December 2017

December 2017

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Publisher's Message

D

ecember 1st marked the 62nd anniversary since Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama to a white man, becoming an iconic symbol in the Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Park’s one act of courage became an instrumental part of a movement to end Bus Segregation in the South known as the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” and the beginning of the Civil Rights Pubisher/Editor-In-Chief Movement of the late 50s that continues today. This December the Black Women voter's of Alabama maintained the tradition of resistence by being the deciding factor in the election to the U.S. Senate of Doug Jones, the Liberal Democrat, over Roy Moore, the ultra-conservative Republican.

While the Montgomery Bus Boycott along with the many other civil rights imges790.bloguez.com campaigns were instrumental in reversing large elements of racism in America, a key detractor which resulted from the process, was African Americans losing sight of the importance of continuing to support each other in business. Unfortunately, many African American consumers ran through the newly opened doors of opportunity to purchase the mainstream’s goods and services leaving most African American-owned businesses to suffer in the decline of support. The economic impact of this decline has hurt us as an ethnic group and benefitted everyone else.

Earl “Skip” Cooper, II

Another adverse impact of African American consumers not investing in and supporting our own eco-system has been our becoming Corporate America’s profit margin and receiving little in return. This lack of investment diminishes and handicaps our endeavors for economic empowerment.

The high price African American consumers pay (and I do mean high), is the cost of doing business with Corporate America when you are Black. For instance, most Black Americans are already economically challenged. Yet, we patronize financial and lending institutions, retailers, restaurants, and providers of goods and services (medical, legal, insurance), that have a standardized practice of charging the “economicallychallenged” higher prices for goods and services.

African Americans pay larger downpayments and higher interest rates on home mortgages and automobiles. In addition many African Americans are also subjected to predatory lending practices because of having to live paycheck to paycheck, and thereby borrowing money in advance on their paychecks. This particular practice subjects those who use this as a source of financing to meet basic expenses, are charged high interest rates and additional penalties as well.

One of the main reasons why African Americans are

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www.blackbusinessnews.net PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II

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About

The mission of The Black Business News (BBN) 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 (a division of the Black Business Association) 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.

•

exploring major public and private sector contracting methods to educate black-owned and operated enterprises.

•

providing an affirmative influence for emerging entrepreneurs by sharing innovative design and creative cultural 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 blacks work, live and operate viable business enterprises.

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Contents

Black Business News…

3

Publisher's Message

Government 6 8

10 16 17 20

22

24

Doug Jones Won Because of Black Women FBI Report on Black 'Extremists' Raises Fears of Targe ng What You Need to Know About a Repeal of Net Neutrality Prosecutor Seeks Probe of US Personnel in Afghanistan How the Travel Ban Will Affect U.S. Visitors Zimbabwe's New Leader Mnangagwa is Sworn In A ‘Slave Auc on’ Puts the Spotlight Back on Libya U.S. Abandons Global Effort to Address Migra on

47 48 54 60 65 74

Community/Public Interest 88 89 90

93 94 95 96

Editorials/Perspectives

97

34 52

BBN Show Biz Buzz

Jay-Z: The Criminal Jus ce System Stalks Black People Like Meek Mill Barack Obama Warns Against Complacency, Invokes Specter of Nazi Germany

Business 35 36 37 38 40 43 44 45

It's Your Right to Be Uncommon Facebook Launches Creator App for Influencers to Build Video Communi es Facebook Introduces "Watch", its new Episodic Video Service 11 Young African American Entrepreneurs to Support this Holiday Season How Many Hashtags Should You Use in a Tweet? A Study Reveals This and More 5 Steps to Becoming a "Change Champion" Google Trains 1 Million Africans in its Digital Skills Training Programme Facebook is Launching a Tech Community Hub in Nigeria, The First of Its Kind in Africa

Valerie Jarre to Join University of Chicago Law School Former President Barack Obama Gets a Holiday Ten African American College Students Named Rhodes Scholars

Obituary/Memorials

Entertainment 28

4 Key PR Trends for Brands to Watch (and Manage) in 2018 How Best-in-Class Companies Treat Employees How AI and Voice Assistants Can Help Communicators Make the Important Decisions The Hawkins Company Promotes Bre Byers to Execu ve Vice President USPS to Increase Rates on Jan. 21st 27th Annual BZB Holiday Gi & Art Show

98

Earle Hyman, Cosby Show's Grandpa Huxtable, Dies at 91 Miracles Singer Warren 'Pete' Moore Dead at 78 Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill Founder, CEO, Dies at 57 Jon Hendricks, Legendary Jazz and Vocalese Singer, Dies At 96 Joseph L. White, 84; was Pioneer in Black Psychology Della Reese Dies at 86

International 101 102 104

The African Union’s Recipe for Tackling Youth Unemployment How South Africa Is Telling Its Story Through Tourism Robert Mugabe Resigns as Zimbabwe's President a er 37 Years

Columns 86 100 111 147 150 151

Take A Look!

African Stock Exchanges Shopping Gallery Books to Consider...

BBA Master Planner Resource Vault

5  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government

Doug Jones Won Because of Black Women

By Marie Solis

D

oug Jones defeated Roy Moore in the recent Alabama Senate race with the overwhelming support of black women voters, 98 % of whom cast their ballots for the Democratic candidate.

According to CNN's exit polls, only 35% of white women voted for Jones, with 63% of the voter bloc offering their support to Moore instead, who has been accused of pursuing inappropriate relationships with teen girls as an adult.

"Doug Jones would not have won today without the turnout we saw from African-American voters," Symone D. Sanders, a Democratic strategist, told Newsweek. "Black women have been absolutely clear in their support for Democratic policies and Democratic candidates.

It's high time for Democrats ... to invest in that effort."

Sanders said it was the grassroots, on-the-ground efforts of Jones's African-American supporters that helped bring black voters to the ballot box on Tuesday and push Jones across the finish line. But if Democrats want to carry their 2017 successes into the 2018 midterms, they can't count on black women alone to carry the party.

"Black women have been attempting to save America since the dawn of time," Sanders said. "That doesn't mean we should allow the fate of America to be laid at the feet of black women—it has to be a multicultural effort."

Still, others couldn't help but notice

the poetic justice of a Democrat with an upstanding record on civil rights winning in deep-red Alabama.

"It’s no coincidence that Selma, where blood was shed in the struggle for voting rights for Black people, pushed Doug Jones ahead for good," Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, tweeted following Jones's win.

Selma, Alabama—the site of 1972's "Bloody Sunday"—was among one of the Democratic candidate's strongholds with black voters.

The Jones camp had tried to leverage the candidate's civil rights record to appeal to African-American voters in the state. When he served as a prosecutor, Jones was responsible for convicting members of the Ku Klux Klan who bombed a Birmingham, Alabama Baptist church and killed four young girls.

"I’m very humbled and honored to have played a part in the civil rights saga, if you will, many years after the fact," Jones said during a campaign rally in Montgomery, Alabama, another famous site of the civil rights movement.

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday's special election, many white women spoke out about why the allegations against Moore didn't shake their support for the candidate. Some of them believed the women who had come

forward with allegations against Moore were lying, while others openly admitted that whether or not the accusations were true would have no effect on their vote.

"My mother married at 15 and married a man 14 years older than her," a woman named Kay Day said during a November press conference for Moore. "In that day, if you married someone that was 15 years older, it was common.”

“Even if it were so, that would not make me not vote for Judge Moore,” she added, referring to the

allegations against him. "That is just not something that would make me discredit and ruin a man

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U.S. Senator-Elect Doug Jones and U.S. Senator Corey Booker take selfie with voters. tmssmagazine.com for the rest of his life."

The disparity between black women and white women's votes in Tuesday night's race was a familiar one, for those who recall that 53% of white women voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election—even in the face of over a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct and an audio recording of Trump himself bragging about grabbing women's genitals without their consent.

Every other demographic of American women overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton,

including 94% of black women who voted for the Democratic nominee, who would have been the country's first woman president.

Sanders said it was true in 2016, and it's true now, more than a year later: "Black women have always been a force to be reckoned with," she said. "Democrats and the media are just now waking up to that." ” www.msn.com/en-us/news/ politics/doug-jones-wonbecause-of-black-women/arBBGFMfe?ocid=spartandhp

Symone D. strategist

Sanders,

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a

Democratic

Government further erode the frayed relationship between police and minority communities.

"I have never met a black extremist. I don't know what the FBI is talking about," said Chris Phillips, a filmmaker in Ferguson.

Before the Trump administration, the report might not have caused such alarm. The FBI noted it issued a similar bulletin warning of retaliatory violence by "black separatist extremists" in March 2016, when the country had a black president, Barack Obama, and black attorney general, Loretta Lynch.

But black voters overwhelmingly opposed Donald Trump. And they are suspicious of his administration, which has been criticized as insensitive on racial issues, including when Trump was slow to condemn white nationalist protesters following a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Alabama senator whose career has been dogged by questions about race and his commitment to civil rights, did not ease lawmakers' concerns when he was unable to answer questions about the report or its origins during a congressional hearing this past week.

Sessions said he was aware of "groups that do have an extraordinary commitment to their racial identity, and some

FBI Report on Black 'Extremists' Raises Fears of Targeting

By Sadie Gurman and Russell Contreras

A

n FBI report on the rise of black "extremists" is stirring fears of a return to practices used during the civil rights movement, when the bureau spied on activist groups without evidence they had broken any laws.

The FBI said it doesn't target specific groups, and the report is one of many its intelligence analysts produce to make law enforcement aware of what they see as emerging trends. A similar bulletin on white supremacists, for example, came out about the same time.

The 12-page report, issued in August, says "black identity extremists" are increasingly targeting

law enforcement after police killings of black men, especially since the shooting of Michael Brown roiled Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The report describes cases in which "extremists" had "acted in retaliation for perceived past police brutality incidents." It warned that such violence was likely to continue.

Black leaders and activists were outraged after Foreign Policy revealed the existence of the report last month. The Congressional Black Caucus, in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, said the report "conflates black political activists with dangerous domestic terrorist organizations" and would

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have transformed themselves even into violent activists." He struggled to answer the same question about white extremists.

It wouldn't be unusual for an attorney general not to have seen such an FBI assessment, which the FBI creates on its own to circulate internally among law enforcement agencies. But the exchange with Rep. Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, presented an uncomfortable moment.

"What worries me about this terribly is that this is that it is a flashback to the past," Bass said after the hearing. She said she was especially concerned after receiving complaints from members of Black Lives Matter, who said they were being monitored and harassed by police in her district.

The group rallies after racially charged encounters with police, but it is not mentioned in the FBI's intelligence assessment. Even so, Bass said she worried the report will send a message to police that it's OK to crack down on groups critical of law enforcement.

The FBI does not comment on its intelligence bulletins, which usually are not public. In a statement, the FBI said it cannot and will not open an investigation based solely on a person's race or exercise of free speech rights.

"Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and other criminal acts," the FBI said. "Furthermore, the FBI does not and will not police ideology. When an individual takes violent action based on belief or ideology and breaks the law, the FBI will enforce the rule of law."

The assessments are designed to help law enforcement agencies stay ahead of emerging problems and should not be seen as a sign of a broader enforcement strategy, said

Jeffrey Ringel, a former FBI agent and Joint Terrorism Task Force member who now works for the Soufan Group, a private security firm.

Agencies can decide for themselves whether the assessment reflects a real problem, he said.

Still, some veterans of the black and Latino civil rights movement said the FBI assessment reminded them of the bureau's nowdefunct COINTELPRO, a covert and often illegal operation under Director J. Edgar Hoover in the 1950s and 1960s.

Agents were assigned at the time to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, or otherwise neutralize the activities of black nationalists," Hoover said

in a once-classified memo to field agents.

David Correia, an American Studies professor at the University of New Mexico, said the new memo carries a similar message.

"It's part of their playbook," he said. "They try to characterize legitimate concerns about something like police violence as somehow a danger so they can

Congresswoman Karen Bass disrupt protests." The FBI used a similar tactic to try to cause confusion among New Mexico Hispanic land grant activists in the 1960s, he said.

The cases listed in the new bulletin include that of a sniper who said he was upset about police treatment of minorities before killing five officers during a protest in Dallas, and a man who wrote of the need to inflict violence on "bad cops" before killing three in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In each of the cases, the FBI alleges the suspects were connected to radical ideologies linked to black nationalism.

Phillips, who is set to release a film about the shooting of Brown and its aftermath, said if the FBI were really worried about unrest, it should turn its focus to the concerns of the people "who are protesting in the streets" instead of targeting people who face discrimination daily.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ fbi-report-on-black-extremists-raisesfears-of-targeting/ar-BBFjXfT?li=AA4Z nC&ocid=spartandhp

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Government - Communications

What You Need to Know About a Repeal of Net Neutrality

By Steve Lohr, New York Times

F

or you and me, the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to repeal net neutrality rules can be boiled down to two questions: What might happen? And whom do you trust?

Here’s our guide for internet users looking for answers.

The Backdrop The net neutrality rules were passed in 2015 during the Obama administration when Democrats controlled the F.C.C. The goal was to adapt regulations in such a way as to acknowledge the essential role of high-speed internet access as a gateway to modern

the telephone.

The major broadband and telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast have argued that utility-style regulation represents unnecessary government meddling that will reduce their incentives to invest and improve service.

The result, they say, will be worse service for everyone in the long run.

What Might Happen?

The biggest concern is that the internet will become pay-to-play technology with two tiers: one that has speedy service and one that doesn’t. The high-speed lane would be occupied by big internet

will comfortably be able to pay the higher rent. It will not affect their business, though it may crimp their profits. Avoiding higher prices is one reason the major internet companies have been champions of net neutrality.

But higher prices may be prohibitive for start-up companies and new voices in the media and entertainment worlds. W. Kamau Bell, a comedian and host of the CNN documentary series “United Shades of America,” recently described in The New York Times how the internet is so often the path to popular and commercial success

communication, information, entertainment and economic opportunity. So the F.C.C. opted to regulate broadband service as a utility — making the internet the digital equivalent of electricity and

and media companies, and affluent households. For everyone else there would be the slow lane.

The brand-name internet companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix, analysts say,

for newcomers. They upload a video and it goes viral.

That will no longer be true, Mr. Bell wrote, without net neutrality rules that “ensure that anyone who puts something on the internet has

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a fair shot at finding a life-changing audience.”

The government-backed guarantee of equal access is why public interest groups, nongovernmental organizations, charities and millions of private citizens wrote to the F.C.C. in support of the net neutrality rules.

But the broadband and telecom companies — and some economists — say that the freedom to charge different prices for different products and services is vital to

analyst.

So Whom Do You Trust?

The answer, like so many these days, is politically charged. The repeal reflects the conservative backlash against government regulation, which has been a hallmark of the Trump administration.

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia University who is credited with coining the phrase “net neutrality,” said the repeal plan not only rolls back the Obama-era

the best service to its customers, catering to consumer demand.

Charter said it voluntarily adheres to net neutrality principles, and will continue to do so. “We do not block, throttle, or otherwise interfere with the online activity of our customers,” the company said.

But a weakness in the free-market argument, industry analysts say, is that in some regional and rural markets, households have only one internet provider available to them.

That undermines the theory that

healthy markets. That kind of “price discrimination,” they say, is the fuel of innovation and efficiency.

In a public comment earlier this year to the F.C.C., AT&T called the Obama-era rules “an unprecedented regulatory overreach for which there is no economic or marketplace justification.”

The F.C.C. rules mandated net neutrality principles under a utilitystyle telecommunications law, called Title 2, that dates to 1934.

The carriers fear that it all but ensures price regulation.

“What they really object to is Title 2, not the net neutrality principles,” said Craig Moffett, an independent

rules, it goes further. It specifically permits broadband carriers to block media content, Mr. Wu said, an added power which was not the case during the administration of George W. Bush.

“An allowance of blocking is really pretty shocking.” Mr. Wu said in an email.

Yet if government is in retreat, then consumers are left to trust the behavior of the internet-access companies like Charter and AT&T. In their filings with the F.C.C., the companies have claimed that faith would be well founded. Market incentives, Charter told the F.C.C., push the companies to provide

competition will protect consumers.

Roger L. Kay, an independent technology analyst, predicted that larger bills — not content blocking — would be the most likely result. If the big internet and media companies will have to pay their carriers more for high-speed services, the expenses will trickle down to households.

Consumers, Mr. Kay said, “will end up paying higher prices for essentially the same service.”.  www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/ what-you-need-to-know-about-arepeal-of-net-neutrality/ar-BBFswOd?li =BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

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Government - Communications

How Mignon Clyburn, the FCC’s Lone Democrat, is Fighting to Save Net Neutrality

By Sam Gustin

T

he Federal Communications Commission's sole remaining Democrat, Mignon Clyburn, is mounting a vigorous defense of the FCC's pro-consumer policies.

With Republicans now in charge of the FCC, Clyburn faces the unfamiliar task of being in the minority at an agency where she spent years working with her Democratic colleagues to craft the most progressive FCC policies in a generation, including newlythreatened rules protecting net neutrality, the principle that all internet content should be equally accessible to consumers.

During a wide-ranging interview with Motherboard, Clyburn vowed to continue fighting to advance net neutrality, as well as her other signature priorities, including expanding affordable broadband access for low-income and underserved communities, and addressing what she calls the "extreme market failure" that forces prison inmates and their families to pay wildly exorbitant phone rates just to stay in touch with their loved ones.

"I'm no longer in the majority, but my mission and my objectives are the same," said Clyburn. "I came here almost eight years ago to ensure that the voices that have not been traditionally heard will have a person representing them. And as long as I'm here, I'll be a voice for those who deserve one."

Clyburn, a 55-year-old South Carolina native who earlier in her

watched her since," Copps added.

"We should all be grateful for her dedicated service."

Clyburn is well aware that she has limited tools at her disposal to resist the Republican effort to roll back many of the FCC's consumer protections. Trump's pick to lead the agency, former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, has broad latitude to set the FCC's agenda. That's one reason why Clyburn has taken to Twitter to rally grassroots support for her public interest philosophy using the

career spent more than a decade serving on her home state's Public Service Commission, was appointed to the FCC by former President Obama in 2009. Since then, Clyburn has built a reputation as a passionate advocate for the public interest and a tireless champion of policies designed to close the nation's " d i g i t a l d i v i d e " between those who enjoy internet access and Mignon Clyburn howldb.com those who lack it.

"Mignon Clyburn is fast achieving hashtag #ConsumersFirst.

For Clyburn, affordable broadband heroic status, her voice ringing access is not a luxury item like cable out in defense of consumer and citizen rights," said former FCC television—as some conservative commissioner Michael Copps, who Republicans have suggested—but now serves as a special adviser a necessity of modern life that's at DC-based public interest group essential for economic growth, free Common Cause. "Whether the speech and citizen empowerment.

"Not having access to the issue is protecting the open internet, safeguarding our right to online internet is very disabling, it's privacy, or championing broadband crippling honestly, for anyone who for every American, Commissioner needs to know what's happening in their community and wants to Clyburn leads the way."

"I know because I worked improve their lives," Clyburn told alongside her at the FCC and have Motherboard. "If you are unable

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to have access to the most empowering, liberating, and open platform of our time, meaning the internet, then you will increasingly be behind the information eightball."

Last year, Clyburn led the FCC's push to modernize the agency's Reagan-era Lifeline phone-subsidy program to include broadband access for low-income people, in a move hailed by public interest advocates as a much-needed step toward closing the digital divide.

But new FCC Chairman Pai has already begun chipping away at Lifeline by informing nine telecom companies that they won't be able to offer affordable broadband service to low-income people under the program.

