Does Your Business Need Funding? Our SBA Loan Experts CAn Help. Get the right loan for your growing business. A nationwide lender, we can help you with financing for business acquisition or expansion, working capital, equipment, inventory, or commercial real estate. As a Preferred Lender, we offer SBA 7(a) and 504, CalCAP, USDA B&I and BIA guaranteed loans with terms to fit your requirements.
Let’s Talk.
tm
Contact us today. Diane Heyden, Senior Vice President | 949.864.8516 | dheyden@ppbi.com 17901 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1200, Irvine, CA 92614 | 949.864.8000
www.ppbi.com
Publisher's Message
U
sing an excerpt from President Barack Obama’s 2016 National Women’s History Month Proclamation, “Whether serving in elected positions across America, leading groundbreaking civil rights movements, venturing into unknown frontiers, or programming revolutionary technologies, generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our Nation." March is National Women’s History Month (NWHM) in recognition of the contributions of women toward the development of great communities, a great nation and a greater world. And, as pointed out by President Barack Pubisher/Chief Executive Officer Obama in his 2016 Proclamation, women have endured and overcome innumerable challenges. They are beyond worthy of this spotlight as we celebrate NWHM by highlighting this year’s theme, “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government” at the Black Business Association’s (BBA) 2016 Salute to Black Women Business Conference and Vendor Luncheon in Los Angeles. The BBA will honor the contributions and achievements of United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Jan Perry, General Manager, City of Los Angeles, Economic & Congresswoman Maxine Waters Workforce Development Department, Laura Hall, National President, National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (N.O.B.E.L.), Dezie Woods-Jones, State President, Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), and Carolyn Flowers, Senior Advisor, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Dept. of Transportation. The Black Business News (BBN) adds a special NWHM salute in recognition of Congresswoman Waters tenure of more than two decades in the House since her election in 1991. BBN also acknowledges the fact that since 2001 all African American Congressional Representatives from California have been women: Congresswomen Juanita Millender-McDonald, Barbara Lee, Diane Edith Watson, Laura Richardson and Karen Bass. In between proclamations President Obama continues his war against the most obstructionist, filibustering and, some might say, racist Senate known to politics in modern America. As the President submits his choice of judicial moderate Merrick Garland, current chief judge to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to fill deceased Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat, he does it knowing the “blockers of all things a Black President presents” aka “Republican Controlled Senate” will continue its destructive tactic of “non-support” that has clearly been detrimental to our nation’s growth. They
Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
Black Business News Group P.O. Box 43159 Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA 323-291-7819 Fax: 323-298-5064
www.blackbusinessnews.net PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sarah Harris Dean L. Jones Steven Turner
ENTREPRENEUR EDITOR Kim Anthony
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Linda Ware
PRODUCTION MANAGER Narishima Osei
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dean Jones Linda Ware Ralph D. Sutton Veronica Hendrix Giavanna Foster P. Yvette Thomas LaSandra Stratton
GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris
STORY EDITORS Wanda Flagg Jennifer Marie Hamilton
PHOTOGRAPHY Ian Foxx Sabir Narishima Osei
CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR La Sandra Stratton
LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications Copyright © 2016 by Black Business News All Rights Reserved. The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
see Publisher's Message on page 43 3 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
About
ABOUT THE BLACK BUSINESS NEWS GROUP… The mission of The Black Business News is to inspire and inform public and private sector industry representatives on the importance of smart small business growth. As a versatile source of socioeconomic development activity news, the publications of the Black Business News Group impart current local, national and international industry and social trends and news affecting small businesses across the United States of America (USA), providing guides to greater access to financial capital, management efficiencies, business education, mentorship opportunities and social media networks. The goals of the Black Business News Group include: •
promoting USA-based black-owned business enterprises to a world wide audience.
•
offering business growth enhancing information on education, exhibitioning, international trading, technology, industry trends, and more.
•
cexploring major public and private sece tor contracting methods to educate s. black-owned and operated enterprises.
•
providing an affirmative influence forr emerging entrepreneurs by sharing in-novative design and creative culturall content that exposes them to the history of black enterprises and urges them to participate in the USA’s future.
•
advocating and promoting on behalf of black-owned businesses by promoting the need for expanding an economic foundation that supports an unfettered and self-sustained urban society with USA job creation and economic opportunity, where usiness enterprises. blacks work, live and operate viable business
WWW.BLACKBUSINESSNEWS.NET
view back issues at: https://issuu.com
2016-2017 Black Business Association Events
March
Salute to Black Women
May
Procurement Exchange Summit
June 2017
Annual Awards Dinner Black Business News Group Publications Black Business News Black Business News International Black Business News Travel Africa
Contents
Black Business News…March 2016 3
Publisher's Message
Government 8 President Obama Speaks at U.S.-ASEAN Summit 10 US Importing of Slave-produced Goods Baned 10 Meet The U.S. Digital Service 11 My Nominee for Librarian of Congress 12-13 The Supreme Court Nomination 14 The Official Canadian State Visit 16 President Obama in First Official Visit to Cuba 58 President's Foriegn Policy Leans Toward Reason
80 Fencer to Represent USA in the 2016 Olympics 87 NAMCSC Names New President 88 Teen is Google Doodle Winner
80
Entertainment 22 BBN Show Biz Buzz 24 New TV, Stage & Film Projects Focus on Slavery
Business B i 32 34 67 68 78
National Clean Out Your Computer Day Let’s Take a Look at Facebook at Work Vinery of the Month - MYX Fusion Helping Black-Owned Businesses Flourish New Black-Owned Hotel to Open
CommunityPublic Interest 94 In Photos: Let Girls Learn Anniversary Event
Obituary/Memorials
22
97 ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Actor Gil Hill Dies at 84 98 Percy Pinkney Dies at 78
International Special Focus 28 30 36 38 50 54 70 72 79
New ABC President Channing Dungey First Black Woman to Launch an Airline Black-Owned Craft Beer Company in Wal-Mart Fighting for Five: Women March Forward in Business during Women’s History Month Khamit Kinks: Taking a Natural Approach to Business Growth Why a Congresswoman from Los Angeles is Talking about Africa Why a Congresswoman from Los Angeles is Talking about Africa MediaMation, Attraction Tech Madam C. J. Walker, Millionaire
103 African Stock Exchanges 104 Somalia Becoming a Cashless Society 107 New Tanzania President's Accomplishments 108 Infrared-capable Drones are Hunting Poachers
Columns 90 Take A Look! 116 Shopping Gallery 140 BBA Master Planner 141 Resource Vault 142 Books to Consider...
94
5 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
Remarks by President Obama at Opening Session of the U.S.-ASEAN Summit
G
ood afternoon, everyone. It is my privilege to welcome you to this landmark gathering -- the first U.S.-ASEAN Summit hosted by the United States. This reflects my personal commitment, and the national commitment of the United States, to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations individually and to Southeast Asia as one region, as one community -- ASEAN. I want to thank my co-chair, President Choummaly of Laos; Secretary General Minh; and leaders from all 10 ASEAN nations for being here. As everyone knows, I first came to know the people and the beauty and the strength of Southeast Asia as a boy when I lived in Indonesia for several years with my mother. As President, I’ve had the opportunity to visit most of your countries. You and the people of ASEAN have always shown me extraordinary hospitality, and I hope we can reciprocate with the warmth today and tomorrow -- which is why I did not hold this summit in Washington. It is cold there. It’s snowing. So, welcome to beautiful, warm Sunnylands. (Laughter.) As President, I’ve insisted that even as the United States confronts urgent threats around the world, our foreign policy also has to seize on new opportunities. And few regions present more opportunity to the 21st century than the Asia Pacific. That’s why, early in my presidency, I decided that the United States, as a Pacific nation, would rebalance our foreign policy and play a larger and long-term role in the Asia Pacific.
And this has included engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN, which is central to the region’s peace and prosperity, and to our shared goal of building a regional order where all nations play by the same rules. As part of our deeper engagement, I'm proud to be the first U.S. President to meet with leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries. This summit marks our seventh meeting. At your invitation, the United States joined the East Asia Summit, and together we’ve made it the region’s leading forum for addressing political and security challenges. I’ve made now seven visits to the ASEAN region -more than any previous American President. At our last meeting in Kuala Lumpur, we forged a new Strategic Partnership. And our sustained engagement is delivering concrete results that benefit all of us -- momentum that we can build on here at this summit. Together, we can continue to increase the trade and economic partnerships that create jobs and opportunity for our people. Since I took office, we’ve boosted trade between the United States and ASEAN by 55%. The region is now our fourth largest goods trading partner, including U.S. exports that support more than 500,000 American jobs. U.S companies have been the largest source of foreign investment in ASEAN -one of the many reasons that the region’s GDP has surged in recent years, lifting people from poverty into the middle class. I want to take this opportunity
to again congratulate my fellow leaders on the formation of the ASEAN Community, which is another important step toward integrating your economies. Here at this summit, we can build on this progress and do more to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation so that growth and development is sustainable and inclusive and benefits all people. Together, we can also continue to increase our security cooperation to meet shared challenges. In recent years, the United States has increased our maritime security assistance to our allies and partners in the region, improving our mutual capabilities to protect lawful commerce and to respond to humanitarian crisis. Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means. Together, we can continue to support the aspirations and dignity of our citizens. The historic election in Myanmar and the transition now underway gives hope for a nation that is inclusive, united, peaceful and democratic. In joining the TPP, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have committed to high labor and environmental standards. I’m very proud that our Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative is helping to empower young men and women who are shaping the region every day. As you know, I've held a number of town hall meetings with these remarkable young people. And their idealism, their courage, their willingness to work for the future that they believe in should all give us hope. As leaders, we have to answer their aspirations. And here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive
8 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
U.S. President Barack Obama walks with the Honorable Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China during the recent U.S.-ASEAN Summit
societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies, and upholding human rights. Finally, together, we can continue to do more around the world to meet transnational challenges that no one nation can meet alone. As we were reminded again by the attack in Jakarta last month, the scourge of terrorism demands that we stay vigilant, share more information and work cooperatively to protect our people. Just as our nations worked together to achieve a strong climate
change agreement in Paris, now we need to implement that agreement and step up investment in clean, affordable energy, including for developing countries. So, economic growth that is inclusive, creating opportunity for all; mutual security and the peaceful resolution of disputes; human dignity, including respect for human rights and development that is sustainable -- that is our vision. That’s what brings us here together today. I want to thank all of my fellow
leaders for being here and for your commitment to a strong U.S.ASEAN partnership. And given the extraordinary progress that we’ve achieved together these past seven years, I’m confident that we can continue our momentum at this summit. www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2016/02/15/remarkspresident-obama-opening-sessionus-asean-summit
9 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
President Obama Bans US Imports of Slave-produced Goods By Martha Mendoza
P
resident Barack Obama has signed a bill that includes a provision banning U.S. imports of fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa and garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh, closing a loophole in an 85-year-old tariff law that has failed to keep products of forced and child labor out of America. An expose by The Associated Press last year found Thai companies ship seafood to the U.S. that was caught and processed by trapped and enslaved workers. As a result of the reports, more than 2,000 trapped fishermen have been rescued, more than a dozen alleged traffickers arrested and
millions of dollars' worth of seafood and vessels seized. Until now, U.S. customs law banning imports of items produced by forced or child labor had gone largely unenforced because of two words: "consumptive demand" — if there was not sufficient supply to meet domestic demand, imports were allowed regardless of how they were produced. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who offered the amendment eliminating that exception, said his office is already asking U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure they begin enforcing the new rules when the law takes effect in 15 days. "It's embarrassing that for 85
years, the United States let products made with forced labor into this country, and closing this loophole gives the U.S. an important tool to fight global slavery," he said. www.usnews.com/news/us/ articles/2016-02-24/obama-bans-usimports-of-slave-produced-goods
Meet The U.S. Digital Service
T
he United States Digital Service (www.whitehouse.
gov/digital/united-states-digitalservice) is transforming how the
federal government works for the American people. And we need you.
The Opportunity Redefining the experience of government. Every day, millions of people interact with the American government. We apply for Social Security benefits and small business loans. We look for affordable health
insurance and financial aid. We need passports and tax refunds. Too often, these interactions can be frustrating and cumbersome because of outdated tools and unreliable systems. We believe that government is ready for a change. This is where you come in. We need people like you to take on these high-stakes challenges, to apply the skills and practices you’ve honed to untangle problems and simplify solutions for millions of Americans. We need you. Are you up for the
10 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
My Nominee for Librarian of Congress By President Barack Obama
T
oday, I'm nominating someone to be our new Librarian of Congress -- the leader of one of our nation's oldest federal institutions -- and I want to introduce you to her. Michelle and I have known Dr. Carla Hayden (www.whitehouse. gov/blog/2016/02/24/meet-presidentobamas-nominee-librariancongress?utm_medium=email&utm_ content=email569-text1&utm_ campaign=loc) for a long time since
her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and her dedication to learning and education is unparalleled. More recently, she's devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today's digital culture. She's been hard at work revitalizing Baltimore’s library system as the CEO of Enoch challenge?
The U.S. Digital Service Teams of problem solvers making government services simple, effective, and efficient. The U.S. Digital Service is using the best of product design and engineering practices to transform the way government works for the American people. In every corner of government, we join forces with the many passionate and talented tech professionals within agencies who are dedicated to public service. Together, teams of America’s most capable problem solvers are striving to make critical services — like Healthcare, student loans, and
Pratt Free Library, updating its technology and raising money to fund essential improvements. Under her leadership, the Pratt library has become the largest provider of public-access computers in Maryland. As Librarian of Congress, she'll work in close partnership with Congress, support the copyright office that serves our nation’s creative communities, and explore new ways to share the information housed within our library through innovative technologies. And I know she'll be a good
steward for the important role that libraries play in our communities. Last year, during the unrest in Baltimore, Dr. Hayden and the library’s staff kept the doors of the Pratt open as a beacon for the community. Finally, she'd be the first woman and the first African American to hold the position -- both of which are long overdue. So I hope you'll take a couple minutes to watch this video and meet Carla for yourself. I have no doubt she'll make a fantastic Librarian of Congress.
Veterans’ benefits — as simple as buying a book online. But we can’t do it without you. Will you join us?
• Modernizing Our Immigration System (https://medium.com/@
The Work Making change at scale. U.S. Digital Service teams are taking on the stuff that matters: from benefits for Veterans and the health insurance marketplace to student loans, electronic health records, tools to combat human trafficking, and much more. Here are a few of the challenges our teams have been tackling: • Improving Services for America’s Veterans (http://www. va.gov/ds)
USDigitalService/technologyis-helping-to-modernize-ourimmigration-system-here-s-how96162d615b6a#.pbnqm4pbt)
• Helping Americans Access Healthcare (www.healthcare.gov) • Better Access to Government Information (https://18f.gsa.gov)
Will You Join Us? • Sign Up for E-mail Updates: www.whitehouse.gov/webform/getlatest-news-us-digital-service • Follow Us On Twitter: https:// twitter.com/usds • Appy to Join the USDS: www. whitehouse.gov/digital/united-statesdigital-service/apply
11 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
A Responsibility I Take Seriously by President Barack Obama
T
he Constitution vests in the President the power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. It’s a duty that I take seriously, and one that I will fulfill in the weeks ahead. It’s also one of the most important decisions that a President will make. Rulings handed down by the Supreme Court directly affect our economy, our security, our rights, and our daily lives. Needless to say, this isn’t something I take lightly. It’s a decision to which I devote considerable time, deep reflection, careful deliberation, and serious consultation with legal experts, members of both political parties, and people across the political spectrum. And with thanks to SCOTUSblog for allowing me to guest post today, I thought I’d share some spoiler-free insights into what I think about before appointing the person who will be our next Supreme Court Justice. First and foremost, the person I appoint will be eminently qualified. He or she will have an independent mind, rigorous intellect, impeccable credentials, and a record of excellence and integrity. I’m looking for a mastery of the law, with an ability to hone in on the key issues before the Court, and provide clear answers to complex legal questions. Second, the person I appoint will be someone who recognizes the limits of the judiciary’s role; who understands that a judge’s job is to interpret the law, not make the law. I seek judges who approach
decisions without any particular i d e o l o g y or agenda, but rather a commitment to impartial justice, a respect for precedent, and a determination to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand. But I’m also mindful that there will be cases that reach the S u p r e m e President Obama prepares to study profiles of possible Court in which Supreme Court nominees. the law is not clear. There will be cases in which a judge’s analysis outcomes. necessarily will be shaped by his A sterling record. A deep or her own perspective, ethics, respect for the judiciary’s role. and judgment. That’s why the third An understanding of the way the quality I seek in a judge is a keen world really works. That’s what understanding that justice is not I’m considering as I fulfill my about abstract legal theory, nor constitutional duty to appoint a some footnote in a dusty casebook. judge to our highest court. And It’s the kind of life experience as Senators prepare to fulfill their earned outside the classroom and constitutional responsibility to the courtroom; experience that consider the person I appoint, I suggests he or she views the law hope they’ll move quickly to debate not only as an intellectual exercise, and then confirm this nominee so but also grasps the way it affects that the Court can continue to serve the daily reality of people’s lives in the American people at full strength. a big, complicated democracy, and in rapidly changing times. That, I www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/abelieve, is an essential element for responsibility-i-take-seriously arriving at just decisions and fair
12 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Obama Chooses Merrick Garland for Supreme Court By Michael D. Shear, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Gardiner Harris. Additional Edits: BBN
P
resident Obama on Wednesday nominated Merrick B. Garland to be the nation’s 113th Supreme Court justice, choosing a centrist appellate judge who could reshape the court for a generation and become the face of a bitter electionyear confirmation struggle. In selecting Judge Garland, 63, a well-known figure in Washington legal circles who has drawn praise from members of both parties, Mr. Obama dared Republican senators to ignore public pressure and make good on their promise to block consideration of any nominee until after the next president is chosen. The nomination to fill the seat on the court created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia sets in motion a standoff that is likely to play out for many months, perhaps without resolution. Its outcome could tip the ideological balance of the nation’s highest court, and an array of well-financed interest groups on both sides has already assembled for the battle over the nomination.
