take note to learn how to gain a greater stake in the industry that drains money out of the pockets of black women everywhere.

My God daughter went to “hair school” after she graduated from high school. Although I’d voted for her to attend college, I eventually embraced the idea and started doing my research. Once I found out about the massive amounts of money being spent by black women in this industry, I encouraged my God daughter to accompany her hair stylist training with a few lessons on entrepreneurship. This would hopefully position her to be able to independently provide for her family in an industry that is not going to disappear any time soon. Many black women would rather starve than to let their hair go south, so the money will likely be flowing in perpetuity.

The point in all this is to say that we’ve got to be more creative in how we live our lives. Black people have long been free, but we still haven’t learned how to be independent. As long as we’re depending on others outside our community to provide us with the things we need (especially jobs), we will always remain vulnerable.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Black Unemployment Reaches Depression Levels in Many Major Cities

2011-04-27T21:23:00.001-07:00

by Janell Ross, Huffington Post

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In the decade leading up to the Great Recession, Wanda Nolan grew accustomed to steady progress.

From an entry-level job as a fill-in bank teller, she forged a career as a commercial banking assistant, earning enough to become a homeowner. She finished college and then got an MBA. Even after the recession unfolded in late 2007, her degrees and her familiarity with the business world lent her a sense of immunity to the forces ravaging much of the American economy. Nolan was an exemplar of the African American middle class and the increasingly professional ranks of the so-called New South.

But in September 2008, everything changed.

A bank human resources officer called her into a private conference room. “All I heard was, ‘Your position has been eliminated,’” says Nolan, 37, who, despite being one of the more than 13 million officially unemployed Americans, still spends most days in her self-styled banker’s uniform of pearls and pants and practical flats. “My mind started racing.”

More than two years later, Nolan is still looking for a job and feeling increasingly anxious about a future that once felt assured. Her life has devolved from a model of middle class African American upward mobility into an example of a disturbing trend: She is among the 15.5 percent of African Americans out of work and still looking for a job.

For economists, that number may sound awful, but it’s not surprising. The nation’s overall unemployment rate sits at 8.8 percent and the rate among white Americans is at 7.9 percent. For a variety of reasons -- ranging from levels of education and continuing discrimination to the relatively young age of black workers -- black unemployment tends to run twice the rate for whites. Yet since the Great Recession, joblessness has remained so critically elevated among African Americans that it is challenging longstanding ideas about what it takes to find work in the modern-day economy.

Millions of people like Nolan, who have precisely followed the oft-dictated recipe for economic success -- work hard, get an education, seek advancement -- are slipping backward. Even as they apply for jobs and accept the prospect of a future with less job security and lower pay, they remain stalled in unemployment.

Trading down has become a painful truth for much of working America, but this truth becomes particularly stark when seen through the prism of race. Only 12 percent of all Americans are black, but working-age black Americans comprise nearly 21 percent of the nation’s unemployed, according to federal data. The growing contrast between prospects for white and black job-seekers challenges a cherished American notion: the availability of opportunity and upward mobility for all.

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McJobs Are Not the Cure for An Ailing Economy

2011-04-27T20:52:00.001-07:00

Editor's note: Annette Bernhardt is policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project, a national advocacy group for the rights of lower-wage earners. She was lead researcher on NELP's recent report, "A Year of Unbalanced Growth: Industries, Wages, and the First 12 Months of Job Growth After the Great Recession."

(CNN) -- We are starved for signs that the economy is picking up. So when McDonald's threw its doors open to hire 50,000 workers nationwide, media networks scrambled to film applicants lining up across the country for that increasingly elusive piece of the American dream -- a job.

The hirings were billed as a boost to the economy, and for a fraction of the country's 13.5 million unemployed, landing one of these jobs will be a huge and welcome relief.

But let's step back from the McDonald's public relations bonanza for a minute and recognize that nothing is great about low-wage jobs, even when they flood the economy by the thousands. Low-wage jobs subject families to unrelenting economic stress. They trap workers in dead-end careers, denying them the money and time to invest in education and new skills. And they rob local communities of middle-class incomes and stable households.

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Technorati Tags: black news,african american news

A Black Prof Discusses Racial Bias in Financial Decisions

2011-04-27T05:20:00.001-07:00

Your Black World reports

Have you ever tried to get a loan, and felt that you weren’t being treated the same as if you were white? What about watching that promotion at work being given to the white guy down the hall when you were the one slaving night and day for 20 years? Well, this feeling is not uncommon. A recent survey at YourBlackWorld.com showed that nearly 90% of African Americans feel that they’ve experienced some kind of discrimination in the workplace. In spite of our having a black president and attorney general, new laws have not been introduced to help people of color fight discrimination in the workplace.

Another prominent type of discrimination is the racial bias in other kinds of financial decisions. Millions of black people were victims of predatory lending during the recent financial crisis, leading to a massive decline in black family wealth over the last decade. Additionally, the ability to build a business, get government contracts or do other things to create financial security for your family can be impacted by the color of your skin. Prof. Stephanie Yates Rauterkus at The University of Alabama Birmingham speaks on the topic in the video below.

Click here to watch the video

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Black Family Wealth Has Virtually Disappeared

2011-04-23T06:55:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins – YourBlackWorld.com

The first decade of the new millennium brought a lot of things that the world didn't expect: the ability to order a pizza on your home computer, cell phones that allow you to talk to your friends face-to-face, and our nation's first black president.

One other unexpected event of the last decade is the disappearance of a century's worth of progress in reducing the wealth gap between black and white Americans. AsRex Nutting at Market Watch so accurately notes, wealth levels of the black family in America have declined dramatically during the past decade, and they show no evidence of getting better any time soon.