Pai's action drew a strong rebuke from Clyburn, who has pledged to continue fighting Republican attempts to undermine the Lifeline program. "Taking steps to ensure that the digital and opportunities divide is closed, has always been a top priority for me," she said at a telecom policy event this week.

"That will never change. But what I hope will change, is for affordable communications to be a priority for us all."

In 2015, Clyburn joined her Democratic colleagues, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and former FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, in approving the agency's landmark Open Internet order, which established strong rules protecting net neutrality by barring internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking legal internet content or creating online fast lanes.

The FCC's net neutrality safeguards are now under threat from agency chief Ajit Pai, who has made no secret of his intention to torpedo the rules. (He recently called the FCC's net neutrality policy "a mistake.") Last month, Pai took the first step toward rolling back the rules by voting to eliminate open

internet transparency protections for millions of consumers.

In response to that setback, Clyburn vowed to fight to preserve the FCC's net neutrality policy. "This represents yet another in a series of steps being taken to jettison proconsumer initiatives, and we should not stand silent as consumer protections 'go gentle into that good night,'" she said at the agency's February open meeting, quoting the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

Net neutrality is an essential safeguard for free speech in the digital age, in order to protect the First Amendment rights of journalists, political organizers and everyday citizens from government pressure on ISPs to stifle online freedom of expression, according to Clyburn.

Clyburn knows what's she talking about—after all, she used to be a journalist herself. Clyburn launched her career in the mid-1980's working for The Coastal Times, a weekly newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, where she would eventually hold the roles of editor, general manager, and publisher during more than a decade in journalism.

"I take pride in our nation's respect for its media as a necessary check and balance on all of us," Clyburn told Motherboard. "And I would not have been a part, even a small part, of the media landscape if I did not respect what the media stands for and what its sole purpose is in a fully functional democracy."

"I will continue to press forward to ensure that inmates and their families receive just, reasonable, and fair phone rates."

Perhaps no issue is more closely identified with Clyburn than inmate calling reform. Incarcerated people in state and federal correctional facilities nationwide have long faced astronomical calling rates—in some cases more than $20 for a 15-minute

call, according to Clyburn—thanks to what criminal justice reform advocates call "usurious" practices by two companies, Securus Technologies and Global Tel*Link, that control the $1.2 billion prison phone market.

"The inmate calling regime is the greatest and most distressing form of injustice I have witnessed in my 18 years as an industry regulator," Clyburn testified before Congress earlier this month.

Last October, the FCC approved caps on inmate calling rates of 11 cents to 22 cents per minute on both interstate and in-state calls from prisons. (The agency later revised those caps to 13 cents to 31 cents per minute.) Securus and Global Tel*Link promptly sued the FCC, objecting to the rate caps.

Securus CEO Richard Smith went so far as to claim that the rate caps would cause "jail unrest."

The case is currently pending in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

Last month, in one of FCC Chairman Pai's first actions, the agency dismayed prison reform advocates by announcing that it would no longer defend the in-state rate caps. Pai has long argued that the in-state caps exceed the FCC's legal authority. Thus, it now falls to third-party advocates to defend the caps.

But Clyburn is not giving up on her years-long quest to ease the burden of exorbitant prison phone rates on incarcerated people and their loved ones. "Regardless of how the court rules, I will continue to press forward to ensure that inmates and their families receive just, reasonable, and fair phone rates," said Clyburn.

"Justice demands it, and so do I."  BBN Edited https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/ article/mg4wv3/how-mignon-clyburnthe-fccs-lone-democrat-is-fighting-tosave-net-neutrality

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Government - Judiciary

Prosecutor Seeks Probe of US Personnel in Afghanistan

By Mike Corder, Associated Press

Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), speaks to journalists. UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES 2016/05/26 © Photo by Luiz Rampelotto/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

T

he prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked judges Monday to authorize an investigation of reported human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including allegations of rape and torture by the U.S. military and CIA, crimes against humanity by the Taliban and war crimes by Afghan security forces.

The announcement marked the first time ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has gone after Americans for alleged war crimes and sets up a possible showdown

with Washington. The United States is not a member state of the court, but its nationals can be charged with crimes committed in countries that are members.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was reviewing Bensouda's authorization request, but opposes the International Criminal Court's involvement in Afghanistan.

"Our view is clear: an ICC investigation with respect to U.S personnel would be wholly

unwarranted and unjustified," the State Department said. "More broadly, our overall assessment is that commencement of an ICC investigation will not serve the interests of either peace or justice in Afghanistan."

As well as alleged crimes by American troops in Afghanistan, Bensouda wants to investigate the activities of CIA operatives in secret detention facilities in Afghanistan and other countries that are court members.

Bensouda said in a summary

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Government - Travel

How the Travel Ban Will Affect Visitors to the U.S.

By Katherine LaGrave

T

he Supreme Court recently ruled to allow the third version of Trump's travel ban to go into effect, even while parts of it are challenged in lower courts.

In short, this means that almost all citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, and North Korea will be banned from entering the United States; citizens from Venezuela will also face new restrictions and heightened screening.

Trump's original travel ban, an executive order announced a week after his January inauguration, immediately triggered airport chaos and mass protests before being struck down in court. The White House tried again: On March 6, a new

travel ban targeting citizens from six Muslim-majority countries was unveiled.

And while parts were immediately blocked by lower c o u r t s , the U.S. Supreme C o u r t allowed a limited, 90day version of the ban to proceed, with a caveat: The

of her request that "information available provides a reasonable basis to believe" that U.S. military personnel and CIA operatives "committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003-2004 period."

She added that the Taliban and its allies are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes "as part of a widespread and systematic campaign of intimidation, targeted killings and abductions of civilians" perceived as supporting the government or opposing the Taliban rebels.

Afghan security forces are, in turn, suspected of involvement in "systematic patterns of torture and

cruel treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghan detention facilities, including acts of sexual violence," Bensouda said.

In a statement, Richard Dicker, the international justice director at Human Rights Watch, welcomed the request.

It "signals that victims there who have endured horrific crimes dating back to May 2003 may finally obtain some justice," Dicker said. "The request to pursue abuses by all sides, including those implicating US personnel, reinforces the message that no one, no matter how powerful the government they serve, is beyond the law."

Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is the world's first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes

administration couldn't restrict those with a "bona fide" connection to the U.S. (someone with family members, say, or with an employment offer). In September, the White House issued a new proclamation which is currently going into effect, can be read in full at www.whitehouse.gov/the-presssee page 18

against humanity and genocide.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the Rome treaty that established the court, but President George W. Bush renounced the signature, citing fears that Americans would be unfairly prosecuted for political reasons.

There is no set timeframe for judges to rule on Bensouda's request. Victims have until Jan. 31 next year to make their views about the possible investigation known to judges who will assess the request.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/ news/world/prosecutorseeks-probe-of-uspersonnel-in-afghanistan/arBBFn4DK?ocid=spartandhp

17  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Travel Ban

from page 17

office/2017/09/24/enhancing-vettingcapabilities-and-processes-detectingattempted-entry.)

The approval from the Supreme Court is significant: It is the first time justices have allowed "any edition of the ban to go forward in its entirety," according to CNN, and is indicative that justices are distinguishing it from its previous iterations. Here, we dive into the details.

What's next?

According to the BBC, two federals appeals courts—in Seattle, Washington and Richmond, Virginia—will hear arguments this week, which could end up in the Supreme Court again.

What's different?

The previous ban solely targeted Muslim-majority countries Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Iraq, the latter of which was dropped from the list in March.

These new restrictions include North Korea and Venezuela and also omit Sudan. Also unlike the previous ban, each country has its own set of restrictions, with fine print including everything from extra screening to student exchanges.

(Broadly speaking, in most cases, permanent immigration is banned, and nearly all citizens will be unable to visit the U.S. for work, study, or vacation.) The most severe restrictions are placed on Syria and North Korea, whose citizens will be denied any visa to the U.S. Analysts for the latter country say the gesture is largely symbolic, as North Korea's authoritarian government doesn’t allow most of its 24 million people to travel out of the country.

With Monday's ruling, the "bona fide relationship" rule also changes in the meantime: Even people from the countries on the list who have offers of employment or family

members in the U.S. may be barred from entering.

Will the targeted countries restrict American visits?

Time will tell. Travel to North Korea is already b a n n e d for most U.S. citizens, and Iran in January tightened its visa policy for U.S. citizens.

How will the travel industry be affected?

The numbers don't lie: This summer, the U.S. Department of Commerce released data from the first quarter of 2017 showing that between January and March, 697,791 fewer foreign travelers visited the U.S., a 4.2% drop from last year. While 4.2% might not seem like a huge number, data analysts at Tourism Economics, a company that assesses travel data, concluded the small percentage corresponded to a loss of $2.7 billion in tourist dollars, the New York Times reported. Officials said earlier this year the drop was a direct result of the outcome of the presidential election and first iteration of the controversial travel ban. March projections from travel analysts showed that the U.S. would see an $18 billion hole in U.S. tourism by international visitors over the next two years, according to USA Today. Researchers say it may be more than just a strong U.S. dollar that's acting as a deterrent: "On multiple fronts—diplomacy, trade, border control, visa policy— international markets are receiving

a message that America is no longer a welcoming destination," Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, told the paper.

What can we expect at airports around the world?

A closer look at travel documents, we're guessing. Why? Put simply, commercial airlines are largely responsible for turning passengers away—think of them as the front line. Airline employees that fail to scrutinize passports and visas will get hit for it: If a passenger is denied entry in the U.S. upon landing, the airline has to pay to fly the passengers back home, and can get slapped with a hefty fine. As reported by CNBC, some 60,000 air travelers around the world are turned away annually by immigration authorities, with an average cost of $3,500 per error. Given that this isn't a blanket ban—each country has its varying set of restrictions—looking over passenger documentation will no doubt be amped up.  www.cntraveler.com/story/ trumps-new-travel-banexplained?mbid=nl_120617_Daily&am p;CNDID=38890654&spMailingID=12 512442&spUserID=MTQ5NTc0OTAyM DYxS0&spJobID=1300594312&spRep ortId=MTMwMDU5NDMxMgS2

18  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government - International

Zimbabwe's New Leader Mnangagwa is Sworn In

By Associated Press

Emmerson Mnangagwa, center, and his wife Auxillia, right, arrive at the presidential inauguration ceremony in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, Nov. 24, 2017. © (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

E

xuberant Zimbabweans greeted the swearing-in Friday of new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who

takes power after an extraordinary series of events that ousted the world's oldest head of state.

Mnangagwa, fired earlier this

month as vice president, will lead after the resignation of 93-year-old Robert Mugabe, who succumbed to pressure to quit from the military,

20  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

the ruling party and massive demonstrations amid fears his unpopular wife would succeed him.

A smiling Mnangagwa greeted a stadium crowd of tens of thousands with a raised fist, and he promised to devote himself to the well-being of the people. The military, fresh from putting Mugabe under house arrest just days ago, quickly swore its loyalty to the new leader.

Mnangagwa, a former justice and defense minister, was a key Mugabe confidant for decades until they fell out because of the presidential ambitions of Mugabe's wife, Grace. Despite his long association with the government that has presided over Zimbabwe's decline, including economic collapse and human rights abuses, Mnangagwa has promised democracy and reached out to other countries for help.

Mugabe, one of Africa's last remaining liberation

leaders, quit Tuesday amid impeachment proceedings. In the end, he was isolated and showing few of the political skills that kept him in power for 37 years and made him a prominent but polarizing figure on the world stage. He had led since Zimbabwe's independence from white minority rule in 1980.

Mugabe did not attend Friday's swearing-in, and ruling party officials have said he will remain in Zimbabwe with their promise that he is "safe" and his legacy as a "hero" will stand after his fight for an independent Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper reported that Mnangagwa assured Mugabe and his family of their "maximum security." The report said the two men agreed Mugabe would not attend Friday because he "needed time to rest."

Some people ahead of the inauguration began to dance in the stadium stands. Banners erected in read "Dawn of a new era" and "No to retribution," even as human rights activists began to report worrying details of attacks on close allies of the former first lady and their

families. Mnangagwa has warned against "vengeful retribution."

Tendai Lesayo held a small Zimbabwean flag as she sold drinks from a cooler outside the stadium.

She said she would welcome a fresh start, saying "life now is impossible."

Elsewhere in the capital, long lines formed outside banks, a common sight in a nation struggling with cash shortages and other severe economic problems that the new president will have to confront.

"Right now, nothing has really changed for me. I still cannot get my money from the bank," said Amon Mutora, who had been in line since 6 am.

"Attending the inauguration will not bring food for my family," said Kelvin Fungai, a 19-year-old selling bananas from a cart. Many young people are well-educated but jobless, reduced to street vending to survive. Others have left the country.

Elsewhere, there were signs of hope amid the uncertainty. Black market rates for cash have tumbled since Mugabe left office. Before he stepped down, one had to deposit $170 into a black market dealer's bank account to get $100 cash. On Friday, $100 cash was selling for between $140 and $150.

As the inauguration crowds streamed by, Sharon Samuriwo sat on a ledge, watching. She said she hoped Mnangagwa would learn from the errors of his predecessor, and she acknowledged that the path ahead for Zimbabwe is unknown.

Still, "after 37 years, we've got someone different."  www.msn.com/en-us/news/ world/zimbabwes-new-leadermnangagwa-is-sworn-in/arSupporters hold banner, wave Zimbabwean national flag and cheer as they gather to BBFzdMd?ocid=spartandhp welcome Zimbabwe's incoming President Emmerson Mnangagwa upon his arrival at Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party headquarters in Harare on Nov. 22.

21  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government - Slave Trade

A ‘Slave Auction’ Puts the Global Spotlight Back on Libya

By Ishaan Tharoor, Worldviews

Migrants quartered in a detention center in Zawiyah, a city west of Tripoli, on June 17. (Taha Jawashi/Agence France-Presse/ Getty Images)

E

arlier this month, CNN (www. cnn.com) published cellphone and hiddencamera footage from what appeared to be “slave auctions” conducted in Libya. The images, including video obtained by undercover CNN journalists, served as a jolt to the international community: They showed what seemed to be West African migrants being haggled over as “merchandise” by smugglers operating in what has become a haven for illicit trafficking

networks.

“Does anybody need a digger?

This is a digger, a big strong man, he’ll dig,” said a salesman in camouflage gear. “What am I bid, what am I bid?”

Buyers respond with a round of prices. “Within minutes it is all over and the men, utterly resigned to their fate, are being handed over to their new ‘masters,’” reported CNN. Though some Libyan journalists have questioned the authenticity of the report, there’s nothing

new about the systematic abuse and exploitation that migrants experience in Libya. This summer, my colleague Sudarsan Raghavan chronicled the plight of many people who had hoped to make the Mediterranean passage to Europe, only to find themselves hoodwinked by smugglers and marooned in squalid Libyan detention centers.

“They flogged me, they slapped me, they beat me while I was on the phone with my mother so she

22  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

could hear me cry,” said Ishmael Konte, a 25-year-old from Sierra Leone, recounting his torrid journey through the arid deserts of southern Libya at the whim of smugglers.

But the CNN report, and especially its footage, has focused new outrage on the situation.

Last week, U.N. SecretaryGeneral António Guterres declared that “slavery has no place in our world and these actions are among the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity.” He called on Libyan authorities to investigate the crisis, while a number of West African nations withdrew their ambassadors from Tripoli or chastised the Libyan envoys in their own capitals. Protests also exploded in various European cities. On Tuesday, French diplomats pushed for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

A huge part of the problem, however, is that the Libyan state is a fragile mess, contested by what amounts to three rival governments and controlled in large areas by a patchwork of militias that pay fealty to no one. Ever since the regime of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi collapsed in 2011, the country has become the focal point of regional smuggling networks, including those ferrying countless impoverished West Africans eager to leave behind deprivation and war for the chance of a better life in Europe. More than 150,000 migrants and refugees made the crossing to Europe from Libya in each of the past three years.

And though the country’s U.N.recognized Government of National Accord said it was launching an inquiry into the alleged slave dealing, it stressed that Libya “is going through difficult times

which affected its own citizens as well” and argued that it was “not fair to assume responsibility for the consequences of this immigration, which everyone unanimously agreed that addressing this phenomenon exceeds the national capacities.”

“As shocking as it seems, it’s indeed true. The reason [the slave trade] can happen is because there is really no rule of law across much of Libya,” Leonard Doyle of the International Organization of Migration said to Al Jazeera.

“Libya is a country as big as France, with a lot of space there.

Migrants are coming there ... they see the promise of a new life when they go to their Facebook feed and they think something wonderful is waiting for them in Europe, because a smuggler has abused the system and has sold them that lie.”

Increasingly, though, many migrants are finding the door to Europe firmly shut by a continent that wants nothing to do with them.

And the path to Europe itself is also treacherous and deadly. For the fourth year in a row, more than 3,000 migrants or refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean. With Italian assistance, the Libyan coast guard has been intercepting more boats ferrying migrants since the summer — an outcome that is ideal for Europe, but which has left migrants stranded in a country where they are preyed upon by criminal elements. A U.N. human rights report in September warned of “the hidden human calamity” taking place along Libya’s coast, documenting accounts of migrants being robbed, raped and murdered.

Estimates say that anywhere from 400,000 to nearly 1 million migrants may be trapped in Libya.

Government detention centers are overflowing and underfunded, and countless migrants have disappeared into

a shadow world of criminality and abuse. Attention has also fallen on widespread anti-black bigotry in Libya that partly fuels local indifference to the migrants’ plight.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a landmark visit to countries in West Africa, will likely stress the need to stabilize Libya during a E.U.-Africa summit starting Wednesday (www.sommetuaue2017.ci/en/). He is

pushing for outside support to help evacuate many migrants back to their home countries.

But there is a bigger moral conundrum for Macron — and the rest of the West, as well. France, along with the United States, was a leading player in the military intervention that ousted Gaddafi and ushered in what was supposed to be a democratic transition. But Libya has since become a failed state with little capacity to safeguard, host or even register would-be asylum seekers, and where rogue militias have run roughshod.

“We cannot even guess the scale of the abuses inflicted on migrants in all these hidden places, untouched by the rule of law,” said U.N. human rights commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Huseein in a September statement.

“The situation of migrants crossing Libya was appalling during Gaddafi’s era, but it has become diabolical since.”  www.washingtonpost.com/news/ worldviews/wp/2017/11/29/a-slaveauction-puts-the-global-spotlight-back-onlibya/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.67549b7523e2

23  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government

U.S. Abandons Global Effort to Address Migration

By Yuliya Talmazan

T

he United States has walked away from a United Nations effort to ease the global migration and refugee crisis, with the Trump administration saying it was no longer compatible with U.S. principles or priorities on the issue.

In a statement, the U.S. Mission said the UN's New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants — recognized by the U.S. last year under the Obama administration — "contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies."

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, said that "America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe."

"But," Haley continued, "our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone. We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter the country."

World leaders and dignitaries from

193 UN member states adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in September 2016, paving the way for the global compact for migration.

The compact, expected to be adopted in 2018, is aimed at facilitating safe and orderly migration around the world. It will present a framework for comprehensive international cooperation on migrants, set out a range of actionable commitments and tackle issues such as protecting the safety, dignity, human rights

Image: Syrian Refugees A family sits under a makeshift shelter after newly arriving at a camp for internally displaced people on Oct. 29, 2017 in Ain Issa, Syria. © Provided by NBCU News Group, a division of NBCUniversal Media LLC

24  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

telegraph.co.uk

international.minbarlibya.com

and fundamental freedoms of migrants.

The U.S. Mission to the UN informed Secretary-General António Guterres about its decision to withdraw from the process on Saturday ahead of an international gathering on the global compact for migration in Mexico.

