Our Path to Independence: Support Black Business Enterprises
Publisher's Message
W
e have seen several trends emerge regarding the state of African American-owned businesses in 2017. The annual ranking by Black Enterprise Magazine of the top 100 Black-owned Businesses in America topped out with World Wide Technology, founded in 1990, has grown into a global firm with more than $7 billion in revenue and 4,000 employees. Followed by ACT 1, headquartered in Torrance, California, led by Janice Bryant Howroyd, President and CEO. Howroyd and ACT 1 have been an Pubisher/Chief Executive Officer example of being committed to positive growth and expansion. The Act-1 Group is a multibillion-dollar awardwinning international Talent and Talent Technology enterprise with multiple divisions operating in 19 countries with over 17,000 clients and 2,600 employees worldwide. Next there are companies like Radio One, whose fifty-five radio stations span out among 16 national markets. The combined revenues of the top 100 Black-owned business enterprises, which also includes Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, now totals more than $24 billion, a nine-fold increase since 1973, adjusting for inflation. Upon closer examination of the numbers from Black Enterprise Magazine’s ranking, we see these pioneering companies are the exception to a far more alarming trend. Over the last 30 years have also brought the wholesale collapse of many Black-owned independent businesses; and financial institutions that once anchored Black communities across the country. In 1985, sixty (60) Black-owned banks were providing financial services to their communities; today, only 23 remain. In the 11 states that headquartered Black-owned banks in 1994, only one is still in business – One United Bank, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Of the 50 Black-owned insurance companies that operated during the 1980s, today sadly, only two remain. Over the same period, tens of thousands of Blackowned manufacturers, construction companies, retail establishments and local service companies have gone out of business, with no succession plan in place, did not invest in technology-based infrastructure for their businesses to remain competitive, or have been acquired by larger companies. However, the good news is that the Small Business Administration and other financial institutions are now beginning to step up to the plate to meet the underserved African American-owned business community, such as Pacific Premier Bank, U.S. Bank, City National Bank, Comerica also, by providing additional resources for access to capital, the much needed financial literacy training; and more. In an effort to meet the need for financial training in the Black Business community,
Black Business News Group P.O. Box 43159 Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA 1-323-291-7819 Fax: 1-323-298-5064
www.blackbusinessnews.net PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sarah Harris Dean L. Jones Phyllis Dixon
ENTREPRENEUR EDITOR Kim Anthony
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Linda Ware
PRODUCTION MANAGER Narishima Osei
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dean Jones Linda Ware Ralph D. Sutton Timothy Lester, Jr. Veronica Hendrix Giavanna Foster P. Yvette Thomas Aman Williams LaSandra Stratton
GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris Tia Robinson
STORY EDITORS Wanda Flagg Jennifer Marie Hamilton
PHOTOGRAPHY Ian Foxx Sabir Narishima Osei
CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR La Sandra Stratton
LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications Copyright © 2017 by Black Business News All Rights Reserved. The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
see Publisher's Message on page 45 3 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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.
View back issues at: https://issuu.com/blackbusinessnews
2017 Black Business Association Upcoming Events
Octobe 201 7
Black Business Day Procurement & Awards Summit Black Business News Group Publications Black Business News Black Business News International Black Business News Travel Africa
Contents
Black Business News… 3
Publisher's Message
Government 10 12 14 16
The Budget Message of the President Cash and Off-Shore Account Regulations Trump Team’s Queries About Africa Point to Skepticism About Aid The Real Injustice Wasn't Pulling Over Aramis Ayala
Entertainment 20 25
BBN Show Biz Buzz Ava DuVernay Bringing Central Park Five Limited Series to Netflix
Editorials/Perspectives 38 48 66
Family Succession Planning: How to Do It Right
Facing the Assault on Civil Rights EFF Score's Apple at 4 Stars for Handling of Government Data Requests What Happens When the Robots Get All the Jobs?
Community/Public Interest 82 83 86
Business 26
for Female Entrepreneurs
Michelle Obama Made an Important Public Appearance Michelle Obama Addresses Racist Attacks She Endured As First Lady Terence Daniels, National Big Brother of the Year
Obituary/Memorials 88 89 90
Gertrude “Gertie” Brown Lee May Dies Ron Taylor
International 94 98 99
"From Day One: An Agenda for Advancing Women Leaders in Africa," Madonna Welcomed in Malawi as 'Daughter of this Nation' USTDA Accepting Proposals for Energy Projects in Africa
Columns 28 29 30 32 36 42 46 62 73
What You Need to Know About Using USPS Informed Delivery Kauffman Moonshot Challenge. 8 Tips to Master a More Paperless Life With Evernote 5 Brain Training Techniques to Cultivate Your Creative Genius ABO Capital: Contributing to Africa’s Economic Growth Story IOC to Pick Los Angeles, Paris for 2024 or 2028 Olympics Five Cities Receive Half-a-Million-Dollar Grants to Boost Spending with Black Businesses Why Every Leader Needs to Be Obsessed With Technology Hello Alice: The AI-based Virtual Advisor
78 101 106 136 139 140
Take A Look! African Stock Exchanges Shopping Gallery Books to Consider... BBA Master Planner Resource Vault
5 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
by Congressional Progressive Caucus
D
ebates over America’s infrastructure often focus on productivity, growth, and costs, but can sometimes overlook the human dimension of the crisis. Lead-contaminated drinking water in Michigan; dilapidated public schools in Oklahoma; collapsing bridges in Minnesota; flooded cities in Texas; and inadequate and unaffordable housing in every community —each aspect of America’s crumbling infrastructure harms real people and stifles human potential in the world’s wealthiest country. Countless personal stories behind America’s deficient infrastructure
contribute to a staggering economic and social toll. The scope of the problem ranges from the simple annoyance of bumper-to-bumper traffic, which amounts to billions of lost hours every year, to the tragic effect of air pollution, which causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths annually and devastates the health of low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Government spending on infrastructure as a share of the economy has fallen to a two-decade low, yet for every $1 invested in public-sector infrastructure, our economy would gain $1.70 back
through greater employment and efficiency. A vision for infrastructure that invests our resources in people—a plan that produces millions of family-sustaining jobs, raises living standards, reduces inequality, strengthens education, reduces poverty, and cleans our environment—is more urgent than ever. But President Trump and the Republicans are intent on pursuing the exact opposite approach. The Republican agenda is a sham, hardly investing any new resources into infrastructure while aiming to slash existing federal programs. In reality, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are
6 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
pushing a trillion-dollar corporate giveaway that would create tax incentives for Wall Street to privatize our roads, bridges, sanitation systems, and utilities, while raising tolls, fees, and bills— all through taxpayer subsidies. Even worse, their approach will leave the infrastructure that we depend on in utter disrepair unless it generates a profit for private investors.[1] The Congressional Progressive Caucus presents a real alternative, crafted in partnership with the grassroots: a 21st Century New Deal for Jobs, which aims to do no less than transform the foundations of America’s economy. Drawing on the legacy of President Franklin Roosevelt’s bold vision and adapting it to a modern context, our 21st Century New Deal for Jobs makes Wall Street, big corporations, and the wealthiest pay their fair share in order to put America back to work. It invests $2 trillion over 10 years,
employing 2.5 million Americans in its first year, to rebuild our transportation, water, energy, and information systems, while massively overhauling our country’s unsafe and inefficient schools, homes, and public buildings. Yet the New Deal for Jobs’detailed plan to nurture a vibrant, 21st century economy goes much further than rapidly achieving full employment and sustaining it over a decade. It recognizes that plentiful, dignified jobs are not enough. They must be paired with an agenda that empowers women and communities of color while protecting the planet. Unlike the Republican agenda, a 21st Century New Deal for Jobs puts real money in the pockets of ordinary workers and families. A New Deal for Jobs mandates local hiring in addition to raising the benchmark for locally prevailing wages in each area, increasing infrastructure workers’ paychecks. The proposal further cements its
commitment to working people by prioritizing the hiring of our veterans and demanding robust Buy America provisions in every federal procurement decision for labor and materials. The 21st Century New Deal for Jobs combines strong job and wage growth with the fundamental principles of social and racial justice, targeting employment for those who have been systematically shut out of economic growth. This means that job training and local hiring will reflect the racial and gender diversity of the community’s workforce and those seeking employment. Federal procurement will prioritize minority- and womenowned businesses, cooperatives and employee-owned firms, and community-owned and municipal enterprises. Recognizing the jobcreating power of small businesses, we also aim to increase funds awarded through programs such as see page 8
INVESTING $2 TRILLION OVER 10 YEARS Sector
First-year Investment (in billions)
Jobs Created in First year
Roads and Bridges
$39
487,500
Pre-K – 12 Public Schools
$10
125,000
Drinking Water and Wastewater
$35
437,500
Energy
$50
625,000
High-speed Broadband
$10
125,000
Affordable Housing
$ 6
75,000
Transit
$35
437,500
Airports, Ports, and Waterways
$ 6
75,000
Veterans Affairs Facilities
$ 3
37,500
Indian Country and Public Lands Building Resiliency, Protecting Infrastructure, and Increasing
$ 3.5
43,750
Cybersecurity
$ 2.5
31,250
Totals
$200
2,500,000
7 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government New Deal for Jobs
from page 7
Historically Underutilized Business Zones. Furthermore, the 21st Century New Deal for Jobs gives precedence to the infrastructure needs of people who are struggling the most. Lower-income people and communities of color coping with elevated unemployment— both rural and urban alike—will play a leading role in determining their own infrastructure gaps and solutions. It also calls for local and regional planning that considers equity of access to transportation across communities. The New Deal for Jobs marks a clear contrast with the infrastructure priorities of Republicans, who promote prisons and militarized border fences. Rather, a New Deal for Jobs improves Americans’ quality of life by removing toxins like lead and asbestos; revitalizing parks and schools; expanding the supply of safe, decent and affordable housing; ambitiously connecting our entire country through affordable high-speed internet and high-speed rail; cleaning our air and water; and shortening our travels in public transit, cars, and planes. Finally, the New Deal for Jobs
invests the necessary resources into averting catastrophic climate change while generating millions of new jobs and positioning the United States as a global leader in the fastgrowing industries and technologies of the future. New smart-grid strategies will revolutionize our outdated electricity transmission system and democratize energy production, promoting clean, carbon-free alternatives. Largescale public financing for energyefficiency retrofits in America’s buildings will drastically minimize waste while saving families money. Crucially, a New Deal for Jobs prioritizes federally funded employment opportunities within this burgeoning new sector for workers and communities who currently depend on fossil-fuel production. A program as sweeping and ambitious as the 21st Century New Deal for Jobs must be guided by an ethos of building smart. Our plan integrates high-quality planning, cost controls, and maintenance into all initiatives while allocating additional human and technical resources to manage community and environmental approval processes. A New Deal for Jobs build-smart philosophy also mandates state-ofthe-art security measures to protect America’s electrical grid, dams,
broadband networks, and other vital infrastructure from cyber- and physical attacks. Americans across the political spectrum are realizing that our country’s infrastructure is in desperate need of overhaul. But the contrast between the Republican vision and our 21st Century New Deal for Jobs could not be starker in either size or scope. The Congressional Progressive Caucus forcefully rejects an infrastructure agenda that wastes tens of billions of dollars on useless projects such as a thousands-of-miles-long border wall that threatens human and environmental safety. The 21st Century New Deal for Jobs lays out, in careful detail, a humane framework for revitalizing our infrastructure in service to the health of our people and planet. Our plan offers a path toward a fairer economy in which we can all thrive. It is proof that our country’s complex infrastructure challenges can be guided by a simple principle: public money should go toward the public good. https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/21stcentury-new-deal-for-jobs
https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/ uploads/LIEU_Infrastructure_ Jobs_Resolution.pdf
Buy Black! Educate Black! Bank Black! Invest Black! 8 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
9 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
THE BUDGET MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/budget.pdf
To The Congress of The United States:
I
recently spoke to a joint session of the Congress about what we need to do to begin a new chapter of American Greatness. I asked the Nation to look forward nine years and imagine the wonders we could achieve by America’s 250th anniversary of our Independence if we set free the dreams of our people by removing the barriers holding back our economic growth. This Budget’s defining ambition
is to unleash the dreams of the American people. This requires laying a new foundation for American Greatness. Through streamlined Government, we will drive an economic boom that raises incomes and expands job opportunities for all Americans. Faster economic growth, coupled with fiscal restraint, will enable us to fully fund our national priorities, balance our budget, and start to pay down our national debt. Our moral commitment to replacing our current economic stagnation with faster economic growth rests on the following eight pillars of reform: Health Reform. We need to
enable Americans to buy the healthcare they need at a price they can afford. To this end, we must repeal Obamacare and its burdensome regulations and mandates, and replace it with a framework that restores choice and competition. This will lower the cost of care so that more Americans can get the medical attention they need. Additionally, Medicaid, which inadequately serves enrollees and taxpayers, must be reformed to allow States to manage their own programs, with continued financial support from the Federal Government. Tax Reform and Simplification. We must reduce the tax burden on American workers and businesses, so that we can maximize incomes and economic growth. We must also simplify our tax system, so that individuals and businesses do not waste countless hours and resources simply paying their taxes. Immigration Reform. We must reform immigration policy so that it serves our national interest. We will adopt commonsense proposals that protect American workers, reduce burdens on taxpayers and public resources, and focus Federal funds
on underserved and disadvantaged citizens. Reductions in Federal Spending. We must scrutinize every dollar the Federal Government spends. Just as families decide how to manage limited budgets, we must ensure the Federal Government spends precious taxpayer dollars only on our highest national priorities, and always in the most efficient, effective manner. Regulatory Rollback. We must eliminate every outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective Federal regulation, and move aggressively to build regulatory frameworks that stimulate—rather than stagnate— job creation. Even for those regulations we must leave in place, we must strike every provision that is counterproductive, ineffective, or outdated. American Energy Development. We must increase development of America’s energy resources, strengthening our national security,
10 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
lowering the price of electricity and transportation fuels, and driving down the cost of consumer goods so that every American individual and business has more money to save and invest. A consistent, longterm supply of lower-cost American energy brings with it a much larger economy, more jobs, and greater security for the American people. Welfare Reform. We must reform our welfare system so that it does not discourage able-bodied adults from working, which takes away scarce resources from those in real need. Work must be the center of our social policy. Education Reform. We need to return decisions regarding education back to the State and local levels, while advancing opportunities for parents and students to choose, from all available options, the
school that best fits their needs to learn and succeed.
T
*** o unleash the power of American work and creativity—and drive
opportunity and faster economic growth—we must reprioritize Federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people. This Budget, therefore, includes $639 billion for the Department of Defense—a $52 billion increase from the 2017 annualized continuing resolution level. This increase will be offset by targeted reductions elsewhere. This defense funding is vital to rebuilding, modernizing, and preparing our Armed Forces for the future so that our military remains the world’s preeminent fighting force and we can continue to ensure peace through strength.
This Budget also increases funding to take care of our great veterans, who have served their country with such honor and distinction. The Budget also meets the need to materially increase funding for border security, immigration enforcement, and law enforcement at the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice. These funding increases will provide additional resources for a southern border wall, expanded detention capacity, and initiatives to reduce violent crime, as well as more immigration judges, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and Border Patrol agents. The Budget also invests significant resources in
efforts to combat opioid abuse. In these dangerous times, our increased attention to public safety and national security sends a clear message to the world—a message of American strength and resolve. It follows through on my promise to
focus on keeping Americans safe, keeping terrorists out of our Nation, and putting violent offenders behind bars. As this Budget returns us to economic prosperity, it will also allow us to fund additional priorities, including infrastructure, student loan reform, and initiatives to help working families such as paid parental leave. We will champion the hardworking taxpayers who have been ignored for too long. Once we end our economic stagnation and return to robust growth, so many of our aspirations will be within reach. It is now up to the Congress to act. I pledge my full cooperation in ending the economic malaise that has, for too long, crippled the dreams of our people. The time for small thinking is over. As we look forward to our 250th year, I am calling upon all Members of Congress to join me in striving to do big and bold and daring things for our Nation. We have it in our power to set free the dreams of our people. Let us begin. www.whitehouse.gov
11 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - Banking/Finance Editorial & Civil Asset Forfeiture
Cash and Off-Shore Account Regulations By Chris Lowe, Editor, Inner Circle
A
According to The Washington Post, since 2007, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA - www.dea. gov/index.shtml) alone has seized more $3.2 billion in cash from Americans in cases where no civil or criminal charges were brought against the owners of the cash. And forget about opening up a bank account offshore to diversify your risk of these kinds of clampdowns. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA (www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/foreignaccount-tax-compliance-act-fatca), became law in 2010. It imposes a lot of red tape on foreign banks with U.S. clients. And the costs of complying with all this red tape means opening up bank accounts for Americans no longer justifies the benefits of overseas banks. As a result, it’s now extremely difficult for Americans to open accounts overseas.
lready, as an American, you are not free to spend your money as you see fit. JPMorgan Chase—the country’s biggest bank—has banned cash payments for credit card debt, mortgages, and car loans. It has also banned the storage of “any cash or coins” in safe deposit boxes. And all U.S. banks now view large cash withdrawals www.palmbeachgroup.com as suspicious. Under the Bank Secrecy Act (www.irs.gov/businesses/ small-businesses-self-employed/bank-secrecy-act), if you withdraw $10,000 or more in a day, your bank is required to file something called a Currency Transaction Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN, http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/ docs/FinCENCTRElectronicFilingRequirements.pdf). This by Natalie Delgadillo is a special bureau within the U.S. Department of tate politicians on both sides of the aisle have the Treasury (www.treasury.gov) that’s tasked with increasingly worked to curb the practice. Now, combatting money laundering, terrorist financing, and the attorney general may have made their efforts other financial crimes. And your bank is required to file something called a pointless. Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed an order on Suspicious Activity Report (https://nsi.ncirc.gov) with FinCEN if it believes you are trying to avoid triggering Wednesday reversing the Obama administration's limits a Currency Transaction Report by withdrawing smaller on civil asset forfeiture, a widely criticized practice in cash amounts. This puts all cash withdrawals under which law enforcement officers seize cash and property from citizens the microscope. who have And taking out cash from the bank isn’t the only not been activity the government deems suspicious. charged Other actions that will trigger a report being filed with crimes. with the feds include: depositing $10,000 or more in The policy cash with your bank… a foreign exchange transaction c h a n g e worth $10,000 or more… taking more than $10,000 comes as in cash into or out of the U.S… receiving more than a number $10,000 in cash in a single payment as a business… of states -or having more than $10,000 in accounts outside the both red and U.S. during a calendar year. blue -- have And even if you manage to get your cash out of clamped your bank, having it on your person also makes you d o w n a target of the authorities. on civil Under civil asset forfeiture laws, police and forfeiture federal agents can confiscate any cash you might abuses, and have on you if they merely suspect it was involved it will allow in a crime. They don’t need to bring criminal charges local police against you or prove any wrongdoing. And they can Attorney Jeff Sessions keep any seized cash for themselves.