“I’ve selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America’s sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness, and excellence,” Mr. Obama said in a formal Rose Garden ceremony announcing his selection, where the president was flanked by Judge Garland and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. “Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term; neither should a senator.” In choosing Judge Garland, a former prosecutor who has served on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 1997 and as its chief judge since 2013, Mr. Obama opted to select a jurist better known for his meticulous work ethic and adherence to legal principles than for an ideological bent. “At a time when our politics are so polarized, at a time when norms and customs of political rhetoric and courtesy and comity are so often treated like they’re disposable, this is precisely the time when we should play it straight,” Mr. Obama told an audience that included Judge Garland’s family, Democratic senators and liberal activists. White House officials considered, and rejected, advice from supporters who urged Mr. Obama to pressure Republicans by nominating a member of a racial minority. They also declined to zero in on a liberal champion who might have excited the core Democratic supporters that Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would need in the general election. “To suggest that someone as qualified and respected as Merrick Garland doesn’t even deserve a hearing, let alone an up-or-down vote, to join an institution as important as our Supreme Court, when two-thirds of Americans believe otherwise — that would be unprecedented,” the president said. In his brief remarks, Judge Garland emotionally described his career as a prosecutor and a judge, saying that “fidelity to the Constitution and the law have been the cornerstone of my professional life.” He said that if the Senate confirmed him, he promised to “continue on that course.” www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/us/politics/obama-supremecourt-nominee.html?_r=0
13 March 2015 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
The Official Canadian State Visit
T
he President and the First Lady welcomed The Right Honorable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Mrs. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau to the White House for an official visit. This was the first official visit by a Canadian Prime Minister in nearly 20 years. In his welcome to the Prime Minister President Obama said “Whether we’re charting a course for environmental protection, making key investments to grow our middle class, or defending the rights of oppressed peoples abroad, Canada and the United States will always collaborate in partnership and good faith. The history may be complex, but the bottom line is clear. There is no relationship in the entire world like the Canada-U.S. relationship.” https://medium.com/@ WhiteHouse/in-photos-theofficial-canadian-state-visit94db196bedc8#.lf7vowdoh
President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau listen to the national anthem of Canada. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
T
here’s a lot that’s been done for women and girls, but there’s still plenty to do. Convened by the White House, this Summit will rally all of us together to celebrate what we’ve achieved, and how we’re going to take action moving forward. Covering key gender equality issues, we’ll make a powerful difference in our collective future. SUMMIT TOPICS: Economic Prosperity; Health and Wellness; Educational Opportunity; Violence Against Women; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Civic Engagement, Leadership and Visibility Add your voice to the Summit by registering at www. theunitedstateofwomen.org to receive updates on the event and to let the White House know about your specific concerns or interests. SUMMIT DATE: May 23, 2016 SUMMIT LOCATION: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC. www.facebook.com/TheUnitedStateofWomen http://fortune.com/2016/02/04/united-states-women/?xid=soc_socialflow_twitter_FORTUNE
15 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
President Obama Meets with President Castro in First Official Visit to Cuba by US Leader in 88 Years
President Obama and First L ambassador to Cuba, Jeffrey DeL staff in a hotel in Havana on Marc
P
resident Obama was officially welcomed to Cuba with full honors by President Castro at Revolutionary Palace; they met for more than two hours before delivering statements at a public appearance together. President Obama's activities included laying a wreath at the statue of 19th century independence hero José Martí; a meeting between U.S. business and Cuban entrepreneurs; an evening tour of Old Havana; a state dinner hosted by Raúl Castro; a speech to the people of Cuba and an afternoon baseball game. https://medium.com/an-historictrip-to-cuba www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ on-first-full-day-in-cuba-obamameets-with-castro-and-willaddress-the-public/ar-BBqITPx?li =BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout#im age=BBqI2y4|19
16 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
ady Michelle Obama stand with U.S. Laurentis (L), as they meet with embassy ch 20.
President Obama tours Old Havana with First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters at the start of a three-day visit to Cuba on March 20. Š Carlos Barria/ Reuters
President Barack Obama and daughter Malia share a laugh as Malia interprets in Spanish for a restauranteur in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, March 20, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama greets Cuban girls as she arrives for a Let Girls Learn roundtable at the Fabrica de Arte Cubano, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell).
â–ş President Barack Obama, the First Family and President Castro attend a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team for the first Major League Baseball exhibition game in Cuba in 20 years.
Let Us Help You Grow Your Business to New Heights. To take your business to the next level, it’s essential that you choose the right financial partner. At East West Bank, we offer all the products and services you expect from a big bank with the high level of personal attention you expect from a local bank. Our bankers have over 40 years of experience helping minority businesses reach their financial goals. We look forward to working closely with you to customize a financial solution tailored to your unique situation. For more information about East West Bank and our solutions for businesses, please call: 1.626.768.6729 www.eastwestbank.com
Equal Housing Lender
Member FDIC
Use Your Senses to Spot a Gas Leak To help keep your community safe and secure, use your senses of sight, hearing or smell to alert you to any of the following signs of a natural gas leak. LOOK
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT A GAS LEAK • Remain calm • Don’t light a match, candle or cigarette • Don’t turn electrical appliances or lights on or off or use any device that could cause a spark • Natural gas leaking from a plastic pipe can create static electricity which can ignite the gas • Immediately evacuate the area, and from a safe location, call 800-427-2200, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; or call 911
© 2014 Southern California Gas Company. All rights reserved.
• A damaged connection to a gas appliance • Dirt or water being blown in the air • Dead or dying vegetation (in an otherwise moist area) over or near gas pipeline areas • A fire or explosion near a pipeline • Exposed pipeline after an earthquake, fire, flood or other disaster
LISTEN • An unusual sound, such as a hissing, whistling or roaring sound near a gas line or appliance
SMELL • The distinctive odor* of natural gas *Some people may not be able to smell the odor because they have a diminished sense of smell, olfactory fatigue (normal, temporary inability to distinguish an odor after prolonged exposure to it) or because the odor is being masked or hidden by other odors that are present, such as cooking, damp, musty or chemical odors. In addition, certain conditions in pipe and soil can cause odor fade – the loss of odorant so that it is not detectable by smell.
BBN Show Biz Buzz By Linda Ware
Chiwetel Ejiofor to Play Baron Mordo in Marvel’s Doctor Strange
A
ccording to Deadline, Chiwetel Ejiofor will join the cast of Doctor Strange as Baron Mordo, a fellow student of the Ancient One and long-
Chiwetel Ejiofor time nemesis of Stephen Strange. Ejiofor was already rumoured to be circling the movie back in January, but at the time it was believed that he would not be playing the villain. As it turns out, that statement might still be true. We’re currently hearing that the version of Baron Mordo appearing in the film will be a combination of several characters from the comics and may not be a clear cut villain after all. It’s unclear what exactly that might mean, but either way, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor on
board, they’re starting off with three Oscar-nominated actors… not too shabby. Doctor Strange will be directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) based on a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and it hits theatres on Nov. 4, 2016. http://filmjunk.com/2015/06/11/chiwetel-ejiofor-to-playbaron-mordo-in-marvels-doctor-strange/3
Chiwetel Ejiofor Received BIFA’s Richard Harris Award
C
hiwetel Ejiofor was the recipient of the British Independent Film Awards’ Richard Harris Award. Introduced in 2002 in honor of the legendary Richard Harris in recognition of an outstanding contribution to British film by an actor, the award will be presented to Ejiofor at this year’s ceremony on December 6. Previous winners include John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel DayLewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Julie Walters and Emma Thompson last year. The award is bestowed upon Chiwetel Ejiofor in recognition of his exceptional service to the film industry, not just here in the UK but internationally as an ambassador for British film. “I am so happy this award is going to Chiwetel,” said Jared Harris, actor and son of Richard. “Although the recipients of this award have all been embraced by the establishment, they all came from outside it, fought their way in on the strength of their talent, claimed their place and changed the status quo. A journey which describes Chiwetel’s career perfectly. His talent is immense, it has brought him deserved worldwide recognition, and he is in his prime! I hope this award inspires British filmmakers to take advantage of him and build films around his talent.” http://deadline.com/2015/11/chiwetel-ejiofor-bifarichard-harris-martian-doctor-strange-1201636847
22 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
2016 Black Harvest Film Festival "Call for Entries" The Black Harvest Film Festival is Chicago’s annual showcase for films that tell stories, raise questions, or touch on issues that relate to the black African, African American, and African diasporic experience. The Gene Siskel Film Center invites feature length or short films for consideration in the festival.
If you have any additional questions, please contact Barbara Scharres at 312.846.2070 or bscharres@saic. edu www.siskelfilmcenter.org/blackharvest
his role as David Levinson from the original. It has been nearly 20 years since the Will Smithstarring sci-fi film hit theaters, grossing more than $800 million worldwide at the box office. Director Roland Emmerich will return to helm the film. Independence Day 2 is set for release on June 24, 2016 — almost exactly 20 years from when the first film hit theaters on July 3, 1996. Dean Devlin, Emmerich and Harald Kloser are producing. James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright wrote the most recent draft. Independence Day 2 is a big get for Usher, who will play a central character in the new film as the son of Smith's character. Smith's role in the first blockbuster helped establish him as a star, kicking his career up to the next level. Usher stars in the Lebron James-produced Starz TV series 'Survivor's Remorse' as Cam Calloway, a basketball player who moves with his family to Atlanta after he signs a pro contract. The first season premiered Oct. 4, 2014, and Starz quickly renewed the show for a second season, which will air later this year. www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ independence-day-2-casts-survivors-778312
"Miles Ahead" Debuts in April 2016
T
Jessie Usher
'Independence Day 2' Casts Jessie Usher
J
essie Usher, the lead of Starz's series 'Survivor's Remorse,' has been cast in Fox's sequel Independence Day 2. Liam Hemsworth has also been cast in a lead role and Jeff Goldblum will reprise
he movie will be in theaters April 1st in New York and Los Angeles then nationwide beginning April 22nd. The film flows like Miles Davis’ experimental records did. Laced with the notes of Sketches of Spain and Kind of Blue, Don Cheadle's directorial debut is as much a look inside the world of the composer, bandleader and trumpet player as it is a (fictionalized) gun-wielding caper in which a Rolling Stone reporter tags along one cocaine-fueled night as Davis hunts down his stolen session tape from a shady music executive.
www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/03/30/doncheadle-never-shut-it-down-like-miles-davis/82381514/
23 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBN Show Biz Buzz from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 24
S
lavery, the most horrific and shameful chapter of American history, has been an irresistible lure for Hollywood over the years, from the rosecolored tableaux of "Gone With the Wind" to the ancestral journey of "Roots" to the revelatory saga of "12 Years a Slave." Though many of those films and projects have been successful, audiences have often had a complicated relationship with stories set in the slavery era. While offering presentations of good versus evil, they are almost always punctuated by depictions of nightmarish violence — whippings, hangings and torture — and scenes of physical and psychological degradation that can be unsettling for black and white viewers alike. However, there's now a dramatic shift taking place in how this country's slavery period is portrayed in popular culture. Picking up on the against-all-odds triumph of 2013's "12 Years a Slave," a flurry of slavery-related projects are landing on the film, TV and theater landscape during the next several months with a new emphasis: showing empowerment over adversity. Bookended by Wednesday's premiere of WGN America's "Underground" — the first primetime TV series revolving around slaves and the Underground Railroad — and the highly
New TV, Stage and Film Projects are Looking at Slavery with a Bold new Emphasis on Empowerment By Greg Braxton
Aldis Hodge and Jurnee Smollett-Bell anticipated arrival this fall of the Nat Turner slave revolt film, "The Birth of a Nation," the projects are launching in the midst of heightened racial tension in the country. The latter is defined by a series of widely publicized police shootings of unarmed black men and more recently the combative discourse regarding race in the Republican presidential race and the furor over #OscarsSoWhite. Those issues and the creative forces behind many of the upcoming accounts have prompted a fresh look at the legacy of slavery — a perspective fueled by the idea of African American perseverance,
survival and courage. "Over the past year and a half, two things have been converging," said Erica Armstrong Dunbar, an associate professor of Black American studies and history at the University of Delaware. "People are interested in seeing black slavery through a different lens and a different voice. The current interest around racial and social justice are fueling these works. People move backward to investigate and understand the direct correlation between the lack of humanity connected with black slavery with some of the racial and social issues we're seeing today."
24 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
The upcoming projects include a new version of "Roots," the 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley's book about his ancestors that broke ratings records; Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks' Civil War-era play "Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)," which will premiere next month at the Mark Taper Forum; and Viola Davis' developing film about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad for HBO. Heavy promotion has preceded "Underground," which is airing on WGN America (a network owned by Tribune Media, which until 2014 was part of the same company as the Los Angeles Times), and lists Sony Pictures Television as one of its producers. The drama centers on Noah (Aldis Hodge), who covertly organizes a group of his fellow slaves to escape across hundreds of miles to freedom via the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses. They are continually confronted by oppression and other obstacles, but sympathetic whites provide valuable assistance. "What we're showing is really the first integrated civil rights movement," said Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician John Legend, an executive producer on the series. "It's inspiring to see stories about heroes, people who decided to step out there and do the courageous thing. This is about blacks and whites working together to abolish an evil institution." Legend was recruited to provide music for the series and was so impressed with the script and the drama that he and his Get Lifted production company signed on as executive producers. "This show is empowering for everyone," he said. Added Joe Pokaski, who created the series with fellow executive producer Misha Green: "For us, it's not about the occupation but about
the revolution. This is about a story about American heroes that hasn't been told before. Truth is stranger than fiction — it was a desperate and dangerous time." The show also seeks to give its story a contemporary flavor. The opening scene of an escaped Noah being pursued by a bounty hunter is accompanied by Kanye West's "Black Skinhead." And there are the swooping camera shots that have become a staple of live televised events and current big-screen action films — the first several episodes were directed by Anthony Hemingway, whose credits include "The Wire." Said Legend, "We really wanted to take this story off the museum wall." The BET.Com Web series "Send Me" is another slaverythemed production. Steve Harper created the series (now available on YouTube) in which a professor of African American studies (Trace Thomas) has the power to send black people back to the slavery era. Harper, who's also the show's producer, said that despite the pain and guilt associated with slavery, it's important that it be recognized as a large part of our nation's story. "Race is the fundamental thing that's in the DNA of who we are," Harper said. "Until we deal with slavery, we will be stuck in a place of ignorance. This painful piece of history is as American as apple pie." "12 Years a Slave," about a free black man from upstate New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South, was the key force in changing the narrative about the slavery era when it was released three years ago, professor Dunbar said. "As brutal and difficult as that film was, it provided the audience with hope at the end," Dunbar said. "Even with the degradation and humiliation of slavery, we see
the black moral compass, we see black activism and black decency. Especially for this moment in time, it's really important." The slave escape drama 'Underground' is a flawed but important retelling of America's original sin The slave escape drama 'Underground' is a flawed but important retelling of America's original sin And even though she had not yet seen the pilot for "Underground," she praised the series: "I applaud them for moving forward. Many of the men and women involved in the crusade to end slavery were white. I hope that the larger audience sees the merit of this American movement." Still, "Underground" may face challenges. At a gala premiere last week at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel, the celebrity audience gave the pilot a rousing reception. But at the afterparty, some attendees privately said they were shaken by some of the more graphic violence, particularly one scene in which Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a slave who works in the "big house" of the plantation, is savagely whipped on her arms by an angry slave master. Smollett-Bell said she initially had concerns about the show's setting. "I was a little skeptical at first, wondering how they would do this as a TV show," the actress said. "But when I read the script, I was blown away. I was pretty much told in the beginning it was a slave drama, but it's so much more. There's just something so overpowering about seeing these awful conditions that these slaves were under and seeing their bravery and courage to overcome." www.latimes.com/entertainment/ tv/la-et-st-underground-20160309story.html
25 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, 2016
T
hroughout history, women have driven humanity forward on the path to a more equal and just society, contributing in innumerable ways to our character and progress as a people. In the face of discrimination and undue hardship, they have never given up on the promise of America: that with hard work and determination, nothing is out of reach. During Women's History Month, we remember the trailblazers of the past, including the women who are not recorded in our history books, and we honor their legacies by carrying forward the valuable lessons learned from the powerful examples they set. For too long, women were formally excluded from full participation in our society and our democracy. Because of the courage of so many bold women who dared to transcend preconceived expectations and prove they were capable of doing all that a man could do and more, advances were made, discoveries were revealed, barriers were broken, and progress triumphed. Whether serving in elected positions across America, leading groundbreaking civil rights movements, venturing into unknown frontiers, or programming revolutionary technologies, generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our Nation. Through hardship and strife and in every realm of life, women have spurred change in communities around the world, steadfastly joining together to overcome adversity and lead the charge for a fairer, more inclusive, and more progressive society. During Women's History Month, we honor the countless women who sacrificed and strived to ensure all people have an equal shot at pursuing the American dream. As President, the first bill I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, making it easier for working American women to effectively challenge illegal, unequal pay disparities. Additionally, my Administration proposed collecting pay data from businesses to shine a light on pay discrimination, and I signed an Executive Order to ensure the Federal Government only works with and awards contracts to businesses that follow laws that uphold fair and equal labor practices. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer charge women more for health insurance simply because of their gender. And last year, we officially opened for women the last jobs left unavailable to them in our military, because one of the best ways to ensure our Armed Forces remains the strongest in the world is to draw on the talents and skills of all Americans. Though we have made great progress toward achieving gender equality, work remains to be done. Women still earn, on average, less for every dollar made by men, which is why I continue to call on the Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act -- a sensible step to provide women with basic tools to fight pay discrimination. Meanwhile, my Administration has
26 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Woman's History Month taken steps to support working families by fighting for paid leave for all Americans, providing women with more small business loans and opportunities, and addressing the challenges still faced by women and girls of color, who consistently face wider opportunity gaps and structural barriers -- including greater discrepancies in pay. And although the majority of our Nation's college and graduate students are women, they are still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is why we are encouraging more women and girls to pursue careers in these fields. This May, the White House will host a summit on "The United State of Women," to highlight the advances we have made in the United States and across the globe and to expand our efforts on helping women confront the challenges they face and reach for their highest aspirations. We must strive to build the future we want our children to inherit -- one in which their dreams are not deferred or denied, but where they are uplifted and praised. We have come far, but there is still far to go in shattering the glass ceiling that holds women back. This month, as we reflect on the marks made by women throughout history, let us uphold the responsibility that falls on all of us -- regardless of gender -- and fight for equal opportunity for our daughters as well as our sons. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2016 as Women's History Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, 2016, with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also invite all Americans to visit www. WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the generations of women who have left enduring imprints on our history. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth. BARACK OBAMA 27 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
New ABC President Channing Dungey Gained Respect Amid Rise to Top By Stephen Battaglio, Yvonne Villarreal
C
h a n n i n g D u n g e y demonstrated she has what it takes to run the ABC Entertainment Group when she once made a very difficult phone call. ABC Studios in early 2007 had shot its pilot episode for the “Grey's Anatomy” spinoff, “Private Practice.” But network executives decided to recast the role of Addison Montgomery's college pal, Dr. Naomi Bennett, with Audra McDonald. Someone had to break the news to the veteran TV actress being replaced, Merrin Dungey, who happened to be Channing's sister. Channing Dungey, then a development executive at Disney's Channing Dungey is the new president of ABC Entertainment Group TV studio, volunteered to make the call. This week, Dungey's sister was among those celebrating her historic Dungey were not surprised that the I leave, Channing will be the next appointment on Wednesday, 46-year-old Sacramento native and president,'” said a network insider February 17th as president of the UCLA graduate was selected to not authorized to discuss internal ABC Entertainment Group, making run ABC entertainment. Even Paul matters. It helped that Dungey had her the first African American to run Lee, the executive being replaced by Dungey, had confidence in her developed a close working a major broadcast network. abilities, promoting her into a senior relationship with ABC's prolific Current and former ABC show creator, Shonda Rhimes, the executives, Hollywood agents and position. “Paul has always said, ‘When force behind two of the network's producers who know Channing
28 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Channing Dungey with Kerry Washington, star of "Scandal"
biggest hits, “Grey's Anatomy” and “Scandal.” Their strong connection goes back to the early days of “Grey's Anatomy,” not long after Dungey was hired in 2004 by ABC parent Walt Disney Co.'s television production studio. During the first season of the longrunning medical drama, the network had issues with the direction of the show. Production was shut down to retool the program. Dungey was credited with helping Rhimes get the show back on track, and on its way to becoming one of TV's most enduring hits. Since then, Dungey, who got her start working in movie development at 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., has been well respected within ABC Studios and at the ABC Entertainment Group, where she most recently served as executive vice president in charge of drama development, movies and mini-
series. She has helped develop such series as “Criminal Minds” for CBS and “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Once Upon a Time,” and “Quantico” for ABC. “She's one of those good people that you always root for,” said the network executive. “She's the smartest person they've got.” Her fans are said to include Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger. Rick Rosen, partner and head of television at William Morris Endeavor, said TV agents like working with Dungey. “She is very bright and very well-regarded,” he said. The abrupt transition at ABC, however, startled many in Hollywood. ABC executives and show producers were unaware of the management switch until Wednesday morning when it was announced. Several producers and agents declined to publicly discuss
the elevation of Dungey because they were dismayed by Lee's ouster. TV network presidencies are typically high-pressure, turbulent and often short-lived assignments. Lee, 55, lasted 51/2 years in the top job at ABC, and was more successful than most. He was credited as the architect of ABC's distinctive prime-time schedule that included programs that reflected the diversity of America, including “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Black-ish” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” Lee wasn't afraid to take risks with programming even though some comedies like “Neighbors” and “The Muppets” bombed. He consistently picked shows that he felt exemplified ABC's brand — layered, often provocative and with a hint of mirth — and advocated for guilty pleasure serials that appeal to women, such as “Scandal,” with plots that unfold over several weeks. But that strategy put him at odds with Ben Sherwood, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, according to several people familiar with the internal conflicts. Sherwood, who took Disney's top TV job a year ago, encouraged Lee to take a page from CBS' book by developing more procedural shows, such as “NCIS,” that allow viewers to watch occasional episodes without feeling like they are missing out. Last season, ABC made strong gains in the ratings but lost ground this year. ABC ranks third in total viewers, behind CBS and NBC, but this season the network slipped into fourth place among viewers aged 18 to 49, those whom advertisers pay a premium to reach. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/ envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-channingdungey-abc-entertainment-20160217story.html
29 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
South African Businesswoman Becomes First Black Woman to Launch an Airline By Lonnie Shekhtman
Siza Mzimela, middle, stands with Fly Blue Crane staff.