Trump's Stance on Refugees During his election campaign, President Trump warned that refugees allowed into the United States could become a great "Trojan Horse" that could harm America if left unchecked.

Early this year the Trump administration suspended the entry of immigrants from a number of Muslim-majority countries and barred all refugees from entering the United States. The refugee ban was ended in October, with Trump allowing the resumption of admissions but with new enhanced screening measures.

In September, the administration also suggested capping the number of refugees admitted into the country next year at 45,000 — a dramatic cut in the number of applications processed by the U.S. in recent years.

The UN Refugee Agency estimates over 65 million people

have been forcibly displaced worldwide, including nearly 22.5 million refugees.

More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe during the 2015 migrant crisis, and a record number of migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2016. The latest numbers show a total of almost 150,000 people entered Europe during the first nine months of 2017, and more than 15,200 children arrived alone in Europe after completing dangerous migrant journeys.  www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ us-abandons-global-effort-to-addressmigration/ar-BBG68As?ocid=spartanntp

25  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

BBN Show Biz Buzz

By Linda Ware

Toure Show Podcast

T

ouré Show is all about exploring why awesome people became successful. Why did they make it? What are their superpowers? How did they deal with failure? I want to know so you can get a little more fuel for your journey to success.

The series launched Wednesday November 15th.

If you want to talk to me more about this I’m on Twitter @Toure.

Touré Show is written by me, Touré and produced

by Chris Colbert and executive produced

by Morgan Spurlock in association with Cadence 13 studios..  https://art19.com/shows/toure-show https://tunein.com/radio/Toure-Show-p1061285/

Beyoncé & Rihanna Among Top Paid Female Performers

B

e y o n c é ($105 million), last year’s Lemonade was a hit with both critics and fans, giving the singer her sixth solo No. 1. The ensuing

Beyoncé

Formation World Tour, much of it falling into our scoring period, wrapped up in late 2016 and grossed a quarter of a billion dollars. This summer she and husband Jay-Z welcomed twins Rumi and Sir..

Rihanna ($36 million), the Rihanna Barbados native, makes the bulk of her bucks on the road, filling up arenas from Atlanta to Zurich this year. She has also shown off her acting skills on the show Bates Motel, and makes millions more from working with brands, serving as Puma’s creative director and shilling for Samsung. This year she launched her own cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/gallery/the-worlds-highestpaid-women-in-music/ss-BBFmWqD?ocid=spartandhp#image=5

2018 Sundance Lineup Includes Film Directed by Idris Elba

S

ince its 1978 inception as the Utah/U.S. Film Festival (the name was officially changed to Sundance in 1991), the annual event quickly established itself as a staple on the independent scene, though in recent years it has evolved into an increasingly vital piece of the Oscar puzzle. The 2018 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 18-28.

The World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of Sundance includes twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Yardie, Idris Elba directed by Idris Elba is © David M. Benett/ in this category. Set in Getty Images Jamaica, 1973, a young boy witnesses his brother‘s assassination, a powerful

28  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Don gives him a home. Ten years later he is sent on a mission to London. He reunites with his girlfriend and their daughter, but then the past catches up with them.

Based on Victor Headley’s novel. 

everything to me.".  https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/11/20/ american-music-awards-winners-bruno-mars-takes-homeseven/107866216/

www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/2018-sundance-lineupincludes-films-directed-by-idris-elba-ethan-hawke/ar-BBFWaUF?li =AA2qN5v&ocid=spartandhp

J

Diana Ross at AMA (Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images)

Diana Ross Receives "Lifetime Achievement Award

T

he night belonged to Diana Ross. The music legend received the AMAs' lifetime achievement award, with former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama congratulating Ross in a video before she performed a medley of hits including I'm Coming Out, Take Me Higher and The Best Years of My Life.

The AMAs were a family affair for Ross, with her daughter Tracee Ellis Ross hosting the evening's ceremonies and her son youngest son Evan introducing her performance. After her performance, Ross invited her family up on the stage to celebrate the honor, and dedicated the performance to her fans, saying "You are

Jay-Z Talks with NYT's Dave Baquet

AY-Z graces the latest cover of The New Yorks Times‘ T Magazine. In a candid and insightful conversation with The New York Times‘ Dean Baquet, Hov opens up about race, politics, therapy and much more.

He discusses the effect Donald Trump has had on the conversation about race in America (though not in an ideal way), his own experiences with racism as a rich, Jay-Z black entertainer, and why Dave Chappelle would make a great leader. “He tells it in humor so you can deal with it, but there’s always a nice chunk of truth in there,” he jokes.

Jay also talks about how therapy has helped him to grow as a person (“the strongest thing a man can do is cry”), the moment he realized his mother was gay — and how her coming out has strengthened their relationship — and why it’s hip-hop’s job to Dean Baquet keep pushing the conversation wrkf.org forward.

Towards the end of the interview, Hov addresses his current relationship with Kanye West and confirms the long-standing rumor that he and Beyoncé were working on a joint album.  http://howldb.com/p/jay-z-discusses-race-politics-therapykanye-west-amp-joint-album-with-beyonce-01rmvj

29  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

see page 30

BBN Show Biz Buzz

from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 29 www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/29/tmagazine/jay-z-dean-baquet-interview. html?smid=tw-tmagazine&smtyp=cur

Black Sci-Fi Project Rolling Out - Paradigm Grey Anthology

I

nspired by The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, Chicago based filmmaker Christopher Adams has assembled a like minded team of extremely talented fellow filmmakers, who have created what they hope to be the start of several volumes of genre defying feature length films and television projects, with a focus on spotlighting the African Diaspora in roles you don't typically see them in. Their first project, Christopher a science fiction Adams anthology called Paradigm Grey (http://www.paradigmgrey.com), is unique in many ways that all the participating directors are African American and at least 97% of the production and post production crew is also African American.

"I’ve always hated going to see horror, action or sci-fi films knowing that as soon as you see anyone of color on screen you knew they usually weren't going to survive the duration of the film, or were just added as a footnote. It’s obvious some exec somewhere said we need to put a black person in there, and even then they paint those characters with a stereotypical brush to try and appeal to urban markets" says Christopher, who is the CEO of IMPAKT STUDIO, a production

company that Ledisi has garnered nominations (three Grammy and one BET) for their numerous music video projects. He has worked with a variety of dynamic artists such as Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco, and Eric Roberson; recently Adams spent considerable time working with controversial boxer Floyd Mayweather for an upcoming project.

Chris, a self taught filmmaker, VFX artist, and cinematographer, built most of the props for the stories in Paradigm Grey, including a six foot tall killer robot. He and his business partner, editor Hana "Blaq" Mitchell, have been bringing their dynamic brand of visual marketing skills to clients for over twenty years. They hope to take their considerable talents to a whole new level with Paradigm Grey.

“It’s time for us to show the world that black directors and black cinema can be just as if not more creative and diverse as other cultures. Just like the tag line says, Welcome to the shift.”, says Chris.  www.paradigmgrey.com/

2018 Grammy Awards

T

he winners will be announcced on CBS, Sunday, January 28, 2018. The full listing of

nominess may be viewed at www. grammys.com. Here are some of the nominees that might be of interest to you Record of the Year: Jay-Z - The Story of O.J. Hendrick Lamar - Humble Album of the Year: Jay-Z - 4:44 Hendrick Lamar - Damn.

Song of the Year: Jay-Z - 4:44 Best New Artist: Khalid Best Metal Performance: Body Count - Black Hoodie Best R&B Performance: Daniel Caesar - Get You Ledisi - High SZA - The Weekend Best Traditional R&B Performance: Childish Gambino - Redbone Anthony Hamilton/Hamiltones - What I'm Feelin' Ledisi - All The Way Mali Music - Still Best R&B Song: Childish Gambino - Redbone SZA - Supermodel PJ Morton - First Began xxx - Location Best Urban Contemporary Album: 6lack - Free 6lack Childish Gambino - "Awaken,

30  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Do more research and support your favorite actors and shows

Bright: starring Will Smith *Netflix Original, December 22, 2017

Katt Williams: Great America *Netflix My Love!"

Khalid - American Teen SZA - CTL The Weeknd - Starboy Best R&B Album: Daniel Caesar - Freudian Ledisi - Let Love Rule PJ Morton - Gumbo Musiq Soulchild - Feel The Real Best Rap Performance: Big Sean - Bounce Back Cardi B - Bodak Yellow Jay-Z - 4:44 Kendric Lamar - Humble Migos/Lil Uzi Vert - Bad and Boujee Album of the Year: Jay-Z - 4:44 Hendrick Lamar - Damn.

Original, January 2018 Crown Heights: *Amazon Original, December 8, 2017 The Defenders: *Netflix Original, May, 2018

Marvel's Agents of Shield: Hulu, December, 2017 Luke Cage: *Netflix Original, May, 2018 Dave Chappelle: Equanimity: *Netflix Original, New Year’s Eve, Sunday December 31, 2017 Star Trek: Discovery: *CBS AllAccess, January 7, 2018 In addition to the specific shows and series listed above, be on the lookout for whatever

H

T

his year SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) nominated Jordan Peele’s Get Out for consideration in the Best Film category. Get Out star Daniel K a l u u y a and Denzel Daniel Was hington, Kaluuya star of Roman J. Israel, Esq. landed SAG nominations for Best Actor. Get Out also received a nomination in the Best Ensemble category.

Winners will be announced on the awards show this March. BBN Ed. www.msn.com/en-us/movies/awards/ snubs-and-surprises-from-the2018-sag-awards-nominations/arBBGHxAe?li=AA2qN5v&ocid=s partandhp

Michael Che Named 'SNL' CoHead Writer

Blacks on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, CBS All-Access - Check it Out

ere are just few of the upcoming programs to look for and check out as we close out 2017 and move into 2018.

Award Nominations

M

ichael Che and Colin Jost named a co-head writers of Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC late-night institution announced. see page 32

Star Trek: Discovery

Shonda Rhimes and Shondaland Productions (www. shondaland.com)

create for Netflix.

BBN Ed.

Luke Cage

2018 SAG Michael Che 31  November 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

BBN Show Biz Buzz

from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 31

Jost and Che, who began their "Weekend Update" tenure in 2014, will join current head writers Kent Sublette and Bryan Tucker.

Che is the first person of color to hold a head writer title at SNL. www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/12/12/ weekend-updates-colin-jost-michael-chenamed-snl-head-writers/946881001

Jordan Peele to Reboot "Twilight Zone" for CBS All Access

J

ordan Peele is rebooting one of the most beloved TV series of all time: "The Twilight Zone." Peele, who directed the

we were living in a twilight zone, and I can't think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences."

The original "Twilight Zone" ran for five years on CBS, from 1959 to 1964. Rod Serling was the producer, main writer and host of the original series and wrote 92 episodes, leaving a lasting impression on American pop culture and the sci-fi genre. It was revived in the 1980s and early 2000s, and influenced shows like "The X-Files" and "Black Mirror."

By Andrea Park www.cbsnews.com/news/jordanpeele-to-reboot-twilight-zone-for-cbsall-access

Maame Biney, 1st Black Woman to Make Olympic Speedskating Team

M

aame Biney became the first black woman to qualify for a U.S. Olympic speedskating team with a pair of victories in the 500 meters. (see video at: www.

Jordan Peele

highly acclaimed horror movie "Get Out," will serve as executive producer along with Simon Kinberg, Marco Ramirez, Win Rosenfeld and Audrey Chon. Peele, Kinberg and Ramirez will collaborate on the premiere episode.

Peele said in a press release, "Too many times this year it's felt

f a c e b o o k. c o m / n b c o l y m p i c s / videos/10157196443655329/?hc_ref= ARRYwQvkg83WvrNpOtczUMS8gcx AAD5IXnhTI1vGU63v9aWGQsxY2J7 W69UnysTpKh0&pnref=story.unseensection)

The 17-year-old native of Ghana cruised to victory in the first 500 final at the short track trials on Saturday, beating Olympians Lana Gehring, Jessica Kooreman and Katherine

Maame Biney

Reutter-Adamek.

"I can't believe it, aww geez," she said after squealing with joy. "It's a really good feeling, but it has to set in first because it takes me a while.

I'm like, `Holy cow.'"

Before the second final, her father sitting in the stands held up a sign reading: "Kick some hiney Biney."

She sure did.

Biney set a blistering pace in taking an early lead that widened as the wild and wooly race went on. She crossed the finish line on the hockey-sized rink and began clapping and then pumping her arms so hard she lost her balance and fell.

She went down laughing all the way.

"When I realized that I made the Olympic team, I started cheering like crazy and then I made my epic fall," she said.

Biney will be the second black speedskater on a U.S. Olympic team. Shani Davis was 19 when he qualified for the short track team in 2002. He later switched to long track and won four medals, including two golds.

Now 35, Davis will try to make the long track team at its trials next month. www.msn.com/en-us/sports/moresports/biney-is-1st-black-woman-

32  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

to-make-olympic-speedskatingteam/ar-BBGOYFm?li=BBmkt5R& ocid=spartandhp

NewsOne Now Cancelled

R

oland Martin’s TV One show “NewsOne Now” will end its run later this month, due to budget cuts at the network.

The last episode is scheduled to air Dec. 21, a spokeswoman for TV One told TheWrap.

Prior to the 2013 launch of the weekday morning news show, CNN veteran Martin told TheWrap, “This is probably one of the most important things I’ve done in my career.”

Despite the cancellation, Martin, who has been with TV One since 2005, will continue his relationship with the network.

According to the New York Post, which first reported the news, TV One interim GM Michelle Rice issued a memo on Wednesday stating, “While we will continue our long-standing partnership

with Roland Martin to ensure his important voice can be heard across all Urban One platforms examining issues of importance to the black community, we regret this decision adversely affects several

of our valued colleagues whose positions will be eliminated with the suspension of the show.”

By Tim Kenneally www.thewrap.com/roland-martinsnewsone-now-to-end-this-month/

We promote safe driving through

It Can Wait.

http://itcanwait.com 33  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Opinion

Jay-Z: e Criminal Justice System Stalks Black People Like Meek Mill

A Philadelphia judge sentenced the rapper Meek Mill to two to four years in prison for violating probation. Credit: Matt Rourke/Associated Press

T

his month Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating his probation. #FreeMeek hashtags have sprung up, and hundreds of his fans rallied near City Hall in Philadelphia to protest the ruling.

On the surface, this may look like the story of yet another criminal rapper who didn’t smarten up and is back where he started. But consider this: Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence.

Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside.

What’s happening to Meek Mill

is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day. I saw this up close when I was growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of a second chance, probation ends up being a land mine, with a random misstep bringing consequences greater than the crime. A person on probation can end up in jail over a technical violation like missing a curfew.

Taxpayers in Philadelphia, Meek Mill’s hometown, will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to keep him locked up, and I bet none of them would tell you his imprisonment is helping to keep them safer. He’s there because of arrests for a parole violation, and because a judge overruled recommendations by a prosecutor

and his probation officer that he doesn’t deserve more jail time.

That’s why I stopped my show in Dallas last week to talk about Meek.

Look at what he’s being punished for now: In March, he was arrested after an altercation in a St. Louis airport.

After video of what had actually happened was released, all charges were dropped against Meek.

In August, he was arrested for popping a wheelie on a motorcycle on his video set in New York. Those charges will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble.

Think about that. The charges were either dropped or dismissed, but the judge sent him to prison anyway.

The specifics of Meek’s case inspired me to write this. But it’s time we highlight the random ways

Jay-Z marieclaire.co.uk

34  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Entrepreneurship Training

It's Your Right to Be Uncommon From Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

E

wing Kauffman unveiled Kauffman FastTrac, the Kauffman Foundation's first entrepreneurship program to facilitate those that ."… seek opportunity to compete, desire to take the calculated risk, to dream, to build, yes, even to fail, and to succeed." Since its introduction in 1993, Kauffman FastTrac has connected hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs with the resources and support they need as their entrepreneurial journey unfolds.

Now, Kauffman FastTrac is online and free - http://fasttrac.org. 

people trapped in the criminal justice system are punished every day. The system treats them as a danger to society, consistently monitors and follows them for any minor infraction — with the goal of putting them back in prison.

As of 2015, one-third of the 4.65 million Americans who were on some form of parole or probation were black. Black people are sent to prison for probation and parole violations at much higher rates than white people.

In Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people are on

probation or parole. About half of the people in city jails in Philadelphia are there for probation or parole violations. We could literally shut down jails if we treated people on parole or probation more fairly.

And that’s what we need to fight for in Philadelphia and across the country. The racial-justice organization Color of Change is working with people in Philadelphia to pressure the courts there and make that vision a reality. Probation is a trap and we must fight for Meek and everyone else unjustly sent to prison. 

Jay-Z is a philanthropist and musician. Meek Mill is signed to his entertainment company, Roc Nation. www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/ opinion/jay-z-meek-mill-probation. html Correction: November 17, 2017 An earlier version of this article misstated details of a New York criminal case involving Meek Mill. The case will be dismissed in the spring if he is not arrested again; it was not dismissed on condition of his attending traffic school.

35  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Communication/Social Media

Facebook Launches Creator App for In uencers to Build Video Communities

By Josh Constine reactions let creators replace one of the six default 'haha', 'angry', or 'wow' alternatives to the standard 'Like' with a graphic of their choice.

That could tie in with the theme of their broadcast or personality.

For example, Simo says feel-good video star Markian could add an especially toothy smile reaction to entertain his fan club group on Facebook, the #SmileSquad.

These features push Facebook Live well beyond the capabilities of Twitter's Periscope, and could make it a more viable to YouTube Live.

Unified Inbox

F

acebook (www.facebook. com) wants to turn mindless, passive video consumption into "time well spent", and now its giving social media stars a powerful tool to foster communities around their creations.

Facebook has launched Facebook Creator, offering influencers Live Creative kit for adding intros and outros to broadcasts, a unified inbox of Facebook and Instagram comments plus Messenger chats, and expansive analytics.

Creator launches globally on iOS with Android planned for the coming months. Any individual profile or Page can sign up for access to the enhanced fan engagement tools.

Facebook is also launching a Facebook For Creators website with best practices for growing fanbases, examples of what other stars are doing, and access to answers of frequently asked questions.

"It's a big priority for us to bring

people closer together around meaningful content and the people who are meaningfull to them" Facebook's VP of video product Fidji Simo tells me. "Creators are right at the intersection of everything we think is pretty unique about Facebook." And after CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared "time well spent" via video is Facebook's new objective, the Creator app could help it make Facebook video a lot less isolating than watching TV.

What's Inside Facebook's Creator App Live Creative Kit: This bundle of tools lets users add intros, outros, and custom emoji reactions to their live broadcasts. Creators go on Facebook's site, upload an intro like a a theme song or welcome, and an outro like a call to follow them across social media. Those can then be enabled in the Creator app so they play at the start and end of the broadcast. Custom

Rather than having to constantly jump between Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, Facebook is putting all of a creator's comments and messages in a single inbox with Creator. That could make it much more streamlined to actually hold a conversation with fans or respond to comments instead of just being an old-school one-way broadcaster.

For Creators trying to moderate their comments reels, combining Instagram and Facebook could reduce the time it takes to scrub abusive trolls. And the more ravenous the community and clean the comments, the more interested brands will be to advertise on Facebook video and sponsor the stars.

Stories And Camera: To keep the focus on Facebook's augemented reality and daily sharing features, access to Facebook Camera and Stories sharing is available from Creator. Facebook will even let people cross-post to multiple platforms at once to reduce the

36  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Facebook Introduces "Watch", its new Episodic Video Service

By Abhimanyu Ghoshal

F

acebook’s (www.facebook. com) new platform is called Watch, and it comes in the form of a video tab in Facebook’s mobile, desktop and TV apps that surfaces channels (called Shows) with live or recorded episodic content that follows a consistent theme.