Sessions' New Order Lets Police Circumvent State Laws on Civil Asset Forfeiture
S
12 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
departments to circumvent state laws that restrict the practice. "Civil asset forfeiture is a key tool that helps law enforcement defund organized crime, take back ill-gotten gains, and prevent new crimes from being committed, and it weakens the criminals and the cartels," said Sessions when he announced the order to a group of law enforcement officials. "In departments across this country, funds that were once used to take lives are now being used to save lives." In most states and cities, police departments get to keep most or all of the money and property they seize, which has led some departments to depend on forfeitures as a critical source of funding. Civil forfeiture has critics on both the right and the left, largely because of the low burden of proof required to seize a person’s property. “The law doesn’t require you to be charged, much less convicted, of any crime [to have your possessions taken],” says Darpana Sheth, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm that represents civil forfeiture clients. “And because it’s a civil proceeding, people are not afforded the right to counsel like they would be in a criminal proceeding.” That means people have to pay for an attorney to represent them while they try to regain their possessions -- an expense that often exceeds the value of the confiscated goods in the first place. “If [the police] take $500 from you during a traffic stop, the legal fees and everything turn out to be more than what you already lost,” says Louis Rulli, a clinical law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading forfeiture expert. Over the last decade, shocking stories of individual and systemic abuse have made national headlines.
In 2016, Oklahoma police stopped a Christian band manager for a broken tail light and ended up seizing $53,000 in concert revenue and charity donations to an orphanage. The Washington Post reported a lengthy exposé on police taking hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists never charged with crimes. In Tenaha, Texas, authorities systematically confiscated motorists' property and threatened them with criminal charges unless they signed waivers giving up their possessions (the department later used the money to buy, among other things, a popcorn machine). The potential for abuse has led several states to rein in police power to seize property. In the last three years, 24 states have comprehensively reformed their forfeiture laws, according to Sheth. As of July 10, when Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed H.B. 8146, 14 states require a criminal conviction before seized assets can be legally forfeited to authorities (if no conviction results, the assets must be returned to their owner). Several states have other types of restrictions -- some ban the use of forfeited assets for law enforcement services and reroute the money to other public services, thereby eliminating the profit motive some say leads to abuse of the practice. (For a specific list of individual state policies, visit the Institute of Justice’s interactive map.) But Sessions' order gives officers a way to bypass state restrictions. It revives a program called Equitable Sharing (https:// en .w ik i pe di a. o rg / wi ki /E q u it ab l e_ sharing) or “adoptive forfeiture,”
which allows local law enforcement to process forfeiture cases under federal statute and “share” the assets with federal authorities. In practice, the federal government
sends up to 80% of the assets right back to local departments, effectively allowing them to get around stricter state laws, says Rulli. Eric Holder, Obama's attorney general, eliminated adoptive forfeiture except in rare cases. “Sessions is calling [adoptive forfeiture] a ‘partnership’ between the federal government and states,” says Rulli, “but in fact, it’s an attack on federalism and the ability of states to decide for themselves how they should handle this [issue].” Rulli and Sheth agree that Sessions is moving against a growing tide of politicians and public officials on both sides of the aisle who believe civil forfeiture is a blatant abuse of power. Earlier this year, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas -- one of the most conservative members of the court -- attacked the practice, writing that it “has led to egregious and well-chronicled abuses.” Several bipartisan bills have been introduced in Congress to reform federal civil forfeiture laws, at least one of which would eliminate adoptive forfeitures. “[Sessions’] new directive shows the incredible importance of Congress taking immediate action and passing comprehensive bills to reform forfeiture” and prevent local departments from circumventing state laws, says Sheth. In the meantime, Sheth suggests states should prohibit law enforcement officers in their state from participating in the Equitable Sharing Program. “This new directive bucks the trend of where states have been going,” she says. “It appears that everyone but the Justice Department understands the need for reform.” www.governing.com/topics/publicjustice-safety/gov-civil-asset-forfeituredirective-jeff-sessions-police.html
13 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government
Trump Team’s Queries About Africa Point to Skepticism About Aid By Helene Cooper
A
four-page list of Africa-related questions from the Donald Trump transition staff has been making the rounds at the State Department and Pentagon, alarming longtime Africa specialists who say the framing and the tone of the questions suggest an American retreat from development and humanitarian goals, while at the same time trying to push forward business opportunities across the continent. “How does U.S. business compete with other nations in Africa? Are we losing out to the Chinese?” asks one of the first questions in the unclassified document provided to The New York Times. That is quickly followed with queries about humanitarian assistance money. “With so much corruption in Africa, how much of our funding is stolen? Why should we spend these funds on Africa when we are suffering here in the U.S.?” Some of the questions are those that should be asked by a new administration seeking to come to grips with the hows and whys behind longstanding American national security and foreign assistance policies. But it is difficult to know whether the probing, critical tone of other questions indicates that significant policy changes should be expected. On terrorism, the document asks why the United States is even bothering to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, why all of
the schoolgirls kidnapped by the group have not been rescued and whether Qaeda operatives from Africa are living in the United States. And it questions the effectiveness of one of the more significant counterterrorism efforts on the continent. “We’ve been fighting al-Shabaab for a decade, why haven’t we won?” poses one question, referring to the terrorist group based in Somalia that was behind the Westgate mall attacks in Kenya in 2013. Although the document represents a first look at how the new administration might approach policy toward Africa, a subject that was rarely touched on during the campaign, officials with the Trump transition team did not respond to queries about the list.
the Woodrow Wilson Institute. But she also noted that “the framing of some of their questions suggests a narrower definition of U.S. interests in Africa, and a more transactional and short-term approach to policy and engagement with African countries.” Ms. Muyangwa said the queries could signal “a dramatic turn in how the United States will engage with the continent.” J. Peter Pham, who has been mentioned for the job of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in a Trump administration, said he does not expect Mr. Trump to do a complete U-turn in relations with Africa. Mr. Pham, director of the Africa program at the Atlantic Council, said he expects Mr. Trump will
“Many of the questions that they are asking are the right questions that any incoming administration should ask,” said Monde Muyangwa, the director of the Africa program at
emphasize fighting extremism on the continent, while also looking to enhance opportunities for American businesses. In other questions, the Trump
14 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
transition team challenges the benefits of a trade pact known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “Most of AGOA imports are petroleum products, with the benefits going to national oil companies, why do we support that massive benefit to corrupt regimes?” the questionnaire asks. Yet Mr. Pham said he expected a Trump administration would support the pact. “AGOA has created more than 120,000 jobs in the United States,” Mr. Pham said in an interview. A big unknown, though, is how a Trump administration will handle foreign assistance to the continent
budget. “We’ve been hunting Kony for years, is it worth the effort?” poses another series of questions related to Joseph Kony, the warlord head of Uganda’s violent guerrilla group the Lord’s Resistance Army, who has eluded the authorities for three decades. “The LRA has never attacked U.S. interests, why do we care? Is it worth the huge cash outlays? I hear that even the Ugandans are looking to stop searching for him, since they no longer view him as a threat, so why do we?” The hunt for Mr. Kony and his fighters has generated a huge
and its 54 nations. President George W. Bush quadrupled foreign assistance levels to African countries, and President Obama largely maintained that, even as his administration was making cuts elsewhere. Even so, the amount of American aid in 2015 to other critical allies — Afghanistan ($5.5 billion), Israel ($3.1 billion), Iraq ($1.8 billion) and Egypt ($1.4 billion) — far exceeded the approximately $8 billion for all of sub-Saharan Africa. The questions seem to reflect the inaccurate view shared by many Americans about how much the United States spends on foreign aid and global health programs. Polls show that Americans believe the country spends 25% of its budget on foreign aid — but the truth is that foreign aid is just 1% of the federal
amount of publicity around the world, in large part because of a video on his elusiveness and brutality, “Kony 2012,” that has been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube. But other questions, foreign policy experts say, return to a theme of a continent that has squandered American money and effort. The questions challenge, for instance, a hallmark of Mr. Bush’s Africa policy — the Pepfar program, which has provided billions to fight AIDS and tuberculosis in Africa. Rex W. Tillerson, Mr. Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, complimented the program, calling Pepfar “one of the most extraordinarily successful programs in Africa” during his Senate nomination hearing. But, in contrast, the Trump
transition questionnaire asks, “Is PEPFAR worth the massive investment when there are so many security concerns in Africa? Is PEPFAR becoming a massive, international entitlement program?” J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the questions showed an “overwhelmingly negative and disparaging outlook” on the continent. “A strange attitude runs through this,” he said. “There’s a sort of recurrent skepticism that Africa matters to U.S. interests at all. It’s entirely negative in orientation.” But the questions do appear to accurately reflect what Mr. Trump has said publicly about Africa in the few times that he has mentioned the continent. For instance, during the Ebola crisis in 2014, Mr. Trump took to Twitter to argue that Americans infected with Ebola should not be allowed back into the United States. As two American health workers became critically ill and were airlifted to Atlanta for treatment, Mr. Trump had this to say via Twitter: “Stop the EBOLA patients from entering the U.S. Treat them, at the highest level, over there. THE UNITED STATES HAS ENOUGH PROBLEMS!” The Ebola epidemic, which killed almost 10,000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia (but no Americans), comes up once in the document. “How,” the questionnaire asks, “do we prevent the next Ebola outbreak from hitting the U.S.?” www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/world/ africa/africa-donald-trump.html
15 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - Opinion
The Real Injustice Wasn't Pulling Over Aramis Ayala By Issac Bailey
State Attorney Aramis Ayala
I can't get worked up over Florida's only black state attorney, Aramis Ayala, being pulled over by police during an uneventful traffic stop. We should reserve our outrage for what really matters, that Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been trying to strip Ayala of her power because she's trying to make the criminal justice system a little more just. Although I've watched the video of Ayala's stop several times, I don't see anything untoward. The officer is professional and courteous, as
is Ayala. The officer's explanations about the stop also make sense. It is not unreasonable for police officers to routinely check license plates, and dark tinted windows have long been a concern for officers' safety during such stops. Ayala did nothing wrong, either. If there is evidence that she had been repeatedly pulled over during the previous several months or years -like the four dozen times Philando Castile had been stopped in Minnesota before he was killed by an officer for no good reason,
despite the jury's verdict -- that would raise alarm bells and justify the enormous attention the benign stop has received this week. It's previous police stops, like Castile's, and the lack of justice that has followed, that really caused the outrage many have expressed in reaction to Ayala's stop. This is, and will continue to be, the instinctive reaction of those who are tired of seeing the inability -or unwillingness -- of prosecutors, fellow officers, judges and juries to hold cops accountable when they
16 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
step over the line. The entire justice system seems geared towards excusing or explaining away their behavior, no matter how egregious, no matter how deadly. It's among the clearest evidence of the erosion of trust that has taken place because society hasn't yet decided that justice for all actually means justice for all. The more accountable cops are held when they cause unnecessary pain or death, the less likely a routine traffic will lead to national headlines. Ayala should not be remembered for being pulled over by police, but rather because a governor, who doesn't seem to understand the definition of justice, has reassigned more than 20 homicide cases from her docket to another prosecutor. Not too long ago, Ayala did what
more prosecutors should do, declare she will no longer seek the death penalty. She didn't do it to endear herself to those of like minds. She did it after recognizing the obvious, that the death penalty does not deter crime, is not administered fairy or equally and is an unnecessary killing of a human being. While Gov. Scott has claimed Ayala is not fully committed to justice because she refuses to use an ineffective, unjust prosecutorial tool, removing the death penalty from the menu of options a defendant could face would lead to a fairer, if still imperfect, system. And that's what prosecutors are supposed to be about, justice, not vengeance. Instead of focusing on the
uneventful traffic stop, we should understand that the real problem here is that Ayala was punished for using her influence and power to better protect the downtrodden, who are the most likely to be victims of police misconduct and an unfair court system. Imagine how much more just the criminal justice system would be if more prosecutors -- this country's ultimate legal gatekeepers -- were willing to fight against injustice, even if it meant having to forfeit the right to participate in state-ordered, state-sanctioned killing or resulted in a lower win percentage in court. The cop who stopped Ayala should not be punished for doing his job; neither should she. www.cnn.com/2017/07/16/opinions/outrageover-rick-scott-treatment-of-aramis-ayalaopinion-bailey/index.html
Buy Black! Bank Black! Educate Black! Invest Black! 17 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBN Show Biz Buzz By Linda Ware
Samuel L. Jackson Bringing Nick Fury to ‘Captain Marvel’
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umors began popping up on the fanboy sites over the Independence Day holiday that Samuel L. Jackson was reprising his role as Avengers architect and recruiter Nick Fury in Disney/ Marvel’s Captain Marvel. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and we hear it’s true that Jackson will be making an appearance in the movie. The last time we saw Fury was in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Prior to that Fury was actually shot and hospitalized in 2014’s Captain America: Winter Soldier.. http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/samuel-ljackson-bringing-nick-fury-to-%e2%80%98captainmarvel%e2%80%99/ar-BBDV9Zg?ocid=spartandhp
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Wimbledon Final
ll these years later, Wimbledon still brings out the best in Venus Williams. With her latest display of gutsy serving and big hitting, Williams beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday to reach her ninth title match at the All England Club and first since 2009. At 37, Williams is the oldest Wimbledon finalist since Martina Navratilova was the 1994 runner-up at that age. Williams also stopped Konta's bid to become the first woman from Britain in 40 years to win the country's Grand Slam tournament. "I couldn't have asked for more, but I'll ask for a little more. One more win would be amazing," Williams said. "It won't be a given, but I'm going to give it my all.". "I'll have to ask Serena for some pointers," Venus Williams said. "Serena's always in my corner. And usually it's her in these finals, so I'm trying my best to represent `Williams' as best as I can." by Aditya Dogra
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/tennis/venus-williams-into-9thwimbledon-final-will-face-muguruza/ar-BBEkT1l?ocid=spartandhp
© Provided by Deadline
Venus Williams into 9th
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Ear Hustle: Prison Life Podcast Series ar Hustle brings you the stories of life inside prison,shared and produced by those living it. The podcast is a partnership between Earlonne
20 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Woods and A n t w a n Williams, currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and Nigel Poor, a Bay Area artist. The team works in San Quentin’s media lab to produce stories that are sometimes difficult, often funny and always honest, offering a nuanced view of people living within the American prison system. Find the podcast and more information at www.earhustlesq. com.
the way. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Chris Pine play Meg’s parents, two world-renowned physicists, the latter of whom disappears under mysterious circumstances. By Marc Snetiker Edits: BBN www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/a-wrinkle-in-time-first-lookoprah-winfrey-reese-witherspoon-mindy-kaling-and-more/arBBEif8S?ocid=spartandhp
Beyonce Introduces Twins Sir and Rumi in First Official Photo
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eyoncé introduced the world to twins Sir and Rumi Carter in the first official photo of her and Jay-Z's newborns. The singer posted the photo on Instagram with the caption, "Sir Carter and Rumi 1 month today."