S
izakele Petunia Mzimela, a South African businesswoman who goes by Siza Mzimela, recently became the first black woman to launch her own airline, called Fly Blue Crane. The airline started flying in September from O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to destinations in South Africa, but plans to expand routes to Botswana, Namibia,
Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ms. Mzimela, who was previously chief executive at South African Airways (SAA) – the first woman to hold that job – told CNBC Africa recently that her objective with Fly Blue was to reintroduce “romanticism” to flying, which is why her airline doesn’t distinguish between economy and business classes.
“It’s all leather seats and everyone gets treated specially,” 49-yearold Mzimela told CNBC Africa last month. Her vision, she said, is to use the airline to open up routes that will help grow the economies of more remote towns in Africa. “Even when I was at SAA, people used to call me ‘mama Africa’ because I was so passionate about opening up the continent,” Mzimela
30 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
said. Her leadership trajectory is unusual for women and for blacks in South Africa and beyond. A report this year by accounting consulting firm Grant Thornton International found that 27% of top decisionmaking roles in South African businesses were filled by women, a statistic that hasn’t changed in a decade. Globally, reports Grant Thornton, 22% of senior roles are held by women, also a stagnant statistic over the past decade. For black executives of any gender in the country, the picture
is even more bleak. A 2015 report from South African executive recruiting firm Jack Hammer found that there are four CEOs leading the country’s top 40 companies, which is a decline from three years ago, when there were six. In the US, according to CNN Money, there are two black CEOs leading the top 30 companies, and five heading the top 500 companies. For Mzimela, it’s been a challenging road to the top of a male-dominated industry. “I don’t know how many times I’ve walked into meetings and people
just assumed I was going to be the one taking notes,” she told CNBC. Her advice to other women leaders who are breaking down gender boundaries in any industry: “Forget about the fact that you’re going to be the first,” said Mzimela. “A whole lot of people get caught up in that. It holds people back.” www.csmonitor.com/World/GlobalNews/2015/1202/South-Africanbusinesswoman-becomes-firstblack-woman-to-launch-an-airline
31 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business
National Clean Out Your Computer Day-The Importance of Clean Computing By: Nadia_Kovacs
F
ebruary 8th is National Clean out Your Computer day, and as they say, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” For centuries, this saying applied to tasks like scrubbing the floors and dusting the bookcases. Today, however, it applies to your computer just as much as it does to your house. When you “clean” your computer, you don’t just dust off the keyboard and wipe fingerprints from the screen. You also pay attention to the state of the hard drive, updating software and removing old programs.
Why Clean? Cleaning both your computer’s hardware and its software matters. Clean hardware helps your computer run more smoothly and work better for longer. Regular cleaning protects your investment and your data. When you wipe off the screen and empty crumbs out of your keyboard, you’re helping your equipment perform better and reducing the risk that it will stop working altogether. By regularly cleaning dust out of the fan vents and the case, you help protect the system from overheating and causing permanent damage both to the physical parts of your computer and to the information you store on it.
Clean software also helps protect your data. Antivirus software and regular program updates help ensure that viruses, malware, and remote “hackers” stay out of your system. When you maintain your files by backing them up, deleting unused programs, and performing maintenance tasks like defragmenting the hard drive, you help ensure your computer can save your files without accidentally corrupting them.
How to Clean Your Computer, Step 1: Hardware To keep your computer’s hardware in good working order, add these tasks to your chore list. Always turn off and unplug your computer before cleaning. The Wipe-Down. At least once a week, dust off the outside of your computer with a soft, dry cloth. Remove any fingerprints on the screen. If you want to use a cleaning fluid, visit a computer store to find one that is specifically designed for your monitor type. Regular household cleaners may damage a monitor screen. The Crumb Tray. Pick up your keyboard, turn it over, and gently pat it on the back to dislodge crumbs, stray hairs, and other tiny bits of dirt. A cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol and wiped around
the keys will help remove sticky dirt. This helps keep the keys from sticking or failing. If your keyboard is acting up, you may need to open it in order to “deep clean.” Check your computer or keyboard manual for instructions on how to open and clean this component safely. The Blowout. Every three to six months, use a screwdriver to open your computer case. Using a can of compressed air (available at any computer store), clean the dust out of the fan and the case. Put the case back together and use cotton swabs to pick up any lingering dirt on the fan vents or other small crevices on the outside of the case. For laptops, check the manual for instructions on cleaning or safe case opening.
How to Clean Your Computer, Step 2: Software Once your computer’s physical parts are clean, it’s time to attend to the programs that create and store your important information. Here’s
32 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
how to keep your computer’s “mind” as clean as its “body:” Back it up. Backing up your data regularly is a must. A laptop or tablet can be replaced, but the information inside it might be irreplaceable. Generally speaking, there are two options for backing up data: you can make a copy in a physical location, such as on an
external hard drive or thumb drive, or you can make a copy that is stored on the “cloud,” or online, in a secure location. Whichever you choose, commit to backing up your computer at least once per week, or more often if you are working on a critical document like a business contract or a collection of precious family photos.
Protect against malware. Antivirus software helps ensure that sneaky viruses and malware don’t get in and wreak havoc on your information—or worse, steal your identity. Both paid and free versions of antivirus software are available, and most programs can be set to work automatically in the background. Update your software and clean out old programs. Outdated software is particularly vulnerable to malware, because most updates are created in order to keep software safe. Make sure your software is updated. While you do updates, check to make sure you’re actually using the programs on your system, and delete any you no longer use. This helps ensure that your computer doesn’t get bogged down with unnecessary data, and it limits the number of programs that malware might “hijack” in order to gain access to the system. https://community.norton.com/ en/blogs/norton-protectionblog/national-clean-out-yourcomputer-day-importance-cleancomputing?om_em_cid=HHO_ EMAIL_US_BLST_ACT_AR_ CLUBNORTON_2016_02
www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-Worlds-Fair/543396465697684
www.laworldsfair.org
Business
Let’s Take a Look at Facebook at Work By Andie Burjek
F
acebook, which is synonymous with “distraction” in most workplaces, is striving to pull up a chair in the professional environment with its latest product: Facebook at Work (www.facebook. com/help/work). The upcoming offering has the same look and feel as Facebook, and it will have the same features.
Users will use their work email to form the account, which is not connected to their personal account. They can form groups, send private messages, post links on their timelines, update statuses and access the site from a cellphone, computer or tablet. The only major difference: Facebook at Work has a different color scheme than Facebook, so when the boss
or colleagues walk by they know that users are working on a project and not cyber-stalking friends. There’s a free version, and companies can pay extra for certain features, which is how the product would generate revenue as compared with Facebook, which makes money off ads.
Overall Goal
The overall goal of Facebook at Work is to improve workflow, increase productivity and decrease dependence on email. Over a six-month period, 300 companies participated in the beta test for Facebook at Work, including Club Med, Heineken and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Facebook Inc. declined to provide
a statement, but Workforce spoke with Jake Wengroff, a social business expert and consultant at JXB1 Social Business, and Courtney Hunt, a digital expert and founder of the Denovati Group, about the new product and their expectations. Facebook’s major selling point is familiarity: most people know
the social network already. In fact, Facebook had 1.59 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Statista. Hunt believes the familiarity of Facebook will do little to help with the success of Facebook at Work because other enterprise social platforms like Yammer copied the look and feel of Facebook years ago.
34 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business Wengroff, on the other hand, said the familiar, intuitive nature of Facebook is what helped it grow so quickly in the public audience when it left the college market. For the same reason, companies may give Facebook at Work a second look. They know Facebook is ubiquitous and that using the site is mostly intuitive.
Challenges Ahead Despite the familiarity, there are some major hurdles that Facebook at Work will have to overcome. One challenge is the already crowded enterprise social marketplace. Enterprise social platforms such as IBM Connections, Microsoft Corp.’s Yammer, Salesforce Chatter and Slack have been around for years and have had time to adjust and improve. Perhaps Facebook at Work will appeal to smaller, younger companies with an aversion to traditional software venders like IBM Corp. or Microsoft, Wengroff said. However, with this demographic Facebook would face competition with Slack, which is currently popular with the young, entrepreneurial crowd. Facebook has yet to really differentiate Facebook at Work from these other platforms, Hunt said, and it will have to if it wants to make a dent in the enterprise social market. Also, privacy and security are bigger concerns, Wengroff said. Some companies may not warm up to Facebook at Work because they know Facebook is a data collector. Companies might be unwilling to talk strategy on the platform if they think Facebook will be able to see the conversation. According to the Facebook at Work website, however, Facebook doesn’t own the data. The company using the platform still owns it. One final hurdle for Facebook at
Work, according to Hunt, is the emphasis on “organizationwide chatter” rather than meaningful communication among team members. She argued that although chatter is good for culture and morale, it’s not good for managing work. Facebook at Work “is about newsfeed, events, following people and updates. It’s about what people use regular Facebook for,” she said. “It’s a lot of broadcast communication and chat.” What’s more useful in achieving a company’s goals, she said, is give work teams the most efficient and effective ways to collaborate with each other and get their jobs done. Although organizationwide chatter is valuable, it’s second to communication and sharing within teams. Overall, Hunt has a more pessimistic outlook on Facebook at Work. It needs more to compete with what’s already out there, she said. Wengroff is more neutral. It won’t be a major revenue stream for the company or displace the competition, but it might get attention from, for example, those smaller, younger companies. Meanwhile, the Royal Bank of Scotland reported positive results on Facebook at Work coming out of the beta test.
The bank, which employs 100,000 people, found that employees were able to collaborate more efficiently and answer customer questions more quickly using the platform, according to a news release from October 2015. It found the site to be a simple, effective way to share ideas and organize events. www.workforce.com/articles/21873lets-take-a-look-at-facebook-atwork?utm_source=MyEmma&utm_ medium=Email&utm_ campaign=HR%20 NB&utm_source=newsletter&utm_ medium=email&utm_ content=Let%27s%20Take%20 a%20Look%20at%20Facebook%20 at%20Work&utm_campaign=HR_ NB_100715
35 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Black-Owned Craft Beer Company Gets Premium Placement in Wal-Mart By Angela Bronner Helm
H
arlem has a special place in the American imagination when it comes to culture, art and music. But would you also imagine small-batch beer? Well. The Harlem Brewing Co. (www. harlembrewing.com) is a 15-yearold microbrewery founded in its namesake New York community. In March the company will be stocking its wares front and center in 39 WalMart stores across the state. “I hope it turns into a Patti-pies situation,” Celeste Beatty, owner of Harlem Brewing, said, laughing, during a phone call with The Root. Beatty got onto Wal-Mart’s radar after an exec saw her on an MSNBC segment with Tamron Hall. She says that people were also calling the retailer and asking for the brand—which currently includes Sugar Hill Golden Ale, Harlem Renaissance Wit and Strawberry Hard Cider—by name. With the Wal-Mart deal, Beatty says she expects sales to increase by as much as 20%. “I didn’t really know that Wal-Mart was really a crafty retail place, but I’ve had a chance to talk to them, and I have noticed, not only with the beer, [that] a lot of their produce and other products come from local markets. So it was encouraging to see that, because ... what I hear is so much of their stuff comes from China,” she says. Beatty’s yeast-fermented quest
began a lifetime ago when she started brewing 5-gallon batches of craft beer around the corner from her Harlem apartment. These days, she is growing her own hops both in her backyard and on a farm in upstate New York. “I’m actually getting pretty deep into it,” she says, noting that after nine years, growing the annuals is like phoning it in. The Shaw University grad grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C., and admits that she used to be a “future farmer of America.” Be that as it may, she never imagined that she would be bringing her agricultural roots to Harlem. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. “It was instinctive to go into this whole craft beer culture. It’s so aligned with so many things I love, like cooking and gardening,” explains Beatty, who says on her website that craft beer is like her mother’s amazing homemade soups (almost). In an ad for her first beer, Sugar Hill Golden Ale, Beatty calls out a pantheon of the best and brightest in music—Dizzy, Duke, Lionel, Billie, Herbie, Winton, Tito and Ray, among others—and says “thanks for the recipe.” “It connects people around causes that I’m passionate about in communities like Harlem, Detroit and Atlanta,” she says. “They connect around this whole energy of music and history and our own
experiences in the Diaspora, which is so much a part of American culture.” The New York Post (http:// nypost.com/2016/02/21/harlembrewing-co-to-get-front-row-displaysat-walmarts) reports that a Wal-
Mart spokesperson said that craft beer is a growing category for the retail behemoth, and it is seeking brewers in the U.S. as part of a $250 billion investment over 10 years, supporting American manufacturing jobs. “They didn’t ask me to lower the price, which was nice,” Beatty says
36 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
of Wal-Mart. “That was something I was surprised about, because everyone said I would take a hit. I’m selling to them for the same price I do any other retail.” Harlem Brewing Co. six-packs cost between $10 and $12. Beatty says she’s shooting to get floor-display space this year and hopes to move into Wal-Mart stores in other states. Currently, she is on retail shelves in New York, Atlanta, the Carolinas and Detroit.