What can you expect to see on Watch? Facebook’s currently opened up the platform to a limited pool of content creators, so you’ll first be able to catch shows like

Nas Daily, which features 1-minute clips from around the world each day, motivational speaker Gabby Bernstein’s eponymous series, and Tastemade’s Kitchen Little, which sees kids trying to teach chefs how to cook. Oh, and Major League Baseball will stream a game each week on there too.

The service is presently being tested with a handful of users in the US and will gradually roll out nationwide. Facebook is funding some shows and inviting

friction of putting their content everywhere. That simplicity could encourage people to build higher quality content and keep Facebook in the sharing loop.

Analytics: Creators need to know what's working so they can make more of it. Rather than burying that inside their Facebook Pages, Facebook is surfacing inside the Creator app.

The Creator app could also lure social media stars away from competitors like their long-standing

home YouTube, their subscription revenue hub Patreon, or Snapchat, which this month announced it's ready to embrace influencers. By using the personalities of individual creators to forge deeper bonds with viewers, Facebook could rack up extra lucrative video ad impressions.

But one thing sorely missing from Facebook Creator is new ways for influencers to monetize. There's no subscriptions or tipping, and they can't even inject revenue sharing

independent creators to sign up to the platform on their own as well; once they’re in, they’ll get a Show Page (similar to Pages for brands) that fans can follow and find clips on.

For viewers, Facebook has included a watchlist that lets you save episodes to catch later; you’ll also be able to discover videos based on how people interact with them, in sections like “Most Talked About,” “What’s Making People Laugh,” (which includes shows where people have hit the “Haha” reaction button), and “What Friends Are Watching.”

In addition, you’ll also be able to comment and react to videos while you watch, and hear from others as well in real-time – kinda like your experience with Live video. Also, Facebook’s clips can be streamed to Chromecast and Apple TV, making it more universally accessible to TV viewers.

Creator Registration If you’re a creator, you can sign up to join the Watch platform by registering on this page: www. f ace boo k.c om /he lp/ con tac t/ showpageinquiry.  https://thenextweb.com/ facebook/2017/08/10/facebook-takesyoutube-watch-new-episodic-videoservice/

ad breaks into their videos. The only option is to post sponsored, branded content and label it with Facebook's partnership tagging feature. At least Simo says "it's not a one size fits all when it comes to monetization. [Creators] all need a lot of different things. We're open to exploring a lot of different business models but on that front nothing to announce at this time."  www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/ facebook-launches-creator-app-forinfluencers-to-build-video-communities/ ar-BBF4NK2?ocid=spartandhp

37  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Holiday Shopping

11 Young African American Entrepreneurs to Support this Holiday Season

By Natural Hair Kids http://naturalhairkids.com/ author/admin/

I

just want to start off by saying that this is an article that you definitely want to read with your children if they are expressing interest in entrepreneurship. It’s never too early or late to develop an enterprising child.

Children who think like entrepreneurs will develop leadership skills, heighten their creativity and become excellent problem solvers. In fact, there are plenty of kids in the African-American community who are making waves in the business world. Here are some that you should definitely support this holiday season:

Gabby's Bows Invented by a seven year-old and her Mom, Gabby’s Bows solves the age-old problem of disappearing barrettes and has now transformed into a highly successful barrette business for this mother/ daughter duo.

Gabby is very involved with the day-to-day operations of the business, including: tackling inventory, data entry, sales tax coding, filling orders, writing thank you notes, etc. “She gets upset if I conduct any business without her.” Her mom says. It’s no surprise that Gabby was also recently named SC Young Entrepreneur of the Year (the youngest to ever receive this award).

GaBBY Bows come in eight colors and are available for purchase in nearly 100 Walgreens, Bilo and Once Upon a Child stores in SC, GA and NC. Shop online or find a store near you at gabbybows.com.

BeeSweet Lemonade The world first learned of Mikaila Ulmer when she fearlessly entered ABC’s show Shark Tank with her BeeSweet Lemonade. At just 10 years old, she secured a sweet deal with investor Daymond John, who put up $60,000 for a 25% stake in the company. But the deal didn’t end there, in addition to his investment, Daymond stated that he would mentor Mikaila. But Mikaila has been enterprising for a long time. She got

bit by the enterpreneurial bug at just four years old, when her family encouraged her to enter a children’s business competition.

Not only is Mikaila serious about her business, she’s also serious about providing a sustainable life for others. She makes her BeeSweet Lemonade with local honey, and a percentage of her earnings go towards saving the honeybee.

Support Mikaila’s business at beesweetlemonade.com.

http://

E & C Popcorn Company Ethan and Collier run an online store that specializes in gluten-free gourmet caramel popcorn.

There parents set out to teach the two about entrepreneurship and thus, the E & C Popcorn Company was born.

Their popcorn contains only the freshest ingredients with no preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. Their popcorn is also air-popped making it free of fatty oils. Yum! Get your popcorn fix at www.eandcpopcorn.com.

Super Business Girl Asia Newson, aka Super Business Girl, started her candle business when she was just five years old. She learned how to make candles from her father, and instantly began turning her creations into profit. As the youngest entrepreneur in Detroit, she would eventually gain worldwide recognition when 20/20 cameras caught her selling her candles to people on the street. Asia states that her goal is to “recognize the potential in every child and develop intrinsic security that makes optimum use of their individual talent.”

Today, Asia’s business Credit:ellentv has expanded into a fullfledged empire. In addition to candles, she now sells t-shirts, accessories and more on her online store.

You can also catch Asia giving motivational speeches

38  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

around the world. View and support her store www. superbusinessgirl.com.

her entire collection.

Mr Cory’s Cookies

Moziah Bridges, also known as Mo, started his company Mo’s Bows at nine years old, when he struggled to find fun and fashionable bow ties that suited his personality. He took initiative and created his own, using his Granny’s scrap fabric.

You may have seen Mo on ABC’s Shark Tank. He didn’t secure a deal, but Shark Tank investor Daymond John was so impressed with Mo and his business that he offered to mentor Mo for free.

Mo states that bow ties make him look and feel good, but more importantly, he believes designing the bow ties allow him to help make the world a better place.

View Mo’s Bows at http://mosbowsmemphis.com.

Credit: Mr Cory’s Cookies Mr. Cory is such a little gentleman. He takes his business so seriously, that he called himself Mr. Cory, and this was just at nine years old! Mr. Cory knew that he wanted to make the world a better place. He figured out a way to do this by combining his two favorite passions, sweet treats and business. And thus, we now have Mr. Cory’s Cookies. The cookies, which practically melt in your mouth, are all-natural and only made from high quality ingredients.

Satisfy your sweet tooth at www.mrcoryscookies. com.

The Honey Bunch Kids Chental-Song Bembry, a teenpreneur, is a creative force to be reckoned with. She’s the writer and illustrator of the extremely popular book The Honey Bunch Kids. It’s an animated series that follows the lives of a group of middle school kids, as they learn the true meaning of friendship.

Chental’s business is truly a family affair. Her mother helps her run her business which now includes a lifestyle brand of book bags, home items and clothing.

Check out her Zazzle Store: www.zazzle.com/the_ honey_bunch_kids.

Maya's Ideas Maya Penn is representing for the natural hair kid entrepreneur community. She’s a lady with many talents. Some of her many job titles include business owner, illustrator, animator, artist, designer, writer and philanthropist.

She began her foray into business at eight, when she started designing ribbon headbands for friends and family. Her business then took off! Maya now offers an entire retail brand of handcrafted accessories and eco-friendly clothing from recycled fabrics. Visit http://mayasideas.com to see

Mo’s Bows

Women’s Rabbit Association Laetitia Mukungu has a true charitable spirit. She founded Women’s Rabbit Association at just 14 years old. It’s a nonprofit organization that combines her love of education and agriculture. The organization farms rabbits for profit, in order to help women of Kenya pay for the children’s educational needs. Though she is now 18, her passion for entrepreneurship continues to thrive and her business remains successful. Read more and give your support at www.africarabbitcentre.com.

Essynce Couture What girl doesn’t like to play dress up? Essynce Moore began her career early on,when she started designing clothes at six. Essynce has always loved beauty and creativity. She took that passion to the next level with the launch of a clothing line in 2013, Essynce Couture. In addition to overseeing her fashion line, Essynce is a stylist, motivational speaker and author. Update your wardrobe at www.essyncecouture.com.

These kidpreneurs are a true inspiration and we’re incredibly proud of them. Please support them and the other Black businesses in the Shopping Gallery starting on page 119.  http://naturalhairkids.com/11-young-african-americanentrepreneurs-to-support-this-holiday-season

39 December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Marketing

How Many Hashtags Should You Use in a Tweet? A Study Reveals This and More

By David William

H

ave you ever wondered how you can effectively use hashtags (#) for social media to increase the reach of your business’ social media posts?

Well, a study conducted by TrackMaven, an integrated marketing analytics software firm, looked into the issue and revealed some useful social media hashtag best practices on Twitter and more.

Best Hashtag Strategies for Social Media

followers?

How Many Hashtags Should

According to TrackMaven, You Use for the Best Results? hashtags serve as a way for people TrackMaven analyzed over and brands to contribute to social 65,000 social media posts to find media discussions on specific the best hashtag practices for three topics, or create conversations social media platforms, Twitter, around specific events.

Instagram and Facebook. It found “On Twitter, social media that: marketers use hashtags to create Twitter chats, or regularly scheduled A hashtag is a type of metadata tag conversations around used on social network of Twitter and a specific topic, often moderated by a leader,” microblogging services, allowing users to apply dynamic, user-generated explained Rebecca Lee White, Community tagging that makes it possible for Manager at TrackMaven, others to easily find messages in a post announcing the with a specific theme or content; it new report on the official TrackMaven’s Marketing allows easy, informal markup of folk Blog (https://trackmaven. taxonomy without need of any formal com/blog). taxonomy or markup language.

So, what are some https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag of these hashtag best practices revealed in the report? How many hashtags, for example, should you use on Twitter to reach the most • On Twitter, the best number of hashtags to use is one. Tweets audiences beyond your current with more than one hashtag

see a decline in engagement, correlated to the number of hashtags used.

• Twitter hashtags with 18 characters perform best, while tweets with longer hashtags see a sharp decline in engagement.

• On Instagram, posts with nine hashtags perform best.

• Instagram hashtags with 21 characters perform best, but engagement decreases sharply for posts with hashtags that are 25 characters long.

• On Facebook, posts that have one hashtag perform best.

• Facebook hashtags that are six characters long perform best.

• Facebook hashtags that are 10 to 17 characters long also perform well, but engagement starts to decrease for longer hashtags.

Check out the full TrackMaven hashtag report for more details.  https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/11/ how-many-hashtags.html

40  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

ALL ANCESTRY TEST KITS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL Don't be fooled by other ancestry test kits pushing highly discounted prices this holiday season. Over the years, countless people have called us disappointed with the lack of specificity from other ancestry test kits.

Get the results you want, the first time. Order today!

Get the results you want, the first time. Order at https://shop.africanancestry. com

Sincerely, Gina Paige President, African Ancestry Maternal Country of Ancestry: Nigeria Maternal Tribe of Ancestry: Fulani

Business - Management

5 Steps to Becoming a "Change

Champion"

By Justin Roscoe

A

s the old adage goes, “The only constant thing in life is change.” Changes are happening all around us. In our personal lives, we grow older each day. With growing older comes change in the way we think, act and even feel.

We also experience change in our professional lives. Companies continuously have to make changes to stay relevant in their respective industries and keep up with consumer trends as well as overcome industry challenges.

Think about the camera, the media player or even the wheel! All have experienced drastic change over the course of time, but all of those changes have been for the better, to help revolutionize society.

Change is inevitable and always occurring; there’s no way to outrun it. We can, however, control the way we react to change. The attitude we choose to respond with is just that –

a choice. It’s been said that people respond to change typically in one of four ways: They become critics, bystanders, victims or change champions. When you’re presented with change in the workplace, becoming a change champion is achievable, but it takes five steps.

The 5 Steps to Championship 1. Understand and accept your emotions.

It’s important when change occurs that we don’t forget or rush through this step. Change will always bring about new emotions, and it’s normal to react that way. However, we shouldn’t dwell on those emotions; we should work to balance them and maintain perspective.

2. Take some time to step back and analyze what this change means to you.

Identify the little steps that need to happen in order to achieve the entire change. This process will allow

you to objectively stabilize your emotions and eliminate the “noise” that comes with organizational change.

3. Make sure your approach to overcoming obstacles is well thought-out.

Understand that change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes determination, perseverance and, most importantly, patience. Don’t try to rush the desired results. While it may seem tempting to give up, especially as you encounter new challenges, try to remain positive.

4. Acknowledge the small victories throughout the change process.

It can be helpful to break down the process into small, “bite-sized” components to help yourself envision the anticipated result. This practice can produce an optimistic outlook, which is important for maintaining the will to push yourself through the change.

5. Take ownership and implement the change.

Keeping an open mind, remaining flexible and maintaining your sense of humor throughout the change process will help you persevere.

Remember that nothing will happen unless you take action!  www.trainingindustry.com/blog/strategyalignment-and-planning/5-steps-tobecoming-a-change-champion-in-theworkplace/?utm_medium=email&utm_ campaign=trainingindustry&utm_ source=weekly

43  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

infinity-ss.com

Business - Technology

Google Trains 1 Million Africans in its Digital Skills Training Programme

By Olanrewaju Eweniyi

A

cross Africa, people are becoming aware of just how important technology is and they are eager to take advantage of the internet and the opportunities it provides – but the frameworks that provide digital skills training on the continent are very few and far

and French.

Google has now announced that it has reached the milestone it set, and a month early too! According to a Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, the Google Nigeria country manager, they're recommitting themselves to train even more Africans:

Photo: Digital Skills Africa

between.

11 months ago, Google announced its commitment to train 1 million Africans in digital skills within one year. The company launched the Digital Skills Africa online portal (https://learndigital.withgoogle. com/digitalskills) to teach a wide range of digital subjects including web analytics, social media management and digital marketing.

Students were able to choose between face-to-face training sessions or remotely with a customized learning plan and courses were available in English

"We have reached our target early, and we have committed ourselves to train even more Africans in digital skills in the coming year."

1 million Africans were awarded their certificates of proficiency, and it's really impressive to note

that of that number, 500,000 were Nigerians.

Google is now extending its commitment to the digital skills programme by providing offline versions of its online training materials and translating these offline versions of the courses to languages like Hausa, Swahili and IsiZulu, to reach individuals and businesses in low access areas where physical training sessions are not possible.

The company also plans to address the digital needs of small business owners, who are looking to better understand how to take advantage of the web across Africa. Google works with 14 training partners covering more than 20 countries across Africa to offer training. www.konbini.com/ng/lifestyle/ google-trains-1-million-africansdigital-skills-programme

44  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Technology

Facebook is Launching a Tech Community Hub in Nigeria, The First of Its Kind in Africa

By Blavity

F

acebook has been under scrutiny for its less-thandiverse board, and has taken some measures to improve, but now it is expanding its diversity push in a global way.

According to CNN, Facebook is launching a tech "community hub" (NG_HUB) and training program in Nigeria, which is the social media company's biggest African market. The program will be the first of its kind in Africa and will offer tech support as well as train 50,000 young people and SMEs in digital skills. The is being launched in partnership with Nigeria's CoCreation Hub (CCHub).

Facebook confirmed that Nigeria — Africa's most populous nation —

Emeka Afigbo

holds 22 million monthly Facebook users with 10 million logging on daily via mobile devices.

"What we aim to do at the incubator is to provide support for high tech startups that do not ordinarily get investments, until they can develop a proof of concept, which will attract other investors," Emeka Afigbo, Facebook's Head of platform partnerships, Middle East & Africa told CNN. "Its creativity, large population, and that a lot of this population is young people, more important is that we think the investment in Nigeria will spread and have impact

across the continent," he added, pointing to Nigeria's well-known "entrepreneurial drive."

The digital training – aimed at software developers, entrepreneurs and students – will be held in four cities across the country: Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Kaduna; as well as Lagos.

Facebook's Nigerian tech community hub opens in 2018!  https://blavity.com/facebook-launchingtech-community-hub-nigeria-first-its-kindafrica https://nigeriane.ws/2017/11/23/facebookis-launching-a-community-tech-hub-innigeria/

Buy Black! Educate Black!

Bank Black! Invest Black!

45  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Looking Forward - Marketing / Media

4 Key PR Trends for Brands to Watch (and Manage) in 2018

By Steve Goldstein

W

ith 2017 virtually in the rearview mirror I thought it would be good time to talk about the trends that’ll have the greatest impact on PR practitioners next year. Here is my 2018 industry look-ahead article. .

seen brands try to counter that negativity with what they hoped would be perceived as positive messages. Sometimes it works (Burger King’s “Bullying Jr.” ad, for instance) and very often it doesn’t (the Kendall Jenner Pepsi campaign). Every year consumers get more savvy about rejecting hokey messages about peace, love

in 2017, same as they did in 2016.

That's going to continue in 2018?

Journalists themselves are under intense pressure from their managers to score clicks. Whatever their beats might be, they’re expected to crack the news cycle with sensationalistic headlines, 1. Brand Reputation Will or “elevated news.” To get clicks Have Even More Currency and shares, journalists have to in 2018 resort to tying their coverage Expect an acceleration of to potentially ill-fitting trending brand crises in news cycles, news stories. As a result, "Earned media (or free and for all brands to continue to newsrooms pump out shallow media) refers to publicity lose control over the narrative in content and suffer from a lack gained through promotional a crisis. Your brand’s reputation of fact-checking resources. is its most valuable asset you Media relations pros will have efforts other than advertising, have to build up your brand’s to be more creative in 2018 as opposed to paid media, reputation now so people know to get their brand stories told. which refers to publicity they can trust you when a crisis “Brands have to find new ways gained through advertising. hits, because when it does so to support journalists.” much will be out of your hands.

Relying 100% on earned There are many types of Focus on what you do have (free) media no longer works. media available to online control over - your "owned Brands have to support paid marketers and fit into the channels" - including your and owned media with earned online newsroom, blog, social broad categories: owned, media.” media accounts and your paid, and earned media."

4. Ad Agencies Will website.

2. Brands Are Going to Feel More of an Urge to Express Socially Good Messages—and Giving In to That Urge Is Not Always a Good Thing We live in a polarizing time, to say the least. Political developments daily inspire nearly anonymous ranting on social channels, and the negativity has filtered into all spheres of activity. In 2017 we’ve

and understanding from brands; they also get more gleeful about taking down these brands on Twitter and Facebook. “In 2018, brands are going to have to be very careful about sending out inauthentic, socially good messages.”

3. Pure Media Relations Tactics Won’t Work Anymore Newsrooms continued to thin out

Push Even Harder to Take Earned Media Away From PR

Ad and digital agencies will get better at supporting their efforts with earned media on social platforms and through press coverage. Brand PR teams must strengthen the messages and compete with the ad agencies for media coverage.  www.prnewsonline.com/ prnewsblog/4-key-pr-trends-towatch-in-2018

47  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Looking Forward - Management

How Best-in-Class Companies Treat Employees

By Dennis McCafferty

T

he majority of C-level executives reported that, though improving, the skills gap is still very real, and many said their organization is willing to pay above market averages for salaries and will also provide a broad range of benefits, according to a recent survey from Adecco USA*. The resulting report, "Best-in-Class Workforce Management Insights: Engaging Employees in an Ever-Changing Landscape," ( divides companies into categories that include "Best-in-Class" and "Industry Laggards," with the former organizations compensating employees better and retaining them longer. Best-inclass employers also excel at getting their new hires to reach needed productivity levels in less time than laggards do. In many cases, they're even willing to offer work-life balance as a stated benefit. "Over the last year, as the unemployment rate has declined and the competition for talent has intensified, we've reported that we're working in 'The Age of the Employee,'" according to the report. "In this candidate-driven market, the burden is on employers to offer compelling reasons for candidates to join—and remain with— their organizations. And the most compelling thing an

RESEARCH RESULTS The Mentor Impact: 61% said mentorships are important for driving employee happiness.