https://www.earhustlesq.com
'A Wrinkle in Time' First Look
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he story 'A Wrinkle in Time' is Disney’s upcoming (due in theaters March 9, 2018) fantasy epic about an ordinary teenager named Meg (Storm Reid) who’s whisked on a cosmic adventure to find her missing scientist father (Chris Pine) with the help of three chimerical celestial beings who help her “wrinkle” time and space: philosophizing Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), inquisitive Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), and wizened Mrs. Which Ava DuVernay & Storm Reid (Oprah Winfrey). Director Ava DuVe rnay p l u c k e d 14-year-old Reid from thousands Oprah of hopefuls Winfrey across the country to play teen protagonist Meg, who travels the cosmos with her younger brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), and unlocks her inner warrior along
In the photo, a veiled Beyoncé holds the children in front of myriad flowers in a garden. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonceintroduces-twins-sir-and-rumi-in-first-officialpic-w492267
Whoopi Goldberg Wants Disney to Bring Back 'Song of the South'
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hoopi Goldberg was named the “surprise” Disney Legend Friday at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, and she had some surprising things to say about the most infamous film in the studio’s history. Asked by Yahoo Movies what her favorite Disney
21 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
see page 22
BBN Show Biz Buzz
from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 21
movie is, the View host and EGOT winner deferred picking favorites and instead brought up Song of the South, the 1946 Walt Disneyproduced live-action/animated
film that has remained unreleased for decades due to its racially insensitive portrayal of African Americans in the Reconstruction Era. “I’m trying to find a way to get people to start having conservations
talking” birds voiced by white men, one of which was named Jim Crow after the racial segregation laws. “I want people to start putting crows in the merchandise, because those crows sing the song in Dumbo everybody remembers,” she said, referencing the tune “When I See an Elephant Fly.” “I want to highlight all the little stuff people maybe miss in movies.” www.yahoo.com/movies/whoopi-goldbergwants-disney-bring-back-song-southstart-conversation-controversial-1946film-154030256.html
Roland Martin Launches "AllThat.TV" Lifestyle Website
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oland Martin has launched a new digital lifestyle website that promises to enlighten, empower, and entertain
about bringing Song of the South back,” she said of the film, which Disney has kept locked in its vault, refusing to issue either digitally or on disc. “So we can talk about what it was and where it came from and why it came out.” Goldberg also pointed to the controversial crows in the 1941 animated classic Dumbo, “jive-
Roland Martin its audience. The award-winning TV host, journalist, and author rolled out AllThat.TV, which is described as “a website daily digital destination for national news, pop culture, politics, lifestyle features,
22 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
health and wellness, cooking segments, faith-based content and a weekly motivational series,” reads a press release. Original video and live video streams will also be featured on the site. Martin said he created the website in order to highlight all of his interests that extend beyond hard news. He also launched AllThat. TV to provide a platform for young content creators to “establish their voice.” Martin will be working with a team of writers and national influencers to contribute to the site, which is being launched in partnership with Quantasy, a digital development company. Martin currently hosts TV One’s News One Now with Roland Martin. www.blackenterprise.com/smallbusiness/roland-martin-launchallthat-tv
'Detroit’ Is One of the ‘Most Essential Films of the Year’
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etroit is described as “devastatingly effective. “‘Detroit’ is tough, but it’s worth it, every minute of it,” San Francisco Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle wrote in his review. “Detroit” details a five-day uprising in 1967 in protest of racial injustices, which resulted in hundreds of injuries and 43 deaths, and began with a police raid of an after-hours nightclub. It stars John Boyega, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, Jason Mitchell, John Krasinski and Anthony Mackie. http://www.thewrap.com/kathryn-bigelowdetroit-is-one-of-the-most-essential-filmsof-the-year-reviews/
Backlash from Critics of HBO’s Upcoming Show "Confederate"
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he series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the Southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in
which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. It’s not whips and plantations. It’s what they’d imagine a modern-day institution of slavery might look like. The series "chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War." HBO president Casey Bloys said "My hope is that people will judge the actual material as opposed to what it could be, should be, or might be, and they -- and we -- will rise or fall based on the quality of that material." http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hbopresident-asks-viewers-reserve-judgmentconfederate-whips/story?id=48882113
‘The Dark Tower’ Featurette Shows Off Weird Monsters,
Idris Elba
Anthony Mackie
Dennis Haysbreath see page 24 23 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBN Show Biz Buzz
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scientist-educators, you'll set out on real science-based missions to explore space, colonize planets, create and mod in real time.
Giant Gun Battles and Idris Elba
ony Pictures has finally unveiled the first trailer for Nikolaj Arcel’s upcoming fantasy/action film The Dark Tower. Based on Stephen King’s series of books of the same name, The Dark Tower tells the story of “Roland Deschain, Mid-World’s last gunslinger, who is traveling southeast across Mid-World’s postapocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of EndWorld, amid a sea of singing red roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy it.” The Dark Tower hits theatres July 28, 2017. http://cinemavine.com/the-dark-towertrailer-with-screencaps/
Neil de Grasse Tyson Consulting on new Outer Space Video Game
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n addition to Dr. Tyson's current duties serving as the Director of the Hayden Planetarium, hosting his popular podcast StarTalk, and lecturing around the world, he is helping guide the development of a new video game, Space Odyssey, that’s currently raising financing on Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com/
www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/ gaming/neil-degrasse-tyson-talks-joiningforces-with-george-rr-martin-on-a-spacevideo-game/ar-AAoJ0Lo?li=AAfq3b1&ocid =spartandhp
"Kidnap" Coming out in August
Neil de Grasse Tyson Space Odyssey will be an aweinspiring gaming experience of galactic exploration and colonization. Empowered by the laws of physics and the scientific vision of Neil deGrasse Tyson and his StarTalk All-Stars team of
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he new film starring Halle Berry will arrive in U.S. cinemas on the 4th August, courtesy of Aviron. A typical afternoon in the park turns into a nightmare for single mom Karla Dyson (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) when her son suddenly disappears. Without a cell phone and knowing she has no time to wait for police help, Karla jumps in her own car and sets off in pursuit of the kidnappers. A relentless, edgeof- your seat chase ensues, where Karla must risk everything to not lose sight of her son. In this tense, action-fueled thriller, directed by Luis Prieto and from the producers of Salt and Transformers, one mother’s heroic attempt to take back her son leads her to ask herself how far she will go to save her child.
projects/2000580152/neil-degrassetyson-presents-space-odyssey-thevid?ref=5jutoe). 24 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www. thehollywoodnews. com/2017/07/07/newtrailer-kidnap-starringhalle-berry-swerves/
BBN Show Biz Buzz
Ava DuVernay Bringing Central Park Five Limited Series to Netflix By Elizabeth Wagmeister
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va DuVernay is continuing her relationship with Netflix, bringing a limited series about the Central Park Five case to the streaming giant. Netflix has greenlit the five-part scripted series for a 2019 debut. DuVernay created the project and will write and direct all five installments. Participant Media, Tribeca Productions and Harpo Films are behind the limited series with Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh serving as executive producers alongside DuVernay. The project is the latest collaboration for Winfrey and DuVernay who worked together on the Oscar-winning “Selma” and OWN’s “Queen Sugar.” For DuVernay, the project marks a return to Netflix for the filmmaker who wrote and directed the platform’s 2016 documentary “13th.” “I had an extraordinary experience working with Netflix on ’13th’
and am overjoyed to continue this exploration of the criminal justice system as a narrative project with Cindy Holland and the team there,” said DuVernay. “The story of the men known as Central Park Five has riveted me for more than two decades. In their journey, we witness five innocent young men of color who were met with injustice at every turn — from coerced confessions to unjust incarceration to public calls for their execution by the man who would go on to be the President of the United States.” Based on the true story of the notorious Central Park Five case, each part of the limited series will focus on one of the five teenagers from Harlem — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — who were wrongly convicted of raping Trisha Meili in Central Park. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each were first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a
settlement was reached with the city of New York. “This is one of the most talkedabout cases of our time and Ava’s passionate vision and masterful direction will bring the human stories behind the headlines to life in this series,” said Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix. “After powerfully reframing the public conversation about criminality and injustice in ’13th,’ Ava now turns a new lens to a case that exposes deep flaws in our criminal justice system.” Participant Media’s King added, “It’s an honor to be partnering again with Ava. The events of this shocking story continue to resonate today, and the way Ava has chosen to focus intimately on the five young men foregrounds the human costs of this kind of tragedy. We are looking forward to working with Netflix, Tribeca and Harpo on Participant’s first scripted episodic series.”. www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/ava-duvernaybringing-central-park-five-limited-series-to-netflix/ar-BBDU2Oz?ocid=spartandhp
25 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Succession
Family Succession Planning: How to Do It Right By The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
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hile succession is challenging for all businesses, it often becomes even more complicated when family relationships must also be considered. This overlap between business and family creates many obstacles to the management, growth and sustainability of these companies. Blurred boundaries between ownership and management often lead to conflicts and jeopardize the companies’ future. While adopting sound governance practices can provide a valuable framework for family firms to address issues of sustainability and professionalism, they’re usually not compulsory, as they are for large companies listed on the stock market. Family SMEs therefore rarely adopt corporate governance codes and principles, and even if they do, family emotions can influence strategic decision making, and especially succession.
Rome wasn’t built in a day: the succession process Succession is a lengthy process that shouldn’t be left to chance. Family businesses need to regard succession as an extended process of at least three years, with the roles and responsibilities of the predecessor and successor varying before, during and after the succession. Before the succession takes place, the predecessor must mentor their chosen successor, closely nurturing their knowledge about all aspects of the business. During the succession process, the pre-
decessor should begin to delegate increasing levels of responsibility, particularly decision-making power, to their successor. Finally, the predecessor will retire, leaving the business completely in the hands of the successor. Reluctance to let go is one of the most significant factors in the failure of succession in family businesses. Leaders are often unwilling to plan for succession due to an emotional attachment to the business, fear of retirement, loss of status, lack of power or even a lack of diversions outside work. This attachment to the business leads many family business leaders to maintain a leadership (or “consultant”) position, even after retirement. While their experience can be invaluable, this continued presence can be perceived as a lack of trust in their successor, adversely affecting the decision-making process and confidence of employees and leading to frustration from the successor, as they live in the old leader’s shadow. The willingness of a successor to take over is also crucially important in family business succession. Studies show the established leadership of family firms perceive commitment to the business as the most desired attribute in their future successor, ranking even higher than their competencies. The generation gap and personality differences are the most common reasons for disagreements between the current leader and their chosen successor. To avoid this, family businesses must adopt a culture of trust and mutual respect,
supported by open communication. This will allow for an effective transfer of knowledge and social capital and ensure the continuation of the business. Nepotism and sibling rivalry are common in failed succession plans, underlining the importance of a shared vision among family members, helping to keep the family united once the established leader steps down. Avoiding conflict between family members requires clear distribution of shares, roles and authorities, as well as the decision to base compensation on experience and competency. Emphasizing family values, loyalty and traditions can also play an important role in achieving a harmonious atmosphere and shared vision in family firms, all of which supports a smooth succession. Handing over a business to the next generation is a real challenge to family businesses. However, it can be achieved by families working on their internal relationships to foster trust, open communication and mutual understanding between family members. At the end, having strong, solid family ties can help facilitate a smooth intergenerational transfer of wealth and reduce conflicts within families.
Turning the business over to next of kin Handing down a family business is a dream of many entrepreneurs who want to see the business they started thrive in the hands of the next generation. But statistics show that succession can be riddled with challenges. Wendy Sage-Hayward, a senior consultant at the Vancouver-based Family Business Consulting Group, says although many families may want to pass down their
26 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819 July
business, the succession process is often not thought through carefully enough to make the succession successful. Here are some handy guidelines to increase your chances of success:
go outside the company for work experience and education so they can bring those experiences back into the family business.
Avoid holding the reins too tightly.
One of the biggest mistakes Sage-Hayward says she’s seen in family businesses is that the founders have been so busy working in and building the business that they haven’t spent the time to work on building the skill set or engagement of the successive generation. “Working on the business means you’re developing the next generation, engaging them, helping them get the kind of skills and capabilities that they need to take it over,” says Sage-Hayward. Building stewardship in family members means holding regular family meetings to involve other family members in the key conversations so they understand the ins and outs of the business and are prepared to take it over when the time comes.
Founders have a tendency to hang on to control, not allowing their kids to have enough say or enough investment in the business. “The entrepreneur typically does have a fairly strong control-oriented personality,” says Sage-Hayward. Entrepreneurial characteristics tend to be very independent, autocratic and particular. It can be difficult for entrepreneurs to let go of those tendencies, but Sage-Hayward says that’s exactly what needs to happen in order to have a successful succession.
Eliminate entitlement. Just because your last name is “Jones” doesn’t mean you should automatically get a seat at the Jones Company’s boardroom table, says Sage-Hayward. She recommends entrepreneurs set expectations around how kids will get to participate in the family business. Often, kids will be encouraged to
Build the skill sets of the next generation.
Consider whether the next generation wants to be part of the business. Sometimes founders have a dream that their children will
take over the family business, but the children simply aren’t interested. Sage-Hayward says this often happens when the founder shuts out the family from the day-to-day interactions of the business or is so busy building the business and not spending time with their families that the kids begin to resent the business and want nothing to do with it when they get older. Involving kids in the business at an early age in a positive way is the best way to ensure they’ll be enticed to join the business later on. “Succession planning starts from a very early age,” says Sage-Hayward, “building work ethic, building the understanding of the business and building the mindset.”
Be prepared to let go. Ruling from the grave is one of the worst mistakes entrepreneurs can make when handing a business down to the next generation. Trying to set up structures that will control what the next generation can do rather than allowing them to run the company will only cause leadership ambiguity and create a stressful work environment for those family members who are left to run the company. Founders should be emotionally and mentally prepared to walk away from the business completely when the time comes around. www.entrepreneur.com/article/293892
This excerpt is from the Staff of Entrepreneur Media’s book "Finance Your Business." Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes www.entrepreneur.com
27 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Marketing
What You Need to Know About Using USPS Informed Delivery By Paul Bobnak
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ou probably don’t like spoilers for movies, but how about for your direct mail? The reason I’m asking is because the U.S. Postal Service has rolled out a new tracking feature called Informed Delivery in the last few months. And it has implications for how the customer, the mail service vendor, and marketers operate in the mailstream. The first time I heard of it was in September 2015, when I spoke at the National PCC Day event in New York. In his remarks, USPS Chief Marketing Officer Jim Cochrane mentioned a service undergoing trials that would let people see their
rector of Data Services and Postal Affairs at Wilen Direct. He calls it “a great integration of digital and physical mail.” So last week, I signed up for the program and waited to see what happened.
How It Works Consumers can enroll online for a free, password-protected account that creates a digital mailbox for the direct mail they receive at their house. Before it’s even physically delivered, they can log in and see a grayscale image of the front of a common-sized mail piece, like a #10 envelope or folded self-mailer. It’s not available yet for P.O. Box customers. And jumbo mailers, catalogs, and packages aren’t included in the mix at this time.
What Marketers Should Think About
mail before it gets delivered. I was intrigued, and still am, as Informed Delivery is being implemented this year. I agree with Tom Glassman, Di-
So if you’re a marketer, you’re probably asking, “What’s in it for me?” What’s the ‘why’?” There are complex answers to these questions. If this service were only about giving consumers a sneak preview of their mail, one more impression of an offer, well that’s not too bad. But Informed Delivery is more than that. Marketers can build campaigns using the Intelligent
Mail barcode (IMb) to reach target audiences in the digital and physical worlds simultaneously. Under the program, marketers can enhance a physical mail piece when it’s scanned into the mailstream with a representative full color image, interactive content, and a click-through URL, with individual URLs coming this fall. I’m not going to get into all of the technical details about campaign management and how to set up Informed Delivery. That discussion needs a much deeper dive, so it can wait for another time and place. And I fully expect USPS to change features based on feedback from industry users and the public. But I do have some recommendations. First, consider how your direct mail – or at least some of it – can stand out in a grayscale image. This means paying special attention to your images, teaser copy, etc., and testing all of them Second, think about all how your mail or your client’s mail can be enhanced with an Informed Delivery campaign. So off the top of my head, I can see uses for retailers, transpromo, insurance, utilities, and financial services. Finally, there are some great resources to consult for more information about why and how to implement Informed Delivery. • USPS Interactive Experience Video on Informed Delivery (www.usps.com/business/informeddelivery-interactive-experience.htm)
• Tom Glassman, Wilen Direct, 954-949-6316, tglassman@wilengroup.com One other thing. Remember the words of the late Mal Decker: “Rule No. 1, test everything; Rule No. 2, see Rule No. 1.” http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/ need-know-usps-informed-delivery/all/
28 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Entrepreneur Challenge
Kauffman Moonshot Challenge. Join the Challenge - Share Your Thoughts "How might we invest $1 trillion in entrepreneurs over the next 10 years?"
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e call this the “Moonshot” question. The Kauffman Foundation is working with entrepreneurs, policymakers, funders, philanthropies and others partners to collect innovative, testable ideas to change the system for investing in entrepreneurs. That’s because the American dream is on hold. Firm creation is at a 30-year low; corporate consolidation and income inequality is at an all-time high. We believe that lack of access to capital is a major barrier to increasing entrepreneurial activity in the United States. Entrepreneurial investment is at an alltime low. Financial resources to start a business are not equally distributed, leaving gaps in the market. We challenged ourselves to think through the following:
“What do we need to build today as we seek
to empower the makers, the doers and the dreamers? And what should we build in the next few years?” Working with Bryce Butler at Access Ventures and Ross Baird at Village Capital, we started taking action to uncover solutions at our first Moonshot design session in April 2017 at the Kauffman Foundation. Together, we collected hundreds of ideas developed over a two-day working session. Now, we’re ready to expand on these initial ideas generated in that first session to reach a broader audience and attract more ideas, some of which the Foundation may put to a test. Join a critical conversation about the future of the American Dream. Visit: www.entrepreneurship. o rg /ka uffm an-m oon sh ot- chall eng e?u t m_ sour ce= newsletter& utm_ me diu m=email&utm_ source=iaw_7_13_2017.
29 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Technology
8 Tips to Master a More Paperless Life With Evernote By Taylor Pipes
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ven in the digital age, paper is still very much a modern reality. Don’t let it be a burden. Instead, manage it all with Evernote. On the move? Scan receipts, business cards, and documents as they come to you. Or, address a large cluttered pile in a single sitting. Whatever your approach to paper may be, Evernote’s powerful paperless features lets you handle it all with grace. Here are 8 tactics to help you manage and minimize the paper in your life.
1. Configure your workflow. Before you begin, it’s helpful to ask yourself a few questions about your paper-based documents and decide what you can do with them.