The glass is certainly full for 2016. Beatty will be teaching a “Brew U” class at the City College of New York next semester, “The Art of Brewing From Africa to America,” and she recently put in an offer on a space in West Harlem for a production brewery, which will include a tasting room. For those not in the know, beer is the oldest alcoholic beverage and the most popular drink in the world behind water and coffee.
“I’ve met a woman in Kenya who brews beer, and we’re going to do an exchange,” says Beatty excitedly. “I really want to get more people in the communities we serve to get involved in this industry. It’s so much a part of our culture and history, and I am so happy to give what I can to share that.” www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/ food/a-healthful-legacy-michelleobama-looks-to-the-future-of-letsmove/2015/05/03/19feb42c-b3cc11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html
37 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Fighting for Five: Women March Forward in Business during Women’s History Month By Victor Parker, Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX
of Interior Designers as Professional Development Director. We look forward to more success stories like Ronda’s through SBA’s ChallengeHER and InnovateHER initiatives (www.sba.gov/innovatehermap).
J
ust in time for Women’s History Month 2016, for the first time ever, government met its 5% statutory goal for contracts awarded to womenowned small businesses. Meeting this goal means 5% is our floor going forward – not our ceiling. According to a recent Census Bureau (www.census.gov) report, women’s business ownership rates are up 27% over five years. Women now employ eight million American workers and their businesses generate nearly 1.4 trillion dollars in receipts. Last Fiscal Year 2015, the federal government achieved history by awarding the highest percentage of contracting dollars to small businesses, supporting more than a half-million jobs in neighborhoods like yours. Ninety point seven
billion dollars were injected into the economy via small business contracts, and 17.8 billion of those dollars were awarded to womenowned small firms. Woman-Owned Small Business, Décor Interior, Design, Inc., in California earned her fair share of federal contracts with SBA (www. sba.gov). Led by Ronda Jackson, Decor Interior Design Inc. is a Los Angeles-based, SBA 8(a) certified, woman-owned facility resource company specializing in tenant improvements, interior support and grounds maintenance. Recognized as a leader in the community, Ronda was nominated for the Women Making a Difference Award in 2013 by the Los Angeles Business Journal and served on the board for the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Society
The federal government also set a new record by awarding more than 10% of contracting dollars to small disadvantaged businesses – more than doubling the 5% goal set by Congress. This includes our growing number of minority-owned firms. And finally, Uncle Sam also broke the record for contract awards to business owned by service-disabled veterans – totaling nearly 4% of the federal spend. That’s 33% above the goal set by Congress. Our veterans fought heroically on the battlefield, and now they’re fighting to grow our economy here at home. Small businesses are nimble and ground-breaking partners for the federal government. Through small business contracting, the federal government spurs small business growth and innovation, while supporting the economic security of the nation. To keep America strong, we must keep our local economies strong. And the single greatest role we can play to support small employers is to give them more business.
38 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.sba.gov
40 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
41 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
42 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Publisher's Message from page 3
have vowed to not even receive the nominee for a hearing until after the Presidential election. Consider this: A 2013 report from PolitiFact asserts they have blocked nearly as many of President Obama’s nominees as all other Presidents before him. Senate Democrats released a graphic showing that prior to this President the filibuster had been employed to block a Presidential nominee on 86 occasions in the history of the nation. Under this administration it has been used 82 times already, with more than three years to go until the end of the President’s term. With less than a year to go, it hasn’t gotten any better. This is a real call to arms for all right-minded people to use the vote this election year to right the ship of state and put pressure on our representatives to do their job regarding President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. The concern is that we might end up with another Supreme Court Justice like the George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas who after a decade of silence asked his first question during oral arguments in the Supreme Court, ironically on February 29 the last day of Black History Month…but it had nothing to do with Black folks. Thomas is similar to Ward Conerly, the man behind California's Proposition 209 prohibiting race and gender-based preferences in state hiring, contracting and state university admissions a program formerly known as affirmative action. These two are, in my opinion, perpetrators of the worst travesties to African Americans progress in the past 20 years. One for his silence on or non-support of civil rights issues that have come before the High Court and the other for advancing the death of programs that were attempting to level the playing field. We have a lot of work to do and can only get the job done by supporting best practices that build better networks. As you go about the business of building a better community through your entrepreneurial efforts, spread the word about reading BBN to find out what BBA is doing to support your every effort. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Messenger the old faithful “word of mouth” and every other platform you chose to use. Togetherness has and always will be our strength! www.bbala.org
43 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
45 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - BBA Salute to Black Women 2016
46 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
47 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - BBA Salute to Black Women 2016
48 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Khamit Kinks: Taking a Natural Approach to Business Growth – AmericanExpress.com By Anthonia Akitunde
A
frican-American women are having a love affair with their hair. Or, to be more specific, their natural hair as it grows from their heads—tightly curled and unprocessed by the straightening chemicals that have been de rigueur for more than a century. Natural hair, as it’s known in the black hair community, has become a big business. Market research firm Mintel projects that the natural hair market will grow to $761 million in 2017, eclipsing relaxers, or hair products used to straighten AfricanAmerican hair, sales of which have dropped by 26% since 2008. There are scores of small-business owners
whose lines of natural hair care products are now being sold in big-box stores such as Target and Whole Foods Market after years of being sold in their own salons or online. Though the natural hair wave may seem to just be on the rise, Anu Prestonia has been one of its longtime champions. Owner of Khamit Kinks (http:// khamitkinks.com), a natural hair salon in Brooklyn, New York, Prestonia has been braiding and twisting coarse and curly hair since the ‘70s. “I was always intrigued by hair,”
she explains. “My grandma was a hairstylist, so I was always having my hair done nicely.” Prestonia wears her own hair naturally as a result of a relaxer causing extreme hair damage and breakage when she was a child. But it was a chance encounter at a party in Washington, DC, that took her from being a hair enthusiast to a hair entrepreneur. Prestonia learned how to do her own hair in intricate, beaded braids when she was unable to afford to have them done. “A guy came up to me and said that he was a stylist, and he worked at a salon that was looking for someone to braid hair,” she says. “I went by and I got hired. And the rest, as they say, is history.” She became a stylist by trade and worked in Jamaica and Miami before moving back to New York City in 1980. She started braiding hair in her Harlem apartment’s living room, and in 1987, expanded her operation to the entire garden-level apartment floor of the brownstone she bought in Brooklyn’s B e d f o r d Stuyvesant neighborhood. She focused on growing her clientele, something she claims came with ease. “It was all word of mouth,” she explains. “People would just see someone with their hair done. There was hardly anyone else doing that kind of work: really, really tiny braids with tiny, tiny beads. It was really exquisite
50 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
work. It was like artwork, and it took hours.” Prestonia ran a one-woman, home-based shop for a few years. But it soon became clear that it was time to move into a brick-and-mortar store after Essence magazine ran a feature on the business. “We went from getting a few calls a day to 70 calls a day,” Prestonia recalls. “I had to train people to work with me because I couldn’t handle the demand on my own.” Even with the five new pairs of hands in her home, the business was outgrowing the space. “Even though we had four stations, we only had one shampoo bowl and one dryer,” she says. “We didn’t have room to put in another because even those two things were in the office area.” Prestonia set her sights on TriBeCa, a Manhattan neighborhood now more known for celebrity real estate and dining than hair braiding. “I was interested in staying in Brooklyn, but could not find any place larger than the space I already had,” she explains. “TriBeCa had large rental spaces and was still an artist colony—not the place that it is today. Clients have always followed us—after all we had Stevie Wonder coming to BedStuy. More than foot traffic, I was interested in my staff and clients being able to have access to quality cafes and restaurants for good coffee and lunch. Sounds crazy, I know, but that was my way of offering an extended quality experience to my staff and clients.” Prestonia started the administrative steps necessary to take Khamit Kinks out of her home and into a proper storefront. She opened a business account, registered the business and took advantage of a New York University business school program that paired business
owners with grad students to help create a solid business plan. That business plan secured Prestonia a $40,000 loan to open her store. But $40,000 can only get you so far, especially in Manhattan. “I didn’t get scared until I was all the way in it,” Prestonia says. “The construction, everything cost more than the money I had. The rent was so much more than I was used to paying in my brownstone.” She tapped into her personal network and reached out to a friend in construction who did the job for her for much less than it would have cost otherwise, and dipped into her savings to keep construction and the store going in its early days. When Khamit Kinks officially opened in TriBeCa in 1997, it quickly became a destination for working professionals and celebrities to get their hair braided. The store was an anomaly in the area, and attracted a lot of media attention, with spots on TV shows and writeups in The New York Times. She capitalized on the attention by creating a blog and e-newsletter to educate existing and potential clients about their natural hair. For some of Prestonia’s customers in professional industries, it was the nudge they needed to embrace their hair. “They’re afraid of being marginalized and not making it up the ladder if they have their hair looking ‘militant’ or ‘other than,’” she explains. “I’ve done consultations for many of these women, and you find out that they have [had] perms all their childhood so they never knew what their natural hair looked like,” she explains. “So it’s a discovery for them; they’re excited to learn about their hair and know what it can do and can’t do.” Khamit Kinks was hitting its stride until 9/11. “It was like starting over again, because a lot of our
customers were [affected], too,” she says. In 2006, when her lease was up, Prestonia decided to move back to Brooklyn. While the move made good financial sense, Prestonia lost her one-of-a-kind status: hair braiding shops and natural hair salons are no longer rare finds on many Brooklyn avenues. And, according to Prestonia, these shops attracted customers by promising to charge less than their competitors. Prestonia decided she wouldn’t compete on pricing. “We stood out because we have an emphasis on customer care,” she says. “We used to have a tagline that ‘we set the standards that all others follow.’ When [the competition] came in, all they were looking to do was make money. Because of my experience of losing my hair as a child, I had an emphasis on hair care, on the health of your hair and what’s best for your hair. That same desire to provide the best for her customers also led her to create her own line of hair care products called Anu Essentials. The organic line addresses one of the biggest woes of women with natural hair: dryness. “I wanted to have a product line address the need and concerns of a lot of our clients,” she explains. “So our products are formulated to have a high level of hydration and moisture to replenish that which is missing in the hair of our clients. I have clients who tell me that they have to hide it from their family members. It’s a quality product.” It’s seems “creating what you don’t see in the marketplace” could be Khamit Kinks’ other tagline—and the one that’s secured the salon and Anu Prestonia’s position as a name to know in the natural hair community.” http://khamitkinks.com/kinky-buzz/khamitkinks-taking-natural-approach-businessgrowth-americanexpress-com
51 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
A
re you a Small Business interested in selling your product or services to Metro or to Prime Contractors that do business with Metro? Would you like to learn how to win contracts as a Prime Contractor through SB Prime, Metro's exciting set-aside initiative? If so, we invite you to come grow with us and learn about Metro Connect. Start now and register for a How to Do Business with Metro Workshop. Metro staff will show you how to take advantage of the vast array of products, services and transportation related opportunities projected over the coming weeks, months and year. As an added bonus, Metro's procurement staff will host informal interviews with firms before the workshop, starting at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 12, 2016 8:30 a.m.: Registration 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: One-on-One with Contract Administrators and Continental Breakfast 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Program
Metro Headquarters 3rd Floor, Board Room, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Topics: Highway Project Update, Procurement Update, Certification Update, Small Business Prime Update, LA SAFE/511 Next Generation Update To learn more about how Metro Connect's Small and Disadvantaged Business Certifications can help open the door to contracting opportunities with Metro visit Metro Vendor Portal. For further questions, please contact Marisela Villar at VillarM@metro.net or via phone at 213.922.2235.
52 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Why a Congresswoman from Los Angeles is Talking about Africa By Sarah D. Wire
From left: Rep. Karen Bass, Sheila Siwela, Zambia's Ambassador to the U.S., and Tebelelo Mazile Seretse, Botswana's Ambassador to the U.S. (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)
I
t’s 8 a.m., Congress isn't in session and Washington’s roads are icy, but more than 100 ambassadors, academics, African emigres and heads of humanitarian groups have crammed into a basement room of the U.S. Capitol for an unofficial meeting about how Boko Haram and other terrorism groups are stunting African
progress. The regular breakfasts are the brainchild of Rep. Karen Bass (DLos Angeles), who is frustrated by a lack of attention paid to the continent and sees her own constituents with deep interest in policy toward Africa. “In community organizing, you believe that the best policy is made by
having those people that are most affected by the policy at the table. It’s not rocket science. If you do policy in a vacuum it can have unintended consequences,” she said in an interview after the meeting. Bass first got involved in African policy because of South African apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s when she co-chaired the local
54 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Southern Africa Support Committee. When apartheid ended, and Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in 1990, Bass’ attention shifted to stopping crack cocaine abuse and gang violence in South-Central L.A. Bass started and ran the Community Coalition, a social justice organization. In 2004, she was elected to the state Assembly and in 2008 was the first African American woman in U.S. history elected speaker of a state legislative body. “I stopped doing international work and just focused on domestic work. One of the reasons I was excited about coming to Congress is I could do both,” Bass said. “I really took almost a 20-year hiatus away from foreign policy.”
She views it as her responsibility. “The same way it was my responsibility to figure out how to address the gang and crack intersection in South-Central, I also felt it was my responsibility to help fight to end apartheid and especially the U.S. government’s policies,” Bass said. When she joined the House Foreign Affairs Committee after taking office in 2011, Bass said it didn’t feel like those actually affected by the committee’s decisions had a voice. “When I would go to hearings on Africa, you would have no Africans participating, but they are sitting there in the audience while we’re talking about their countries. That just seemed odd to me,” she said. She is now the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations. Other Foreign Affairs Subcommittees focus narrowly on one or two subjects. “That in and of itself to me kind
Welcome to More.
Open the door to a hotel you don’t just visit. You own it. Choice Hotels® is committed to achieving more diversity in hospitality with exclusive incentive programs designed to reduce up front costs and provide more support to minority hotel developers. And our commitment doesn’t stop there. Choice Hotels promotes and pursues diversity at all levels, ranging from our workforce to our hotel guests, from our suppliers to entrepreneurs looking to create wealth. Like you. Open the door to hotel ownership opportunities with Choice Hotels. Because you’re not in business for less. You’re in it for more. www.choicehotelsdevelopment.com/#&panel1-2
see Voice For Africa on page 56
55 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month Voice For Africa from page 56
of says that Africa is not a big enough priority to have its own focused subcommittee,” she said. “We could go easily a month or two without having a hearing on Africa [with] so many subject matters.” Bass said she’s gone out of her way to work with the Foreign Affairs Committee, not supersede it, by having committee leaders co-host the breakfasts or speak. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (RFullerton) said a wider group of people are excited about legislation before the committee because of Bass’ breakfast meetings. He’s spoken at a few. “It’s effective,” he said. “Karen Bass is able to strategically use the enthusiasm of those who participate in the breakfasts in order to try to assist us.” Royce pointed to several cases, including a bill recently signed by President Obama aimed at electrical infrastructure around the continent, the global antipoaching act and congressional response to Ebola. Bass said Africa may seem so far away to her Los Angeles constituents, “but we have a huge diaspora community in L.A.” Her district includes Little Ethiopia, a block-long stretch on Fairfax Avenue between West Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Drive. “Even Little Ethiopia is a commercial strip. It is not like Ethiopians reside in that area. I’m sure some do, but that area’s very, very mixed,” she said. She plans to talk with Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council about a trade mission and also a seminar to connect federal agencies with private businesses interested in investing in Africa, Bass said. This year she wants to coordinate with the African diaspora living in Los Angeles and hold a policy breakfast in the city so her constituents can be heard too. “I know there’s a huge Nigerian community, Cameroonian, and there are seven official consulates for seven African countries, and then there’s about another five honorary consulates,” she said. “There should always be a voice. If we come up with a policy we want to bounce it back and forth. You want the people that are most affected also pushing for the policy as well.” Nii Akuettah, executive director of the African Immigrant Caucus, a coalition of immigrant groups in Washington, called Bass “a big champion for Africa.” “There is a great deal of good will in the African community here for her and on the continent for her,” he said. The periodic gatherings draw members of Congress, ambassadors from African countries, emigres or diaspora, and other people who have a stake in the United
States’ policy regarding Africa, such as businesses, State Department officials and academics--and often the groups are "not on the same page,” Bass said. The meetings began as a way to draw attention to reauthorization of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. First created in 2000, AGOA gives special market access to certain sub-Saharan countries that maintain legal, human rights and labor standards. In June, President Obama signed bipartisan legislation extending the act until 2025. The talks continued, with a focus on trade and economic development between the United States and African countries. Topics have ranged from Ebola to elections to electricity, and the July 2014 breakfast was also about instability because of Boko Haram, the northeastern Nigerian Islamist group.
Bass said Boko Haram must be addressed when looking to set policy about Africa's future. “You can’t talk about economic development, you can’t talk about the implementation of AGOA in countries without security and in countries that are not stable or are being destabilized because of Boko Haram,” she said. Bass said many Americans underestimate the threat from the group. “When you look at the number of people that have been killed by Boko Haram, it’s more than the number of lives lost to ISIS. I think part of our job here is raising the consciousness in the U.S. that just because something is happening on the continent, that doesn’t mean that it does not have international significance,” she said.