Working Effort: 93% of those at best-in-class organizations said it takes six weeks or less for their new hires to be productive. but 57% of those at companies considered laggards said this takes six weeks or longer at their company.

Steady Staffing: 71% of those at best-in-class companies said their average employee tenure is at least nine years, while 88% of those at laggards said their average employee tenure is no more than six years.

Generous Investment: 45% of executives at best-inclass organizations, but only 10% of those at laggards, said their company pays more than the market average compensation.

What Matters Most to Employees: Salary/wages: 77%. Health insurance: 49%. 401(k)/retirement plans: 29%.

Benefits Assessment: 60% of the executives surveyed said their organization offers health insurance and 401(k) packages to salaried employees.

A Good Balance: 40% said their company offers worklife balance as a benefit.

Replacement Strategy: 66% of the executives surveyed said their organization has succession plans in place—or is creating such a plan.

Reaching Out: 61% said their company communicates corporate-level information to its workforce via email, compared to 31% that depend on word-of-mouth to do so. 

employer can offer—one that goes hand-in-hand with engagement, productivity and loyalty—is happiness.

You can't make employees happy. But you can foster a positive work environment that results in engaged, productive and successful employees who love what they do." More than 500 C-suite executives took part in the research.

www.baselinemag.com/careers/slideshows/ how-best-in-class-companies-treat-employees. html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BL_ NL_BB_20171207_STR3L1&dni=432375724&r ni=25652266 * www.adeccousa.com/employers/resources/ the-workforce-management-insights-report/?utm_ source=prpublication&utm_medium=unpaid&utm_ campaign=2017talentreport&utm_term=both&utm_ content=guide

48  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

From: NAACP There’s no doubt about it: On December 12th, the African American community played a major role in 2017’s most pivotal election.

Thanks in part to NAACP voter mobilization drives, Black voters turned out in huge numbers to select their state’s new representative to the U.S. Senate.

NAACP staff and volunteers made more than 40,000 calls to voters throughout the state to persuade them to exercise their right to vote. The NAACP Alabama State Conference and partners conducted an unprecedented texting campaign that reached nearly 160,000 African Americans and women.

Our vote is reflective of a democracy refusing to exchange its integrity and character for the sake of selfish partisan politics.

There's more work to do. Stand with the NAACP in the fight for voting rights in all fifty states.

Pledge to vote. (http://action.naacp.org/page/s/elections-matter-?utm_ medium=email&utm_source=NAACP&utm_content=3++PLEDGE+TO+VOTE&utm_campaign=TakeAKnee&source=TakeA Knee)

Fired up, Derrick NAACP President and CEO

Please contribute what you can right now and help us resist: http://action.naacp.org/ StopSessions

50  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Dear Friends, It is my honor to write to you as your newly elected President and CEO. In the face of a brutal and near-daily national assault on civil rights and progressive issues, the NAACP has recognized the immediate need for a leader to guide the organization during its strategic re-envisioning process.

The NAACP has a long legacy of activism and civil rights leadership, but I am committed to retooling and refreshing the Association to best confront 21-century challenges. As president, I seek to shepherd the Association into a period of growth and strength: building our field, our funds, and our force as a champion of civic engagement. I will use every tactic in our playbook to ensure that African Americans can achieve equality in the United States.

Will you join me (www.naacp.org)?

Looking forward,

Derrick Johnson NAACP President and CEO © 2017 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

51  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Commentary - Citizenship

Barack Obama Warns Against Complacency, Invokes Specter of Nazi Germany

By Nicole Karlis

Barack Obama (Credit: Getty/Scott Olson)

B

arack Obama made a public appearance on Tuesday at the Economic Club of Chicago, a members-only organization in Chicago which focuses on improving economic and social issues. A video of his discussion surfaced on Facebook, and viewers seized on his comments warning about the dangers of complacency in democracy.

When asked by the moderator about how "what it means to be an American" has evolved, and how to deal with competing narratives of this within the United States, Obama explained: "I do think because we’ve been so wealthy and so

successful that we get complacent. We assume things continue the way they have been just automatically, and they don’t. You have to tend to this garden of democracy, otherwise, things can fall apart fairly quickly. And we've seen societies where that happens.

Now, presume there was a ballroom here in Vienna in the late 1920s or '30s that looked and seemed as if it, filled with the music and art and literature that was emerging, would continue into perpetuity. And then 60 million people died. An entire world was plunged into chaos. So you got to pay attention -- and vote."

During the same discussion, Obama reiterated the

52  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

importance of not taking American values for granted — specifically, values like freedom of the press. The former president emphasized that even if he didn't agree with news reports while he was president, he understood the values and importance of the principle.

“Timeless values should transcend parties. I’d argue that freedom of the press should be ideal,” he said.

“What I understood was that principle that the free press was vital. As president, part of my job was to make sure that that was maintained.”

In the video, Obama didn’t specifically criticize or mention his successor, but it seems clear he is referencing current President Donald Trump. Trump has been consistently engaged in a war against the media, and seems not to understand free speech.

Professor and cultural critic Henry Giroux has called

Trump's behavior an "attack on democracy."

The notoriously soft-spoken ex-president is known for being extremely careful with his words. Throughout his presidency, he took an optimistic tone of the future, even during dark times or when he struggled to get his policy agenda through. Likewise, Obama was often hesitant to issue harsh critique, even of his opponents, and was not known for making analogies to Nazi Germany, a rhetorical tactic that often backfires and which is viewed by many as often offensive. Notably, Obama did not directly say the word "Nazi," "Germany," "Hitler" nor "World War II," but chose to reference World War II indirectly.  www.salon.com/2017/12/08/barack-obama-warnsagainst-complacency-invokes-specter-of-nazigermany/

53  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Looking Forward

How AI and Voice Assistants Can Help Communicators Make the Important Decisions

By Samantha Wood

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Help You Market Better and Faster in the Future

A

rtificial intelligence and the growing list of voice assistants (from Siri and Alexa to Bixby) may not be of immediate concern to you when it comes to the future of PR and marketing.

But Michael Delgado, Director of Social Media at Experian, says these features are changing newsrooms for journalists, and will also change the game for PR and marketing pros.

might impact your company right now? Want to know the sentiment or share of voice of your company or competitors right now? Voice assistants will be able to serve up answers fast. This will allow your leadership to make thoughtful decisions faster.

Knowing how to work alongside AI is not just for those in data science. It’s going to be essential for all of us who want to stay competitive in business.

PR News: What are your predictions for AI and machine learning in 2018?

Delgado: It’s an exciting time to see how AI and machine learning will progress this next year.

Forrester reported that 70% of enterprises expect to implement AI over the next 12 months. And job growth for those who work with AI will continue to increase. In fact, Indeed.com recently published a report showing that the share of jobs requiring AI skills has grown nearly five-fold since 2013.

No doubt, AI will assist us more with our data analytics, customer relationships (via chatbots), business

PR News: How will AI change the way we work in the coming years?

Delgado: AI is improving newsrooms by helping journalists research faster and automate mundane tasks. Editors are even using AI to write certain types of articles based on raw data (e.g. stock updates). In marketing, we’re seeing strides in how AI can help more customers get answers faster with chatbots— and how AI can help determine what type of content to share out on social channels (and at what time). This will help social media managers focus more on human tasks like Cortana customer engagement Big data companies like Amazon, Microsoft and intelligence and how we communicate in 2018.

Google have developed voice assistants that are Oh, and to keep up with how Experian is using AI and getting smarter and more helpful. At some point, we machine learning, check out our Experian DataLabs can ask our voice assistants to brainstorm with us—or website (www.experian.com/big-data/datalabs.html). help us quickly research a topic or provide an opinion in a matter of seconds. For those of us working in PR, PR News: What’s it like to work at Experian?

Delgado: I love my job because of the amazing there are so many scenarios where an AI can help people I get to work with. We have a culture that us. Want to know what journalist to reach out to about a certain issue? Want to know what trending issues encourages innovation in everything that we do—and

54  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

PR News: Can you tell us about Experian’s #DataTalk show?

Bixby

that includes taking calculated risks and failing fast.

Our data teams are constantly developing new ways to use data to improve our world and it’s exciting for me to see the tangible impact our company is making to improve the lives of people.

Delgado: #DataTalk is a weekly show where we feature some of the smartest people working in data science. We host these video chats in our data science community on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ groups/datatalk/about), and also produce a podcast for those that prefer to listen.

We cover all types of data science topics—which includes how AI is used by the United Nations for social good, ways data science is used in the NBA, how to teach computers to see and ways to improve data visualizations. You can see an archive of all our data science video chats (www.experian.com/blogs/ news/about/datadriven) on our Experian blog. The goal of this campaign is to build a community of people who want to learn about data science and how it’s used within organizations (without needing to know the technical side).

These conversations are aligned to our culture of innovation and the way we are using data and analytics. The more we all know about data science, the quicker we can all adapt and think of ways to use AI in our businesses.  www.prnewsonline.com/how-ai-and-voice-assistantscan-help-communicators-make-the-importantdecisions/

55  December 2017  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, January 9, 2018 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.

Business - Management

The Hawkins Company Promotes Brett Byers to Executive Vice President

By Jade Stevens

T

he Hawkins Company, Inc., a Los Angeles based executive search firm, has announced the promotion of Ms. Brett Byers to Executive Vice President. She will continue to provide executive search services to clients in the corporate, government, non- profits, and education sectors.

“Brett is a proven leader who has the experience and the track record to prove it,” said President and CEO Bill Hawkins. “Her broad understanding of the firm, from having worked in various capacities, has made her a key asset for the senior leadership team. The Board of Directors and I are confident that Brett will execute the firm’s strategies and provide more value to our clients.”

Ms. Byers joined the firm in 2010 as a search consultant and was subsequently promoted to Managing Director.

Ms. Byers has been instrumental in leading some of the firm’s most important search engagements and is a frequent speaker and presenter at conferences and workshops nationally. She has been a key contributor to new city administrations with recent placements of several executive team members for the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Monica. She has also led the expansion of the firm’s practice into the New Orleans and Detroit markets.

“I am honored to serve as the Executive Vice President for The Hawkins Company,” said Ms. Byers. “I believe in the firm’s values and the direction that it is heading.

I am committed to the strategies, team and look forward to the opportunity to drive growth and performance.”

Before joining The Hawkins Company, Ms. Byers worked at Adecco, an international staffing company. She began her career with INROADS. Brett Byers received a bachelor’s degree from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. She is a graduate of the

Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute and an active member of various professional and community based organizations.

About The Hawkins Company The Hawkins Company is a boutique executive search firm established in 1984 and has conducted over 700 executive recruitments for senior corporate, government and non-profit organizations nationally, and has been recognized for its expertise in diversity executive recruiting.

The Company’s web site (www. thehawkinscompany.com) contains more information. 

60  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Publisher's Message

Publisher's Message from page 3

seldom in position to take advantage of finance deals that offer fair and low finance rates that require no down payments and significantly lower interest rates is because of the fine print that says, “OAC” (on approved credit aka good credit scores). Few African Americans qualify for these offers. Thus, African Americans continually represent the profit margin for American corportions through our payment of these higher fees and penalties.

Somewhere along the way we have truly lost our identity, and without reacquainting ourselves with our true identities, we see the results of how easily, as an ethnic group of people, we have been fooled and, sadly, have turned on each other and continue to turn to mainstream corporate America for “breastfeeding.”

We can do better, we must do better, or it will be no better for our future generations. For example, pastors, ministers and leaders of predominately Black congregations need to inspire their congregants on the importance of economic empowerment within African American communities. It’s estimated that approximately 80-85% of the tithes and offerings collected every Sunday is spent with non-Black-owned businesses.

This disheartening statistic would not exist if Black clergy would first themselves patronize and support more Black-owned businesses (banks, accountants, landscaping, security, janitorial/maintenance, catering, etc.); and encourage its members to do so as well.

Within the public and private sectors, and other organizations, we have seen African Americans rise to positions of influence and become top decision makers. However, there are far too many who don’t leverage their positions of influence to open and share contracting, employment opportunities with Blackowned businesses. To their discredit, once they get their foot in the door many are not willing to advocate, as much as they could, for other African Americans and will satisfy diversity requirements with other minority groups (first), placing African American-owned businesses as secondary.

As African Americans, we absolutely must improve our attitude and not be too afraid, ashamed or selfish, to leverage our positions of influence to help other African Americans. As long as we continue in this matter, we will continue to see other ethnic groups excel because they DO and ARE WILLING to leverage their positions of influence to help business owners from their own respective cultures to gain access to procurement,

contracting and employment opportunities.

Here's some food for thought - why are we still taking the back seats in the rear, when we should be up front?

How can we move to the front, without supporting each other (first)? We can't. Let us learn from the examples of those who have gone before us and let the daily reminders and lessons learned regarding how other ethnic groups work and support each other to secure their economically sustainable positions for themselves and their future generations.

The holiday season is a prime time to exhibit our economic power. (see page 111) African American buying power is no myth (African American consumers spent $1.3 trillion dollars in 2016 for goods and services), and as African-Americans, we must embrace and recycle financial resources back into our businesses, communities and families.

The Civil Rights Movement was greatly impacted by the stand Rosa Parks took 62 years ago. Another Civil Rights stand was taken in 2017 by the African American voters in the Alabama U.S. Senatorial election.

Like Ms. Parks, acts of individual commitment to change, can be life altering for the greater good of all.

Best wishes for a peace-filled, healthy, safe and prosperous 2018. The struggle continues.

61  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

www.bbala.org

Business - Start-Up Opportunity

Congratulations

(l-r) M C Townsend, Executive Director, Regional Black CoC/SFV, Hon. John Chiang, California State Treasurer, Judy Pace, acclaimed entertainer The Black Business Association sends its

Congratulations

to the Regional Black Chamber of Commerce San Fernando Valley on your successful 13th Annual Gala Awards Dinner Saluting Your 2017 Honorees Honoree of the Year Michael Gunning, VP PIFC Distinguished Leadership Award CDC Loans Antonio Pizano Outsanding Community Service Honoree, Outstanding Majority Corporation with Special

Community Outreach Frontier Communications Jerry Johnson Public Service Award Hon. Sebastian R. Thomas State Assemblyman Outstanding Volunteers of the Year Vincent Taylor, Francis Williams, Jerard Wright 1st "M C TOWNSEND Lifetime Achievement Award" Nancy Wilson 2017 Small Business of the Year Gardena Wellness Group Elaine Tina Wynn, CEO The Gala was held at the.

CBS TELEVISION STUDIOS Studio City, California

T

he Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of San Fernando Valley serves the communities of: San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood, Brubank, Glendale, Santa Clarita/Valencia, Marina del Rey and Inglewood.

We meet the success needs of our member businesses through education and training, by linking small and micro-businesses to corporations and government agencies, and by providing public recognition for corporations, government agencies and volunteers who exhibit commitment to the betterment of the SFV community. http://regionalblackchambersfv.info

64  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Marketing

USPS to Increase Rates on Jan. 21st

By Heather Fletcher

F

orever stamps will increase from 49 to 50 cents on Jan. 21. On that day, Mailing Services product prices will rise “approximately 1.9%, and most Shipping Services products will average a 3.9% price increase,” according to the USPS. In a show of its resolve to do so, USPS filed a Priority Mail amendment with the PRC on Friday.

This price rise is slated to occur after the USPS delivers more than 15 billion pieces of mail at the old prices during Holiday 2017.

Postcard stamps and metered letters would also have a one cent increase.

While most of Friday’s filing is redacted (Opens as a PDF) USPS did say in October what it expected to charge for Priority Mail: “The new Shipping Services product prices would increase Priority Mail 3.9 percent and Priority Mail Retail an average of 0.8 percent.”

Here are the price breakdowns, based on product, its current rate and its proposed increase: • Letters (1 oz.), 49 cents, 50 cents • Letters additional ounces, 21 cents, 21 cents • Letters (metered), 46 cents, 47 cents • Outbound International Letters (1 oz.), $1.15, $1.15 • Domestic Postcards, 34 cents, 35 cents • Small Flat Rate Box, $7.15, $7.20 • Medium Flat Rate Box, $13.60, $13.65 • Large Flat Rate Box, $18.85, $18.90 • APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box, $17.35, $17.40 • Regular Flat Rate Envelope, $6.65, $6.70 • Legal Flat Rate Envelope, $6.95, $7.00 • Padded Flat Rate Envelope, $7.20, $7.25  www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/usps-increasesrates-jan-21/#ne=4a21b9167bf658408191e7c49140a 9aa&utm_source=today-%40-target-marketing&utm_ medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2017-11-20&utm_cont ent=usps+increases+rates+on+jan.+21-4

Buy Black!

Bank Black!

Educate Black!

Invest Black!

65  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Exhibit Your Books with the U.S. Commercial Service at Book World Prague 2018!

The U.S. Commerce Department is pleased to offer an opportunity to exhibit titles during our sixth annual book fair exhibition at Book World Prague, May 10–13, 2018.

No need to travel --- just send us your titles and catalogues and we will exhibit them for you!

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

Registration Deadline February 28, 2018

Registration Fees Small companies: $150 Medium companies: $300 Large companies: $375

Targeted list of contacts

Registration

Inclusion in the Prague Book Fair catalogue

Bobby Hines International Trade Specialist DownTown LA Export Office United States Bobby.Hines@trade.gov Tel: 213 894 4231

Online promotion through the U.S. Embassy website Post-show follow-up and trade leads

WHY IS THE CZECH PUBLISHING MARKET INTERESTING? As a nation of avid readers, Czech Republic has the world’s highest number of published titles per capita.

More than one third of total book production are translations.

More information Mr. Zdenek Svoboda U.S. Commerial Service Prague Czech Republic Zdenek.Svoboda@trade.gov Tel: +420 257 022 323

We will help you to maximize opportunities in the Czech market and match your titles with interested publishers.

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67  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Small Business Conference

www.smallbusinessconference.energy.gov

Registration is now open for the 17th Annual U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Forum & Expo (DOE2018), May 22-24, 2018 at the Westin Galleria Houston, Houston, Texas.

T

he DOE Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization created the Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo to connect the agency's offices, power administrations, laboratory and technology centers, and prime contractors with small business entrepreneurs to meet the mission needs of the Department of Energy (www.doe.gov)..

DOE2018 is a great way for small businesses to network and discuss their services and solutions with agency procurement officials, small business program managers and prime contractor representatives already working within DOE. DOE2017 brought in over 800 attendees and over 100 exhibitors! Of those in attendance, 30% were representatives from government agencies, large businesses, and industry.

Register now and become part of the Department of Energy's mission.

For more information, visit smallbusinessconference.energy.gov.

www.

Registration Fees: Early Bird Rate - $299 (expires Feb. 28, 2018) Regular - $379 (till 5/19/2018) Onsite - $449 (5/20/2017 to on-site) For Registration and General Information: Mr. Earl Morgan Hotline: (571) 297-4006 Email: InfoDOE@aetherquest.com

Set-Aside Alert For more information about Set-Aside Alert, the "eyes and ears" of small business federal contractors, visit our website at www.setasidealert.com. Or contact Tom Johnson, Publisher at tjohnson@setasidealert. com. 