This chart is a great place to start:
2. Don’t stress it, scan it Scanning doesn’t destroy documents, it allows you to preserve them for generations to come. This is why we’ve built our products to work with paper as elegantly as possible. We recommend Scannable and the ScanSnap Evernote Edition Scanner. Scannable turns any iPhone or iPad into a mobile scanner, capturing the paper in your life quickly and beautifully. It connects to the ScanSnap Evernote Edition to let anyone in the home or office use it for any stack of paper. Use them together to collect everything from instruction manuals, the kids’ homework, and bank statements to work documents and meetings notes. 1. Configure workflow
3. Manage business cards like a pro At any gathering or conference, business cards only get out of hand if you let them. Mitigate the likelihood of losing received cards, or misplacing your own, by picking a pocket for one and a compartment for the other. Evernote Scannable is a perfect app for these moments, allowing you to scan a card in seconds.
4. Collect your digital files In addition to paper documents, your company likely has digital documents and files scattered across a plethora of personal computers and shared drives. Collect them in Evernote so everyone can find the files they need and collaborate with the team. You don’t necessarily want or need to move every file into Evernote. Instead, think of the files and identify documents that are regularly shared among the team, or ones that multiple people could benefit from accessing. Evernote Tip: Good candidates for files you may want to move into Evernote are ones related to specific projects, company policies, product reference information, and sales tools. Scanning all your documents is just one aspect of your paperless future. There are tons of documents, both physical and electronic, that you can add to Evernote. Perhaps you don’t need to scan them all, but visualize what you need and evaluate your options against your
4. Collect files
• A record of all of my Foursquare check-ins (via IFTTT) • The daily weather (via IFTTT) • The fiction I wrote on any given day (via Google App Script) • A daily “almanac” that summaries various metrics (like how much I wrote and how much I walked) (via Google App Script) • My blog posts (via RSS and IFTTT) • Meeting minutes for the meetings that I attend
7. Template to the madness
personality type with a diagram like this:
5. Own paperless productivity with Pocket + Evernote With Pocket, you can grab links, images, and videos and save them for later. Pocket also removes the clutter from the articles and presents them in an easy-to read format. Lots of applications integrate with Pocket, making it easy to send articles and other items. Best of all,
you can send items from Pocket to Evernote. That process looks just like this sketch. Learn more >>
6. Automate Evernote Start working smarter by letting Evernote do the work for you. For author Jamie Todd Rubin, there are a few tricks to use to get content automated into Evernote. • A record of all Tweets on Twitter (via RSS and IFTTT) 5. Paperless productivity
Between meeting agendas, minutes and printed slide decks, each meeting can leave you with quite a stack of paper to deal with. Evernote Business can help you and your team eliminate most of your meeting-related paper. Since meetings tend to revolve around standard document types, use Evernote Business to create templates for these notes. They’ll give your team a pre-formatted structure to save them time.
8. Paperless meetings Printing slide decks, key documents, or Web pages with important research wastes time and paper. As you’re getting ready for a meeting, attach presentation files and documents directly to your meeting agenda note, and the team members you’ve shared that note with will automatically get access to those files. Clip important Internet research using the Web Clipper, share those notes with your team as well. https://blog.evernote.com/ blog/2015/04/22/8-tips-tomaster-a-more-paperlesslife-with-evernote/?utm_ campaign=getest&utm_ source=email&utm_medium=email_ engagement&utm_content=2051GEv1_Paperless_ST-B/&origin=email_ sfmc&utm_source=sfmc&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=EVNENG-NLS-GL-EN-2051-GEv1_Paperless_ST-B&utm_content=button
31 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Personal Development
5 Brain Training Techniques to Cultivate Your Creative Genius By Deep Patel
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he ingenious inventor, the savvy entrepreneur, the innovative scientist, the imaginative writer… No matter what our field or area of expertise, we all seek to be more creative and innovative. We all want to be original. Many of us regard creativity as an awe-inspiring, almost magical gift
that some people are simply born with. But just as creativity can be expressed in many different ways, it can also be learned and sharpened like any other skill. In the modern world, there is no room for the humdrum or mundane. A clever and inventive mind opens doors to success. Here are five in-
genious ways you can begin training your mind to be more creative and innovative.
1. Seek to use both sides of your brain.
Don’t fall for the myth that right-brained people are more creative while left-brained people are more analytical. True creativity comes from using both sides of your brain. The most imaginative ideas must be logical and rational in order to work. The most scientific and analytical of approaches must still be unique, thoughtful and ingenious. Roger Sperry’s research into his split-brain hypothesis in the 1960s showed that some activities, such as spatial reasoning and appreciation of beauty, stimulate the right hemisphere of the brain, while things like analytical thinking and language stimulate the left hemisphere. But creativity requires a whole-brained approach because it requires lateral thinking, or thinking about things in new ways. When we “think outside the box,” we devise fresh approaches to solving problems and meeting challenges. Work to build your whole brain by using both right and left sides. Try juggling or doing origami, or just do daily activities like writing your name or brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Start looking at things differently
32 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
-- literally -- by wearing your watch upside down or using your phone upside down. Try writing backward: it worked for Leonardo da Vinci, who wrote his notes in “mirror writing.”
2. Cultivate a thirst for knowledge. A lifelong thirst for knowledge will fuel your creativity. A thoughtful and intelligent mind demands a constant flow of information. By continually learning and growing, you feed your mind with ideas and expand your thinking. Seek to be broad-minded and open to new concepts and approaches. This includes being willing to try different ideas and not just dismissing something you disagree with out of hand. Communication isn’t a one-way street. It means being willing to question everything, to keep yourself motivated and curious about the world around you. Work to develop both vertical knowledge, which is a deep dive into a particular topic, and horizontal knowledge, which means having a solid amount of understanding in a wide variety of fields. Having a broad range of knowledge in different areas will give you the background to pull new ideas from. But being deeply familiar with one area will give you the insight necessary to innovate within that field.
3. Explain things back to yourself. Being creative also requires that you understand the information you have been given. It’s one thing to read a book and study a subject, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to explain that topic to someone else (or yourself). Being able to explain new knowledge shows that you have processed and internalized the information on a deeper level.
If you can explain something back to yourself, you can also expand on it, reshape it in your own unique vision or integrate your own ideas. You can follow threads of ideas and create new concepts. To be a good explainer requires you be a good listener. After all, you can’t fully absorb and retain information if you haven’t really heard what has been said. Get in the habit of explaining things back to yourself to further solidify knowledge. This process can also help you think through areas that may be improved, which will boost your ability to brainstorm and build on concepts.
4. Take breaks to “switch on” your creative side. Have you ever been hard at work at a task that required problemsolving, feeling like you're on a roll, only to realize later your ideas were mostly redundant and uninspired? According to Harvard Business Review, our natural inclination is to keep working on a problem even when we aren’t making headway. When working on an idea that requires creativity, we often reach a dead end without realizing it. Research shows that it’s crucial to take breaks at regular intervals to give your mind a chance to refresh. Set a timer, and when it goes off, switch tasks. Do something else for a while, and then return to your original task. Doing this will help you switch on your creativity and keep your problemsolving productive and innovative. If you’re having trouble, try approaching a
problem from a different perspective. It may help to work backward, starting with the solution, or to turn a problem on its head and conceptualize it from a different angle.
5. Let your imagination run wild. One of the best things you can do to hone your creativity is to tap into the natural imaginativeness and ingenuity that you had as a child. We loved to play and pretend as kids. We learned how to create imaginary worlds where anything was possible. We enjoyed challenging ourselves with games and tests of skill. Give yourself time to let your mind wander, to explore, to daydream, and then use the ideas that surface as part of your brainstorming. Challenge yourself with creative exercises, such as doodling in a sketchbook or writing flash fiction. Keep a journal of your ideas, however fantastical or impractical they might be. Giving your mind time to dream and problem-solve is a great way to build your creative muscle. If you cultivate a mind that is imaginative, open to all possibilities, balanced, full of knowledge and refreshed frequently, your genius and creativity will start to flourish. https://www.recode. net/2017/5/24/15683476/serena-williamsjoins-survey-monkey-board
33 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
& Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) Africa Global Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) cordially invite you to:
GLOBAL & AFRICA DIASPORA INVESTMENT FORUM Wednesday, July 12, 2017 9:00-11:30 am Chicago Hilton and Towers 720 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60615 KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Hon. Ayanda Dlodlo, Minister of Communications, The Republic of South Africa DISCUSSANTS: Dr. Ewa Ewa, Finance Officer – State of Illinois (Moderator) Dr. Chidi Achebe, Chairman & CEO, African Integrated Development Enterprise Mr. Olivier Kamanzi, President & CEO, Africa Global Chamber of Commerce Hon. Hakeem Balogun, Charge d’ Affairs, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria H.E. Paul G. Altidor, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Haiti Hon. Sheikh Omar Faye, Ambassador, Embassy of The Republic of The Gambia Hon. Mohamed Aboueldahab, Consul General, The Arab Republic of Egypt Consulate - Chicago For more information, please contact: RPC at info@rainbowpush.org or AGCC at info@africangcc.org
Free and Open to the Public!
34 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
35 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Investing
ABO Capital: Contributing to Africa’s Economic Growth Story By Boma Benjy
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n the last few years, ABO Capital (ABO), a private investment firm, has been on the fore-front in terms of promoting investments in the African economy. It has remarkably created global value and excellence for developing countries in Africa, while contributing to their economic development. In this interview with Eruke Ojuederie of African Leadership Magazine, the Chief Executive Officer of ABO, Zandre Campos discusses the successes of the company’s investment in Africa and why Africa is the world’s best kept secret. Excerpts: ABO in the past couple of years have continued to promote investments into key sectors of the African economy; tell us about the group and some of your successes? ABO has had many successes in the companies we have invested in. We invest in companies in the healthcare, energy, transportation, hospitality, and real estate sectors. One the current companies ABO is involved with is Sphera Global Healthcare (www. spheraglobalhealthcare.com). ABO Capital is a major investor in the company and I am on the board. Sphera Global Health Care is a unique medical company that specializes in medical services and brings together carefully selected high-level hospitals, clinics, doctors
and technologies. The objective is to democratize healthcare services so that people in Angola have access to quality healthcare. Technologies already developed include video conferencing, telemedicine, virtual platforms, apps, and mobile-health. Besides improving communication, the technologies also guarantee the delivery of quality healthcare and reduce unnecessary hospital or clinical visits. mHealth is a mobile app that provides consultation 24/7 for pediatric and general medicine. In Angola, Sphera Global Health Care’s healthcare technology can also be found in the International Medical Center (IMC) (www.lmc. co.ao). Located in the capital city
Luanda, the IMC is an outpatient center that aims to provide the highest level of care. It has an on-site laboratory, other cutting edge technologies, and delivers international medical services. It is run by doctors with international training and has a multidisciplinary team, including family doctors, specialists and nurses. Also since 2014 we have been conducting pro-bono cataract
surgeries in partnership with Barraquer Foundation (www. b a r r a q u e r. c o m / e n / f o u n d a t i o n ) , dependent of the ophthalmology Barraquer Clinic of Barcelona, one of the most prestigious and recognized ophthalmology clinics in the world. More than a thousand people in need have benefited. Analysts have continued to discuss Africa’s potentials, with very little progress made in terms of concrete investment in the continent; what in your view is responsible for this trend? We actually believe there has been tremendous progress over the last 10 years, but we recognize there is still a way to go to achieve our objectives. ABO’s mission is to create global value for developing countries in Africa, while contributing to their economic development. We were founded on the idea of bringing excellence to Africa. We agree that there is a lot of emerging opportunities in Angola including agriculture, mining, and tourism. Some investors have described Africa as the world’s best kept secret, do you agree with this assertion? We do agree with this assertion. We believe tourism is a great opportunity for Angola, There are 1,550 km of coast, much of which
36 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
has not been explored. We invest in Bluoshen which has 7 small hotels, 5 in Luanda and 2 in Benguela. While the visa process might be an obstacle to entering the country, we believe visa reform will open up the country. When tourism blossoms here, people will be able to see the beauty of Africa and the Angolan economy will benefit. We also believe Angolan agriculture is a well-kept secret. Before the civil war in Angola coffee and cotton were major exports of the country, and the coffee was considered some of the best in the world. While people moved to the coast during the war, the center of the country is now open and ready to be cultivated. Angola has 2,000 acres of unused land that when prepared can be used for farming. ETG is an agriculture company we invest in. ETG is globally recognized as one of the fastest growing integrated agricultural supply chain groups. You have consistently written about the opportunities inherent in Africa’s health sector; noting that PPP would help in improving health care delivery in the continent; what would you say is responsible for the slow pace of response from stakeholders? Investment in healthcare is important. As the population continues to increase, we are looking to bring better healthcare to the country. Malaria and Yellow Fever still spread very rapidly, and it is something that can be avoided. We are working with CIMA (Centro de Investigacao Medica Aplicada) from Clinica de Navarra e Universidade de Medicina de Pamplona on the development of a malaria vaccine. We do believe that strengthening public and private partnerships would help improve health care in the continent. Sphera is working
closely with the public sector to develop health care centers in Angola. I don’t believe there is one party or person to be held responsible. The sectors which ACI invests in are some of the big sectors driving African economies. What influenced your selection of sectors Zandre Campos, Chairman/CEO as against other equally viable sectors of economy? We believe Africa has a lot to offer, and that there are many opportunities. While oil has been a major force and helped Angola grow after the civil war, the recent sponsored four individuals I had oil crash shows the need to invest seen on television presenting an in other sectors. It gives Africa the innovative solution that was develop by them, and I decided to support opportunity to grow. them and sent them to China. Now As an innovative business leader and global entrepreneur, they are finishing college in China and have already developed a in what ways have you helped APP in China. Next year my plan to empower African youths is to send them to the USA, before towards towing the path of they come back to Angola and help entrepreneurship? Youths in Angola have a strong change the country. entrepreneurial spirit. I have helped http://africanleadership.co.uk/angolacapital-investment-contributing-to-africasmentor dozens of entrepreneurs economic-growth-story/ in Angola. For example, recently I
37 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Editorial
Facing the Assault on Civil Rights By Jesse Jackson
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he Trump administration has launched an unprecedented rollback of civil rights and voting rights. Those who care about building a more perfect union face harsh headwinds. We’ve gone from an administration seeking to fulfill these rights to one seeking to repeal these rights. Instead of a reconstruction, we are faced with a retrenchment, an effort to radically reverse the gains that have been made by women, people of color and the LGBTQ community. Instead of understanding that expanding civil rights is a vital therapy to heal this nation, the Trump administration views it as a threat to its rule. The rollback is government wide. The Labor Department has announced plans to disband the division that polices discrimination among federal contractors as a “cost cutting measure.” The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate the environmental justice program that focuses on the environmental threats to minority communities. The Education Department is decimating staffing of its Office of Civil Rights. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has revoked guidance on a rule that allows transgender people to stay in sexsegregated shelters matching their gender identity. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, formerly a senator representing Alabama, has led the rollback. The DOJ has reversed its opposition to a Texas discriminatory voter ID law. Sessions has announced that he would review consent decrees that the Obama Justice Department made to reform police departments. Sessions has ordered U.S. prosecutors to seek the
38 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
maximum sentences, while moving to revive private prisons. The administration is gearing up for a national assault on voting rights, pushing measures that will make voting more difficult. Women, people of color, the poor and the LGBTQ are the targets and the direct victims of this assault. But the entire country will suffer, as basic rights are denied, prisons are expanded, and hopes and dreams are stuffed out. Rainbow Push will work to defend voting rights, building the movement to add the federal right to vote to the U.S. Constitution. As some move to constrict voting, we will move to expand it. Illinois is about to become the ninth state to pass automatic voter registration, with the potential addition of an estimated 1 million voters to the voting rolls. We will push to pass automatic voter registration in states across the union. If successful, we will add a stunning 51 million new voters to the rolls. We will demand that President Trump fulfill his promise to invest $1 trillion in rebuilding America, helping to generate real jobs doing vital things that need to be done. We will defend sanctuary cities providing some support for undocumented workers with children. As the Department of Justice retreats from the enforcement of civil rights, we will expand the pressure on corporations and governments to adhere to equal employment opportunity from the boardroom to the basement, from their contracts to philanthropy. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that “human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . . Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle — the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” Now, in this headwind of injustice, it is time for the tribunes of justice to move forward. Now is the time for citizens of conscience to come to the aid of their country. www.rainbowpush.org
39 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.naacpconvention.org
Business - Sports Business
IOC to Pick Los Angeles, Paris for 2024 or 2028 Olympics By By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer
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inally, Los Angeles and Paris have their Olympic hosting destiny in their own hands. If they can agree who goes first, each city will be awarded either the 2024 or 2028 Summer Games in September. International Olympic Committee members voted unanimously on Tuesday to seek a consensus threeway deal between the two bid cities and the IOC
However, an agreement seemed assured, judging by the reaction of the two mayors. "I have full confidence that we will get there," LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a celebratory news conference for both candidates and IOC President Thomas Bach. Garcetti and Anne Hidalgo, his friend and counterpart from Paris, had emerged on stage seconds after the
executive board. Talks will open with Paris widely seen as the favorite for 2024. If a deal falls through, only the 2024 hosting rights will be voted on when the IOC next meets, on Sept. 13 in Lima, Peru.
vote, holding hands, to welcome the decision. They were joined by Bach, who raised an arm of each in a shared gesture of triumph. The mood looked set to continue over dinner at the IOC's favored five-star hotel, the Lausanne Palace.