It’s her goal to reshape U.S.-Africa relations. “We still kind of view Africa as a charity case and not as a continent that is a partner. Unfortunately, I think the United States is behind the rest of the world, because the rest of the world sees Africa as much more of a partner than we do,” she said. www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-karen-bass-africa-breakfast-20160223-story.html
56 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Obama's Foreign Policy has Moved us Toward Reason
A
be both “hardheaded” and “big hearted.” We have to be clear about our real security concerns, learn to pick our spots, and not allow ourselves to be dragged into every civil war or humanitarian crisis.
s Barack Obama’s presidency counts down its last months, amid the raucous babble of the Republican presidential debate, people are beginning to realize how much we will miss Obama’s leadership. He has served with dignity and grace, increasingly rare attributes in American politics. His family has exhibited the values that Americans embrace. He has brought the economy back from the freefall he inherited. Republicans, of course, scorn all things Obama, with particular emphasis on his foreign policy. They argue that he’s destroyed our nation’s credibility, gutted our military and fostered the spread U.S. President Barack Obama, right shakes hands with Cuba's President Raul Cast of terror. The din covers the at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. April 2015 Getty Images emptiness of the argument. In reality, Obama’s foreign policy will be remembered as dangerously, unprecedented The president is clear — and making a start toward reason. executive prerogatives in the use clearly right — on the priority of His record, of course, is complex. of drones, assassination, the threats facing the U.S. Despite The president has enjoyed some hunting of whistle-blowers, mass the popular terrors about terror, he remarkable successes — taking surveillance and more. understands that the Islamic State out Osama bin Laden, traducing But Obama’s biggest legacy is is not an existential threat to the al-Qaida, the nuclear deal with his effort to turn America away U.S. In contrast, climate change Iran, normalization of relations from the interventionist appetites potentially threatens the world if we with Cuba (and thus with other of both the neo-conservatives and don’t act to counter it. neighbors across the hemisphere). the “indispensable nation” liberal Similarly, the president argues He’s also met with frustrations as activists. In a remarkable set of that the Middle East is no longer well. He was unable to extract us interviews with Jeffry Goldberg in terribly important to U.S. interests, from Iraq, Afghanistan, and now the Atlantic, Obama argues that particularly with our increasing Syria and Libya. He failed to close while the United States must lead, energy independence. The U.S.Guantanamo. He’s also asserted, it cannot police the world. We must China relationship, in contrast, is 58 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
tro
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, prior to the opening session of the G-20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. © RIANovosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
the “most critical.” Sustaining a peaceful rise of China that will make it a partner in securing international order is far more important to our security than all of the civil wars in the Middle East. Obama believes, against the clamor of an interventionist foreign policy establishment, that overextension in the Middle East is far more destructive than restraint in the region. As his adviser Ben Rhodes summarizes, the president’s view is that “overextension in the Middle East will ultimately harm our economy, harm our ability to look for other opportunities and to deal with other challenges, and, most important, endanger the lives of American service members for reasons that are not in the direct American national-security interest.” According to Goldberg, Obama also has a common sense position about Putin. He sees Russia as weak, not strong, but understands
that it has direct security concerns about Ukraine and Georgia on its border. That fact is, as Obama says, the U.S. is not going to war over Ukraine. Russia is prepared to do that. “People respond to what their imperatives are, and if it’s very important to somebody and it’s not that important to us, they know that and we know that.” Mexico has had to learn to live with the United States; Ukraine similarly has to learn to live with Russia. This sounds like common sense, but it challenges the consensus of the foreign policy establishment that believes the U.S. is the only superpower and can “win,” as Donald Trump would say, simply by flexing its muscles. But of course they argue, we must be prepared to maintain credibility and strike if someone calls our bluff. Obama clearly understands the dangers of this posture. Obama has made mistakes, as any president does. But he has
come to understand the limits of U.S. power to direct global events, even as he realizes the importance of U.S. leadership to force global action. He calls on us to understand our limits and to set real priorities. He does this in the face of a national security state that is permanently engaged across the world, in the face of liberal and conservative interventionists who scorn common sense as weakness, and in the face of allies who are happy to have the U.S. carry the load. Listen to the posturing and the bloviating of the Republican contenders for the presidency. Listen to the drone of the think tankers and academics calling for escalation without thinking of consequences. It doesn’t take long to realize that how much we should value the first steps that President Obama has taken toward reason. www.rainbowpush.org
59 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
cbcc@calbcc.org | 916-463-0178| www.calbcc.org
Sell Your Products & Services on
Business
5,000 Attendees Expected at Primerica’s African American Leadership Council Three-Day Event to Run From March 18-20 at the Orlando World Center Marriott
P
rimerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI), a leading distributor of financial products to middle income households in North America, today announced that over 5,000 attendees are expected to participate in Primerica’s 16th Annual African American Leadership Council (AALC) meeting at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida, on March 18-20, 2016. The focus of the three-day event is the African American market, and the conference includes a variety of workshops on leadership, product training, and an assortment of financial and marketing topics designed to help Primerica representatives better serve the African American families in their communities. “Since its founding in 2000, our AALC has grown into a significant force within Primerica. This year’s conference theme – Bigger! Stronger! Faster! – and our exciting agenda underscore our mission of empowering African Americans in Primerica to establish a legacy of financial independence through entrepreneurship,” said
John Lennon of Greensboro, NC, Primerica Senior National Sales Director and AALC Co-Chairman. “This annual conference provides a wonderful opportunity to achieve our mission by mentoring, educating, motivating, and rewarding the success of everyone in attendance. I’m excited about all that we’ll accomplish over such a short period of time.” Conference attendees will hear from some of the company’s most successful sales representatives, as well as from Primerica CEO Glenn Williams and Primerica President Peter Schneider. “I’m honored to participate in the AALC event – it always has a positive impact on our field leadership and advances our mission of creating financially independent families,” said Williams. “Primerica is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of Main Street clients while offering an unsurpassed business opportunity for entrepreneurs.”
About Primerica, Inc. Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth, GA, is a leading distributor of financial products to middle income households in North America. Primerica representatives educate their Main Street clients about how
to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. In addition, Primerica
provides an entrepreneurial full or part-time business opportunity for individuals seeking to earn income by distributing the company’s financial products. We insured approximately 5 million lives and have over 2 million client investment accounts at December 31, 2015. Primerica stock is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 2000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI”. www.businesswire.com/news/ home/20160315006779/ en/5000-Attendees-ExpectedPrimerica%E2%80%99s-AfricanAmerican-Leadership
66 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
MYX Fusion From http://officialblackwallstreet.com/ F black-owned-wine-spirit-brands
B
y leveraging the explosive popularity of Moscato and improving on the experience of drinking it, MYX Fusions revolutionized the wine industry becoming the fastest growing wine beverage in America. With much success, the brand has introduced another product line – Sangria. MYX Fusions now offers both Moscato and Sangria wines in various flavors, all packaged in sleek 187ml and 375ml (Moscato) signature bottles. The easy to open, twist off cap makes MYX the perfect choice for any casual occasion, while the beautifully designed package and premium quality delivers the elegance of wine. MYX Fusions Moscato is an all natural and refreshingly carbonated fruit infused Moscato. 4 delicious flavors are all available in a single serve, ready-to-drink sleek 6.3 oz cobalt blue bottle. Moscato & Mango, Moscato, Moscato & Coconut and Moscato
& Peach. Fragrant, fruity bubbles are the passageway to a sweet, sparkling getaway. MYX Fusions MYXotica, the Limited Edition Nicki Minaj signature bottle from MYX Fusions, is an exotic fusion of premium Moscato wine and the finest juices from select fruits. The effervescent Moscato, infused with all-natural flavors, is draped in Nicki’s signature pink hue and topped with a white "champagne" capsule. MYX Fusions Sangria combines a select premium Spanish wine infused with natural fruit flavors and a touch of sparkling carbonation to create a refreshing ready to drink experience. Sangria Classico, Sangria Tropical and Sangria Redberries. Owned by Nicki Minaj and Mona Scott Young. www.myxfusions.com/index.php #GETINTHEMYX #LivetoMYXBehave
67 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business
Entrepreneur Creates Flourishing Community of Black-Owned Businesses and Consumers Who are Ready to ‘Support Each Other’ By Manny Otiko
A
Young, founder Egrassroots (Egrassrootsbusiness.com) , has turned his passion to keep Black dollars within the Black community into a viable business. An online business directory, Egrassroots Business helps Black consumers connect with Black-owned businesses near them. The company also has a subsidiary group called Black Owned Business. “It wasn’t supposed to be a business initially,” said Young, a resident of Sharon Hill, Pa. “I just wanted a group of us to come together to educate and support one another. But when the group started blossoming to thousands of members, it only made sense to turn it into a brand.” Now that group has turned into a website featuring 500 businesses, who pay a nominal fee per month to advertise their goods and services. The site has about 33,000 members, according to Young. “There are lots of AfricanAmericans who would like to support African-American businesses, but have no idea where they are,” Young said. “That is why Egrassrootsbusiness.com was started. And we also need to hmir of
support and share Black-owned businesses as much as possible.” Young said Egrassroots Business also harnesses the power of social media to promote its members. “When that many people share your business on social media, there is always the potential for that share to go viral,” Young said. “We have a list of Black-owned farmers that has been shared almost 16,000 times.” Young said this is the first largescale business venture he has started. Like many Black people, he was told by his parents to go work for someone else. “My family always encouraged me to ‘get a job,’” said Young, who worked in home health care. “It was never instilled in me to start my own business. However, I am putting that in both my daughter and nephew’s heads.” Young said Black consumers need to do a better job of supporting Black-owned businesses, because they can’t count on others to do it. “Whites support whites, Jewish support Jewish, Chinese support Chinese, etc.,” Young said. “Black people support everyone but themselves. And that is what I am trying to change. I think that our entire race needs to be
Ahmir Young
reconditioned; reconditioned and educated on why it is critical to support one another. We either leave our community to spend our dollars or support the people in our community who don’t look like us.” Although Egrassroots Business started in 2014, it has notched several successes. The company has already partnered with United Bank of Philadelphia, a Black-owned
68 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
financial institution, for a seminar on the significance of generating Black wealth; with Atlanta Black Star to promote the importance of business ownership; and it has raised money for Flint, Michigan. “We raised almost $5,000 for the Flint crisis,” Young said. “I was really proud to be able to do something like that. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love being able to help people. And if not for this group, it would not have been possible, at least not to that level.” Several users of the Egrassroots Business website have also experienced personal success stories, such as David Anderson of Inner Brand. “Our group helped propel his book ‘Pitch, Close, Upsell, Repeat’ to a number-one bestseller on Amazon,” Young said. “He is also a business coach for lots of members in the group through his company.” “Ahmir, Egrassroots and Black Owned Business have been instrumental in growing my business. I coach some of the biggest names in marketing, entertainment and finance, but the power that is found
in over 32,000 Black business owners is staggering,” Anderson said. As the founder of a growing business, Y o u n g has some valuable l e s s o n s for other budding Black entrepreneurs. He said some of the biggest challenges Black entrepreneurs may face is from family and friends, who often question and interrogate them when they learn they want to start their own business venture. They really ought to offer support instead of criticism, he said. “They are your friends and family, so you kind of already have their ear,” Young said. “So sitting them down, or maybe just bringing up in random conversation how important it is to support Blackowned businesses.”
Young said two of t the most important llessons he has le learned are planning a and building re relationships. “The first thing you ne need to do is map out a business plan, and dis discover your target au audience,” Young sa said. “Patience is definitely needed, you will not be successful ove overnight. There will be u ups and downs. But pus push through it, put the work in and make it happ happen.” Setting up a support network of advisers and mentors is also critical, he added. “Being able to call someone for something that you may not know is priceless,” Young said. “Building relationships can also land you a tremendous amount of referrals. And referrals can do wonders for not only your business, but the way people view you as well.” Young says future goals for the website are to continue to direct more revenue toward Black-owned businesses. In that regard he has launched an app Egrassrootsbusiness now available on both Google Play and iTunes. http://atlantablackstar. com/2016/03/15/entrepreneurcreates-flourishing-communityof-black-owned-businesses-andconsumers-who-are-ready-tosupport-each-other www.amazon.com/Pitch-CloseUpsell-Repeat-Practical-ebook/dp/ B019QMKQBK
69 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
70 February 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
T
he face of California is changing. Today, people of color make up the majority of the state, and will soon be the majority nationwide. Going forward, the measure of good public policy rests on its impact on the New Majority. Every year, Greenlining (http://greenlining.org) brings together movers-andshakers from business, government, and grassroots community groups at our annual Economic Summit. This year, we will uplift solutions from the New Majority that are already building a new California – one in which the dream of a fair, equitable, and prosperous economy is real for all. With hard-hitting speakers, interactive panels and countless networking opportunities, attendees will engage with some of the most innovative ideas in the equity movement today. Join us in Oakland to connect with fellow change-makers, share ideas, and help us reinvent California with solutions from the New Majority. Together, we can build a stronger, better, more equitable future PROGRAM TOPICS CLIMATE SOLUTIONS THAT LEAD WITH EQUITY: ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS WHILE PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT - While climate change ranks high as a priority for communities of color, so do jobs, health, education, and safety. California’s strategy to address climate change offers an unparalleled opportunity to address community needs and protect the environment. In this panel we will discuss community-driven projects funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that advance our fight against poverty and pollution DIVERSE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: BUILDING VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS WITH RACIAL EQUITY - While popular rhetoric suggests that our economy is on the mend, redlining, disinvestment, and gentrification continue to decimate communities of color. This interactive session will highlight equity-driven community development innovations from the new majority that combat the widening racial wealth gap TECH AND EQUITY IN CALIFORNIA: CAN THE TWO EXIST, AND IF SO, HOW? - The digital economy is disrupting and changing society and the economy in profound ways. While many agree that technology has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems, there is also a growing understanding that technology is leaving many behind. The benefits of our technological surge have been unevenly distributed, and some communities could be left in the lurch. Can the tech sector lead with greenlining policies and if so, how?
REGISTRATION Online registration ends May 18 at 12 p.m. Your ticket grants you an all-access pass to all of the panels and sessions throughout the day, including a continental breakfast, plated lunch, and dinner. Register at: https://greenlining.secure.force.com/events/CnP_PaaS_EVT__ ExternalRegistrationPage?event_id=a1fG0000002IfO2IAK
Special Focus - Women's History Month and HD video server system, VidShow™, the MX4D™ Motion EFX attraction and Cinema Seat series are becoming the standard for 4D/5D theaters and cinemas India, Australia, Asia, Africa, Middle worldwide. Since its inception, co-founders, East, South America, the Pacific Rim, and, of course, North America. Alison Jamele, President/CEO, One of MediaMation’s passions and Vice President/CTO, Daniel and expertise have been 3D/4D/5D Jamele, have recruited some of the theaters. Beginning with their best tech and engineering talent early work with motion simulator in the industry. Prior to launching manufacturer McFadden Systems, MediaMation, Alison Jamele, had and continuing with virtually all of career in the music and television the various manufacturers and entertainment industries, working simulator companies, MediaMation on prominent network shows for many years making the natural progression into themed Fountain Show entertainment to spearhead some of MediaMation’s most prestigious projects. Dan Jamele, a successful recording engineer prior to launching MediaMation, recognized the possibilities of applying MIDI-based (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technology to amusement industry show control problems. With his technical know-how and Alison’s has developed not only multiple business savvy, they have built hardware and software interfaces, the company’s sterling reputation but motion profile programming, design, and development expertise by staying true to their philosophy and is sought after as a supplier of and mission statement of God first, both hardware and software. Not family second and career third, thus being content with the offerings treating others as one would want available, MediaMation began work to be treated which has served in 2005 on its own line of 4D motion to fuel its continued growth and seats. Its first offering, the Invader expansion. MediaMation’s ongoing seat, was very well received and commitment to the development of prompted continuing development. designing and implementing costThe culmination of this experience effective, user-friendly products and and hard work is the current line of highly flexible solutions for creative technological challenges MX4D™ Motion EFX Attraction and encountered in producing and Cinema seats. Unique in the interactive shows , fountain shows industry, these seats are the first to deliver the “holy grail” of motion and 4D theaters and coupled with simulators with a fully functioning, its longtime reputation of “going air driven, analog motion simulator the extra mile” in customer service, combined with “4D” special effects. are integral components of this Coupled with their award winning philosophy.
MediaMation, an Interactive Attraction Technology Company
M
ediaMation is an Interactive Technology Company and a worldwide, leading supplier and manufacturer of 4D/5D motion EFX theaters, seating and systems integration. For twenty-one years the company has
Alison Jamele, President/CEO designed and implemented creative solutions for complex shows, rides, fountain shows, interactive exhibits and 4D theaters, based on their award-winning software and hardware products. MediaMation’s systems integration experience ranges from audio/video, lighting, robotics and computer show control to innovative entertainment technology engineering involving show action and show control.
History of MediaMation Founded in 1991 and located in Los Angeles, California, the company has contributed its unique, next-generation entertainment technology and formidable expertise and experience to a string of highprofile projects, motion simulator theaters, and exhibits in virtually all corners of the globe – Europe,
ShowFlow®
control
software
www.mediamation.com
72 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Courtesy of PACE NEWS, Los Angeles, CA • February 26, 2016 • www.pacenewsonline.com
Business
New Black-Owned Hotel Opening in Downtown Oakland, CA With Oakland’s tourism numbers currently at an all-time high, the city is about to get a new boutique hotel in its downtown area.