71  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business - Holiday Shopping

Misty Copeland & Barbie

Ibtihaj Muhammad & Barbie

O

lympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in 2016, when she became the first member of the U.S. Olympic team to compete in hijab. Now she's making history again by teaming up with Mattel to create a Barbie designed after her. But this is more than a special-edition doll: It's the first-ever Barbie to wear a hijab, which makes it a crucial win for inclusivity and representation.

Mattel released the doll as part of its “Sheroes” collection, which features a line of Barbies modeled after a diverse range of accomplished women. Gabby Douglas (Olympic Champion), Ava DuVernay (Director, Author, Documentarian), Ashley Graham, and Misty Copeland (Prima Ballerina) are among the famous figures who have been given the Barbie treatment.  www.glamour.com/story/first-ever-hijabwearing-barbie-ibtihaj-muhammad http://nytlive.nytimes.com/ womenintheworld/2017/11/14/in-afirst-mattel-introduces-a-hijab-wearingbarbie-doll http://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/ sheroes-dolls Ava DuVernay & Barbie

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Gabby Douglas & Barbie

27th Annual BZB Holiday Gift & Art Show 7 BIG Shopping Days!!!

Shop BZB Black Friday & Saturday, Nov 24 & 25 Saturdays til Christmas, Dec 2, 9 & 16 Friday & Saturday, Dec 22 & 23 60+ POP-UP Shops

General Admission, A Smile!

Shiloh Family Life Center 1510 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 (9th & P)

--------------------------------------Info & Exhibitor Application Visit the 'BZB SHOP Til You SHOP' Website! or e-mail: bzb25years@bzbinternational.com or call: 1.202.550.7060

Visit the Black Business Association "Shopping Gallery" Page 111

74  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

www.ustda.gov

The holiday season is quickly approaching. Both customers and prospects are on the lookout for great deals during the holidays. So now is the time to get started planning yours. Staying ahead of your competition is important this time of the year. Are you ready to get started?

How to Create Great Holiday Direct Mail: Target — Make sure that you are targeting the right holiday messages to the right people. Yes, your offers need to be targeted. But if you send a Christmas greeting to a Jewish family, you are missing out on a great opportunity to connect with them on a more personal level. The better you target and personalize, the better response you will get. So really look at your data to make sure you have enough information to target correctly.

Fun — Have fun with your mail pieces! This time of year is full of fun, so join in and create a mail piece that is not just an offer, but a really fun experience. Think outside of the box about what you can do differently to have more fun with your prospects and customers. It does not have to be super expensive. Think about adding some texture as a way to make your piece feel different or fun folds that keep on going.

Savings — Make sure you are offering great savings to your prospects and customers. This time of year, they expect it. Remember, it’s all in the wording of the offer. Interpretation is the key, so a higher percentage off a lower-cost item is seen as a better deal than a lower percentage off a high-price item. Target the discounts based on things they are interested in. You can use variable data to make a highly targeted coupon.

Sharing — Offer a way for people to share the savings with friends and family for the holidays. This time of the year, people love to share. So you can have your message expand well beyond your list when they do. This can really help to increase your ROI and make customers and prospects happy they can share.

Great holiday mail incorporates all four of the items above. It is a special time of year that is also reflected in the special types of mailings that get sent out. Don’t just send a postcard — be extra creative for the holidays to not only stand out in the mail box, but to get people to respond. Also, don’t wait for December. Send something for Halloween and Thanksgiving, too. Really get into the holiday spirit and have fun. Customers will appreciate it.

If you have a little extra funds for the holiday campaigns, consider using video or fun cut-outs. Anything you can do to make your mail more interactive and staying on message will help increase your ROI. Make sure that as you are brainstorming ideas, you continue to look at it from the customer’s perspective. You need to focus on what they will respond to and enjoy. If possible, get some customer feedback on your ideas before you launch — just to make sure you are on the right road.

Are you ready to get started on a fun holiday campaign? www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/4-great-holiday-mail-tips/#ne=4a21b9167bf658408191e7c49140a9aautm_source=today%40-target-marketingutm_medium=newsletterutm_campaign=2017-10-12&utm_content=4+great+holiday+mail+tips-4

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F

Kwanzaa

OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION

Business www.soundtrap.com/

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.

M

Soundtrap

usic Making: Soundtrap is your very own online music studio where you can record your creations with your device microphone.

Explore our extensive collection of beats, loops and instruments or connect your own instruments.

Multi Device: Soundtrap works on Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android phones and tablets, Linux and ChromeBooks. All your projects are stored online so you can access them wherever you are. The cloud is the limit.

Collaborate: Make music with other people in real time or share with friends. Soundtrap offers a community where you can share creative moments. Collaborate and share the experience with friends in real time.

Forget about complicated music production tools – let your talent and creativity shine.

Pricing goes from Free to Supreme. Select the level that works for you. 

Common Black College Application

S

tudents can apply to any number of 53 Historically Black Colleges and Universities with the Common Black College Application (CBCA). To date, over 100,000 students from the United States, Africa, South America and the Caribbean have completed the CBCA to apply to our 53 Member Institutions

Once you complete your CBCA and pay the $35 fee, you can easily track the progress of your application on your mobile phone. You can also easily upload your transcripts and test scores by logging into your application with your email address and password and clicking on Application Details, connect your account with your High School Counselor, and contact our Member Institutions.

All of the details are available at: http://commonblackcollegeapp. com. 

Official Black Wall Street App

T

he Black Wall Street app facilitates your interest in buying Black as a consumer. Use the app to search & discover thousands of Blackowned businesses near you from pharmacies to restaurants.

You will be able to browse through high quality listings featuring

reviews, images, directions, special offers, and more. With the wide range of choices you can buy black and spend wisely with special offers and daily deals from your favorite black businesses.

The app will alert you to blackowned business you may be near, when businesses have new offers and allow you to bookmark your favorite businesses.

In the reverse, the app aids Black businesses gain exposure to over 1.16 Million users on both the app and the website and offer special marketing deals to customers.

Experience the website at https:// officialblackwallstreet.com. Acquire the app through the Apple Store or Google Play. 

Integrate Banking and Payment Systems

D

wolla launched on December 1st of 2010. Our company powers billions of dollars in commerce annually. Many of our customers are fast-growing technology companies around the U.S. Our financial backing is provided by Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Integrating software with the banking system is complex, timeconsuming, and resource intensive.

The Dwolla API facilitates: • White label enterprise solutions

86  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

• Sending or collecting ACH payments • Provision of functionality for your customers • Sending direct deposit payments • Instant verification of bank accounts • Dedicated account management • Instant identity verification  www.dwolla.com/

JetCost App

J

etcost is a flight comparison site that searches and compares flight deals from more than 250 travel sites in real time, including online travel agencies, regular and low cost airlines. This helps you to find cheap flights in just a few seconds.

You’ll be able to find the ideal flight ticket for the trip you are planning.

In order to make your life easier, you won't have to register on our website as you will be redirected to the provider of your choice directly from the Jetcost search results page. This means you’ll book your flight directly with the travel agency or airline you choose, without having to pay additional fees.  http://us.jetcost.com/en/

app-on-steam-vr/ar-BBGNnaO?li=AA4 Zoy&ocid=spartandhp

G

oogle just made it a bit easier to use one of its key Daydream VR apps by releasing YouTube VR for Steam VR on the HTC Vive. Download the app at: http://store.steampowered. com/app/755770/YouTube_VR. VR Stream allows you to play any PC or Oculus games in virtual reality mode through the smartphone, Cardboard-like headset and local WiFi. The main idea of VR Stream is that users don`t have to buy expensive VR hardware devices such as Oculus or HTC Vive but still get the high quality VR content and an absolutely new experience inaccessible before.

VR Stream is a technology that transmits video stream from PC into a mobile device over local WiFi, and transforms it into a virtual reality mode. You can play practically any PC content on a mobile d e v i c e using the computing power of PC and feel comfortable in VR. In order to dive into a virtual reality world of high quality computer games all you need is a mobile VR headset, such as Google Cardboard, or any other headset for smartphones. You also need to use your own smartphone.

360° video transports viewers into a real, immersive, live-streaming experience that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.  http://dive2vr.com/dvr-streaming

VR Stream

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/ technology/youtube-debuts-360-video-

Roadie: For Drivers & Shippers

R

oadie (www.roadie.com) is the first “on-the-way” delivery network, an appbased service that puts extra space in passenger vehicles to work by connecting people with items to send with drivers already heading

in the right direction. Our drivers are people right in your neighborhood.

Neighborly people. Driving on the same streets you do. With a few extra minutes and extra room to give your stuff a lift.

Roadie’s collaborative model enables fast, flexible, low cost delivery for senders and rewards drivers for trips they were already taking. Since our launch in 2015, we’ve delivered everything from cupcakes to couches to customers in more than 4,000 cities nationwide.

Drivers+ As part of the Roadie team, you’ll have the opportunity to: build new products, create new markets and delight customers in new and innovative ways. We think the ondemand, sharing economy is a cultural revolution. We’re looking for like-minded code geeks, designers, and marketers who have the passion, drive and energy to try to change the world.  Submitted by LaSandra Stratton, Chief Content Administrator of the Black Business News.

87  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest

Valerie Jarrett to Join University of Chicago Law School

By Tonia Hill

Valerie Jarrett

H

yde Parker (Chicago( and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett will join

the University of Chicago Law School as a distinguished senior fellow.

Jarrett’s appointment, which

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) signs a memorandum in the East Room of the White House, on January 22, 2014 in Washington, DC. President Obama signed the memorandoum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies regarding establishing a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault during an event for the Council on Women and Girls (Jan. 21, 2014 - Source: Mark Wilson/Getty Images North America)

will begin at the start of next year, includes working with students and faculty at the Law School and across the university, participating in academic seminars, conferences, and student-led initiatives.

“Valerie Jarrett’s experience in the White House, her understanding of issues in law, policy and public service, and her deep personal connections to the University of Chicago will bring extraordinary experience and perspective to our community,” said U. of C. President Robert J. Zimmer in a written statement.

Jarrett previously served as ViceChair of the university’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Board of Trustees at U. of C. Medical Center. She left the posts in 2009 to serve in the White House, where she served for both terms in Obama’s administration. She chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls and cochaired the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.

“I am both delighted and honored to return to the University of Chicago

88  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest

Former President Barack Obama Gets a Holiday

S

tarting in 2018, the state of Illinois will annually observe “Barack Obama Day.” That’s right, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed “Barack Obama Day” into law giving former President Barack Obama, his own state holiday, NBC Chicago reports.

The holiday will be observed on August 4th throughout the State as a day set apart to honor the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the community of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and has dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities,” the bill notes.

The news station notes, that although several lawmakers abstained from voting on the measure, it passed both houses without a single vote against it.

So now Barack Obama Day will join the other commemorative days, including Ronald Reagan Day, for which workplaces do not close.

as a Distinguished Senior Fellow, and embark on this new journey with the students, faculty and wider Chicago community,” Jarrett said in a written statement.

“With a rich history, a world-class interdisciplinary program, and a vibrant student experience, I can’t think of a better location to continue my own lifelong learning than the University of Chicago.”

Jarrett has deep ties to Hyde Park and U. of C. Her father, the late James Bowman was, Professor of

Pathology and Medicine at U. of C. and the first African American to be tenured in the Division of Biological Sciences. Her mother, Barbara Bowman (AM’52) taught at the U. of C. Laboratory Schools, while earning a graduate degree in education.

Jarrett attended the Lab School and Northfield Mount Hermon, a boarding school in Massachusetts.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Stanford University and a law degree from

Well deserved honor.  www.thechocolatevoice.com/ former-president-barack-obamagets-a-holiday/

the University of Michigan Law School. Her daughter, Laura Jarrett, is an alum of the Lab School.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie Jarrett back to the University of Chicago,” said Thomas J. Miles, Dean of the Law School and the Clifton R. Musser Professor of Law and Economics. Her extraordinary career, which encompasses legal practice and corporate leadership, is an inspiration to our students.”  www.TBTNewsService.com

89  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest of Oxford in England. The total value of the scholarship averages $68,000 a year.

The 10 African-American winners include Naomi Mburu of Ellicott City, Md., a senior in Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The first Rhodes Scholar from UMBC, she has co-authored two peerBy: Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO reviewed journal articles and delivered 11 research presentations and won the 2016 National Society of Black Engineers Regional Conference Award for best oral presentation. She has interned at Intel and conducted research at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, en African-American college students have won and supports STEM education in volunteer and a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, more than leadership roles. At Oxford, she will seek a doctorate in at any other single time in the scholarship’s 115 Engineering Science.

Fairfax native Simone Askew, a senior at the United years in the United States, a Rhodes Trust official States Military Academy, is the first African-American announced Nov. 18. woman to become the Brigade Commander of United The scholarship, considered one of oldest and most famous awards for international study for Americans, States Corps of Cadets, the top leadership position covers all expenses and offers stipends for two or which manages the performance and development three years of postgraduate study at the University of 4,400 cadets at West Point. Her thesis centered on rape as a tool of genocide and mass atrocity. She will study evidence-based social intervention at Oxford.

Camille Borders is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis and was active during the Ferguson, Mo. riots of 2014, eventually founding Washington University Students in Solidarity to respond to incidents of racial profiling and police brutality.

At Oxford, she plans to seek a Masters in Philosophy in Social and Economic History.

Also a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, Jasmine Brown has studied neuroscience in an effort to identify protective genes against cognitive defects caused by West Nile-induced encephalitis.

She has also studied cancer research, pulmonary research and behavioral science, and will seek a doctorate in Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics.

Harvard College Senior Tania N. Fabo of Saugus, © Marlayna Demond/Marlayna Demond for UMBC Naomi Mburu, Massachusetts, was born in 21, is the first student at the University of Maryland Baltimore Germany to Cameroonian County to receive the Rhodes Scholarship.

Ten African American College Students Named Rhodes Scholars

T

90  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest parents and is an immigrant in the U.S. She’s spent her college career researching cancer and is president of the Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers. She will study oncology at Oxford.

JaVaughn T. “JT” Flowers of Portland, graduated from Yale University with a degree in political science.

As a Truman Scholar at Yale, he compiled a thesis that investigated gaps in Portland’s sanctuary city policy for undocumented immigrants. He also played varsity basketball and spent time in an organization that supports low-income students in their academic and professional lives. Flowers, a first-generation college student, returned to Portland after graduation to work in Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s field office.

At Oxford, he will study comparative social policy.

Chelsea Jackson, of Lithonia, Georgia, is a senior at Emory University where she is a Truman Scholar, cofounder of the Atlanta Black Students United and helped revive the campus NAACP. She will study criminology and criminal justice at Oxford.

Thamara V. Jean, a senior at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, is the school’s first Rhodes Scholar. The Brooklyn native is the daughter of Haitian immigrants, according to NBC, and completed her senior thesis in her junior year on the Black Lives Matter movement that was later published in The Journal of Politics and Society. After that, she did research in the Harvard African-American Studies Department on 1960s-era Black nationalism. She will study political theory at Oxford.

Temple University’s first Rhodes Scholar, Hazim Hardeman of Philadelphia graduated in May and currently works as a substitute teacher in the Philadelphia School District. His diverse research interests include issues of critical pedagogy, race and politics, and African-American intellectual history. He will seek a Master’s Degree in Higher Education at

Oxford.

Jordan Thomas is a senior at Princeton University and plans to seek a Master’s Degree in EvidenceBased Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, an extension of his work with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Legal Group.

The 32 American winners were drawn from 866 applicants who were endorsed by 299 colleges and universities. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County was one of four institutions to have a winner for the first time.

The diverse class of winners includes African and Asian immigrants, Muslim, Asian and Latino Americans, and a transgender man.

“This year’s selections—independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simultaneously—reflects the rich diversity of America,” American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust Elliot Gerson said in a statement. “They plan to study a wide range of fields across the social sciences, biological and medical sciences, physical sciences and mathematics, and the humanities.”

The Americans will join Rhodes Scholars from 64 other countries at Oxford next October. The trust will select about 100 Rhodes Scholars worldwide.

The scholarship was created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist and mining magnate who has been called an architect of apartheid— making the selection of this year’s unprecedented number of African-American recipients all the more important. Despite Rhodes’ personal history of White supremacy and aggressive British colonialism, the scholarships which bear his name have earned a legacy of their own as one of the academic world’s most important achievements.  www.afro.com/ten-african-american-college-studentsnamed-rhodes-scholars

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Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

92  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Earle Hyman, Cosby Show's Grandpa Huxtable, Dies at 91

By Jeremy Fuster

E

arle Hyman, actor of screen and stage best known as Grandpa Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," died at age 91.

For 40 episodes over the famed sitcom's eightseason run, Hyman appeared in a recurring role as Cliff Huxtable's father, Russell, who would often butt heads with his son in comedic fashion while serving as a voice of wisdom to his grandchildren. Once a famous jazz trombonist named "Slide" Huxtable, Russell and his wife, Anna (Clarice Taylor), were the centerpiece of two of the show's most famous episodes in seasons 2 and 3, when the Huxtables put together lip-synch and dance routines for them to celebrate their wedding anniversaries. Hyman's work on the episode earned him an Emmy nomination.

Outside of the Cosby Show, Hyman was known by 80s kids for his work on the popular animated show "Thundercats," playing the gruff, muscle-bound warrior Panthro. He also has a highly decorated career in theater that began on Broadway in 1944 with the play "Anna Lucasta," and is highlighted by his thousands of performances as the titular lead of Shakespeare's "Othello." His stage credits also include Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and in an all-black production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot."  www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/earle-hymancosby-shows-grandpa-huxtable-dies-at-91/arBBFc9lE?ocid=spartandhp

93  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Miracles Singer Warren 'Pete' Moore Dead at 78

By Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone

W

arren "Pete" Moore, an original member of the legendary Motown singing group the Miracles, died at the age of 78.

Motown founder Berry Gordy confirmed Moore's death in a statement.

No cause of death was Warren "Pete" Moore (left), an original member of the legendary Motown singing provided.

"I am deeply saddened group the Miracles, died at the age of 78.e © Gilles Petard/Redfernsrspeakers.com to hear of the passing of Warren 'Pete' Moore, a fine human before signing with Gordy's Motown Go Again" and "Baby Baby Don't being and valued member of the offshoot Tamla in 1959. They Cry." Motown family," Gordy said. "Pete changed their name to the Miracles After Robinson left the Miracles was an original member of my very soon after. in 1971, Moore remained with the first group, the Miracles. He was a Moore served as co-writer on group until their dissolution in 1978. quiet spirit with a wonderful Bass many of the Miracles' singles, In 2012, Moore was inducted into voice behind Smokey Robinson’s including their classic "The Tracks the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soft, distinctive lead vocals and was of My Tears" (Number 50 on alongside the Miracles. co-writer on several of the Miracles Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs "A gentleman, loving husband, hits."

List), "Ooo Baby Baby" (Number devoted father and loyal friend, we A childhood friend of Robinson's 266), "My Girl Has Gone" and all loved him and will miss him," while growing up in Detroit, Moore "Love Machine," as well as hits Gordy added.  and Robinson formed a singing by Motown artists like Marvin Gaye www.msn.com/en-us/music/ group while they were both in high ("Ain't That Peculiar," "I'll Be news/miracles-singer-warrenschool. With Moore as the bass Doggone") and the Temptations' pete-moore-dead-at-78/arsinger, the group was known as the ("Since I Lost My Baby") Moore BBFnj93?ocid=spartandhp Five Chimes and the Matadors also produced the Miracles' "Here I 94  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill Founder, CEO, Dies at 57

By Adam Schrader, Rocco Parascandola, Ross Keith, Rich Schapiro (BBN Edited)

T

he founder and CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill who once appeared on “Undercover Boss” killed himself inside his Bronx factory, police sources said.