42 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
The Franco-American alliance continues later this week. U.S. President Donald Trump is due in Paris to join President Emmanuel Macron for Bastille Day on Friday, the national holiday. Macron was in the Olympic capital city Tuesday to promoting the Parisian cause -- in a closeddoor session with IOC members to explain how they would host the 2024 Olympics, and a subsequent news conference. The presidential push was judged necessary by Paris, which has failed with three recent Olympic bids. "We lost three times, we don't want to lose a fourth one," Macron said at the news conference. "I'm here to convey the message that there's a strong unity to back this candidacy." Minutes after Macron spoke, Trump wrote on Twitter: "Working hard to get the Olympics for the United States (L.A.). Stay tuned!" Even without help from heads of state, LA and Paris are likely to reach a deal. A head-to-head fight for 2024 would create a loser that is unlikely to return four years later for a new 2028 bid contest. "Both of us will find it more and more difficult to convince cities -whether it's Paris, Los Angeles or other American cities -- to really go into this process if one of us gets turned down," Garcetti had said earlier Tuesday. A deal to make both cities winners would fulfil a strategy that Bach set in motion last December to help safeguard a stable future for the signature Olympic event. Asked when a 2024-2028 agreement could be sealed, Bach suggested: "If you ask me, I hope that in August we could be there." The IOC approved the expected double award after hearing both cities present their 2024 hosting plans at a conference center in its home city.
Both cities used 45 minutes of videos and speeches in a closeddoor session with IOC members to explain how they would host the 2024 Olympics. At separate news conferences, the mayors said they could work toward a deal. "We look forward to working together, maybe not in competition but collaboration with Paris," Garcetti said. Garcetti and Hidalgo have long touted their good relations, and on Tuesday noted their cities' common positions on issues such as climate change and welcoming refugees. Hidalgo cited her friendship with Garcetti as potentially a "key element" in the expected deal. The dual award can give the IOC a decade of stability with two world-class cities touting financially secure bids. LA plans to use only existing venues with zero risk of white elephants. This follows years of overspending by Olympic hosts and a series of political defeats that have sunk the campaigns of potential candidates. It also avoids inflicting a third recent defeat on Paris -- which lost with bids for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics -and the United States. New York and Chicago both lost heavily for 2012 and 2016, respectively. Those losses deepened a rift between the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Swissbased IOC that LA 2024 and a new team of American officials have worked hard to heal. Paris also failed with a 1992 bid and pinned its hopes on hosting in 2024, exactly 100 years after its previous Summer Games. Garcetti said the Olympic
movement "can't afford to lose the United States." The IOC's most valuable TV rights deal is with NBC and several of its top-tier sponsors are American. Still, a 2028 Olympics in Southern California could be the first American-hosted games since 1996 in Atlanta. Bach has said the idea of a double award was presented to him at a lunch last year by friends whom he declined to identify in a recent interview with French sports daily L'Equipe.
The LA bid team declined to comment Tuesday whether the suggestion c a m e from its supporters, as some believe. " H e (Bach) has good friends who gave him good advice," LA bid chairman Casey Wasserman said." www.msn.com/en-us/news/goodnews/super-soaker-inventor-takesaim-at-funding-young-engineers/ ar-BBBNhfo?ocid=spartandhp
43 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Scamming
'Smishing' Scams Target Your Text Messages. By Marc Saltzman
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hile the name of this growing threat might sound funny, being a victim of it is no joke. Similar to a "phishing" scam — where computer users receive an authentic-looking email that appears to be from their bank, Internet Service Provider (ISP), favorite store, or other organization – "smishing" messages are sent to you via SMS (text message) on your mobile phone. What does the sender want? To defraud you. "Criminals like smishing because users tend to trust text messages, as opposed to email, of which many people are more suspicious, due to phishing attacks," says Stephen Cobb, a security researcher at ESET, a global cybersecurity company. "As smartphones are the primary means of accessing the Internet in some countries, this has tempted criminals around the world to invest in scams that target these devices." "That means there is no shortage of skills in this space, skills that criminals can tap to target cellphone users in any country they chose," Cobb adds. So, what does it look like? Cybercriminals are trying to lure you into providing account
information — such as a login name, password or credit card info — by tapping on a link that takes you to a web site. Here they can get enough info to steal your identity. Or you might be asked to answer questions via text message or advised to call a phone number. In some cases, you'll receive a text message with a sense of urgency:
•
Dear customer, Bank of America needs you to verify your PIN number immediately to confirm you're the proper account holder. Some accounts have been breached. We urgently ask you to protect yourself by confirming your info here.
Sometimes, scammers try to capitalize on something timely, like tax filing season: • "IRS Notice: Tax Return File
Overdue! Click here to enter can detect and stop a smishing attempt. This serves as an extra line of defense from these malicious types, but you must still exercise common sense. ESET, the cybersecurity company Cobb is a researcher for, has a free Google Play app called ESET Mobile Security & Antivirus. Features include antivirus, remote lock and siren, GPS localization, and tablet support, while upgrading to Premium ($14.99/year) adds SMS and call filters, remote wiping, anti-phishing, p h o t o snapshots (of someone trying to log into your device), and more. O t h e r providers of similar software include Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee. On a related note, be sure to always update your smartphone's operating system to the latest version. • Look for suspicious charges on your monthly phone bill. Even if you never responded to one of these texts, it doesn't hurt to look at your itemized charges to see if there's anything that looks off. If it does, contact your phone provider right away to
44 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
dispute the charges. Don't worry, they've heard it all before. Resist entering contests that ask you to provide your mobile number, as you're setting yourself up for these kinds of scams. Similarly, don't post your mobile phone number on social media or other public forums. • When mobile shopping, stick with reputable retailers. When giving out financial information, like your credit card, always be sure to look for indicators that the site is secure, such as a little lock icon on the browser's status bar or a URL for a website that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure"). On a related note, never tap on a link to a retailer to shop online -- just in case it's a scam. Instead, manually type in the store's URL (e.g. amazon.com) or use the store's official app.. www.cnbc.com/2017/07/05/smishingscams-target-your-text-messages-hereshow-to-avoid-them.html
Publisher's Message The Black Business Association (BBA), has a series of financial workshops and conferences planned that will be ongoing beginning in November of this year and continue throughout 2018. For those of you whose businesses are 8a certified, July is an excellent time to pursue federal contracting opportunities not yet awarded, as the countdown to the end of the Federal fiscal year is fast-approaching in September. We should not allow ourselves to be deterred by the current climate in our nation’s capital, but pursue capitalizing and benefiting from Federal contracting and procurement opportunities that are
from page 3
in abundance with NASA, Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Defense and others (see page 10). The California Black Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the Ron Brown Economic Summit - a 3-day conference in August. This conference will provide African American business owners and entrepreneurs with the opportunity
for "onsite certification." See more on page 35. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has several events scheduled for the month of August, starting out with Prime Contractor Training and Small Business Matchmaking Session, Regulatory Enforcement Roundtables, and the Invention Convention. Check out the SBA website for the details - www.sba. gov. In closing, we as African Americans, need to be supportive of one another, in business, family and community, in the same manner that other ethnicities support each other economically. Support Blackowned businesses.
45 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.bbala.org
Editorial
Five Cities Receive Half-a-Million-Dollar Grants to Boost Spending with Black Businesses By Jeffrey McKinney
A
s part of an expanded City Accelerator program, Charlotte, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles will each get $100,000 to boost procurement spending with those businesses. During the next year, the five cities will work together to refine their approach for that activity, including pursuing at least one new strategy to increase the diversity of municipal vendors and contractors and direct buying more goods and services from local minority-owned firms.
Compelled to Boost Spending with Diverse Vendors The program, funded by the nonprofit agencies of Living Cities and the Citi Foundation, was started four years ago to also spur economic development activities and create jobs in communities with a high number of low-income residents. Participating cities have procurement programs in place or desire to boost their spending with diverse vendors. At the same time, a growing number of cities are placing a higher priority on procurement reform. And the ante is high for potential suppliers, with annual procurement spending by cities across America estimated at $1.6 trillion. Another prospect is that these cities will inspire local companies to do more business with those vendors. Though the cities will of course decide what type of diverse businesses they might hire, some observers contend that they could range from suppliers and service
companies that can do everything from local infrastructure work to those providing retail services. “These cities are taking a hard look at how they purchase goods and services for their communities,” Ed Skyler, Citi’s executive vice president for global public affairs and chairman of the Citi Foundation, stated in a press release. “They recognize that there is an opportunity to strengthen their procurement practices—and cities overall—by connecting directly with the diverse businesses and ideas within their communities.” Skyler is also a former deputy mayor of New York City. Ben Hecht, president and CEO of Living Cities, agrees. “These five cities were asked to lead the
way, and we are excited to lift up their work as examples of how we can create a new urban practice dedicated to getting dramatically better results for low-income people faster.”
New Approaches to Do More Business with Suppliers In North Carolina, Charlotte is making progress after a 2014 study ranked it last in economic mobility among the 50 largest cities. “The City of Charlotte is committed to providing equal access and opportunities for all businesses to grow, especially businesses owned by people of color,” Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, stated in a press release. “Through the City’s Charlotte Business Inclusion Policy, we have made significant strides,
46 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
achieving $41 million in spending with local minority, women, small business enterprises in fiscal year 2016.” Another city, Milwaukee, intends to ramp up its procurement activity with diverse vendors. The Governing. com blog reports the city spends over $200 million on contracted services a year, spanning from construction to copier maintenance. It has a population of slightly more than 600,000 people. Referred to as a “minority-majority” city, only 30% of Milwaukee’s businesses are owned by people of color. A city ordinance prevents the city from directing efforts toward increasing the number of minority or women-owned small business owners. But it appears that the city is hoping to change that. “We have long emphasized connecting our work on the city with jobs and businesses in the city,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett stated in a press release. “Working with the City Accelerator on our procurement strategies will help connect us to more city businesses, and support business growth throughout Milwaukee.” The five newest cities will also get coaching and technical help to apply new strategies to enhance their procurement practices in addition to the grants. Other cities have worked on programs beyond just improving procurement activity.
to test new ways to drive sustainable growth while boosting opportunity for residents with small income. In Philadelphia, the city tested the use of various messages and attention-grabbing mailings to ensure that low-income seniors were signing up for subsidies offering a 25% reduction in their water bills. In San Francisco, the city is
using its City Accelerator support to develop a financing plan to reinforce the city’s coastal seawall, which protects vital public transportation assets and land designated for affordable housing on land adjacent to the Port of San Francisco.. www.blackenterprise.com/smallbusiness/five-cities-receive-halfa-million-dollar-grants-to-boostspending-with-black-businesses/
Ongoing Programs to Enhance to Local Economic Development Efforts Since 2013, City Accelerator has worked with 12 U.S. municipalities
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Business - Technology
EFF Score's Apple at 4 Stars for Handling of Government Data Requests By Ben Lovejoy
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he latest Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) report on how tech companies handle government data requests has given Apple four out of a possible five stars. The company previously earned five stars before the EFF added a new requirement to this year’s scorecard. The report, titled Who Has Your Back, gives Apple top marks in all but one area … This is Apple’s sixth year in Who Has Your Back, and it has adopted a number of industry best practices, including publishing a transparency report, requiring a warrant for content, and publishing its guidelines for
law enforcement requests. Apple promises to inform users before disclosing their data to the government, has a published policy of requesting judicial review of all National Security Letters, and explicitly states that third parties are forbidden from allowing Apple user data to be used for surveillance purposes. The report highlights the importance of automatically requesting a judicial review of all National Security Letters. These require companies to hand over data without being able to reveal that they have done so. The EFF quotes from Apple’s information requests page. In addition, if Apple receives a National Security Letter (NSL) from the U.S. government that contains
an indefinite gag order, Apple will notify the government that it would like the court to review the nondisclosure provision of the NSL pursuant to USA FREEDOM (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Freedom_Act). The government then has 30 days to let the court know why the nondisclosure should remain in effect or can let Apple know that the nondisclosure no longer applies. If Apple receives notice that the nondisclosure no longer applies, it will notify the affected customer(s) pursuant to Apple’s customer notice policies. The one star denied to the company is for what the EFF calls a ‘pro-user public policy.' By this, it means supporting the reform of Section 702, the law that allows the NSA to conduct mass surveillance of American Citizens. We are awarding credit to companies that support reforming Section 702 in order to reduce the collection of information on innocent people. Public positions in support of allowing this provision of law to expire completely will also receive credit, as this would also have the effect of reducing the surveillance of innocent people […] Apple has not publicly called for reforms to Section 702 to curtail the surveillance of innocent people. Only eight companies were awarded five stars, among them Adobe, Dropbox and WordPress. The decision to dock companies one star for failing to publicly call for repeal or reform Section 702 despite complying with all best-practice recommendations is likely to prove a controversial one. Is it unfair, or is it reasonable to expect companies like Apple to make their voice heard? The EFF strongly supported Apple’s stand against the FBI in the San Bernardino shooting case. https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-eff-reduces-applesscore-for-handling-o/f-e5e17d6788%2F9to5mac.com
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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, August 8, 2017 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.
49 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
PGA National Resort & Spa Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Wednesday, August 30–Saturday, September 2, 2017
https://hammerandnailsgrooming.com
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Business - Marketing
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Business - Leadership
Why Every Leader Needs to Be Obsessed With Technology By Lisa Kay Solomon
I
n the 1990s, Tower Records was the place to get new music. Successful and popular, the California chain spread far and wide, and in 1998, they took on $110 million in debt to fund aggressive further expansion. This wasn’t, as it turns out, the best of timing. The first portable digital music player went on sale the same year. The following year brought Napster, a file sharing service allowing users to freely share music online. By 2000, Napster hosted 20 million users swapping songs. Then in 2001, Apple’s iPod and iTunes arrived, and when the iTunes Music Store opened in 2003, Apple sold over a million songs the first week. As music was digitized, hard copies began to go out of style, and sales and revenue declined. Tower first filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and again (for the last time) in 2006. The internet wasn’t the only reason for Tower’s demise. Mismanagement and price competition from electronics retailers like Best Buy also played a part. Still, today, the vast majority of music is purchased or streamed entirely online, and record stores are for the most part a niche market. The writing was on the wall, but those impacted most had trouble reading it. Why is it difficult for leaders to see technological change coming
and right the ship before it’s too late? Why did Tower go all out on expansion just as the next big thing took the stage? This is one story of many. Digitization has moved beyond music and entertainment, and now many big retailers operating physical stores are struggling to stay relevant. Meanwhile, the pace of change is accelerating, and new potentially disruptive technologies are on the horizon. More than ever, leaders need to develop a strong understanding of and perspective on technology. They need to survey new innovations, forecast their pace, gauge the implications, and adopt new tools and strategy to change course as an industry shifts, not after it’s shifted. Simply, leaders need to adopt the mindset of a technologist. Here’s what that means.
Survey the Landscape Nurturing curiosity is the first step to understanding technological change. To know how technology might disrupt your industry, you have to know what’s in the pipeline and identify which new inventions are directly or indirectly related to your industry. Becoming more technologically minded takes discipline and focus as well as unstructured time to explore the non-obvious
connections between what is right in front of us and what might be. It requires a commitment to ongoing learning and discovery. Read outside your industry and comfort zone, not just Fast Company and Wired, but Science and Nature to expand your horizons. Identify experts with the ability to demystify specific technology areas—many have a solid following on Twitter or a frequently cited blog. But it isn’t all about reading. Consider going where the change is happening too. Visit one of the technology hubs around the world or a local university research lab in your own back yard. Or bring the innovation to you by building an internal exploration lab stocked with the latest technologies, creating a technology advisory board, hosting an internal innovation challenge, or a local pitch night where aspiring entrepreneurs can share their newest ideas. You might even ask the crowd by inviting anyone to suggest what innovation is most likely to disrupt your product, service, or sector. And don’t hesitate to engage younger folks—the digital natives all around you—by asking questions about what technology they are using or excited about. Consider going on a field trip with them to see how they
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use technology in different aspects of their lives. Invite the seasoned executives on your team to explore long-term “reverse mentoring” with someone who can expose them to the latest technology and teach them to use it. Whatever your strategy, the goal should be to develop a healthy obsession with technology. By exploring fresh perspectives outside traditional work environments and then giving ourselves permission to see how
enough to envision what is needed in an industry buffeted by progress that is changing 10% per year, but what happens when technological progress doubles annually? That is another world altogether. This kind of change can be deceiving. For example, machine learning and big data are finally reaching critical momentum after more than twenty years of being right around the corner. The advances in applications like speech and image recognition that we’ve seen in recent
“AI is the engine, but big data is the fuel. They need each other.” This convergence paired with an accelerating pace makes for surprising applications. To keep his research lab agile and open to new uses of advancing technologies, Lipson routinely asks his Ph.D. students, “How might AI disrupt this industry?” to prompt development of applications across a wide spectrum of sectors from healthcare to agriculture to food delivery.
Explore the Consequences
these new ideas might influence existing products and strategies, we have a chance to be ready for what we’re not ready for—but is likely right around the corner.
Estimate the Pace of Progress The next step is forecasting when a technology will mature. One of the most challenging aspects of the changes underway is that in many technology arenas, we are quickly moving from a linear to an exponential pace. It is hard
New technology inevitably gives rise to new ethical, social, and moral questions that we have never faced before. Rather than bury our heads in the sand, as leaders we must explore the full range of potential consequences of whatever is underway or still to come. We can add AI to kids’ toys, like Mattel’s Hello Barbie or use cutting-edge gene editing technology like CRISPR-Cas9 to select for preferred gene sequences beyond basic health. But just because we can do Malik Ducard, YouTube something doesn’t mean we should. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach Take time to listen to skeptics and understand the risks years dwarf what came before and many believe we’ve just begun to posed by technology. Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, understand the implications. Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, and Even as we begin to embrace disruptive change in one technology other well-known names in science arena, far more exciting possibilities and technology have expressed unfold when we explore how concern in the media and via open letters about the risks posed by AI. multiple arenas are converging. Artificial intelligence and big Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, data are great examples. As Hod has even argued tech companies Lipson, professor of Mechanical shouldn’t build artificial intelligence Engineering and Data Science systems that will replace people at Columbia University and co- rather than making them more author of Driverless: Intelligent productive. Cars and the Road Ahead, says,
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see page 64
Business - Leadership Exploring unintended consequences goes beyond having a Plan B for when something goes wrong. It requires broadening our view of what we’re responsible for. Beyond customers, shareholders, and the bottom line, we should understand how our decisions may impact employees, communities, the environment, our broader industry, and even our competitors. The minor inconvenience of mitigating these risks now is far better than the alternative. Create forums to listen to and value voices outside of the board room and C-Suite. Seek out naysayers, ethicists, community leaders, wise elders, and even neophytes—those who may not share our preconceived notions of right and wrong or our narrow view of our role in the larger world. The question isn’t: If we build it, will they come? It’s now: If we can build it, should we?