D
amon Lawrence is the founder of the Homage Hotel Group, which is making plans to open the Town Hotel in downtown Oakland. The hotel will replace an existing hotel on 11th Street, according to the Homage Hotel Group’s website. At present, the building has 100 rooms but that number will likely drop to accommodate creating more bathrooms. According to Lawrence, the final room count will be around 85 to100. The hotel will also have a rooftop bar and lounge area, as well as a restaurant. Homage Hotel Group has partnered with AlaMar, an Oakland based restaurant, that will open a new location inside the Town Hotel. No renovation work has started yet, Lawrence says, and he is still working on funding the development of the hotel. However, he hopes to have the hotel finished this year. http://blackmainstreet.net/newblack-owned-boutique-hotelopening-downtown-oakland/ www.homagehotelgroup.com/ www.facebook.com/homagehotels/
Damon Lawrence
78 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Country's First African-American Female Millionaire: And Car Buff By Susan Frissell
A
lthough probably not a household word, Madam C.J. Walker is known in a few circles: Notably, Indianapolis and the world of hair products. The country’s first African-American female millionaire, Madame Walker whose real name was Sarah Breedlove, was born December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. One of six children, Walker was the first child in her family to be born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Orphaned at the age of seven, she moved to Vicksburg, MS and at age 10 began working as a domestic. In 1882 when Sarah was only fourteen, she married Moses McWilliams. When McWilliams died in 1887, Sarah remarried (1903) John Davis and moved to Denver, CO, where she began to think about a business in hair care. Learning about hair care from her brothers who were barbers, Sarah began to dabble in hair care products; herself having problems common to black women: dandruff and scalp ailments caused by skin disorders brought on by harsh cleaning products. In 1906, after marrying for a third time, to Charles Joseph Walker, Sarah became known as Madame C.J. Walker. She divorced Walker in 1912, and moved to St. Louis, MO with her daughter where she worked first as a laundress. While living in St. Louis, Walker became a commission agent selling products for another hair care entrepreneur. It was during that time that she began to develop her own line, selling them door-to-
door.Madame_ CJ_Walker In 1910, she relocated her business to Indianapolis where she established the headquarters for the Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. It was here that she built a factory, hair salon and beauty school to train her sales agents. Between 1911 an 1919, during the height of her career, Walker and her company employed several thousand women as sales agents for its products. By 1917 the company claimed to have trained nearly 20,000 women, according to Gugin and St. Clair’s 2015 book Indiana’s 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State. A woman from the cotton fields of the south, Walker did so much for black women and African American causes during a time when there were few advocates. As an entrepreneur, successful business woman, philanthropist, political activist, supporter of many causes, lecturer and trainer, Walker also managed to indulge her interest in automobiles. She hired a full-time chauffeur, but Walker herself enjoyed driving. Indeed, one of her greatest pleasures in life, driving afforded her the freedom so many did not
have. A black woman, she didn’t have to ride on a ‘separate’ train car. Rather, she simply drove herself, both around the city and on the road. The above photo of Walker and her pals was reportedly used by Ford Motor Company in their advertisements. In today's dollars, the featured Model T touring car would have cost about $20,000 ($800 in 1912). Walker drove her “Waverly electric” car through the streets of Indy, to shop, attend the matinee and theatre. She was also one of the first people to purchase a limited-edition, seven-passenger Cole touring car. She truly was a 'woman with wheels.' www.chicagonow.com/girlsgo-racing/2016/03/countrysfirst-african-american-femalemillionaire-and-car-buff/
79 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Ibtihaj Muhammad, Representing the USA in the 2016 Olympics
I
btihaj Muhammad stood beaming on the podium in Budapest in 2013, flashing a bright smile, a world championship bronze medal and the red, white and blue hijab that perfectly encapsulated who she is as an
first U.S. athlete to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab, the head scarf she wears in accordance with her beliefs. Those circumstances have put the 30-year-old Muhammad on a platform well beyond sports.
athlete and a person. Muhammad, a New Jersey-born fencer, is a proud Muslim and an equally proud American. And this summer at the Rio Olympics, Muhammed will seek to stand up for her community by fighting for a country that hasn't always fought for those who share her faith. Muhammad, the middle daughter of a retired detective and special education teacher, will become the
She earned her Olympic spot in January and is hoping her presence can help counter the recent wave of anti-Islamic sentiment in the U.S., triggered in part by Donald Trump's comments about banning Muslims from the U.S. "I feel like I've been blessed to be in this position, to be given this platform. When I think of my predecessors, and people who've spoken out against bigotry and
hate, I feel like I owe it not just to myself but to my community to try to fight it," said Muhammad, who is ranked seventh in the world in the women's saber. "There are people who don't feel safe going to work every day, that don't feel safe being themselves. I think that's a problem." The irony of Muhammad's rise to international fencing success is that it was about as American as one might imagine. Well, almost. Muhammad tried nearly every sport as a kid, from softball and track to tennis. But the constant modifications Muhammad would have to make to her uniform — like adding sleeves or wearing pants when her teammates had on shorts — were growing tiresome. Then one day while in the car with her mother, a 12-year-old Muhammad noticed a fencing practice through the windows of a local high school. Since fencers are covered from head to toe for protection, Muhammad knew right away she had found her calling — and perhaps even a way to help pay for college. Muhammad soon hooked up with the Westbrook Foundation, an organization run by former Olympian Peter Westbrook to teach fencing to underserved communities in metro New York. She later earned a scholarship from Duke, where she was a three-time All-American. "Don't be fooled by that pretty face. She has something in her that it takes in real champions, that unbelievable will to win," said Westbrook, who in 1984 became the first African-American to win an Olympic medal. "She is able to dig five stories deep to pull something out. And when she loses? Oh my God." Still, Muhammad put fencing largely aside after college, turning to teaching while she considered
80 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
applying to law school. But she was still curious enough about her fencing to turn to a new coach, Akhi Spencer-El, who is also connected with the Westbrook Foundation. Muhammad was Spencer-El's first protege. Muhammad said she found in him someone who believed in her abilities as much as she did. That was enough to give Muhammad the push she needed to rededicate herself to the sport. "I noticed she was something different. There was so much competitiveness," Spencer-El said. "I knew I could get her to be on a level with the best in the world." It took a while, but Muhammad got there. Muhammad made her first world championship in 2010, and she helped the Americans win a team bronze a year later. Two years ago, Muhammad was part of her first gold medal-winning senior world team. Athletes have had to fight for the right to wear religious head coverings in sports like basketball and soccer, where FIFA changed its rules to allow hijabs in 2012. But Muhammad has never had to downplay her faith in competition or in life. She often sports multicolored hijabs on and off the strip and has even started a clothing website with her siblings, Louella.com, for Muslim women seeking more colorful options while still adhering to their religion. Muhammad is intent on using her time in the spotlight to show the U.S. and the rest of the world that MuslimAmericans should be embraced, not shunned. "I've never questioned myself as an American and my position here," Muhammad said. "This is my home. This is who I am. My family has always been here. We're American by birth, and it's a part of who I am and this is all that I know. "So when I hear someone say something like, 'We're going to send Muslims back to their country,' it's like, "Well, where am I going to go? I'm an American."
LOUELLA LOUELLA by Ibtihaj Muhammad delivers a new fresh and vibrant look to the modest fashion industry. A 2014 World Champion, she is also the first Muslim woman to represent the United States in international competition. With an extraordinary passion for fashion, Ibtihaj noticed a void in the fashion industry for affordable modest clothing. With a team of dedicated designers, Louella brings modest, fashion forward clothing to the world via online business. Through Louella, everyday is a fashion show and the world is your runway. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/ fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad-make-history-muslimamericans-37625032 www.louellashop.com/ 81 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business
Make Your Company Unforgettable By Geoffrey James
S
ince before recorded history, humans have been a storytelling species. For millennia, stories have told us how to survive in a hostile world. The ability to hear and remember a story is literally part of our DNA. In business, we remember stories, especially those that help us better understand ourselves and our world. The most memorable ads, companies, and people all possess such stories. That's why it's sad and ironic that when asked, "What does your company do?" most people blurt out a dull fact like, "We make widgets." Or, if they work in marketing, they might tart it up like so: "We're the industry-leading maker of state-ofthe-art widgets."
that I've ever heard. And did I mention that it was easy? To make your company and yourself unforgettable, you use these three incredibly simple phrases (the parts shown in the brackets are what you customize to fit your company): • You know how when you're trying to [accomplish some goal], you run into [an annoying obstacle]? • Well, my company does [something different]. • As a result, you get [the goal you were seeking and something extra].
The formula works every time. Let's start with a company that everyone already knows: Uber. Suppose Uber didn't yet exist and
you were just starting a ride-sharing service. You're on a plane, sitting next to an attractive person who asks: "So, what does your startup do?" You could say, "We're launching a ride-sharing service" (snooze) or "We're a state-of-the-art disruptive innovator using GPS and instant transactions to revolutionize the transportation industry" (big snooze). Or you could say: "Well, you know how when you need to get a ride somewhere and you call a taxi, it always ends up costing more than you thought it would? Our app lets regular people bid against one another to give you a ride at a fixed price in their own car. As a result, you know right up front exactly how much it will cost
Boring. So boring. People--even the bizblabbers--know that they could make their company sound interesting if they could only figure out how to turn those bland facts into a meaningful story. Well, I'm telling you today that, not only can you make your company interesting, you can easily turn whatever you or your company does into a story that people will remember for years. And they'll remember you, too, because you told them a memorable story. The technique is both incredibly easy and completely foolproof. It's the closest thing to a magic bullet of marketing 84 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.nubianskin.com/us www.nubianskin.com/us/lace-collection
and that you're getting the best possible deal." Now, that's memorable to anybody who's ever fumed over a taxi fare (which is almost everybody). That was an easy test, because Uber is an exciting idea. Let's try the same formula with a company whose product is spectacularly boring. For example, suppose your company makes the little plastic swords that hold cherries for mixed drinks. You're at a wedding, again sitting next to a very attractive person, who asks: "So, what do you do for a living?" You could say: "My company makes plastic drink swords" (cricket
noises) or "We're the industry leader in the rapidly expanding marketplace for plastic drink swords" (attractive person runs for the nearest exit). Or you could say: "You know how sometimes you finish a cocktail and there's a cherry at the bottom mixed in with the ice? And you really want the cherry, but to get that cherry you'd have to fish for it with a fork or dump the tumbler into your plate? Well, we make those little sword things that keep the cherry in the drink but let you eat that cherry whenever you want it, without having to do something that makes you look like a crazy person."
Do you see what's going on? Those three magic phrases force you to talk about what your company does from the perspective of what that means to your customer. They not only create a story, but they create a story that's meaningful. And because people are hardwired in their DNA to remember stories that mean something to them, they'll remember what you said as well as who you are. Heck, they might even pull out their checkbooks right then and there. www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/3-shortphrases-that-make-you-unforgettablefirst-90-days.html
85 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
FOR
Easter
OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION
Business
Sharon Coleman Named the new President of the Southern California Chapter of NAMCSC
Sharon Coleman
T
he Southern California Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMCSC) has named Sharon Coleman as the new president.
Coleman is the founder and CEO of Coleman Construction, Inc., a major contracting firm in Los Angeles. She has over 28 years of experience in building, developing, and managing governmental, commercial, and industrial projects in Southern California, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Washington. Coleman has worked on more than 300 projects totaling in excess of over $50 million. Expressing enthusiasm about her plans for the organization, Coleman said that she aims to maximize the chapter's visibility and viability within the community through broadening NAMCSC's Board of Directors, increasing membership, adding more corporate partners to increase sponsorship, and developing more business opportunities for its
members. A member of NAMCSC since 1995, she previously served as vice president of the chapter. Coleman is also involved with the Associated General Contractors California and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. NAMC is a national nonprofit trade association established in 1969 dedicated to serve the advocacy, training and business development needs of more than 5000 minority contractors in America. As one of twenty-eight affiliates across the United States, the Southern California Chapter of NAMC, established in 1990, has expanded the mission and goals of minority contractors by addressing local issues and opportunities in their communities.
Quote of Note “…I know one visit, and one president, cannot erase the decades of history that have left so many Cubans in poverty or exile. But sometimes the most important changes begin with the smallest step. I believe in the Cuban people and their desire to build a future of their own choosing. And I believe that changing the way we do things between our countries will, over time, help make that possible..”
Barack Obama
87 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Special Focus - Women's History Month
Teen's Google Doodle Honors Black Heritage
A
kilah Johnson, a 10th grader from Washington, D.C., is Google's top student doodler. Johnson's doodle, which honors her African-American heritage, is featured prominently on the Internet giant's home page on Monday, March 21, 2016. It was selected from 100,000 submissions to the "Doodle 4 Google" competition for young artists. This year, Google asked students from kindergarten to 12th grade to doodle "What makes me...me." Drawn as a box braid, Johnson's doodle, entitled "My Afrocentric Life," was brought to life with color pencils, black crayons and Sharpie markers. It celebrates AfricanAmerican culture, weaving from left to right childhood experiences and shades of her personality with such current-day themes as the Black Lives Matter movement, influences that she says made her who she is today. "I grew up learning a lot about my history as an African American. As I grew older, I realized that the black people that came before us has made us into what we are today, so of course I had to include them in my doodle," said Johnson, who is the first African American to win the national competition. Among those featured in the doodle are Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Angela Davis, Colin Powell and Bill Cosby. How does it feel to have her artwork illustrate the Google home page for hundreds of millions to see? "Amazing," Johnson, 15, said in an interview shortly after winning the 88 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
competition, her eyes glued to her phone as comments flooded social media. "I didn't think I was going to win," she said. "Then when I got up there and it hit me, I started crying so hard. It was unbelievable." Johnson was one of 53 state and territory winners in the first year that D.C. was added as a standalone territory. Celebrity judges included the Golden State Warriors' Stephen
had a day of workshops with the doodle team and guest judges such as astronaut Yvonne Cagle and animator Glenn Keane. "Doodle 4 Google gave me an understanding of why art matters and why MY art matters — it’s because it speaks to people," Johnson said. "No matter the differences we have, everyone is touched by all art in some way." Johnson will receive a $30,000 college scholarship and her school, Eastern Senior High School, will be awarded a $50,000 education-technology grant. She's visiting Google with mom Tikecia Johnson and teacher Zalika Perkins, says she plans to study criminal justice or business in college in hopes of becoming a
Curry, soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan and actors Julie Bowen and B.J. Novak. The five finalists were invited to Google's Mountain View, Calif., campus for the announcement. They
CSI detective — and she wants to start an arts and crafts studio for kids. "The reaction she is getting from this is so positive. I think it's going to propel her and open more doors for her," Perkins said. "She did a great job of communicating who she is, her history and her culture. She has a gift for this." Johnson began drawing in second grade. She attended Roots Public Charter School and Roots Activity Learning Center in Washington, D.C., both of which she says forge a strong connection to students' African heritage. Every month students celebrated an Akilah Johnson's winning important African-American figure with a birthday cake, doodle celebrates her African- Johnson says. Those figures appear in her doodle. American heritage. (Photo: Her inspiration for the doodle, she says, came from Google) the quote: "Be the type of person that not only turns heads, but turns souls." Akilah Johnson gets a www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/03/21/ hug from her mom Tikecia google-4-doodle-winner-honors-black-heritage-akilahJohnson after winning the johnson/82030582 Google 4 Doodle competition. www.google.com (Photo: Google)
89 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business Technology:
Take A Look! by LaSandra Stratton
C
heck out what these firms and organizations have to offer for your personal interests, personal wealth building, and business expansion opportunities.
sentences with Grammarly’s context-optimized word choice suggestions to instantly improve the readability of your document. Available in free and premium payment versions.
https://m.facebook.com/ help/1636872026560015
F
acebook has just made it easier for anyone with a smartphone to jump on the
www.grammery.com
G
rammarly makes you a better writer by finding and correcting up to 10 times more mistakes than your word processor.
250 points of grammar Grammarly scans your text for proper use of more than 250 advanced grammar rules, spanning everything from subject-verb agreement to article
use to modifier placement. Contextual spelling checker Correctly spelled words used in the wrong context mean embarrassing mistakes for you. Grammarly spots erroneous use of lose/loose, affect/effect, lie/lay, there/their/they’re, and many other commonly confused words.
Vocabulary enhancement Words can make an impact, or they can fall flat. Enhance your
live streaming bandwagon. Why use live streaming? Consider showing a house to prospective buyers, conducting a demonstration for potential customers not able to visit your site, send a live message to friends and family, send a sermon to church members, and any reason you will think of in the future. Currently Facebook gives users several options when posting an update: Post a photo or video, tag people in your post, add a feeling or what you’re doing, or check in to a location. Once live streaming is enabled, you’ll also see a live video icon. After clicking on it, you’ll be
taken to a screen where you can write a description and select your audience before going live. Once you’re ready to start broadcasting, you’ll simply click ‘Go Live’. As with other live streaming apps, you’ll be able to see who’s viewing your broadcast, as well as a stream of real-time comments. After your broadcast has ended, your video will remain visible on your Facebook stream. To start a live broadcast from your personal Timeline do this: • Log into the Facebook for iOS app or the Facebook for Android app • Tapfrom your News Feed or Timeline • Tap • Write an optional description for your broadcast • Tap Go Live to begin your broadcast • When you want to end your broadcast, tap Finish. During your broadcast, you'll see the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are watching and a real-time stream of comments. Your broadcast can be no longer than 30 minutes. When you end your broadcast, it'll stay on your Timeline like any other video. Note: You can block viewers during a live broadcast by tapping the profile picture next to a viewer's comment and then tapping Block. You can unblock someone that you've previously blocked.
www.shearshare.com
S
hearShare is a beauty services app that is making a lot of buzz in the tech startup circle. ShearShare connects salon and barbershop owners to individual cosmetologists and professional stylists to fill unused salon suites and booths on a temporary basis. You--the salon owner--benefit by leasing your excess inventory for a
90 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
being committed to a long-term salon contract. Like owners, complete the online application and follow online instructions to find the shops in which you would like to conduct business. Welcome to the next generation of the beauty business! time that's convenient for you. Look around your salon. Do you have any of these valuable spaces going unused? - Barber stations, Mini salon suites, Nail technician rooms, Makeup stations, Salon suites, Esthetician suites for waxing, eyelash application, etc. Imagine making the same amount of money in 1-2 days what it normally takes a week to generate. While you wait on the perfect cosmetologist to join your team for the long term, why not make money on that empty chair with a temp stylist? Here's how it works: • Sign up by filling out the form online, telling us where and when your excess salon space is available • We email you and gather pictures of the space, any reviews and awards, and what you'd like to charge for a day rate • We match you with a cosmetologist, send you payment, and copy you on the confirmation number • You welcome the stylist to your salon and ensure a clean, professional, friendly atmosphere • You love it so much you do it again!
www.tressenoire.com
T
resse Noire is an app (https://play.google.com/ store/apps/details?id=com. vf.tressenoire&hl=en) that is used to schedule an appointment with well-vetted, credentialed natural haircare stylists who will come to your home or office. TresseNoire stylists are career professionals with extensive
experience in natural hair textures. They are fully licensed, vetted, reference and background checked, screened in person and carefully selected for their excellence. They are creative but serious artists who are passionate about their craft. Haircare professionals use the app to join the Tressenoire system. Get the full story at www. tressenoire.com. Submitted by LaSandra Stratton, Chief Content Administrator of the Black Business News.