Lowell Hawthorne, 57, shot himself inside the Park Avenue building.

More than a dozen current and former employees stood in disbelief outside the factory hours later.

Some had tears rolling down their cheeks.

“He was a good boss, humble and a good businessman,” said Pete Tee, 27, a former employee.

“He never seemed sad. This is just terrible news right now.”

Hawthorne opened the first Golden Krust store on E. Gun Hill Rd. in 1989. The Jamaica-born owner went on to build the beefpatty purveyor into a national empire with more than 120 restaurants in nine states.

Pat Russo, who has worked with Hawthorne since the 1990s, was confounded by the news that his fellow businessman had taken his own life. “It doesn’t make any sense.

He had everything to live for,” said Russo, who is the president of Chef’s Choice food company. “He was a brilliant business guy. The perfect American success story.”

Hawthorne’s death sent shockwaves from the streets of the Bronx to government offices in Jamaica, where Prime Minister Andrew Holness sent a tweet offering his condolences.

Family friend Wayne Muschamb said Hawthorne was an inspiration

to his countrymen in Jamaica. “Look how far he reached. He’s known from here to Jamaica,” Muschamb said. “I’m kind of lost for words, man. This has got me shocked.”

Hawthorne’s rags-to-riches story was set in motion in 1981 when he followed several relatives to the U.S. from Jamaica in search of opportunity.

He briefly worked as an accountant for the NYPD before deciding to build a business inspired by his father’s bakery back home.

Golden Krust became the first Caribbean-owned business in the U.S. to be granted a franchise license, according to its website.

The company produces more than 50 million patties a year that are sold in retail stores.

The Mavis & Ephraim Hawthorne Foundation (www. goldenkrustfoundation.org) was established by Lowell in 2005 in memory of Ephraim and Mavis

Hawthorne, the parents of the Hawthorne family. In 2012, he published a memoir, “The Baker’s Son.” “It’s a very humbling experience to know that the concept that began in Jamaica with our parents was able to come here,” Hawthorne told the Daily News at the time.  www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ bronx/golden-krust-foundercommits-suicide-bronx-factoryarticle-1.3673215

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Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Jon Hendricks, Legendary Jazz and Vocalese Singer, Dies At 96

By Carla Herreria

J

on Hendricks, one of the most influential voices and creative improvisers in jazz, died in a Manhattan hospital in New York.

His daughter Aria Hendricks confirmed with The New York Times. He was 96 years old.

Hendricks, a native of Newark, Ohio, shot to fame in the 1950s jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The group, featuring Dave Lambert, Annie Ross and Hendricks as the vocalist, became legendary in jazz, performing around the world in the style of vocalese ― a type of jazz which involves a singer stringing words along to the melody of a song, typically an existing instrumental song, note for note.

The trio was nominated for a Grammy in 1958 and 1960 for their albums “Sing A Song of Basie” and “The Hottest New Group in Jazz” respectively. In 1961, they took home a Grammy for their album “High Flying.”

National Public Radio, which interviewed Hendricks around his 90th birthday in 2011, described the groundbreaking singer as “The Father of Vocalese,” but, as the Times points out, Hendricks did not invent the style. He did, however, become known as the singer who mastered it.

Hendricks described vocalese as “the putting of words to parts of

songs not usually approached by lyricists” during a 2011 master class on jazz lyric writing.

“Being brave, I would do the whole song, solos and all, and write words for the solos that gave them their place in the song. And always tell the story,” he added. “I wrote a story out of whatever it is the song is titled and whatever the subject matter is. It’s something like writing a novel.”

Throughout his career, Hendricks was a music critic, wrote for the theater, was a professor of jazz at the University of Toledo and continued singing, according to NPR. He was also awarded with the federal National Endowment of Art’s Jazz Master fellowship in 1993.  www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ jon-hendricks-dead-dies_ us_5a1508c1e4b025f8e9326b3e

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Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Joseph L. White, 84; was Pioneer in Black Psychology

By Associated Press

J

oseph L. White, a psychologist, social activist, and teacher who helped pioneer the field of black psychology to counter what he saw as rampant ignorance and prejudice in the profession, has died. He was 84.

Dr. White, who lived in Irvine, died of a heart attack on Nov. 21 near Chicago during a flight to St. Louis to see his daughter for Thanksgiving, said Tom Vasich, a spokesman for the University of California, Irvine, where Dr. White was a professor for decades.

Dr. White was born in Lincoln, Neb., in 1932 but grew up in Minneapolis. He enrolled in San Francisco State College in 1950 after working his way west as a waiter on a train.

He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State in 1962, becoming one of only a handful of blacks in the nation to hold a doctorate in clinical psychology. ‘‘When I left the program, I was what you call a black AngloSaxon. I was the nicest Negro you ever wanted to see’’ but prejudice changed him into ‘‘a militant Negro,’’ he recalled.

With a wife and three children, he tried to find a home and an office in Long Beach, Calif., but was repeatedly turned down despite having a college education and having performed military service.

In the midst of the civil rights and black power era of the 1960s, Dr. White campaigned for what is now known as cross-cultural

psychology that took into account the perspectives and needs of ethnic minorities. In 1968, Dr. White — then dean of undergraduate studies at San Francisco State — and other black psychologists formed the Association of Black Psychologists.

They were angry at the way mainstream psychology took what they considered a white Western worldview that ignored or misunderstood black culture and lifestyles. The field also was dominated by a prejudiced view of African-Americans. ‘‘Psychology is part of America.

Black people are invisible in America, they’re invisible in psychology,’’ Dr. White said in an interview for the association’s 2008 convention. ‘‘In America, black people are considered to be inferior, dumb, slow, childlike. Same thing in psychology, about (how blacks have) low IQ, can’t do a complex task. We said: ‘How the hell did this happen?’’’

Dr. White argued, for instance, that Eurocentric psychology misunderstood African-American spirituality, views of time, and emphasis on collective behavior. ‘‘Essentially, Joe was critiquing traditional psychology’s arrogance in believing that it was the norm against which all people and their cultures should be measured and telling black people that ‘you cannot seek validation from people who are oppressing you,’’’ said Thomas

A. Parham, a past association president and vice chancellor of student affairs at UC Irvine.

Dr. White called for blacks to found a psychological field of their own. He popularized his ideas in a 1970 article in Ebony magazine and became known among colleagues as the ‘‘father of black psychology.’’

Gays, women, and members of other ethnic minorities adopted the same approach for their communities, White said.

Dr. White also kept up a clinical practice for decades and mentored many psychology students. He also worked on educational projects to provide opportunities for minority students. ‘‘Dr. White was a renowned scholar and will be remembered for his pioneering work in clinical psychology. But like all great professors his most enduring contribution is that he touched so many lives as a mentor and a teacher,’’ family friend and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.  www.bostonglobe.com/metro/ obituaries/2017/12/01/joseph-whitepioneer-black-psychology-dies/ IaDNVtValJkUm9yjXpk0IL/story.html

97  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial

Della Reese Dies at 86

By Chris Morris

D

ella Reese, who segued from pop and jazz singing stardom in the ‘50s and ‘60s to a long career as a popular TV actress on “Touched By an Angel” and other shows, died at her home in California. She was 86.

“She was an incredible wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and pastor, as well as an award-winning actress and singer. Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people,” Reese’s family said in a statement. “She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on ‘Touched By An Angel.’ I know heaven has a brand new angel this day. Della Reese will be forever in our hearts.”

Reared in gospel, Reese became a seductive, bigvoiced secular music star with her No. 1 R&B and No. 2 pop hit “Don’t You Know” in 1959. The 45, her first single on RCA Records, was a ballad drawn from an aria from Puccini’s opera “La Boheme.”

She ranged through a series of releases that showed off her mastery of standards, jazz and contemporary pop through the early ‘70s, and over the course of her career she received four Grammy Award nominations.

By 1969 she had launched her TV show “Della” – the first talker hosted by an African-American woman – and had begun a move into an acting career that would take her to even greater national prominence.

Speaking of her TV and film work with the Associated Press’ Bob Thomas in 1997, she said, “I had good training for it. I was always a stylist, a lyricist. I became acquainted with the words in order to convince you I must believe in what I’m singing. That’s what acting is: believing. It was just like one thing flowing into another.”

After a number of guest appearances, Reese broke into TV full-time with a starring role in the hit 1975-78 Jack Albertson-Freddie Prinze comedy series “Chico and the Man.” Roles on “It Takes Two,” “Crazy Like a Fox,” “Charlie & Co.” and (opposite her good friend Redd Foxx) “The Royal Family.”

She also took starring roles in the features “Harlem Nights” and “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” and appeared in 20 made-for-TV pictures.

Her greatest popularity came as co-star of the

in sp ira tio nal CBS show “Touched By An Angel.”

Though the show was axed during its debut 1994-95 season, a letter-writing campaign convinced execs to bring the series back, and Reese prevailed as the heavenly samaritan Tess for a total of nine seasons, winning seven consecutive NAACP Image Awards as best lead actress in a drama and collecting two Emmy nominations and a 1998 Golden Globe nod.

Though she continued to make TV guest appearances and took the occasional film role in the new millennium, she returned to her religious roots as the founding pastor of her own Los Angeles-based church, Understanding Principles for Better Living (or “Up”). In later years, she was frequently billed as Reverend Doctor Della Reese Lett.

She was born Delloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931, in Detroit. She began singing in church as a sixyear-old; the glamorous black vocalist-actress Lena Horne was one of the film stars she admired as a girl.

By her teens, she was working as a singer in gospel luminary Mahalia Jackson’s unit.

After graduating from Detroit’s Cass Technical High School (later attended by Diana Ross), she briefly attended Wayne State University, but soon moved into music professionally, taking Della Reese as her pro handle.

Like homegrown R&B superstar Jackie Wilson, Reese received prominent exposure during an engagement at Detroit’s Flame Show Bar; her style reflected the influence of such jazz precursors as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.

Signed to Jubilee Records, the indie New York label that launched the doo-wop acts the Orioles and the Cadillacs, Reese scored her first chart success with the 1957 ballad “And That Reminds Me,” which reached No. 12 on the U.S. pop chart.

That song secured her a contract with RCA. She secured the biggest hit of her career out of the box with “Don’t You Know,” and followed it up in 1960 with the similarly styled “Not One Minute More” (No. 16 pop,

98  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

No. 13 R&B).

Her top-charting LP was “Della,” which climbed to No. 35 in ’60.

Though other major chart hits eluded her, Reese recorded prolifically –

. iloveoldschoolmusic.com

frequently in a jazz style, and frequently in a live club setting – for RCA and ABC through the ‘60s. She was a popular attraction on the Las Vegas Strip during this era.

Reese got her first acting break from casting director Reuben Cannon, who offered her a guest shot on the youthoriented cop show “The Mod Squad” in 1968.

Roles on such skeins as “Police Woman,” “ T h e Rookies” and “McCloud” followed.

The first series to Della Reese and Redd Foxx show off her sitcomsonline.com tart style to full advantage was “Chico and the Man,” in which she

portrayed star Albertson’s landlady. The hit NBC show reached an abrupt end with co-star Prinze’s suicide in January 1977.

She subsequently was a familiar player on such successful series as “Welcome Back, Kotter,” “The Love Boat,” “The A-Team” (on which she guested as star Mr. T’s mother), “Night Court,” “MacGyver,” “Designing Women” and “L.A. Law.” However, it was “Touched By An Angel” that cemented her TV stardom. With co-star Roma Downey, Reese, portraying the acerbic, Cadillac-driving supervising angel Tess, ministered to the spiritual needs of her earthbound “search and rescue cases.” Reese also performed the show’s theme song, “Walk With You.” After receiving its firstseason cancellation reprieve, the unique family-oriented show maintained a devoted audience of fans for nearly a decade, and spawned the spinoff “Promised Land.”

Following its final 2002-03 season, it enjoyed syndicated runs on Ion, Hallmark Channel, Up and Me-TV. By the time “Touched By An Angel” moved into reruns, Reese, an ordained minister since the early ‘80s, was increasingly focused on her religious work, with TV and film appearances largely restricted to guest shots. She announced her retirement from performing in 2014.

Throughout her long career, Reese proved indomitable in the face of serious health crises. In 1979, she suffered a brain aneurysm during a taping of “The Tonight Show,” and weathered two brain surgeries.

She collapsed on the set of “Touched By An Angel” in 2002, and later announced she suffered from type 2 diabetes.

Reese’s four marriages included a brief, annulled union with Mercer Ellington, son of jazz great Duke Ellington. She is survived by her husband Franklin Lett, a film producer and concert promoter.  www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/della-reese%e2%80%98touched-by-an-angel%e2%80%99star-and-randb-singer-dies-at-86/arBBFn6WO?ocid=spartandhp

99  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

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• 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

International

The African Union’s Recipe for Tackling Youth Unemployment

By Sylvain Vidzraku

Y

outh unemployment in Africa has become a worrying issue for the African Union (AU). As part of the African Youth Day, the institution called on African States and partners to work for quality education and training to combat youth unemployment, which amounts to more than 31% on the Continent.

The African Union has just launched an appeal to its member States to commit themselves to solving the problem of youth unemployment by providing them with quality education and training. The AU believes that in the face of population growth, this employment policy based on quality training and education will enable African countries to combat youth unemployment.

"The African population reached more than 1.2 billion people in May 2017, with an average age of 19.5 years.

The African continent is the second most populous

continent in the world after Asia and also the continent with the youngest economically active population, it is very important to transform this enormous human energy into a tool of development dynamic and creative," says Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU Commission. In his view, African countries must maximize their efforts on quality education as a means of combating youth unemployment in Africa.

The African Youth Day (November 1st, www. africa-youth.org/youth-engagement/africa-youth-

day) must be for the AU, an opportunity to bring young people from the five regions of the Continent and the diaspora to reiterate their willingness to participate in the process of implementing Agenda 2063, which envisages an integrated Africa, prosperous and peaceful, led by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force on the international scene. A prediction that takes into account a well-trained youth.

An unemployment rate of more than 31% Despite the struggle for youth employment in Africa, the rate of youth unemployment is still high. According to the African Union, it now stands at more than 31%, with however a distribution that does not benefit subsaharan Africa.

In North Africa, the youth unemployment rate is 25%.

But for the countries of black Africa, such as Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and South Africa, the rate is even higher. In the case of Senegal, for example, 200,000 young people arrive each year on the labour market. To overcome the problem, President Macky Sall had launched in February 2013 a program to create 30,000 jobs in one year and planned to create 300,000 before 2017. This initiative, funded by the African Development Bank (ADB), aimed at the self-employment of young people and women in Africa, remains insufficient.

According to the World Bank, with 200 million inhabitants aged 15 to 24 years, Africa has the most young people in the world. The problem of unemployment is likely to be even more serious if no lasting solution is found. "Almost 70% of current jobs are likely to disappear in developing countries because of the changes in the labour market, including the effect of the increase in the power of automation especially in the sector Industry, warns the World Bank..  http://afrique.latribune.fr/politique/politiquepublique/2017-11-01/la-recette-de-l-ua-pour-contrer-lechomage-des-jeunes-756435.html www.sommetuaue2017.ci/en/the-african-unions-recipe-fortackling-youth-unemployment/

101  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

International

How South Africa Is Telling Its Story Through Tourism

By Sarah Khan

T

oday, a mention of South Africa conjures images of penguins waddling along gleaming white beaches, the Big Five roaming through Kruger National Park, rolling vineyards, and Table Mountain.

But as recently as 30 years ago, few international visitors experienced these charms.

What did the tourism landscape look like in 1987?

and wealth was mostly enjoyed by the white minority.

By the 1980s, the regime was in its final throes, and worldwide pressure to end apartheid and free Nelson Mandela drove sanctions that limited overseas tourism.

As a result, most of South Africa's tourism industry was made up of white domestic holidaymakers.

“The "whites only" signs are there for all to see [on

CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA GETTY "White," says Neil Jansson, head of Travel Massive Africa, who’s been in the industry since the 1980s.

"That sums it up."

From 1948 to 1991, South Africa was governed by the brutally oppressive apartheid system, which segregated the country's races and ensured power

the trains], and when we tried to buy third-class tickets we were refused on the ground that ‘nice people don't travel third class’ (we are both white),” a reader wrote to the Los Angeles Times in 1988. “The South African Tourist Board is no doubt very persuasive in its offers of glamorous ‘adventure’ holidays. But Americans need

102  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

not be fooled.”

"In the 80s, as a non-white person, I had no clue that an industry like tourism existed," says Enver Mally, chairman of the board for Cape Town Tourism and director of African Eagle Day Tours, which offers immersive township experiences. "For us, it was very difficult to travel to places.”

Instead of brushing history under the rug, apartheidera relics were transformed into museums dedicated to telling the story of South Africa's turbulent road to democracy.

With Mandela's release in 1990 and the country's first democratic elections in 1994, things changed rapidly. South African Airways resumed flights to the U.S., Australia, and parts of Europe and expanded to new markets. Suddenly, all eyes were on the nation.

“Many international visitors flocked to experience the new South Africa,” says Mariette Du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism from 2003-2013 and founder of destination-marketing agency Destinate.

“Tourism numbers saw a drastic increase during the ‘post-apartheid honeymoon-phase.’”

The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and the District Six Museum in Cape Town recount personal experiences of lives affected during the regime, and former prisons were transformed into powerful museums like Constitution Hill and Robben Island, which remain major tourist destinations today. The safari industry also boomed, as more and more visitors descended to experience Kruger National Park and other game reserves.

The nation’s first push to lure leisure travelers came with the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup, which marked South Africa’s re-entry onto the global sports stage after decades of pariah status. "We started fixing our airports, hotels, and basic road infrastructure—that was the start of us capitalizing on that 15 minutes of fame," says Enver Duminy, current CEO of Cape Town Tourism and a member of the board of South Africa Tourism.

Hoping to ride the wave of positive coverage generated by the Rugby World Cup, Cape Town put in a failed bid for the 2004 Olympics. Given the challenges the young country was facing in overcoming the legacy of apartheid, there was rightfully much criticism over what many perceived as the government prioritizing investments in stadium and athletes over housing, education, and infrastructure. "That for us was also a realization that we had a long way to go," says Duminy.

Sports eventually brought South Africa to the forefront again, in the form of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "That became the tipping point for South Africa as being seen as a global destination," says Duminy. "The time was

right for the destination to put its best face forward. We were in the households of millions of viewers who may have had the perception of South Africa having lions roaming around."

Our story is a complex one and is best told through local people.

The country still reaps post-World Cup benefits: improvements in roads, airports, and safety and security have transformed South Africa into a bluechip destination. The country welcomed 10.8 million international tourists between May 2016 and May 2017—in 1988, by contrast, the county saw less than 400,000 foreign visitors. Today, tourism is the nation’s fastest-growing sector, for the first time in history surpassing mining as the biggest contributor to South Africa's GDP. Cape Town alone drew 1.7 million tourists between July 2016 and June 2017. Tourism boards have also been savvy about targeting new methods and markets. “It is no longer about the destination or your unique selling points; it is about the story,” says Du Toit-Helmbold. “Our story is a complex one and is best told through local people.”

South Africa continues to leverage its international spotlight by luring visitors with a diverse mix of offerings. The nation is home to a some of the continent’s top luxury safari lodges, with a strong focus on conservation; the revitalization of Johannesburg’s Central Business District is bringing visitors back to areas that were once a hotbed for crime; the opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in a Thomas Heatherwick-designed building in Cape Town is a boon for the continent’s art community; and local chefs like Luke Dale-Roberts, whose Test Kitchen consistently makes appearances on world’s best lists, are at the forefront of a vibrant culinary scene.