Adopt New Technologies and Shift Course The last step is hardest. Once you’ve identified a technology (or technologies) as a potential disruptor and understand the implications, you need to figure out how to evolve your organization to make the most of the opportunity. Simply recognizing disruption isn’t enough. Take today’s struggling brick-and-mortar retail business. Online shopping isn’t new. Amazon isn’t a plucky startup. Both have been changing how we buy stuff for years. And yet many who still own and operate physical stores—perhaps most prominently, Sears— are now on the brink of bankruptcy. There’s hope though. Netflix began as a DVD delivery service in the 90s, but quickly realized its core business didn’t have staying power. It would have been laughable to stream movies when Netflix was founded. Still, computers and bandwidth were advancing fast. In 2007, the company added streaming to its subscription. Even then it wasn’t a totally compelling product. But Netflix clearly saw a streaming future would likely end their DVD business. In recent years, faster connection speeds, a growing content library, and the company’s entrance into original programming have given Netflix streaming the upper hand over DVDs. Since 2011, DVD subscriptions have steadily declined. Yet the company itself is doing fine. Why? It anticipated the shift to streaming and acted on it.
Never Stop Looking for the Next Big Thing Technology is and will increasingly be a driver of disruption, destabilizing entrenched businesses and entire industries while also creating new markets and
value not yet imagined. When faced with the rapidly accelerating pace of change, many companies still default to old models and established practices. Leading like a technologist requires vigilant understanding of potential sources of disruption—what might make your company’s offering obsolete? The answers may not always be perfectly clear. What’s most important is relentlessly seeking them. https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/12/whyevery-leader-needs-a-healthy-obsession-withtechnology/?utm_source=Singularity+Hub+Newsl etter&utm_campaign=0d6a173430-Hub_Weekly_ Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ f0cf60cdae-0d6a173430-58180113
Some of the Most Influential Blacks in Technology
D
iversity in Silicon Valley has become a hot topic lately. In a one-and-a-half year long investigation (2011-2012), CNNMoney probed 20 of the most influential technology companies in the U.S. What they found: racial minorities and women are generally underrepresented in management roles. And those roles are typically dominated by white and Asian men. Bias or no bias, there are a number of AfricanAmericans in tech that are doing great things. Some are high profile executives, some own their own venture capital Will Lucas Creadio firms, and others are making technology more accessible to people all over the world. The list and rankings are subjective, so please feel free to let us know in the comments if we missed anyone (use the link below). www.businessinsider.com/most-influential-blacks-intechnology-2013-4#25-will-lucas-1
64 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
PUBLIC AUCTION ON THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2017 @11 AM (PREVIEW BEGINS @ 9AM) Liquidating inventory!
Opinion - Universal Basic Income
What Happens When the Robots Get All the Jobs? By Josh Quittner
T
he biggest problem facing Silicon Valley is not undervalued unicorns. Nor is it sexual harassment, diversity, the high cost of housing, the congested highways or the battle for talent. All of these issues are certainly critical to people who live and work here. But they pale in comparison to the awful devastation Techland is wreaking on the rest of the world: Silicon Valley has been steadily killing jobs, and the worst is yet to come. Venture capitalists like to fund
Google, which exponentially make more money by powering their businesses with technology rather than people. This is no surprise, but boy, the bill has come due. Look at the near civil war that’s pitting American cities against the rest of the country and at the growing rift between the haves and have-nots. Automation is replacing everyone from truck drivers (https://flipboard. com/@flipboard/-when-robots-takebad-jobs/f-6325c29fa7%2Ftheatlantic. com) to brick layers (https:// flipboard.com/@flipboard/-meetsam-the-bricklaying-robot/f6198737dfe%2Fyoutube.com) .
And that’s in the near term. White collar jobs will be the next to go (www.forbes.com/ sites/federicoguerrini/2015/08/03/ managers-beware-from-smartcontracts-to-the-autonomousceo-ai-is-coming-for-your-job-aswell/#53c9d4f54be2).
ideas that can scale, which means new companies will grow by adding more technology than workers. VCs don’t fund barbershops because if a barber wants to make three times more money, she needs to hire three more barbers. VCs fund companies such as Facebook and
Compounding the problem is that, for the first time, not enough new U.S. businesses are starting up to offset the death of failing businesses. And the new businesses that are launching are predominantly in big cities. “The rate of new business formation has plummeted, falling by half since the late 1970s—including a severe decline during the Great Recession. From small momand-pop storefronts to high-tech
Check, please: Robots carry trays of food a China. REUTERS
startups, new businesses are simply scarcer than ever,” reports a recent, harrowing study, “Dynamism in Retreat,” published by the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan think tank (http://eig.org/ dynamism). “Americans are less likely to start a business, move to another region of the country, or switch jobs now than at any time in recent memory.”
So What Are We To Do? The future of work was on the agenda at Fortune’s annual Brainstorm Tech Conference (http://fortune.com/2017/05/17/ brainstorm-tech-livestream-2017) ,
which ended Wednesday in Aspen, Colorado, where it was generally agreed that most people want to work—but they care more about having a stable income than an especially large one (www.axios.com/ experts-we-need-to-better-understandworkers-and-jobs-2461690473.html) .
Researchers have known for more
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i/f-438c83ae50%2Fvox.com) The
basic idea of basic income is to raise the economic floor that supports us all. People will still want to work—and to be entrepreneurial—and enjoy more material things if they do. But they won’t need to.
What's Happening Now UBI experiments are already ongoing around the world. As part of a larger fiveyear study, Y Combinator in May 2016 launched a pilot project in Oakland (https://blog.ycombinator. com /m oving-forward-on-basicincome), in which 100 families are
given money—$1,000 to $2,000 a person. Writes Quartz (https://
at a restaurant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province,
than a decade that after one’s essential needs are met, money doesn’t buy happiness: It turns out that the “cost of happiness” is around $75,000. (Here’s a state-by-state chart showing how much happiness costs locally. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/ themargin/2014/07/15/the-price-ofhappiness-by-state)
But that’s considerably more than the U.S. median income, which is $56,516. Lately, a number of Silicon Valley luminaries—Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, among them—have embraced the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), which would put all of us on the dole, regardless of need. (Vox (www.vox.com) dropped an excellent longread on the subject last week, here (https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/a-bas ic-inc ome-really-could-endpoverty/f-f132d184c2%2Fvox.com) ,
and another on Thursday, here. https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-the2-most-popular-critiques-of-basic-
qz.com/696377/y -combinator-isrunning-a-basic-income-experimentwith-100-oakland-families): “The
study will test payment methods and data collection, as well as whether the money meets people’s core needs, and how it affects people’s ‘happiness, well-being, financial health, as well as how people spend their time.'” Similar schemes are being rolled out elsewhere, most notably in Finland, in a tiny town near the Arctic Circle that was devastated by Nokia layoffs (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/ business/economy/universal-basicincome-finland.html?_r=0), where
government money was intended to get people to accept low-paying jobs. (Though apparently, it’s not working as planned.) Last week, Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder, was shopping around a book pitch that outlines his own modest proposal: Give people who make less than $75,000 a check for $500 a month. Hughes wants to encourage national brainstorming on the issue and has committed to using the proceeds of the book to fund a UBI pilot in a small American city. I’m assuming his broader plan, which The Washingtonian
go t hold of, but didn’t really explain, says how that will get us to Post-Robot Utopia. He has already outlined some of that thinking in a Medium post last year, when he asserted that “recurring, unconditional cash stipends are a shockingly effective way to encourage work, improve health and education outcomes, and create a ladder of economic opportunity.” Some, including Helen Razer, also writing in Quartz (https:// flipboard .com/@flipboard /-ubi-isjust-a-bedtime-story-elon-musk-t/f86ba6fb3e3%2Fqz.com), say that UBI
is a pipe dream and “just a bedtime story Elon Musk tells himself to help the super-wealthy sleep.” She argues that Techland’s elite are cynically embracing universal income “to permit spending on their goods by what remains of the American middle class. No one on a stagnant wage can currently buy the things that Musk—and the rest of Silicon Valley—wants to sell them. These billionaires champion a scheme whose prime result will be their profit.” Obviously, enormous questions remain about how Universal Basic Income would work, whether it’ll work, and how we’ll pay for it. On that last point, the best idea yet: companies that use automation in lieu of humans ought to pay hefty “robot taxes.” Bill Gates thought of that one, of course. editorialstaff@flipboard.com
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From: Derrick Johnson, Interim President/CEO, NAACP
A
s we pause once again to celebrate the freedoms and justice that Independence Day represents, we also reflect upon the courageous work that so many have done to make our nation a more perfect union. We at the NAACP know that there is more work to do, especially now. Our very democracy is in jeopardy. In a letter directed to state officials, under the guise of its mandate to investigate vote fraud and 2016 election irregularities, Commission heads Kris Korbach and Vice President Mike Pence asked for suggestions on ways of improving the integrity of U.S. elections. But at the same time, a second letter sent on the same day by the Department of Justice requested personal, private information -- from partial Social Security numbers to party affiliations and voting records -- on millions of registered American voters. We see these letters for precisely what they are—illegal, and a looming threat to our democracy. And we believe that this request represents only the first salvo in a move to implement the widespread suppression of American voters, the possible purging of the rolls and essentially a rollback of our constitutionally guaranteed voting rights. There is no other plausible use for this type of information. Please know that we will do everything in our power to resist this call, and continue to lead the fight for the historical gains we’ve made for African-Americans, and for all citizens at the ballot box.
Join us in this fight. Thank you for your support. 72 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Mentor Tech for Women Entrepreneurs
Hello Alice: The AI-based Virtual Advisor for Female Entrepreneurs By Asha McLean
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ell EMC, in partnership with Circular Board (www. thecircularboard.com), a "collaborative" accelerator for female entrepreneurs, has unveiled A l i c e
of female entrepreneurs in the US
making it difficult for less traditional founders to navigate," said Carolyn Rodz, founder and CEO of Circular Board. Driven by data analytics, Alice connects female entrepreneurs in real time with the resources needed to scale based on startup stage, location, industry, revenue, and individual needs, Dell EMC explained. Officially available globally, Alice offers its users a conversational user interface focused on areas such as financing, legal, marketing, and technology. It also offers a personalised dashboard, user profiles with data collection capabilities, a library of resources,
have reached more than $1 million in revenues. With Alice, Dell EMC wants to flip this stat to 98%. "Alice is a female founder's best mentor, guide, and consultant. The current startup ecosystem continues to cycle resources among a very small percentage of well-connected entrepreneurs,
a network of global experts and leaders, as well as an events calendar. Circular Board approached Dell Technologies with the concept last year and the tech giant took it to market through its acquisition of Pivotal. Speaking with ZDNet in October, Angela Fox, managing director for
(https:// helloalice. com), an
artificial intelligence platform aimed at making it easier for more female founders to succeed in the tech world. According to Dell EMC, femaleowned businesses currently employ 7.8 million workers in the United States and generate $1.3 trillion in revenue overall, yet as reported by EY (www.ey.com/ Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-pdf-ewwforce-multipliers/%24FILE/EY-pdfeww-force-multipliers.pdf), only 2%
Dell Australia and New Zealand, said it is everyone's responsibility to encourage change and promote equality in the workplace. Speaking about engaging more women in IT-related fields, Fox said
it is important to keep the dialogue open, because the challenge lies with how to drive real outcomes. "I think that can be as simple as the education of the people that are influencing those girls' choices," she said. "Strong role models, healthy role models -- they don't all have to be female -- I think it's somebody that's advocating, and somebody that's got that person's best interests at heart." Dell kicked off a new US-wide partnership with Girls Who Code (https://girlswhocode.com) last year, a non-profit organisation dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology, providing a $400,000 cash donation to support after-school computer science educational programs for an estimated 15,000 girls in underserved communities across the country. www.zdnet.com/article/hello-alicethe-ai-based-virtual-advisor-forfemale-entrepreneurs/
73 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.nubianskin.com/us
Sell Your Products & Services on
Black Business Association is joining forces with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and a number of other businesses and community organizations to help promote safe driving through
It Can Wait.
http://itcanwait.com
F
Independence Day OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION
Business Technology:
Take A Look! by LaSandra Stratton
C
heck out what these firms and organizations have to offer for your personal interests, personal wealth building, and business expansion opportunities.
Zoom.us: Videoconferencing Plus
You’ll find a lot of common features among the videoconferencing and screensharing tools, but Zoom is stepping up and standing out. The free version lets you connect
up to 25 cameras for up to 40 minutes (and unlimited one-to-one meetings), and paid plans start at ten bucks a month. Zoom will blow you away with the ease of starting a videoconference. From any computer or iOS/Android device, a quick download lets you start a meeting. With a couple of clicks, you can see your own video image on your screen and invite others. The video quality is super duper, and the audio is great as well. In a meeting, you can collaborate and share in a number of ways. From a Mac or PC: • View everyone in a meeting, and Zoom can automatically change the spotlight to the person who is speaking. • Share your screen and give control to other attendees (even in the free version).
• Choose which window to share, or share your whole desktop. If you have two monitors, you can show one desktop or the other. Zoom Collaboration • A menu bar gives you sharing options, audio/video control, participant management and annotation functions. • When you are viewing a shared screen, the participants will shrink to smaller windows so you can still interact. • You can allow participants to annotate your screen with arrows, lines and more. Sharing Mobile Screens When you start or join a Zoom meeting from a mobile device, you can share photos, go to a webpage or share files from a number of cloud services. Once you share something, you and your colleagues can use tools to highlight and annotate as you discuss. Bonus Awesomeness One of the coolest Zoom features is the ability to share your iOS device via a PC (notice those key words — just for iOS to PC shares right now). When you choose to share your iPhone/iPad, Zoom lets you create a link to an iOS device on the same wifi connection via AirPlay. A dialog box gives you step-by-step instructions to mirror the screen of your iOS device to your computer so attendees can see apps and activities on your device. http://yournerdybestfriend. com/2014/11/06/zoom-usvideoconferencing-and-more/
Hotel Rooms By The Day Reservations App
W
hy book a hotel for the day? Day booking hotels can provide you the
opportunity to take a daycation, relax at a hotel, recharge with a quick sleep, be productive using wifi and much more! Day stay hotels can provide flexibility: hotel day rates are 60% cheaper that night rates, making booking a day room very smart. Day meeting rooms may be reserved through hotelsbyday.com making our collection of daytime hotels beneficial to your business and your guests. Our Day-use, micro-stay hotels in NYC, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles & London provide the opportunity for same day check in & check out, making your daystay easier. Hotelsbyday.com helps you find elegant hotels to book a Morning, Mid-day or Afternoon stay. You may discover new properties through our curated catalogue of exceptional hotels, with the best day stay deals, from value to luxury. Make a reservation through the mobile site, IOS or Android App in just three simple taps. Book now at no charge - pay at the hotel*. Free cancellation up to the night prior to your check-in (subject to availability). Rest, relax, escape, get productive. Experience world class amenities - enjoy a great room with shower, free wifi*, complimentary breakfast*, parking and fitness center amongst others (*subject to availability). Amplify your day with the HotelsByDay experience. www.hotelsbyday.com/en
Flexible Hotel Check-In & Check-
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B
Out App
y giving access to extended checking times, FlexBook. co allows you to book an overnight hotel room with check in sooner than 3pm and check out later than 11am the next day. You can book overnight rooms in advance. No one will be left stranded during the day without a comfy room. FlexBook saves you money with competitive pricing for overnight rooms with custom check in & check out. No need to feel rushed! With custom check in/out times, there is no need to book extra nights in order to stay in your room for a little bit longer. No more stress of traditional check in and check out times. Now you can get more out of your leisure or business destinations.
Find the perfect space without needing to remind yourself of time constraints. Whether it be layovers or exploring a city, FlexBook makes time your ally! With little restrictions, you can also use our sister brand www. hotelsbyday.com to seamlessly transititon into a dayroom if you’d like experience a short stay at a Hotel. www.flexbook.co
All Day Fitness App
B
egin your journey to total wellbeing with the Adidas All Day app.
Discover your path to all-around fitness with workout challenges, yoga classes, nutrition insights and tips for mindset. BE ACTIVE: Make every moment count with yoga and workouts. EAT BETTER, LIVE BETTER: Discover how to improve your nutrition and hydration. FREE YOUR MINDSET: Be present. Be positive. Cultivate a balanced mind. REST TO RECHARGE: Renew your mind and body with quality rest. Available through the App Store and Google Play. www.adidas.com/us/allday
Reading Trainer
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arents need to know that Reading Trainer is a speedreading training program
app available on iPhone, iPad, and Android, and Windows. There is no objectionable content in the reading tests. The training works on visual acuity, which is good for anyone. Though Reading Trainer claims to increase reading comprehension
levels while increasing reading speed, some reading experts say that increased reading speeds can hinder reading comprehension, which is especially important for students. Various languages are available, including Spanish, Russian, and Turkish. The exercises are quick and straightforward and, even if the focus isn't building speed readers, can help sharpen thinking skills. This is an app for older teens who are selfmotivated and enjoy brain-building type activities. The word searches, word scrambles, and eye-brain exercises are straightforward and not at all gimmicky. The statistics the app keeps are amazing. Teens can see how they are improving within every unit and overall. For student readers, speed reading 1,000 words per minute may not be a smart goal, as kids need to understand literature and be able to interpret it and build a love for reading. But kids can improve their reading speed and challenge their brains with Reading Trainer. Available through the App Store and Google Play. https://www.commonsensemedia. org/app-reviews/reading-trainer#
Submitted by LaSandra Stratton, Chief Content Administrator of the Black Business News.