Coming to your e-mail box.
Read Back Issues at: https://issuu.com/blackbusinessnews
With ShearShare, independent barbers, hair stylists, makeup artists, nail technicians, estheticians, eyelash/brow designers, etc., have the flexibility of working in a professional environment without 91 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during an event marking the one-year anniversary of Let Girls Learn, hosted by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Global Women's Issues at Union Market in Washington, D.C., March 8, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
In Photos: Let Girls Learn Anniversary Event By Danielle Cohen
F
irst Lady Michelle Obama celebrated the oneyear anniversary of Let Girls Learn (www.whitehouse. gov/letgirlslearn), the Obama Administration’s initiative to help adolescent girls worldwide attend and complete school. As part of the event, the First Lady welcomed young girls from Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation's adolescent girl campaign, to tour The Girls' Lounge Let Girls Learn bus on the South Lawn of the White House. The Let Girls Learn bus then went across town for an event at Union
Market in Washington, D.C. There, the First Lady was joined by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power for an event with young women, students, and stakeholders. In her remarks, the First Lady commemorated the one-year anniversary of Let Girls Learn and announced new private sector commitments in support of the initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/ the-press-office/2016/03/08/fact-sheetfirst-lady-michelle-obama-celebratesone-year-let-girls-learn).
After her remarks, the First Lady viewed murals that were
First Lady's Let Girls Learn Emoji painted live during the event by Mr. Brainwash — a Los Angeles based filmmaker and street artist. One mural, with countless colorful hearts, represented the 62 million
94 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
girls around the world are not in school – a number that the Obama Administration is working to change. www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2016/03/09/photos-whitehouse-celebrates-internationalwomens-day
95 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest-Obituary
‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Actor Gil Hill Dies at 84 by Corey Williams, Associated Press
G
il Hill, a former Detroit city councilman and one-time mayoral candidate better known to action movie fans as the salty-tongued police Inspector Douglas Todd in three “Beverly Hills Cop” films, has died. Hill died Monday afternoon, February 29th, Detroit’s Sinai Grace Hospital spokeswoman Bree Glenn said. He was 84. A cause of death was not released.
“Gil had been recently hospitalized and was on the road to recovery,” family spokesman Chris Jackson said. “We are relieved that his passing was peaceful and painless.” Hill spent 30 years with the Detroit Police Department and about a dozen years on the City Council. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2001. “He never stopped believing in our
city and dedicated his life to making our city a better place for all,” Mayor Mike Duggan said Monday night in a statement. Hill was head of the Detroit Police Department’s homicide division when he landed the supporting role in 1984’s action-comedy, “Beverly Hills Cop.” In the film, Todd was boss to Eddie Murphy’s Detective Axel Foley character. Todd, who was killed off early in the third film in the series, often would erupt with expletives due to Foley’s rulebending investigative methods. Hill was elected Detroit City Council president in November 1997. It was his third four-year term on the council. As a councilman, Hill supported casino gambling in the city and helped broker deals for new baseball and football stadiums downtown. He finished second to then-state Rep. Kwame Kilpatrick in the 2001 Detroit mayoral primary, but lost a close race to Kilpatrick in the November general election. http://thegrio.com/2016/03/01/gilhill-dead
97 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest-Obituary
Percy Pinkney, Longtime Los Angelesbased Civic Activist, Dies at 78 by Sarah D. Wire
P
ercy Pinkney, the first person to join Sen. Dianne Feinstein's staff in 1992, has died. He was 78. As Feinstein's Los Angeles field representative for 22 years, he oversaw issues affecting the African American community until his retirement in 2014. Feinstein issued a statement on the March 18th death of her longtime friend, noting the two met in 1969 when he was working as a social worker in San Francisco. Pinkney was a special assistant to Gov. Jerry Brown from 1975 to 1982, leading his community
relations department. “He was such a caring person, it was amazing. His compassion for others never ceased. No issue was too small or too big for Percy to tackle. When Percy became engaged on an issue, he didn’t rest until the problem was solved. Percy represented the best of public service — an unwavering devotion to the people of California and making their lives better," Feinstein said. “It was an honor to be Percy’s friend and I will miss him dearly.” Born in McComb, Miss., Pinkney was a U.S. Army veteran. He earned a degree at San Francisco
State and his master’s in social work from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. Pinkney founded the Black American Political Assn. of California (http://bapacstateoffice. org) and was the group's state president. A statement on the group's website lauds the founder as "a loyal friend, a distinguished leader, and a fierce advocate for social justice all over the world." He died of natural causes. www.latimes.com/politics/essential/ la-pol-sac-essential-politics-20160321htmlstory.html#5034
98 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Dear BAPAC Mem
bers and Friends,
It is with our deep est sadness that w e want to let you know that our Sta te President, Percy Pinkney, passed away on the evenin g of March 18th, 2 016. As you all know, P ercy was a loyal fr iend, a distinguish leader, and a fierce ed advocate for socia l ju st ic world. e all over the His service to Cali fornian communit ies while working with Governor Jerr y Brown, US Sena tor Dianne Feinstein, BAPAC and many others w as legendary. His friendship wa s a truly special gif t that touched hearts and change d lives. He had an impact on every single person he m et. He willll be missed more th an we can imagine.
99 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
African Stock Exchanges • Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde - www.bvc.cv (in Portuguese) • Bond Exchange of South Africa - www.bondexchange. co.za • Botswana Stock Exchange www.bse.co.bw • Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres - UEMOA (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - www.brvm.org • Casablanca Stock Exchange (Morocco) - www.casablancabourse.com/bourseweb/index. aspx • Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Tanzania) - www. dse.co.tz • Douala Stock Exchange (Cameroon) - www.douala-stockexchange.com/index_us.php • The Egyptian Exchange - www.
• • •
•
•
• • •
egx.com.eg/English/homepage. aspx Ethiopia Commodity Exchange - www.ecx.com.et Ghana Stock Exchange - www. gse.com.gh Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) - www. jse.co.za/Home.aspx Khartoum Stock Exchange (Sudan, in Arabic) - www.kse. com.sd Libyan Stock Market - www. lsm.ly/_layouts/membership/ login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fEnglis h%2fPages%2fdefault.aspx Lusaka Stock Exchange (Zambia) - www.luse.co.zm Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya) - www.luse.co.zm Malawi Stock Exchange - www. mse.co.mw
• Mozambique Stock Exchange (in Portuguese) - www. bolsadevalores.co.mz • Namibian Stock Exchange www.nsx.com.na • Nigerian Stock Exchange www.nse.com.ng/Pages/default. aspx • Stock Exchange of Mauritius www.stockexchangeofmauritius. com • Swaziland Stock Exchange www.ssx.org.sz • Tunisia Stock Exchange - www. bvmt.com.tn • Uganda Securities Exchange www.use.or.ug Read the lastest issue of The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke/media-center/ecommunique/exchange-magazine/ category/50-free-version.html
103 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
More Phones, few Banks and Years of Instability are Transforming Somalia to a Cashless Society
Somali traders at markets like this one in Mogadishu are increasingly more likely to do business using cellphones instead of cash. (Reuters/ Feisal Omar)
By Tonny Onyulo
A
hmed Farah Hassan no longer carries the tattered Somali shilling notes that were the currency of his war-torn country’s economy for years. At a gas station in Mogadishu recently, the 32-year-old filled up his car and then paid with a few clicks of his phone. “It’s easy nowadays. I don’t need to carry my cash. I just use my phone to pay bills everywhere I buy goods and services,” said Hassan, a driver at the Kheyre Development and Rehabilitation Organization, a local NGO that works with UNICEF to help street children. “Everyone here has his own bank. It’s safe.” In the streets of Mogadishu, the future has arrived: cash is disappearing, credit cards are unnecessary, and daily shopping is speedy and digital. While Kenya is now well-known as a global leader in mobile money technology and implementation, Somalia is often overlooked in the same discussion even though the same technology is having a more profound impact on the populace. That is because the country’s banking system— devastated by years of conflict and economic disruption—have been supplemented, if not replaced by, mobile money. The Hormuud
Telecommunication Company, a Somali firm established in 2002 during a lull in violence, introduced mobile banking in the East African country around six years ago. Now, it is one of at least three companies offering mobile money transfers in Somalia, where 51 out of every 100 people has a mobile subscription (compared to 22, only three years ago), and around 40% of adults use mobile money accounts, according to 2014 data from the World Bank (pdf). Somalia has for decades been described as the sick man of the sub-Saharan Africa in terms of trade and economic stability after two decades of civil war and terrorism. However, the country has achieved a semblance of stability in recent years, and its capital Mogadishu has become a hive of activity. Somali businesses line the streets of the city center. Mobile-phone wielding consumers buy groceries at the supermarket, oranges from market stalls, shoe shines on the street, cups of sweet milky tea at open-air cafés, and even an afternoon’s worth of khat, a herbal drug favored by many Somalis. The Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab outlawed mobile banking in 2010 in territory they controlled, arguing it might funnel
money to the Transitional Federal Government that paved the way for the current internationally recognized government of Somalia. In 2011, Hormuud scrapped its old system and introduced the now-popular EVC Plus, or electronic virtual cash, service. Free and easy to use—even in a country of 12.3 million (pdf) that until recently was a failed state—it now has more than twoand-a-half million users, according to the company. Hormuud chief Executive Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf said the Somali diaspora, which sends an estimated $1.6 billion annually into Somalia, helped get mobile banking get off the ground. To put that figure in context, Somalia’s GDP was $5.7 billion in 2014, according to World Bank. In recent years, the lack of retail banking in Somalia and fears of continued unrest—Al-Shabaab continues to occasionally stage attacks throughout the country— have made the service vital to Somalia’s reconstruction. Hormuud holds the cash, acting in essence like a bank. “The main reason why the service was adopted is because the banking systems in the country are very limited,” said Yusuf. “It’s also because it is much risk carrying
104 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
cash here since the country is still politically unstable and recovering from more than two decades of chaos and civil war.” Hormuud says it designed the software for EVC Plus with the help of Kenya’s Safaricom, a partner of British multinational telecoms company Vodafone. EVC Plus works like Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service M-PESA, which has brought banking services to millions since its introduction in 2007. Unlike M-Pesa, which works in local currency, Hormuud’s money transfer system uses US dollars, the country’s preferred currency of trade, even though the Somali shilling is still in circulation. Users can transfer up to $3,000 a day throughout southern and central Somalia. The mobile platform Zaad, launched in 2009 by communications company Telesom in the self-declared independent
northern region of Somaliland, has seen similar success. EVC Plus allows users to purchase cellphone airtime for themselves or family members, pay water and electricity bills, and transfer money. It’s also designed so that users can set up automated payments, SMS reminders and financial reports without an internet connection. Almost every merchant in Mogadishu, even hawkers on the street, accepts payment by cellphone using EVC Plus. “It’s not safe to carry cash money here,” said Dhublawe Ibrahim Aden, 25, a hawker who sells shoes and clothes. “If someone has to buy my shoes and bungles [necklaces] then he has to pay me through my cellphone. I don’t accept cash money from clients.” The service still has risks: alShabaab threatened companies supporting the technology in 2014, and Oxfam says that the
platforms could benefit from greater regulation and training in order to allay concerns that they are being used to funnel money to terrorist groups. But there’s no doubt that the service has been vital for the otherwise struggling economy, said Halima Aden, a member of the Somali Economic Forum, an independent organization that supports the country’s economic and financial development. “People are doing business without any fear of losing cash to militants or conmen,” Aden said. “The country’s telecommunications sector has undergone a rapid rise, fueled by intense competition amongst the numerous telecommunication firms that dominate the country.” http://qz.com/625258/more-phones-few-banksand-years-of-instability-are-transformingsomalia-to-a-cashless-society/
105 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
Hosted Buyer Invitation: MICE East Africa Forum & Expo 2016 9-11 June 2016 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The first MICE industry trade show in East Africa will take place from June 9-11, 2016 at the Millenium Special Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The three-day event will offer 150 hosted buyers the opportunity to meet with more than 100 of the region’s top suppliers. Attending the MICE East Africa Forum & Expo will allow you to experience Addis Ababa’s MICE infrastructure and the cities top level suppliers and meet with the major Ethiopian tourism offices; the East and Central African country tourism organizations, airlines, hotels and resorts with suitable MICE facilities, local venue providers and vendors, professional conference and event organizers, destination management companies etc. The Hosted buyer programme includes round trip air tickets to/from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, up to 4 night hotel accommodation during the show, free admission to the exhibition hall, the East Africa Innovation Center, the event’s networking functions, food & beverage services of the event, ground transportation and a minimum of 25 valuable business appointments during the 3-day event. For detailed information visit: micemm.com/index.php/hosted-buyerevents/mice-east-africa-forum-expo To apply visit: survey.micemm.com/index.php/374368/lang-en
106 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
New Tanzania President Did This in Just 3 Months By Kwame Gyan
O
n November 5, 2015 Tanzania swore into office a new President. John Magufuli is doing what has been termed the “Rwandanisation of Tanzania”. If you dont know about what Paul Kagame has done with Rwanda make Google your friend. Here are some of the things John Magufuli has done already in LESS THAN A MONTH. Not in 3 or 6 years, one month. He’s shown a clear commitment to walk the talk but not to talk and talk and talk and talk more like we do here: • Soon after his election, Magufuli declared there would be no celebration of Independence Day on 9 December because it would be “shameful” to spend huge sums of money on the celebrations when people were dying of Cholera. Instead, the day has been set as a national day of cleanliness, and the money will go toward street¬cleaning services. He has said everybody should pick up their tools and clean their backyards. • After his first official visit to the Muhimbili Hospital, and seeing the horrible state it was in, he ordered over 200 million shillings marked for “parliament parties” be used to pay for beds for people lying on the floor and sharing beds. A few days later 300 beds were delivered. He dismissed the
•
•
•
•
governing board and got a new team in place, and within days the broken MRI was fixed. He also pared down his inauguration party from $100,000 to $7,000 and sent the extra money to the hospital. Three days into his term, Magufuli announced a ban on all foreign travel by government officials. They have been instructed to instead make regular visits to rural areas to learn and help solve problems facing everyday Tanzanians. All tasks that required officials to travel abroad would instead be done by high commissioners and ambassadors who are already in place. He has restricted all first and business class travel to government officials, except the president, vice-president and prime minister. There will be no more workshops and seminars in expensive hotels when there are so many ministry board rooms available. He suspended the Tanzania Revenue Authority’s chief and other officials pending investigations after a visit by Prime Minister Kassim
•
•
•
•
Majaliwa to the port of Dar es Salaam found 350 containers listed in its books were missing. When he had to travel 600km to Dodoma, from Dar, to officially open parliament last week, he didn’t order a private jet – instead, he chose to drive. At the National Assembly in Dodoma last week he clearly sent out the message that it will not be business as usual under his leadership. He promised to cut public spending, fight corruption and enhance accountability in public service. He said it is time for Tanzanians to walk the talk. Magufuli reportedly told parliamentary leaders that the people of Tanzania want him to solve their problems and not make speeches. How I wish we could learn.
www.merih-news.com/2015/12/07/ new-tanzania-president-did-this-injust-3-month-amazing/
107 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
Infrared-capable Drones are Hunting Poachers By Greg Nichols for Robotics
S
o this is pretty a w e s o m e . Poachers in South Africa are being hunted with infrared drones. Drone use is on the rise among law enforcement, conservation groups, and first-responders. The Lindbergh Foundation's Air Shepherd program was developed to protect elephants and rhinos from poaching by spotting the bad guys from the air. The program just officially launched in An anti-poaching drone from Bathawk Recon. South Africa with an event featuring Golden Globe-winning actress Maura board of the Lindbergh Foundation. "The poaching of Tierney and sponsored by South African Airways. Air Shepherd, whose operations have been covered wildlife has hit record highs and we have come to a here before, sends drone teams through months of critical juncture where action must be taken. Fortunately, extensive training and are deployed into areas known many other African countries recognize this and have for illegal poaching activities. Using intelligence from reached out to the Lindbergh Foundation with interest many sources, infrared-capable drones fly silently at in implementing Air Shepherd pilot programs." Developed by the Charles A. and Anne Morrow night when poachers operate. Once poachers are spotted on screens in the operation vehicles, rangers Lindbergh Foundation, the Air Shepherd program hopes that drones and data analytic capabilities can are sent to the area to intercept them. It would be even cooler if the drones shot big nets, protect rhinos and elephants in Africa. Using sophisticated three-aircraft operating teams but it's a start. The Air Shepherd drones offer more protection to that work with rangers on the ground, drones are flown rangers who, while patrolling at night, are exposed to over high probable poaching areas, allowing rangers a high level of danger from armed poachers and wild to intercept suspects before a poaching incident can take place. animals. For more information, or if you want to donate to a The program is new, but early tests have suggested pretty cool organization doing great things with tech, that when Air Shepherd drones are flying, poaching stops. Something about being stealthily hunted by a please visit www.lindberghfoundation.org or www. technologically superior predator must be off-putting AirShepherd.org. for poachers. www.zdnet.com/article/infrared-capable-drones-are"We are thrilled that our drone teams are fully hunting-poachers/?tag=nl.e232&s_cid=e232&ttag=e232&ft ag=TRE6a12a91 operational," explains John Petersen, chairman of the 108 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
Download the Zambia-USA Chamber of Commerce App from the
Apple App Store or
Google Play Store Search: "Zambia USA Chamber"
Find links to the chamber website and facebook page, and embassies; access business resources; receive breaking news; view relevant video presentations; communicate via Twitter, smartphone and e-mail.
www.zambiausachamber.org 109 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
September 16-17, 2016 Carson Community Center Carson, CA panafricanglobaltradeconfeerence.com Contact for more information: Al Washington, Exec. Director 1-626.243.3614 alwashington@africa-usa.org 110 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
Returning to Africa?