"Across South Africa, tourism is the new gold," says Mally.

There's still much work to be done—South Africa is still deeply segregated and racked with economic and political dysfunction, and the tourism industry can often seem like a sterilized bubble existing in an alternate reality to the rest of the country. But considering where things were just three short decades ago, it's worth marveling over how far the country has come.

"When I started at Cape Town Tourism, it made sense what my purpose is, being in a new South Africa,” says Duminy. “I can play a pivotal role in showing transformation, in changing the narrative of the destination."  www.cntraveler.com/story/how-south-africa-is-telling-its-storythrough-tourism?mbid=nl_111717_Daily&CNDID=38890654 &spMailingID=12383187&spUserID=MTQ5NTc0OTAyMDYxS0&s pJobID=1281634007&spReportId=MTI4MTYzNDAwNwS2

103  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

International

Robert Mugabe Resigns as Zimbabwe's President after 37 Years

By Christopher Torchia and Farai Mutsaka, Associated Press

Z

imbabwe's President Robert Mugabe resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough.

The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year-old leader's resignation letter was read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Cars honked and people danced and sang across the city in a spectacle of free expression that would have been impossible during his rule.

"Welcome to the new Zimbabwe," people chanted outside a conference center where the lawmakers met.

"Change was overdue. ... Maybe this change will bring jobs," said 23-year-old Thomas Manase, an unemployed university graduate.

Mugabe, who was the world's oldest head of state, said in his letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president "no later than tomorrow."

"My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, non-violent transfer of power," Mugabe said in the message read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

Recently fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa would take over as the country's leader within 48 hours, said a ruling party official, Lovemore Matuke.

Mnangagwa, who fled the country after his firing on Nov. 6, "is not far from here," Matuke said.

Mugabe can participate in a formal handover of power "so that Mnangagwa moves with speed to work for the country," Matuke said.

Slide 1 of 37: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers his speech during a live broadcast at State House in Harare, Sunday, Nov, 19. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has baffled the country by ending his address on national television without announcing his resignation.

Next Slide 1/37 SLIDES © AP Photo Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers his speech during a live broadcast at State House in Harare, Sunday, Nov, 19. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has baffled the country by ending his address on national television without announcing his resignation.

Slideshow by Photo Services Mugabe's resignation brought an end to impeachment proceedings brought by the ruling ZANU-PF party after its Central Committee voted to oust the president as party leader and replace him with Mnangagwa, a former ally of Mugabe who served for decades as his enforcer with a reputation for being astute and ruthless, more feared than popular.

Before the resignation, crowds rallied outside the parliament building, dancing and singing. Some people placed photos of Mugabe in the street so that cars would run over them. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC party said the culture of the ruling party "must end" and everyone must put their heads together and work toward free and fair elections. His party had seconded the impeachment motion.

Earlier Tuesday, Mnangagwa said in a statement that Mugabe should acknowledge the nation's "insatiable desire" for a leadership change and resign immediately.

Mnangagwa, a former justice and defense minister, added to the pressure on Mugabe to quit after a long rule during which he evolved from a champion of the fight against white minority rule into a figure blamed for a collapsing economy, government dysfunction and human rights violations.

"Never should the nation be held at ransom by one person ever again, whose desire is to die in office at whatever cost to the nation," said Mnangagwa, who has a loyal support base in the military.

Zimbabwe's polarizing first lady, Grace Mugabe, had been positioning herself to succeed her husband, leading a party faction that engineered Mnangagwa's ouster. The prospect of a dynastic succession alarmed the military, which confined Mugabe to his home last week and targeted what it called "criminals" around him who allegedly were looting

104  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

President Robert Mugabe (C) in a meeting with the ZDF Commander General Constantino Chiwenga, South African Minister of Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (in yellow head wear), Zimbabwe Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi and Zimbabwe State Security Minister Cde Kembo Mohadi at State House Harare, Zimbabwe.

state resources — a reference to associates of the first lady.

Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the military stepped in.

Mnangagwa was targeted by U.S. sanctions in the early 2000s for undermining democratic development in Zimbabwe, according to the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based policy institute.

However, J. Peter Pham, an Africa expert at the council, noted that some Zimbabwean opposition figures have appeared willing to have dialogue with Mnangagwa in order to move the country forward and that the international community should consider doing the same.

"We're not saying whitewash

the past, but it is in the interests of everyone that Zimbabwe is engaged at this critical time," Pham said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Zimbabweans People from Zimbabwe seen celebrating outside the s i m p l y Zimbabwe embassy after the house arrest of Robert enjoyed the Mugabe and the army take over, in London, England moment.

"Today's a http://allafrica.com/ good day," said Eric Machona, a stories/201711070179.html Harare resident. "People are very happy.". 

105  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

COMING TO YOUR E-MAIL BOX. Business/Government Contract Opportunities Business In Africa Commentaries/Editorials Financial Management Tech Tools for Growth Mobilization Africa Travel for Business & Pleasure

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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

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Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken is Incredibly Good

By Shirley Hawkins

I

f you like biting into juicy, succulent, mouth watering chicken just dripping with fall-off-the-bone flavor, look no further than Honey’s Kettle Chicken located in downtown Culver City.

People travel from miles around just to savor Honey’s Kettle Chicken, voted “Best Chicken in L.A.” by Los Angeles Magazine and the Huffington Post. And no wonder—its owner, chef Vincent Williams, has spent 45 years frying up millions of pieces of chicken just oozing with that unmistakable Southern flavor.

Founded 17 years ago by husband-and-wife team Vincent and Arlene Williams, the duo only uses farm-fresh, hormone and antibiotic-free chickens dipped in a secret-recipe batter and fried in 100% peanut oil.

The result is a light and crispy

battered fried chicken is nongreasy and made from scratch. ‘I fry about 600 pounds of chicken a day,” boasted Vincent, who said that he uses only the finest quality ingredients. He always keeps his ingredients top notch because one of his goals was to build “one of the greatest restaurants ever made.’’

The chicken will knock you out-but don’t forget to order Honey’s magnificent sides. If you like handmashed potatoes, freshly prepared. coleslaw, lip-smacking macaroni and cheese, sautéed green beans, scrumptious catfish, delectable corn on the cob, tasty pecan pie, iceshaker lemonade and homemade biscuits dripping with honey, make a bee-line to Honey’s.

There is always a lunchtime crowd eagerly lined up and trailing out the door, patiently waiting to get their Honey ‘fix.’ Customers have been known to tear open their orders in the paper bag and start munching the crackling, golden pieces right there on the curb.

Fans have even driven from as far away as Las Vegas and San Diego to bite into Honey’s famous bird, and celebrities such as rapper Kendrick Lamar, singers Keisha

Cole and Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah, Stevie Wonder, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and former model Tyra Banks have all ordered from Honey’s.

Believe it or not, William’s business was not an overnight success. “I went through 30 straight years of pure hell,’’ Williams recalls in his efforts to keep his business afloat. ‘’But my goal now is to build a multi-billion dollar company and to make sure to keep it in the family.”

Williams is a long-standing member of the Black Business Association. ‘’The chicken is outstanding,’” said Earl ‘Skip” Cooper II, publisher and editor of the Black Business News and the CEO and president of the Black Business Association.

“Their sides, including their mashed potatoes and green beans, are outstanding. And I really have a thing for their original blueberry biscuits.”

Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken is located at 9537 Culver Blvd. in Culver City. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Phone: 1-310-202-5453.

Website: www.honeyskettle.com. 

Buy Black!

Bank Black!

Educate Black!

Invest Black!

Shop for all of the NoMu products at: https://shop.nomu. co.za and www.amazon.com

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.

133  December 2017  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!

S

ince people from all walks of life really enjoy Down South cooking, NFL Pro Reggie Kelly thought, why not bring a piece of the South to their homes. Reggie and his wife founded KYVAN® FOODS. KYVAN® Foods is a supplier to great customers like Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Firehouse Subs, Performance Foodservice, Hot Shots Distributing and more. As stated by Reggie, “It’s my goal to pass down to my kids (Kyla & Kavan) and to everyone the gift passed down to me… An Appreciation Of Good Food.”

Thanks and God Bless!

Website: http://kyvan82.com Shop Online: http://kyvan82.com/store Store Locator: http://kyvan82.com/storelocator

Delicious Southern Flavors At Home!

Whether you’re north or south of the Mason-Dixon line, east or west of the Mississippi, Grandma Maud’s gives you a taste of the South in your own kitchen.

Try our Recipes:

//grandmamauds. com/recipes

You’ll find our Bean Meals, Southern Seasonings and Pie Fixin’s in supermarkets throughout the U.S.A. (Jewel-Osco, Mariano’s, Safeway and Kroger Stores) – and online at: (h ps://eyelevellink.com/collec ons/ vendors?q=Grandma%20Mauds) or call us at: 1-773-493-5353!

Not Just Cookies NJC is a cookie company providing, natural desserts superior in quality and taste. Our cookies and pies are made with the nest ingredients. We offer select gluten free and vegan desserts that are rich in taste. Not Just Cookies is a certi ed Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) founded by Johnathon Bush.

W

e can cater for any event or party. We offer custom packaging for all of our cookies and pies to suit any need. Cookie platters also available. Corporate gis, company parties, restaurants looking to outsource pastries, we're here for you. e menu: Turtle Cookies, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal, Butter Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin, Brownies, Snickerdoodle, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Ginger Cookies, Vegan Brownies, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Pie, and Fruit Pies (apple, cherry, blueberry or peach).

Visit www.notjustcookies.com for online shopping, store locations, shipping and catering details. Talk to us by calling: 1-800-833-4541 or send NJC an inquiry at: info@notjustcookies.net.

Remember Santa's Milk & COOKIES! 138  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

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

142  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

www.wosa.us www.winetalkwithmarcia.com

http://aaavintners.org

http://shallwewine.com

https://unclenearest.com

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

145  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Books to Consider

Books to Consider...

two composed a portrait that is as revealing of how mass media shapes present-day racism and delusion, as it is explanatory of the mid-century moment they document. It is both a meditation on Americanness and an indictment of loveless urban life.

Baldwin is appalled by a US in which “we quaintly refer to minorities”, those other than the descendants of the pilgrims, whose arrival at Plymouth Rock meant

by James Baldwin, Richard Avedon “death for the Indians, enslavement for blacks, and efore he rose from bed some mornings, James spiritual disaster for those homeless Europeans who Baldwin would watch black and white television now call themselves Americans”– just as he is appalled “to distract myself”. It that their “myth tells us that was a depressing experience, America is full of smiling which forms the entry point people” on television. to Nothing Personal, the This is illustrated most novelist and social critic’s dramatically when he 1964 collaboration with recalls two plainclothes photographer Richard police officers arresting Avedon. and separating him The book, republished and a white friend from in November, leaves one Switzerland, whom he was feeling Baldwin would have showing around New York. been even more depressed Baldwin is asked “What by modern TV. It is a point I was doing around here that has been on my mind – ‘around here’ being the since I saw the film I Am city in which I was born,” Not Your Negro, where, while his friend was given Richard Avedon & James Baldwin “a helpful tip: if he wanted to make it in America, it would be better for him not to over footage be seen with niggers.” (The officers justified the stopof a game and-frisk to Baldwin because “There had been a call show, Baldwin out to pick two guys who looked just like us. White and muses that black, you mean?”) “to watch the A great deal of the power of Nothing Personal is TV screen for the combination of Baldwin and Avedon. In stark black any length of and white, Avedon documents famous and unknown time is to learn Americans, some of whom still loom large in our some really present: the women of the Daughters of the American frightening Revolution (who played such a role in erecting the things about confederate monuments that are finally beginning the American to come down); influential evangelical preacher sense of Reverend Billy Graham (whose son Franklin recently reality”. tweeted that he’d pray for Alabama senate candidate Baldwin’s Roy Moore but not for the women accusing him of words are sexual advances when they were teenagers). used in the A foreword has been written for this edition by Hilton documentary Als. Scattered through the essay are outtake images to assert that “we are cruelly trapped between what we from the 1964 edition with Avedon’s triptych portrait of would like to be and what we are”, but they resonate Malcolm X and his triple portrait of Martin Luther Kings with modern viewers because we live in a moment Sr, Jr and III. where the gap between television and reality has, in As well as a document of its troubled times that many ways, collapsed in the US. speaks to how we live now, Nothing Personal is a Avedon was Baldwin’s classmate at DeWitt Clinton work of enormous style and proves, once again, that high school in the Bronx and in Nothing Personal, the

Nothing Personal

B

147  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Books to Consider Baldwin is unparalleled in his construction of American sentences.  www.amazon.com/Richard-Avedon-James-BaldwinPersonal/dp/3836569531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&q id=1513609825&sr=1-1&keywords=nothing+personal+jam es+baldwin

Woven into the Fabric

S

by Tsehai Essiebea Farrell

currying across Stanford’s Quad, Brenna was shocked—suddenly she just knew she was going to Africa. It’s the height of the Black Pride Movement and, unbeknownst to her, the Watts Summer Festival boldly decided to send its next Miss Watts to Africa, a metaphor of return, to mend the hearts of descendants of Africans kidnapped from their homeland centuries ago.

Her intuition proves true. In Ethiopia, Brenna has an audience with living legend Emperor Haile Selassie.

Impressed with her, the emperor arranges a meeting with his grandson, Prince Yohannes “John” Makonnen, sparking a p a s s i o n a t e courtship and a promise it will take a lifetime to honor.

Millennia earlier, young Princess Makeda begins her reign as the Queen of Sheba.

Compelled to meet King Solomon, it will change her world and bind the lands of Ethiopia and Judah forever. Brenna and Makeda are separated by a gulf of time—one from a humble background and one from royal lineage. Yet they’re connected by the similarities of their destinies and the ancient land of their birth.

A poignant, spiritual story of love and coming of age, Woven into the Fabric is based, in part, on author Tsehai Essiebea Farrell’s experiences with Emperor Selassie and his family. 

www.amazon.com/Woven-into-Fabric-Tsehai-Farrell-ebook/ dp/B0772YY8Y4

The Last Black Unicorn

F

by Tiffany Haddish

rom stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh.

If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and indemand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.

None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy.

Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others.

By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.  www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZLYVCG/ref=dp-kindleredirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

148  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Around the Way Girl: A Memoir

F

by Taraji P. Henson

rom Taraji P. Henson, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe winner, and star of the awardwinning film Hidden Figures, comes an inspiring and funny memoir—“a bona fide hit” (Essence)— about family, friends, the hustle required to make it in Hollywood, and the joy of living your own truth.

With a sensibility that recalls her beloved screen characters, including Katherine, the NASA mathematician, Yvette, Queenie, Shug, and the iconic Cookie from Empire, Taraji P. Henson writes of her family, the one she was born into and the one she created. She shares stories of her father, a Vietnam vet who was bowed but never broken by life’s challenges, and of her mother who survived violence both at home and on DC’s volatile streets. Here, too, she opens up about her experiences as a single mother, a journey some saw as a burden but which she saw as a gift.

Around the Way Girl is also a classic actor’s memoir in which Taraji reflects on the world-class instruction

she received at Howard University and how she chipped away, with one small role after another, at Hollywood's resistance to give women, particularly women of color, meaty significant roles. With laugh-out-loud humor and candor, she shares the challenges and disappointments of the actor’s journey and shows us that behind the red carpet moments, she is ever authentic. She is at heart just a girl in pursuit of her dreams in this “inspiring account of overcoming adversity and a quest for selfdiscovery, written with vitality and enthusiasm” (Shelf Awareness).  www.amazon.com/Around-Way-Girl-Taraji-Henson-ebook/ dp/B01CO34BOG/ref=pd_sim_351_3?_encoding=UTF8&p sc=1&refRID=7ZP4XD7X4Z52KTNRZ5YF

Black Business News 149  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

BBA Master Planner 2017-2018

March 2018

Financial Literacy Training & Workshops

Annual Salute to Black Women Business Conference, Vendor Faire & Awards Luncheon

Local banking and financial institutions in collaboration with the BBA provide financial literacy training for its members and aspiring Youth Entrepreneurs. For general particiation and information visit www.bbala.org and call 1-323-291-9334. 

In recognition of National Women’s History Month, this conference highlights the achievements of African American women entrepreneurs, along with workshop, including a workshop designed especially for young ladies between 13 and 18 years of age, entitled “Role Models for Success.” This conference also provides the opportunity for vendors to promote and sell their goods Black History Month Annual and services in the Vendor Faire. A favorite feature of the annual Salute is the African American Awards Dinner & Celebration Dessert Buffet. For particiation and sponsorship In recognition of Black History Month, the annual information visit www.bbala.org and call 1-323awards dinner highlights the achievements of Afri291-9334.  can American entrepreneurs and the government agencies and corporate entities that provide support for African American businesses. For particiation and sponsorship information visit www.bbala. org and call 1-323-291-9334. 

February 2018

April 2018

All About Supplier Diversity Certification

Business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs learn about supplier diversity certifications, which certifications they are eligible for, how to apply; and how to leverage certifications for contracting opportunities. This workshop is conducted in collaboration with Thomas & Webster. For particiation and sponsorship information visit www. bbala.org and call 1-323291-9334. 

150  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Resource Vault Media/Information Africa Interactive Multimedia Press/Content Agency in Africa -- www.africa-interactive.com Africa is a Country -- www.africasacountry.com Africa News & Stories -- http://africatodaytv.com Africa Newsroom -- www.africa-newsroom.com Africa World Now Project -- www.africaworldnowproject.org 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 AfricaFocus -- www.africafocus.org Africast TV -- www.africast.tv The African World -- www.theafricanworld.tv Afritorial -- www.afritorial.com www.facebook.com/Afritorial AllAfrica (news) -- 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 Black Then -- https://blackthen.com Blavity Inc. -- www.blavity.com BridesNoir -- www.bridesnoir.com The Chocolate Voice -- www.thechocolatevoice.com CuisineNoir -- www.cuisinenoirmag.com DiasporaVoice -- www.blogtalkradio.com/diasporavoice How Africa, The Rise of Africa -- http://howafrica.com KweliTV -- www.facebook.com/kwelitv Macauhub -- www.facebook.com/Macauhub Publish Africa -- http://wow.gm/publishafrica Red Media Africa -- www.facebook.com/RedMediaAfrica Rock Me Africa -- //rockmeafrica.com YouTube Educational Channels -- http://teacherswithapps.com/197-educational-youtube-channels-know United Nations -- http://webtv.un.org World Library -- www.worldlibrary.org

African Technology Foundation -- www.thea25n.com Black Female Founders -- www.blackfemalefounders. org Nigeria (Africa) financial news -- //nairametrics.com She Leads Africa -- http://sheleadsafrica.org

Organizations African Leadership Forum -- http://afrialeadership.org African Union -- www.au.int/en Black Business Association -- www.bbala.org Black Emergency Managers Association International -- www.blackemergmanagersassociation.org CauseCast -- www.causecast.com www.causecastfornonprofits.com Community Healing Network -- www. communityhealingnet.org Pan African Film Festival -- www.paff.org StayWoke -- www.staywoke.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

U.S. Government Commerce Department -- www.doc.gov International Trade Administration -- http://trade.gov Minority Business Development Agency -- www.mbda.

Culture/Arts Cultural Events/Content -- www.okayafrica.com Hungry Black Man -- https://thehungryblackman.com Shadow & Act -- //shadowandact.com/about-us

Commerce/Entrepreneurship #IAMWANDA -- www.facebook.com/IamWANDAorg African Success Stories -- www.risingafrica.org

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

Resource Vault 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

152  December 2017  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819