79 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Michelle Obama Made an Important Public Appearance By Hannah Weil McKinley
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n a moment that left jaws on the floor, Michelle Obama took the stage at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night in her first major appearance since leaving the White House. It was enough to leave the whole room breathless - the former FLOTUS and fashion icon proved her style prowess yet again, this time in a black, longsleeved LBD by Cushnie et Ochs and Jennifer Fisher jewels, and reminded us all just what we've been missing. In fact, we'd argue, Mrs. Obama's never looked better. With confidence and her inner-cool radiating from within, Michelle's appearance is a breath of fresh air - the palette cleanser we've all needed. And, while designers remain divided about dressing Ivanka Trump, Jennifer Fisher echoed the sentiments so much of the fashion industry have for Michelle, telling WWD: "Michelle Obama embodies a level of effortless confidence and personal style that every American woman, no matter her age or demographic, can appreciate and emulate. In her speech tonight [at the ESPY Awards] Mrs. Obama said that Eunice Kennedy Shriver changed hearts and minds. Mrs. Obama did the same for the American people and it's an honor to see her in my jewelry." Quite simply, Michelle Obama is the queen of cool, as the look here surely proves again. http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/whats-hot/michelle-obamamade-the-appearance-youve-been-waiting-for-in-a-dress-you-
Buy Black! Bank Black!
Stan Firm inna Inglan: Black Diaspora in London, 1960-70s
wont-forget/ss-BBEjO3Q?ocid=spartandhp
Educate Black! Invest Black!
82 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Michelle Obama Addresses Racist Attacks She Endured As First Lady By Rebecca Shapiro
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ichelle Obama has opened up in front of a crowd of about 8,500 at the Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s 30th anniversary event in Denver about her experience as America’s first black first lady. Obama spoke about smashing the glass ceiling as she was interviewed Tuesday by WFCO President and CEO Lauren Casteel at the Pepsi Center ― the same venue where she addressed thousands at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Casteel asked which of the falling glass shards cut the deepest, according to the Denver Post. “The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut,” Obama said. “Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won’t see me for what I am because of my skin color.” Obama referenced racist attacks she endured, including being called an ape and disparaging references made about her body. The former first lady faced an onslaught of racist
insults while her husband, former President Barack Obama, was in office. Even after the 2016 presidential election, two West Virginia officials lost their jobs for referring to Obama as an “ape in heels” in a Facebook post celebrating President Donald Trump’s victory. Throughout Obama’s two terms, she shared during commencement addresses and in some interviews how she coped with the racist attacks she had to face. “When they go low, I go high,” Obama told graduates of the historically black Jackson State University in April 2016. “That’s the choice Barack and I have made. That’s what’s kept us sane over the years.” In Denver, the Post added, Obama said that she doesn’t pretend such vicious attacks don’t hurt her, because it lets those doing the hurting off the hook. During the event, she also again stressed that she does not plan to run for public office. www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michelle-obamaaddresses-racist-attacks-she-endured-as-first-lady_ us_597853b3e4b0a8a40e83c96b
83 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Stress of Poverty, Racism Raise Risk of Alzheimer’s for African Americans, New Research Suggests
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new group of studies into racial disparities among people with Alzheimer’s disease suggests that social conditions, including the stress of poverty and racism, substantially raise the risks of dementia for African Americans. In four separate studies, researchers found that conditions that affect blacks disproportionately compared with other groups – such as poor living conditions and stressful events such as the loss of a sibling, the divorce of one’s parents, or chronic unemployment --have severe consequences for brain health later on. One study by University of Wisconsin researchers found that stress literally takes years off a person’s life in terms of brain function – an average of four years for African Americans, compared with 1 ½ years for whites. Another Wisconsin study showed that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with later decline in cognitive function and even the biomarkers linked to Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia. In the other two studies, researchers with Kaiser Permanente and the University of California, San Francisco found a higher degree of dementia risk for people born in states with high rates of infant mortality. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente and the University of California, Irvine, found that racial disparities in the
incidence of dementia that were previously found among people who are 65 years and older also appear in the very oldest demographic, people who are 90 or more. These lifelong effects of stress and disadvantage could be direct, perhaps in line with previous research showing that sustained stress can physically alter the brain. Or the impact could be the result of cascading effects, such as when a powerfully disruptive event affects a person’s early schooling and limits achievement later on. “No one’s looking at the same kind of things, but the research all dovetails really well,” said Megan Zuelsdorff, an epidemiologist with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It is the social environment that’s contributing to disparities.” She and other researchers said the overall thrust of the studies’ findings – which will be presented Sunday in London at the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual conference – not only offer additional evidence of racial inequities in people’s risk of dementia but suggest the need for more urgent interventions directed at those communities. “Not one of these things is good news — except that they are modifiable,” Zuelsdorff said. Over the years, researchers have theorized that blacks are more susceptible to Alzheimer’s owing to genetics and higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
But researchers in recent years have also been focused on social factors that might raise the risk. It’s long been known that stress is associated with social disadvantage, and in the United States and other countries, members of minority groups often suffer disproportionally from those disadvantages. Paola Gilsanz, a researcher with the University of California, San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research, attempted to examine the impact on brain health on people who had been born in states with high levels of infant mortality, a sort of proxy for beginning life under adverse circumstances. During the period she focused on, the black infant mortality rate was nearly twice as high as whites’. The study reviewed clinical exam data collected between 1964 and 1973 for 6,284 Kaiser Permanente members, of whom 17% were black. The subjects were born between 1919 and 1932. Researchers then analyzed their health records in regard to whether they had been born in one of 10 states with the highest infant mortality rates in 1928 – a year chosen because of the stark difference between white and black infant mortality rates and that year’s place toward the lower range of ages among the subjects of the study. African Americans born in those states had a 40% higher risk of
84 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Registry for Alzheimer ’s Prevention Study (WRAP), Zuelsdorff and her colleagues examined the role of profound stress on the cognitive function of 1,320 people, of whom 82 were black. The others were nonRusher L. Baker III, county executive for Prince George’s County, Md. Hispanic whites. with his wife, Christa. Christa Baker is among the disproportionate Althought the number of African Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease subjects differed in race, they (Photo by Hamil Harris/The Washington Post © Hamil Harris/TWP) were otherwise alike in terms of average age, dementia than blacks who were them WRAP data of nearly 1,500 not born in states with high infant people who had been tested for genetic disposition as regards mortality rates. The risk was twice memory and cognitive function. Alzheimer’s risk, and education. The subjects underwent testing as high, even after accounting for The group also analyzed the differences in education and other neighborhood data against a much of their memory and executive health risk factors, as it was for smaller subset of people who function. The impact of stress in whites born outside states with high had been tested for biomarkers – their lifetimes was elicited through infant mortality rates. proteins found in cerebrospinal fluid a questionnaire on 27 items, such as whether the person had “I think this is important because linked to Alzheimer’s. it contributes more information to a The researchers found that severe problems in school, the growing body of evidence that early people in the most disadvantaged family suffered bankruptcy, or life matters to brain health, and that neighborhoods performed a parent suffered from alcoholproblems. Although maybe early life conditions partially significantly worse in every aspect related the questionnaire also asked explain the racial disparities we of cognitive function that was tested; see in dementia risk,” Gilsanz said. they also had disproportionately respondents to rank the impact of “We should really think about brain higher levels of an Alzheimer’s those disruptive events, Zuelsdorff’s study focused only on the number health as a lifelong concern.” biomarker. Amy J. Kind, who is also a physician “This linkage between of such events themselves. “We’re trying to get at really, and researcher at the University of neighborhood disadvantage and potentially disruptive events,” Wisconsin, looked to see whether Alzheimer’s has never been Zuelsdorff said in an interview. there is a relationship between explored until our work,” Kind said. What the study found was disadvantaged neighborhoods and Zuelsdorff — the University of that blacks reported more than disparities in the prevalence of Wisconsin School epidemiologist 60 % such stressful events in dementia. She and her colleagues whose study found that higher levels first refined Census and American of stress among African Americans their lifetimes, and that those Community Survey data to map have the effect of speeding the experiences were associated with more than 34 million neighborhoods aging of a person’s brain — has poorer cognitive function. – blocks of 1,500 to 3000 people spent a decade or more looking at www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ stress-of-poverty-racism-raise-risk-of– based on socioeconomic data how stressful experiences affect alzheimer%E2%80%99s-for-africanto arrive at an Area Deprivation cognitive abilities. For the past year americans-new-research-suggests/ Index. After ranking those blocks or so, she focused on how that ar-BBEuH9S?li=AA4ZnC&ocid=spart from least disadvantaged to most, would intersect with race. andhp the researchers then compared Using data from the Wisconsin 85 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Terence Daniels, National Big Brother of the Year
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ince about 9 years old, Terence was matched with Terrell Blue has had an a big brother himself when he amazing big brother in his was younger, so he knows the life, and after being named the impact having an older mentor National Big Brother of the Year, can have on a young boy. But the country knows what a great big he was surprised how much his brother Terence Daniels is as well. relationship with a little brother "He's been there for me through impacted him as an adult. ups and downs." Terrell said about "I didn't expect to get as much his big brother, friend and mentor. out of it as I have as far as the "He's been that one person who relationship me and Terrell have," is there for you - and he didn't leave when I was down." For ten years, the pair have guided and shaped one another through disappointments a n d ac hievements. Terrell is now a high school graduate headed to the National Guard. Terence recently earned a college degree. The pair say they pushed each other to their successes. "I'm sure his work was harder, but he still was coming out with A's and I was coming out with A's and we were just competing earning A's and © Provided by Hearst Television, Inc. B's, mostly."
Photo from the day in August 2009 when Daniels met Blue (provided).
he said. The relationship between the two has grown and matured through the years. Daniels said. "There's times when I can call him and have a grown conversation about things going on in our lives," he said. Terrell has graduated from high school now, and Terence just welcomed twins into his full home. But these two have a friendship they say will last and grow brother to brother. Terrell says the pair are more than family. "He tells me all the time: We may not be blood brothers, but we're forever brothers," he said www.msn.com/en-us/news/goodnews/cincinnati-man-namednational-big-brother-of-the-year/ ar-BBDxa6V?ocid=spartandhp
86 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest - Obituary
Gertrude “Gertie” Brown, Mother of Jacqueline L. Jackson, Dies at 90
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ever give up. Never lose hope. Never stop dreaming – and learning. That is how Gertrude Davis Brown will be remembered, as one who encouraged and persevered. The beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, the heart and soul of one of America’s distinguished civil rights families, died at the age of 90 on Thursday, July 13, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Services are scheduled for Monday, July 24, 2017 for Mrs. Brown, the mother-in-law of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. The services begin at 11:00 a.m. at Howard University’s Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, 6th St. N.W. & Howard Place N.W. in Washington, D.C. Contributions/Donations should be sent to the Jackson Foundation, 930 E. 50th St., Chicago, IL 60615. For additional information call (773) 256-2713. Mrs. Brown, lovingly known as Gertie, was born at home “on
the Muck” in Pahokee, Florida to Algertha Davis, on March 7, 1927, 65 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite the challenges of life during the time she was born and raised her children, Gertrude lived a life of self-sacrifice, commitment and determination, accomplishing the goals she set for herself and her children. Today’s young mothers could learn a valuable lesson from Gertrude about the importance of a mother’s role in the education of her children. She was born poor, in the pits of poverty with low expectations and Black, in the Jim Crow South. She was orphaned when she was 12 years old. Gertie started her family at age 16. She began her early life of work in the fields of Fort Pierce, FL, picking beans and tomatoes and was sometimes a migrant worker. She soon married and moved to Newport News, VA, and began anew. Gertrude Brown was married for 55 years with a record of service of more than 30 years at the Veterans Administration Hospital. Gertie was an advocate of self-improvement and famously remarked “that poverty is the cruelest of all social and economic
diseases,” and “wherever and whatever it takes to be the very best you can be, take it.” To this end, she wholly devoted herself to encouraging whomever she encountered to never stop learning. Each of her children was sent to college before she pursued her own life-long dream of an education. While working full-time, Gertie attended school in the afternoon and evenings at Thomas Nelson Jr. College. She received her high school diploma there at the age of 51. She then entered Hampton University and received her bachelor’s degree in social work at 61, while still employed. Her love for, and dedication to Hampton University was so profound that she felt a degree from Hampton University was equivalent to Harvard, Yale or Princeton. In 1988, she was quoted by the New York Times as saying, “this is such an exciting time in my life and finally my dream has come true. I’m never going to stop going to school.” She was so proud in 1988 about receiving her bachelor’s degree, and the words of her son-in-law, presidential candidate Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., who delivered the keynote address during her commencement and led the cheers when he said, “never surrender.” It didn’t stop there. Gertie continued her education and completed her master’s degree at
88 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest - Obituary
Former MLB All-Star Lee May Dies at 74
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ee May, a three-time All-Star with 354 career home runs, passed away on July 29 at the age of 74. Details of his passing are not known. May, known as the Big Bopper, was a fierce hitter who hit 20 or more home runs and 80 or more RBI in 11 consecutive seasons. In 1976, he led the American League in RBI (109). The slugging first baseman and designated hitter played 18-seasons for the Cincinnati Reds (1965–71),
Houston Astros (1972–74), Baltimore Orioles (1975– 80) and Kansas City Royals (1981–82). He retired after the 1982 season with a career .267 batting average and 1,244 RBI. www.msn.com/ en-us/sports/mlb/ former-mlb-all-starlee-may-dies-at-74/arAAp5hvl?ocid=spartandhp
63. Mrs. Brown was preceded in death by her loving husband Chief Petty Officer Julius Francis Brown, and two children, Cynthia Violet Dancy and Julius Francis Brown, Jr. She is survived by two daughters, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, and Constance Delores Ward. The people impacted by Gertrude’s presence on earth are far too numerous to list. She leaves to mourn in addition to her children, son-in-law Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., daughter-in-law Brenda Brown, eight grandsons, two granddaughters, 22 greatgrandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and special friends. In her later years she’d ask every child who passed her porch in Washington, D.C., “What are you doing? What do you want to be? Who’s your mama? I know she wants to be proud of you.” https://chicagocrusader.com/gertrudegertie-brown-mother-of-jacqueline-ljackson-dies-at-90/
89 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest - Obituary
90 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
International
CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival Accra, Ghana
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he CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out of the galleries and onto the streets of James Town, Accra, Ghana. The first festival took place in July 2011, following a series of discussions about creating DIY [do-it-yourself] community projects. Our vision is to cultivate a wider audience for the arts in West Africa by breaking creative boundaries and using art as a viable form to rejuvenate public spaces. The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival challenges both artists and community-based audiences to
connect through art. The festival includes street painting, graffiti murals, photo exhibitions, interactive installations, a food and fashion marketplace, live street performances, extreme sports, African film shows, street boxing, a fashion parade, a music block party, recyclable design workshops and much more. More than 200 Ghana-based and international artists take part in the event every year. In 2016, over 30,000 people attended CHALE WOTE. http://accradotaltradio.com/chale-wote-street-artfestival
93 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
"From Day One: An Agenda for Advancing Women Leaders in Africa," By Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of the Republic of Malawi
Leaders are born; yet many born female in rural parts of sub-Saharan Africa go unrecognized largely because, from day one, women and girls face a political, cultural and social environment that inhibits their development into well-equipped female leaders. Dr. Banda presents a toolkit that details how policymakers, civil society organizations, community leaders, and the international community can advance women's leadership in policy and political positions in Africa. Download your copy from Scribd. www.scribd.com/document/342459589/From-Day-One#from_embed Copyright: © All Rights Reserved Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Join the conversation: #LeadingAfrica | @DrJoyceBanda | @WPSProject | @AfricaUpClose www.wilsoncenter.org 94 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
REGISTER NOW! at panafricanglobaltradeconference.com to join us at the CARSON COMMUNITY CENTER on Sept 15 - 16, 2017 and the LIEMERT PARK VILLAGE on SEPT. 17, 2017 to celebrate and organize the PAN AFRICAN DIASPORA! Africa-USA Chamber of Commerce 1.626.243.3614 www.africa-usa.org panafricanglobaltradeconference.com
95 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
HOSTED BUYER EVENT: MICE WEST AFRICA – WELCOME TO THE EMERGING WEST AFRICAN REGION 23-25 November 2017, Accra, Ghana
WEST AFRICA
I am very happy to inform you that MICE West Africa celebrates its inaugural event November 23 to 25 in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The organizing Street of Gold Foundation (SOG), founded by Mr. Royal Panford who acts as its CEO, cooperates closely with the nation's Ghana Tourism Authority to develop the common understanding of the importance of the meetings industry inside the country, and offers the platform for the nations – but also for the regions’ providers to connect with the international buyers. But the SOG is working far beyond the normal organizational efforts to create the much-needed platform for exhibitors and buyers. SOG also assists the visitor through connecting them to the appropriate organizations and associations to ensure that groups to Ghana experience the country at its best and enjoy incredible value for money. Oh – and one word about Ghana: Should you think about the Ebola disease outbreak. Ghana did not have a single case. This information has been published by the WHO and the US CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Interested? Let’s meet in Accra! Apply to the MICE West Africa hosted buyer programme to connect with local suppliers and to site-inspect the destination during the post-event Site Inspection Programme. Find details on www.micewestafrica.com.