According to Nutting, "In a country where access to capital is everything, most blacks have nothing."

First, Nutting mentions that African Americans have the highest unemployment rates in the country, which stand at an average of 16.5%, compared to 9% for whites. What is most daunting is that soaring black joblessness, combined with higher foreclosure rates, bankruptcies, and declining home values have seriously cut into the wealth of the black family in America. in other words, we are the first to lose our jobs, have the least wealth to protect our families when times are tough, and a greater reliance on declining home equity as a source of economic security. This economy has provided the perfect storm of black economic destruction.

According to Nutting, the median net worth for black households dropped from $9,300 in 2007 to $2,200 in 2009, much lower than the median wealth of $98,000 for white households. He also mentions that incomes dropped in black homes by 7.2% between 2007 and 2009, much greater than the 4.2% decline for white families.

Nutting's article reminds us that the United States has a long way to go when it comes to wealth distribution. Over 80% of the nation's wealth is controlled by just 20% of its citizens, and the richest 1% of Americans controls one-third of the nation's wealth. Roughly 40% of Americans have no wealth at all. African Americans are disproportionately represented in the group of Americans with zero or negative wealth, which is a problem that most of our elected officials are inclined to ignore, and something that our nation's citizens don't spend much time getting upset about.

Nutting is correct to mention that most Americans have their wealth tied up in their home values. So, when home prices dropped so dramatically during the economic downturn, this led to the wealth of many black families disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. Most of the economic disparities in the United States don't exist because whites are more responsible with their money or possess economic intelligence that black people don't have. The primary reason for the gap is that for hundreds of years, African Americans added to our nation's net worth, but were not being properly compensated for it (similar to how the NCAA operates). Being left out of the growth of America's economic engine has kept African Americans at the bottom of the ladder of institutional opportunity: Our school systems are not well-funded, we can't find jobs because we don't own the businesses that take applications, and we continue to be utilized as for-profit commodities by the prison industrial complex.

According to Nutting's research regarding the Survey of Consumer Finances, black families were three times wealthier (in real terms) in 1983 than they were in 2009. As white families saw their net worth grow from $124,000 in 2001 to $143,600 in 2007, blacks actually saw their net worth drop from $12,500 to $9,300. By 2009, white families saw their wealth levels drop to $94,600, but African Americans's levels dropped even more to $2,200. So, between 2001 and 2009, African American families went from having a disgraceful one-tenth of the wealth of white families to an even more horrific ratio of one-fiftieth.

I am not sure how to process the Obama Administration's blind, deaf and dumb response to the persistent wealth and opportunity gaps in America that pertain to race. While the president continues to be popular among African Americans, I would encourage members of his administration to remember that leading with courage is an important part of making African American history (not just holding a fancy title that adds almost nothing more than symbolic value for the black community at large). Courage means sometimes doing things that are not popular and working to make America better.
Given that I haven't heard the president or his team use the words "black man," "black woman," or "black families" in public over the last two years, I am concerned as to whether or not our first black president has been or is willing to do much to fight on issues that matter to black people who didn't go to Harvard University. For example, it's interesting that President Obama would speak up for Henry Louis Gates in a meaningless and ambiguous scuffle with a police officer, but wouldn't say a word about Kelley Williams-Bolar, a black woman who was sent to jail for trying to get her kids into a good school. The latter case was far more significant in the fight against inequality, but Kelley's housing projects were apparently not close enough to Harvard Yard.

There is the added complication that perhaps, because of being a black man, President Obama could "get in trouble" with white voters for advocating on issues that matter to African Americans. This argument has been used by supporters of Hillary Clinton, who might be far less sheepish or self-conscious about advocating for women and minorities. I'm not sure if the Clinton supporters are correct, but the last two years have made many African American families wonder if it even matters who sits in the White House.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Technorati Tags: black wealth,african american wealth,black scholars,african american scholars

Would You Pay $50,000 to Meet Oprah Winfrey?

2011-04-21T19:31:00.001-07:00

It turns out that Oprah Winfrey is partnering with CharityBuzz to auction off her quality time. The expected running price is going to be $50,000. Would you pay that much to meet with Oprah if you had the money?

The money is being raised for human rights and Oprah is auctioning off four tickets to her show in Chicago and the chance to meet her backstage. Perhaps since it’s for charity, it all makes sense.

Technorati Tags: black celebrity gossip,oprah winfrey

BP One Year Later: Corporate Greed 101

2011-04-19T18:41:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

It’s a year after the start of the infamous BP oil spill that stole the attention of the nation for several months. One year ago today, the oil giant began the process of spilling five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing everything in its grasp, starting with 11 oil workers who were near the initial explosion. After taking out the workers, the spill generated an unprecedented genocide on local wildlife, killing thousands of fish, birds and other species that lived within the ocean. The BP beast also murdered local businesses that depended on the Gulf for their livelihoods, with almost none of those businesses being able to restore their full economic value.

Tourists are no longer interested in swimming in water that was so heavily polluted just a few months ago.

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Report: Newspapers and Websites Lack Diversity in Sports Reporting

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Oil Companies are Making Less Gas but Much Higher Profits

Should You Need a License to Braid Hair? A Woman Files a Lawsuit Over the Issue

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Black Unemployment Reaches Depression Levels in Many Major Cities

McJobs Are Not the Cure for An Ailing Economy

A Black Prof Discusses Racial Bias in Financial Decisions

To join the Your Black World Coalition, please visit YourBlackWorld.com.

Black Family Wealth Has Virtually Disappeared

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Would You Pay $50,000 to Meet Oprah Winfrey?

BP One Year Later: Corporate Greed 101

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