African Repatriation is an invaluable online resource for any African national who is thinking about returning to Africa. Our industry articles and specialist editorials provide the latest sector information. Why not find out for yourself and become a part of our growing community today? www.africanrepatriation. com
Career Opportunities in Africa Search and apply online for the latest vacancies in Africa with African Talent. We provide candidates and employers with the tools and resources needed in today’s competitive job market. For employers, we offer numerous options to feature your jobs in Africa and for candidates, reviewing the most recent job vacancies in Africa is a fast, easy process. Uploading your CV is simple and takes just a few moments. www.africantalent.com
111 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Thursday Blues at Uncle Darrow‛s High Noon-2pm Every Thursday
Come by for lunch and relax to blues & jazz from our house band! 2560 S. Lincoln Blvd. Marina del Rey North East corner of Washington & Lincoln
“LA Times Magazine favorite cajun food”
310-306-4862
www.uncledarrows.com 112 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
GHANA—2016 CULTURAL HOME GOING & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY TOUR Come join me on a magnificent journey through the amazing lands of West Africa. Experience Ghana in all of its splendor - from the mélange of its traditional and modern history, to the diversity of its culture and languages, to the warmth and hospitality of the Ghanaian people.
$3,500* USD June 18—30, 2016 Dominique DePirma
13 Days and 9 Nights with Airfare *Double Occ.
x x x
x x x
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE AWAITS YOU Experience Accra’s colonial and contemporary architecture See the colorful harbor below the Cape Coast Castle Follow the path that the slaves took from the dungeons to the “door of no return” Participate in a African Naming Ceremony Learn about the mighty Ashanti Kingdom Shop for authentic arts and crafts
Host –Front Page 102.3 KJLH African Focus Cultural Ambassador
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES xSolar Energy xWaste management xAgriculture and farming xOil and gas xICT xFood production xTransport services xReal estate xTourism xParticipate in 2 Business
Opportunity Workshops Cape Coast Slave Castle
Relax at an ocean front resort
ORGANIZED BY
Phone: 310.676.7300
Visit www.africanfocus.org Email: afstours@africanfocus.org
konya
gi.co.t
z
International
One Africa:
J
Tell the US Government that North Africa is Africa Too!
oin with and support the United Africa Organization’s campaign to petition the U.S. Department of State to include the whole African continent under its Bureau of African Affairs.
Why? The State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, led by Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, currently excludes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara from its agenda. Instead, the aforementioned countries are grouped with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, together with Iran, Iraq, Israel and others. This artificial distinction between North Africa and the rest of Africa
negatively impacts US foreign policy relations throughout the entire continent of Africa. We unequivocally reject the argument that North African countries are outside the scope of African affairs. North Africa is geographically and historically part of the African continent, and all fifty-three (53) independent African states, including North African countries, are represented in the African Union (AU). It would be far more productive for the State Department to engage with the entire continent of Africa, including North Africa, under its Bureau of African Affairs. We are one Africa, from the Cape to Cairo, indivisible and bound together! Therefore, no square inch of African
land should be excluded from African affairs.
Sign The Petition!!! Go to www.change.org/petitions/ one-africa-tell-us-state-departmentthat-north-africa-is-part-of-africa and sign the online petition to support this important proposition. Next tell everyone you know to sign.
www.uniteafricans.org
Shopping Gallery
@EleVenbyVenus elevenbyvenus.com
Artwear Handpainted Handbags, Skirts, Tees, Accessories, Calendars, Wall Hangings & More! http://gbabysworld.blogspot.com Gbabyartwear@hotmail.com or Gbabyart345@gmail.com Find Gbaby Products at the “Collective� http://www.atthecollective.com 280 Elizabeth Street, Atlanta, GA www.carolsdaughter.com
.com
Find us at: https://nubianskin.com, www.nubianskin.com/us and 15 Nordstrom stores in the USA
Empowering Women. Embracing our Colour.
The Economic Turn Around in the USA is in Our Hands •Buy Products Made or Assembled in the USA •Hire One New Employee •Eat an Extra Meal Out Each Week •Start/Grow a Business to Generate Wealth & Jobs
Buy Black Save Black Invest Black 121 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Collection Bed, Bath & Beyond
http://bsmith.com/shop
http://marvin-sin.squarespace.com
This magnificent handcrafted concert grand is a "Best of" in terms of sound, new technology, beauty, and construction. Massively well-built to withstand the rigors of intense concert performances without compromise, the SHADD Concert Grand is a coveted treasure for pianists and collectors. With a rich voluminous sound that performs true to all genres of music, this phenomenal instrument has a rare diversified ability to play from the softest whisper with pure clear sound to a major roar with a bass section exuding an abundance of power and resounding singing sensations.
www.shaddpianos.com
Baron's Painting & Decorating Service Baron Williams
30 Years of Experience in the Greater Los Angeles Area Specializing in Exterior and Interior Painting, Tiling, Linoleum Flooring,
Cultural Interiors West &
Cordially Invited Cultural Interiors West 5573 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
& Wall Paper
"I will paint any one story building or house for $2,500 satisfaction guaranteed."
1-323-490-3774
Experience our exciting array of products from Cards to Cupcakes, African Masks, Asian Teacups, Healthy Herbal Teas, Gourd Purses, Candles, to Furniture Hope to see you soon!!! In the meantime visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/CulturalInteriors-West/140688362658236
124 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
New Location Leimert Park Village 3347 W. 43rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90008 1-323-299-6383 www.zambezibazaar.com shop@ zambezibazaar.com
125 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
ZIMBABWE GALLERY 1-484-459-6625 zimbabwegallery@yahoo.com www.shonasculpture.com @ZimbabweGallery www.facebook.com/Zimbabwe Gallery
PHIPPS PLAZA 3500 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30326
GREENBRIAR MALL 2841 Greenbriar Pkwy SW, Atlanta, GA 30331
Shop for all of the NoMu products at: https://shop.nomu.co.za and www.amazon.com
Locations: Downtown Culver City: 9537 Culver Blvd. 310-202-5453 City of Compton: 2600 E. Alondra Blvd. 310-638-7871 www.honeyskettle.com Open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm
126 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Bernahu Asfaw & Getahun Asfaw
1041 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019 323-938-8827 or 323-938-8806 • Fax: 323-932-6047 messob@gmail.com • www.messob.com
Open 7 days a week • 11am - 11pm
Krispy Kruchy Chicken is in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Los Angeles. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is a cajun-style chicken (bone-in and tenders), served fresh, never frozen and fried in zero trans fat oil. Their menu also includes signature dishes of Traditional Wings; Krispy Wings; Cajun Sweet & Sour Wings; Cajun Tenders; Red Beans and Rice; Jambalaya; Boudin Bites (Cajun rice balls); Krispy Shrimp and Honey Butter Biscuits. For additional information, please call Krispy Kruchy at 1-323-293-3332 or visit www. krispykrunchy.com. 129 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Parker House Sausage (www.parkerhousesausage.
com) was started by Chicago entrepreneur, Judge H. Parker who came to Chicago from Montgomery County, Tennessee with little more than the conviction that there was a potential market for homemade sausage products prepared according to his mother’s recipes. By 1919 Judge Parker began selling his unique blend of herbs and spices mixed with flavorful, savory sausage from a horse drawn cart on a retail basis. Recognized as one of the oldest family owned businesses in the U.S. In 2014 Parker House expanded its product line to include chicken products including breakfast sausage, hot links, and smoked sausage.
SHOP ONLINE! //shop.parkerhousesausage.com
We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. Need a dinner idea. Go to the Recipe Page on our website. Thanks for visiting!
!" # $" $% & '
!3 5/- /6/ / - & 77 8
()$% #! "
( * + , - .- / / 01)$2 !00$ "0
- 34
Ma's Best is a bakery specializing in the production of home-style yeast rolls and baked products. www.facebook.com/masbestrolls/#!/masbestrolls/?tab=page_info#!/masbestrolls/info
Try all 3 flavors!
In your local grocery store or shop online for syrups, recipes, and books. Learn about our special projects and join the recipe contest.
MICHELE FOODS, INC. 1-708-331-7316 www.michelefoods.com
137 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Eso Won Books African American Books 4327 Degnan Boulevard Leimert Park, Los Angeles
Give the Gift of Books and Music Come see our unsurpassed collection of books, music, videos, children’s books, and games!
1-323-294-0324
www.esowonbookstore.com //esowon.booksense.com for Calendar of Events
138 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBA Master Planner of African American entrepreneurs and the government agencies and corporate entities that provide positive supports for African American businesses. For particiation information visit www.bbala.org.
June 2017
BBA Annual Awards Dinner Taking place at the LA Hotel Downtown, the awards dinner will highlight the achievements of African American entrepreneurs and the government agencies and corporate entities that provide positive supports for African American businesses. For particiation information visit www.bbala.org. ď ƒ
March
BBA Salute to Black Women Taking place at the LA Hotel Downtown, the business conference, vendor faire and awards luncheon will be presented using the theme "Working to Form a More Perfect Union." For particiation information visit www.bbala.org.
May
BBA Procurement Exchange Summit Taking place at the LA Hotel Downtown, the awards dinner will highlight the achievements
Resource Vault Media/Information Africa Interactive Multimedia Press/Content Agency in Africa www.africa-interactive.com Africa World Press Books www.africaworldpressbooks.com African Trade Magazine www.africantrademagazine.com African Vibes Magazine www.africanvibes.com The Africapitalist www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/ africapitalisminstitute/africapitalist-magazine The African World www.theafricanworld.tv Africast TV www.africast.tv Afritorial www.afritorial.com www.facebook.com/Afritorial AllAfrica http://allafrica.com Black Wall Street Times http://bwstimes.com Black Business News Group www.blackbusinessnews.net Black Children's Books and Authors http://blackchildrensbooksandauthors.tumblr.com BlackPast.org www.blackpost.org Black Press USA www.blackpressusa.com BridesNoir www.bridesnoir.com The Chocolate Voice www.thechocolatevoice.com CuisineNoir www.cuisinenoirmag.com DiasporaVoice www.blogtalkradio.com/diasporavoice Publish Africa http://wow.gm/publishafrica Rock Me Africa //rockmeafrica.com YouTube Educational Channels http://teacherswithapps.com/197-educational-youtube-channels-know World Library www.worldlibrary.org
Africa Leadership Forum http://africaleadership.org The African Union www.au.int/en Black Business Association www.bbala.org CauseCast www.causecast.com www.causecastfornonprofits.com Pan African Film Festival www.paff.org United African Organization http://uniteafricans.org Zambia-USA Chamber of Commerce www.zambiausachamber.org
Investment/Development Africa Reports www.africareports.com African Development Bank www.afdb.org African Export-Import Bank //afreximbank.com/afrexim/en AfrigadgetTV www.afrigadget.com Disrupt Africa http://disrupt-africa.com/ The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke Silicon Harlem http://event.siliconharlem.net Ventures www.ventures-africa.com United Nations http://webtv.un.org
U.S. Government
Commerce Department www.doc.gov International Trade Administration http://trade.gov Minority Business Development Agency www.mbda.gov Power Africa www.usaid.gov/powerafrica Small Business Administration www.sba.gov State Department www.dos.gov Trade Africa www.usaid.gov/tradeafrica White House www.whitehouse.gov
Organizations 141 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Books to Consider
Books to Consider... The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott have played out during his tenure? What can we learn from Obama's major race speeches about his approach to racial conflict and the black criticism it provokes? Dyson explores whether Obama’s use of his own biracialism as a radiant symbol has been driven by the president’s desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the black power structure, telling the fascinating story of how Obama has spurned traditional black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage. President Obama’s own voice—from an Oval Office interview granted to Dyson for this book—along with those of Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, and Maxine Waters, among others, add unique depth to this profound tour of the nation’s first black presidency. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011H55P1K/ref=dpkindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good by Corey Booker
A
provocative and lively deep dive into the meanin meaning of America's first black presidency, from “one of the most graceful and lucid intellectuals writing on race and politics today” (Vanity Fair). Michael Eric Dyson explores the powerful, surprising way the politics of race have shaped Barack Obama’s identity and groundbreaking presidency. How has President Obama dealt publicly with race—as the national traumas of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin,
Raised in northern New Jersey, Cory Booker went to Stanford University on a football scholarship, accepted a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, then studied at Yale Law School. Graduating from Yale, his options were limitless. He chose public service. He chose to move to a rough neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, where he worked as a tenants’ rights lawyer before winning a seat on the City Council. In 2006, he was elected Mayor, and for more than seven years he was the public face of an American city that had gone decades with too little positive national attention and investment. In 2013, Booker became the first African American elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate. In United, Cory Booker draws on personal experience to issue a stirring call to reorient our nation and our politics around the principles of compassion and
142 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
solidarity. He speaks of rising above despair to engage with hope, pursuing our shared mission, and embracing our common destiny. Here is his account of his own political education, the moments— s o m e entertaining, s o m e heartbreaking, htening that have shaped his civic all of them enlightening—that vision. Here are the lessons Booker learned from the remarkable people who inspired him to serve, men and women whose example fueled his desire to create opportunities for others. Here also are his observations on the issues he cares about most deeply, from race and crime and the crisis of mass incarceration to economic and environmental justice. “Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word,” Booker writes in this galvanizing book. In a world where we too easily lose touch with our neighbors, he argues, we must remember that we all rise or fall together—and that we must move beyond mere tolerance for one another toward a deeper connection: love. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0104EOKQ6/ref=dpkindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
The Face That Changed it All: A Memoir
A
By Beverly Johnson
revelatory and redemptive memoir from Beverly Johnson, the first black supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue, and who, over five hundred magazine covers later, remains one of the most successful glamour girls ever. In The Face That Changed It All, Beverly Johnson brings her own passionate and deeply honest voice to
the page to chronicle her childhood growing up as a studious, and sometimes bullied, bookworm during the socially conscious, racially charged ’60s. Initially drawn to a career in law due to the huge impact the Civil Rights movement had on her life, Beverly eventually made her mark as the first black cover model of American Vogue in 1974. A successful three-decade career in modeling ffollowed. Offering glamorous tales about the hard partying of the 1970s and Hollywood during the ’80s and early ’90s, Johnson details her many encounters and fascinating ffriendships with the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Halston, Calvin Klein, and Andy Warhol, as well as stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Jack Nicholson, Keith Richards, and W Warren Beatty. But not everything that glitters is gold, and Johnson’s memoir reveals the countless demons she wrestled with over the course of her storied career. She brings us into the heart of her struggles with racism, drug addiction, divorce, and a prolonged child custody battle over her daughter that tested her fortitude and sanity. She shares for the first time intimate details surrounding her love affair with the late tennis icon Arthur Ashe, giving little known insight into the heart, mind, and spirit of the revered tennis legend. She also pays homage to her mentor, the late Naomi Sims, while lifting the veil off the complicated, catty, and often times tense relationships between black models during her fashion heyday. Familiar names from the catwalk, such as Pat Cleveland and Iman, appear regularly in her story, illustrating how each had to fight various battles to survive not just the system at large, but each other. Featuring gorgeous, never-before-seen photos from Johnson’s childhood and modeling days, The Face That Changed It All gives a no-holds-barred look at the lives of the rich, fabulous, and famous. It is also a story of failure and success in the upper echelons of the fashion world, and how Beverly Johnson emerged from her struggles smarter, happier, and stronger than ever. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P42X344/ref=dp-kindleredirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
143 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
My Faith: A Cameroon to be Renewed
C
by Cardinal Christian Tumi
ardinal Tumi opens his book with a reflection on the political and economic question: “What we are as Nation?” To him Cameroon is a nation that is not making progress. Consequently, a cross section of the nation reverts as apathetic and discouraged onlookers, who are dissociated and disinterested in political life, except for self serving purposes. This apathetic disengaged attitude, according to Tumi, breeds disgruntled and disgusted, “Cameroonians [who] do not take part in Parliamentary and Presidential elections…”. In his estimation, this disposition evidently exacerbates a numbing paucity and plurality of ideas, as well as, a healthy confrontation of those ideas in shaping social and political destinies. A generation of citizens disinterested and apathetic according to Tumi, risk becoming a “shapeless
multitude, an inert mass, exploited and manipulated…” – it is a nation that has “ears but cannot hear and eyes but cannot see.” What strikes a tender cord in one’s heart is that the constant pursuit of good is only possible by loving God and neighbor. It is impossible to govern without God and a radically transformed Cameroon is one, where the people fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom, to paraphrase Tumi. The message of doing good and avoiding evil cannot be lost. One is either an avid consumer of all things God; His awesomeness to put it mildly, or you are for all things good, to put it simply, or you are for evil to put it bluntly.
The natural order of things does not favour the latter in any great measure. Essentially, Tumi argues for a new Cameroonian –a Christian politician who makes known to others, the goodness of God. www.amazon.com/ s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ACAR DINAL%20CHRISTIAN%20TUMI www.cameroonpostline.com/book-review-my-faith-acameroon-to-be-renewed
Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe
D
By Malcolm Nance
efeating ISIS gives an amply illustrated, step-by-step analysis of o the street-level tactics the t group has employed in assaults against fortified targets, t in urban combat, and a during terrorist operations such as those in o Paris during the November 13 attacks. As much as ISIS is a threat to Western targets and regional stability t in the Middle East, Nance describes not only its true d danger d as a heretical death cult c that seeks to wrest control ol of Islam through young ideologues and redefine Islam as a fight to the death against all comers, but also how to defeat it. Defeating ISIS is the first highly detailed and fully illustrated look into the organization by one of the world’s foremost authorities in counterterrorism. Malcolm Nance www.amazon.com/Defeating-ISIS-They-Fight-Believe/ dp/1510711848/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
144 March 2016 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819