DOING BUSINESS IN AFRICA INVESTMENT FORUM The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA, 30328 Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 9:00 AM EDT to Friday, July 21, 2017 at 6:00 PM
We invite you to attend this unique business event, as all roads lead to Atlanta Georgia USA for the Doing Business in Africa Investment Forum with the theme "Economic Reforms and Private Sector led Investments as Engines of Growth for US-Africa Trade Relations". With Africa positioning itself as a preferred destination for global business and investments, the forum shall discuss the investment opportunities in Africa, the benefits and challenges of doing business within the continent, what measures have been put in place to attract foreign direct investments into the continent, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), how it has impacted Africa and the dynamics of US-Africa trade relations under the Trump administration. For detailed evening information or registration visit: http://africanleadership.co.uk/doing-business-in-africa-investment-forum-atlanta-ga African Leadership Magazine info@africanleadership.co.uk +2349029903000
97 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
Madonna Welcomed in Malawi as 'Daughter of this Nation' By Gregory Gondwe, Associated Press
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adonna was welcomed in Malawi recently for the official opening of a hospital children's wing funded by her charity and named after one of
"You started by adopting four Malawian children, now we are adopting you as the daughter of this nation," President Peter Mutharika declared at the ceremony.
a hospital," said Madonna, who explained that she grew up without a mother and wanted to give the best to Malawian children. "Never give up on your dreams,"
© The Associated Press US musician Madonna, left, sits with her adopted children Stella, David and Mercy, at the opening of The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of Blantyre. the four children the pop star has adopted from the impoverished southern African nation.
"There are so many things I never imagined I will do. I never imagined one day I will build this kind of
she added. The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive
98 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
USTDA Accepting Proposals for Energy Projects in Africa
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he U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced today a call for initial proposals from project sponsors in sub-Saharan Africa or U.S. companies working with African project sponsors. These entities are invited to submit an initial concept paper (not to exceed five pages) on energy-related projects to USTDA no later than Monday, September 25, 2017 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time to be considered for funding. The proposal should include a brief description of the project's size and status, including project location, economic fundamentals, equipment and technology requirements, legal and regulatory considerations, and the purpose and amount of USTDA funding requested. The proposal should also outline the sponsor's experience, potential options for financing the project, risks that the project faces, and estimated potential for U.S. content
to increase access to electrical
www.ustda.gov
Care, located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of Blantyre, was built in collaboration with Malawi's health ministry. It has already started some activities, and Madonna said last week that the institute had completed its first surgery. The four children she adopted from Malawi are David Banda, Mercy James, Stelle and Estere. The children's wing was named after 11-year-old Mercy.
Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, was founded in 2006 to address the poverty and hardship endured by the country's orphans and other vulnerable children. It has built schools and funded the new pediatric unit, which began construction in 2015 and includes three operating rooms dedicated to children's surgery, a day clinic and a 45-bed ward. Madonna, 58, visited the site last year.
"When you look into the eyes of children in need, wherever they may be, a human being wants to do anything and everything they can to help, and on my first visit to Malawi, I made a commitment that I would do just that," Madonna said in a statement to The Associated Press last week.
in the project's implementation. USTDA's full proposal guidelines are available on its website (www. ustda.gov/program/guidelines-solesource-project-proposals).
USTDA projects are assessed for viability, including proven technologies, as well as their social and environmental impact. USTDA funding is open to private and public beneficiaries on a 100% grant basis. USTDA is an implementing agency of both the Power Africa and U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance programs, which seek
power and support private sector investments in African clean energy infrastructure. USTDA's investments under these programs provide critical early-stage support to advance new power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. To get further information and begin the proposal process, please contact PowerAfrica@ustda.gov.
About USTDA: The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/ madonna-welcomed-in-malawias-daughter-of-this-nation/arBBEeXVU?ocid=spartandhp
99 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
USTDA Supports U.S. Business Opportunities in Kenyan Power Sector
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he U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed a grant with Virunga Power Kenya Limited supporting the development of three runof-river hydroelectric plants in Kenya. The grant funds a feasibility study that will evaluate the viability of the sites for power generation and examines the best approach for connecting local homes and businesses to clean, reliable electricity. A U.S. firm will be selected on a competitive basis to perform the feasibility study. “We are very excited to work with USTDA on these run-of-river hydroelectric projects in Kenya,” said Brian Kelly, Virunga Power Kenya Limited’s Founder and Managing Director. “These funds will help Kenya reach its rural electrification targets, in addition to promoting the business case for community co-ownership and participation in small renewable energy projects across the region and beyond.” “The study will provide opportunities for U.S. industry to supply products and services that will advance Kenya’s power goals,” said Lida Fitts, USTDA’s Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa. The study will allow the developers to identify U.S. equipment
manufacturers and service providers that are well-positioned to outfit the hydroelectric plants. Businesses interested in submitting proposals for this project should visit the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website at www.fbo.gov. A link to the FBO announcement is posted to USTDA’s website at www.ustda. gov/business-opportunities. The deadline for submissions is August 20, 2017.
About USTDA The U.S. Trade and Development
Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project planning activities, pilot projects, and reverse trade missions while creating sustainable infrastructure and economic growth in partner countries. www.ustda.gov/news/pressreleases/2017/ustda-supports-usbusiness-opportunities-kenyan-powersector
100 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
African Stock Exchanges • Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde - www.bvc.cv (in Portuguese) • Bond Exchange of South Africa - www.bondexchange. co.za • Botswana Stock Exchange www.bse.co.bw • Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres - UEMOA (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - www.brvm.org • Casablanca Stock Exchange (Morocco) - www.casablancabourse.com/bourseweb/index. aspx • Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Tanzania) - www. dse.co.tz • Douala Stock Exchange (Cameroon) - www.douala-stockexchange.com/index_us.php • The Egyptian Exchange - www.
• • • • •
• • •
egx.com.eg/English/homepage. aspx Ethiopia Commodity Exchange - www.ecx.com.et Ghana Stock Exchange - www. gse.com.gh Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) - www. jse.co.za/Home.aspx Khartoum Stock Exchange (Sudan, in Arabic) - www.kse. com.sd Libyan Stock Market - www. lsm.ly/_layouts/membership/ login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fEnglis h%2fPages%2fdefault.aspx Lusaka Stock Exchange (Zambia) - www.luse.co.zm Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya) - www.luse.co.zm Malawi Stock Exchange - www. mse.co.mw
• Mozambique Stock Exchange (in Portuguese) - www. bolsadevalores.co.mz • Namibian Stock Exchange www.nsx.com.na • Nigerian Stock Exchange www.nse.com.ng/Pages/default. aspx • Stock Exchange of Mauritius www.stockexchangeofmauritius. com • Swaziland Stock Exchange www.ssx.org.sz • Tunisia Stock Exchange - www. bvmt.com.tn • Uganda Securities Exchange www.use.or.ug Read the lastest issue of The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke/media-center/ecommunique/exchange-magazine/ category/50-free-version.html
101 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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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
Shopping Gallery
Find Maisha, Mala, Malina & Mhina at:
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Zumo Learning System with Tablet The Zumo Learning System provides an accessible learning environment for children of all abilities. Zumo helps children fall in love with STEM. • • • • • •
Includes a 7″ Tablet, Math Games and a Wireless Smart Toy, named Zumo Unique technology maps physical movements to touch screen gestures A suite of apps are included that are specially designed to enable tactile-based learning Designed for K-3rd graders for learning in the home or classroom Apps are customizable to the special needs of each child Zumo offers many different play experiences through apps already available on iTunes www.zyrobotics.com info@zyrobotics.com 107 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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We’re excited to introduce you to our brand-new collection of dazzled lingerie for women of all skin-tones, which is available to purchase now! e collection is comprised of a Strapless Convertible Bra, Short and ong and each piece is custom made and carefully crystallized by hand. All pieces are available in Nubian Skin’s signature four skin-tones Berry, Cinnamon, Caramel and Café au Lait in sizes 30B – 40DD & S – XL. e perfect addition to any out t when you want to shine! We hope you enjoy our new collection, because ‘Shine Never Goes Out of Style.’ www.nubianskin.com/global
"Sole Savers" Rollable Flat Shoes
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The Economic Turn Around in the USA is in Our Hands •Buy Products Made or Assembled in the USA •Hire One New Employee •Eat an Extra Meal Out Each Week •Start/Grow a Business to Generate Wealth & Jobs
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This magnificent handcrafted concert grand is a "Best of" in terms of sound, new technology, beauty, and construction. Massively well-built to withstand the rigors of intense concert performances without compromise, the SHADD Concert Grand is a coveted treasure for pianists and collectors. With a rich voluminous sound that performs true to all genres of music, this phenomenal instrument has a rare diversified ability to play from the softest whisper with pure clear sound to a major roar with a bass section exuding an abundance of power and resounding singing sensations.
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Cultural Interiors West &
Cordially Invited Cultural Interiors West 5573 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
Experience our exciting array of products from Cards to Cupcakes, African Masks, Asian Teacups, Healthy Herbal Teas, Gourd Purses, Candles, to Furniture Hope to see you soon!!! In the meantime visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/CulturalInteriors-West/140688362658236
117 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
New Location Leimert Park Village 3347 W. 43rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90008 1-323-299-6383 www.zambezibazaar.com shop@ zambezibazaar.com
118 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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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. 123 July 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:
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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
131 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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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
134 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Books to Consider
Books to Consider...
Chokehold: Policing Black Men
C
Butler’s controversial recommendations about how to crash the system, and when it’s better for a black man to plead guilty—even if he’s innocent—are sure to be game-changers in the national debate about policing, criminal justice, and race relations. https://www.amazon.com/Chokehold-Policing-Black-PaulButler/dp/1595589058
Rabbit: The
by Paul Butler
ops, politicians, and ordinary people are afraid of black men. The result is the Chokehold: laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug. In this explosive new book, an African American former federal prosecutor shows that the system is working exactly the way it’s supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread—all with the support of judges and politicians. In his no-holdsbarred style, Butler, whose scholarship has been featured on 60 Minutes, uses new data to demonstrate that white men commit the majority of violent crime in the United States. For example, a white woman is ten times more likely to be raped by a white male acquaintance than be the victim of a violent crime perpetrated by a black man. Butler also frankly discusses the problem of black on black violence and how to keep communities safer—without relying as much on police. Chokehold powerfully demonstrates why current efforts to reform law enforcement will not create lasting change. Paul Butler Ibram X. Kendi
Autobiography of Ms. Pat by Patricia Williams (Author), Jeannine Amber (Author)
C
omedian Patricia Williams, who for years went by her street name "Rabbit," was born and raised in Atlanta’s most troubled neighborhood at the height of the crack epidemic. One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At twelve, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by thirteen, she was pregnant. By fifteen, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at sixteen, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighthgrade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive. Rabbit is an unflinching memoir of cinematic scope
136 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
and unexpected humor that offers a rare glimpse into the harrowing reality of life on America’s margins—a powerful true story of resilience, determination, and the transformative power of love. www.amazon.com/gp/product/ ref=pe_2485450_248881600_fct_2_ ti/?ASIN=0062407309
Called To Rise: A
Life in Faithful Service to the Community That Made Me
O
by David O. Brown
n July 7, 2016, protesters marched in the streets of Dallas to demonstrate against the killings of unarmed black men by the police. As the peaceful event drew to a close, a sniper opened fire, targeting white cops and killing five of them. Into this charged situation stepped Dallas police chief David O. Brown, who, with a historic new tactical approach, q u i c k l y ended the gunman's siege and calmed his community and the nation. In this powerful memoir, Chief Brown takes us behind the scenes of that tragedy and shares intimate moments from his early life: his childhood, in which he was raised by a single mom in a neighborhood poor in resources but rich in love and faith; his college years--cut short when he felt called to save his hometown from its descent into drug-related violence; and, as he moved up the ranks, a series of deeply personal tragedies. His first partner on the job was killed in the line of duty; his younger brother was murdered by drug dealers; and during Brown's first month as chief of police, his
mentally ill son was killed by a cop after taking two other lives. Called to Rise charts how, over his thirty-three-year career, Brown evolved from a "throw 'em in jail and let God sort 'em out" beat cop into a passionate advocate for community-oriented law enforcement, rising from crime scene investigator to S.W.A.T. team leader to the head of a municipal police department widely regarded as one of America's finest. Now retired, "America's chief" wants to bring his hard-earned knowledge of Dallas--emphasizing outreach, accountability, and inclusion--to help encourage unity in the nation's hurting communities. Chief Brown believes that we have to band together to engage in the kind of dialogue that can lead to solutions. In place of complaining, we all have to take action--and one first great step is to tune in to what is being said. Called to Rise explores the keys to that dialogue--trust, transparency, and compassion--that have made Brown a leader on the front lines of social change in America. www.mahoganybooks.com/9781524796549
Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope
by John Saunders (Author), John U. Bacon (Author)
D
uring his three decades on ESPN and ABC, John Saunders became one of the nation's most respected and beloved sportscasters. In this moving, jarring, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Saunders discusses his troubled childhood, the traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011, and the severe depression that nearly cost him his life. As Saunders writes, Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity
137 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Books to Consider but a memoir of a man facing his own mental illness, and emerging better off for the effort. I will take you into the heart of my struggle with depression, including insights into some of its causes, its consequences, and its treatments. I invite you behind the facade of my apparently "perfect" life as a sportscaster, with a wonderful wife and two healthy, happy adult daughters. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am truly grateful. But none of these things can protect me or anyone else from the disease of depression and its potentially lethal effects. Mine is a rare story: that of a black man in the sports industry openly grappling with depression. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly, including the lengths I've gone to to conceal my private life from the public.
So why write a book? Because I want to end the pain and heartache that comes from leading a double life. I also want to reach out to the millions of people, especially men, who think they're alone and can't ask for help. John Saunders died suddenly on August 10 ,2016, from an enlarged heart, diabetes, and other complications. This book is his ultimate act of generosity to help those who suffer from mental illness, and those who love them www.amazon.com/gp/product/ ref=pe_2485450_248881600_fct_8_ ti/?ASIN=0306824736
138 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Octobe, 201 7
Awards Dinner & Celebration
In recognition of Black History Month, the annual awards dinner highlights the achievements of AfriAmerican entrepreneurs and the government Black Business Day Procurement can agencies and corporate entities that provide supand Award Summit port for African American businesses. For particiaGovernment and Corporate Contracting Procure- tion and sponsorship information visit www.bbala. ment Summit in recognition of the MBDAs Minor- org and call 1-323-291-9334. ity Enterpriise Development (MED) week (https:// medweek.mbda.gov/). Interface with contractors from the public and private sectors. Event includes oneon-one matchmaking sessions, exhibits, workshops, networking opportunities and an awards Annual Salute to Black Women luncheon. For general particiation and matchBusiness Conference, Vendor making information visit www.bbala.org and call Faire & Awards Luncheon 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 Financial Workshop 18 years of age, entitled “Role Models for SucConducted in collaboration with financial corporate cess.” This conference also provides the opporpartners of the BBA to identify loan opportunities tunity for vendors to promote and sell their goods for African American-owned business enterprises. and services in the Vendor Faire. A favorite feaFor general particiation and information visit www. ture of the annual Salute is the African American bbala.org and call 1-323-291-9334. Dessert Buffet. For particiation and sponsorship information visit www.bbala.org and call 1-323291-9334.
Marc 2018
Novembe, 201 7
201 7-2018
Financial Literacy Training & Workshops
April 2018
Local banking and financial institutions in col- All About Supplier Diversity laboration with the BBA provide financial literacy Certification training for its members and aspiring Youth EntreBusiness owners and aspiring entrepreneurs learn preneurs. For general particiation and information about supplier diversity certifications, which certifivisit www.bbala.org and call 1-323-291-9334. cations 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 Black History Month Annual call 1-323-291-9334.
Feuary 2018
139 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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 World Press Books -- www.africaworldpressbooks.com African Trade Magazine -- www.africantrademagazine. com African Vibes Magazine -- www.africanvibes.com The Africapitalist -- www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/ africapitalisminstitute/africapitalist-magazine The African World -- www.theafricanworld.tv Africast TV -- www.africast.tv Afritorial -- www.afritorial.com www.facebook.com/Afritorial AllAfrica (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 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 Publish Africa -- http://wow.gm/publishafrica 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
-- www.blackemergmanagersassociation.org CauseCast -- www.causecast.com www.causecastfornonprofits.com Community Healing Network -- www. communityhealingnet.org Pan African Film Festival -- www.paff.org United African Organization -- http://uniteafricans.org Zambia-USA Chamber of Commerce -- www.zambiausachamber.org
Investment/Development Africa Reports -- www.africareports.com African Development Bank -- www.afdb.org African Export-Import Bank -- //afreximbank.com/ afrexim/en AfrigadgetTV -- www.afrigadget.com Disrupt Africa -- http://disrupt-africa.com/ The Exchange Magazine -- www.nse.co.ke Silicon Harlem -- http://event.siliconharlem.net Ventures -- www.ventures-africa.com
U.S. Government Commerce Department -- www.doc.gov International Trade Administration -- http://trade.gov Minority Business Development Agency -- www. mbda.gov Power Africa -- www.usaid.gov/powerafrica Small Business Administration -- www.sba.gov State Department -- www.dos.gov Trade Africa -- www.usaid.gov/tradeafrica White House -- www.whitehouse.gov
Culture/Arts Cultural Events/Content -- www.okayafrica.com Hungry Black Man -- https://thehungryblackman.com
Commerce/Entrepreneurship African Success Stories -- www.risingafrica.org #IAMWANDA -- www.facebook.com/IamWANDAorg 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 140 July 2017 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819