April2015
POLITICS
00 | Su m m er 2014
The future favors the BOLD. Get involved! Page
Meet The Good s A Politica l Power Couple Committed to Pub lic Service
To di scov er th e resources you need to b ui l d a successf ul , mul ti -stream busi ness EM PI RE f rom th ese th ree pow erf ul w omen. Th ey h av e j oi ned f orces to sh are th ei r k now l edge and h el p you dev el op your b usi ness i nto a l egacy th at w i l l benef i t you and your f ami l y f or generati ons to come.
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POLITICS I n th i s i ssue
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A Scandal for the A ges: The A tlanta Public Schools Test Cheating Dr. Constance D. Franklin Feature: The Goods and A n I ndepth Look at What has - and has not - Changed since the State of the Union A ddress Slavery: A Look A t Human Trafficking Deborah Hightower We Need Diverse Books Sarak A rdestani
BOLD Politics is a publication of the Leading T hrough Living Community, LLC that highlights BOLD policy and advocacy issues that impact our communities. To subscribe, or for more information, visit our website at www.BOLDFavorM agazine.com. Page 3
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Fr om th e Editor
Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell
hat do you do when you've made a mistake? BOLDly own it and create a new publication of course! The birth of BOLD Politics occurred because of an oversight - in preparing the March 2015 issue of BOLD Favor Magazine, we inadvertently omitted one of our feature articles. Our w riters were incredibly gracious about it, but I felt the need to make it right. And truth be told, it was time to expand on the Human Dignity category of our primary magazine. So the launch of this new publication settled many accounts.
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Enjoy our inaugural issue of BOLD Politics featuring political power couple David and Myesha Good as they give a wonderful review of the State of the Union; opinion piece on the incredible cheating scandal that rocked the foundation of public education; and a bold blue print to stop modern day slavery: human trafficking. Thank you for your support and remember - the future favors the BOLD. Get involved!
L ynita Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell, Esq., CPA, CCLC Founder and Editor-in-Chief
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by Dr. Constance D. Franklin
A Scan dal for th e Ages: At lan t a Publi c Schools Test Cheat i n g Verdict: Guilty. The Atlanta cheating trial, coupled with video of educators being led off in handcuffs, has dominated the headlines normally reserved for violent crime and corruption. Eleven of 12 educators have been found guilty on charges stemming from a major school district cheating scandal. Some view the verdict and subsequent remanding to jail as vindication for the affected students, while others see it as the culmination of a chapter in education history that will be peppered by the criminalization of those who set out on a career Page 5
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path to positively impact the lives of children. The unfolding of events in Atlanta Public Schools has spotlighted the intense pressure that educators across the nation are under to perform and the extreme lengths that some may have been compelled to go to. However, in all this lies a twofold tragedy. Not only was the continuity of the academic landscape of a multitude of students broken, but a cast of educators is no more. The children. As a career educator, for me the most heartbreaking aspect of it all is the impact that the ordeal had on the numerous students who matriculated through the affected schools. Test scores that indicated mastery of instructional concepts, but masked deficiencies and gaps in learning created a community of victims. This facade undoubtedly followed them throughout the remainder of their years in school and more likely than not, resulted in mounting frustration as coursework difficulty increased. The pressure. In the age of accountability, societal, parental, and industry pressures to produce results are ever present. In the field of education, production equates to student acquisition of academic skills, high promotion and graduation rates, as well as high assessment pass rates. Failure
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to produce may result in consequences that could possibly range from covert to overt. Gazing through the window, fellow educators can only try to imagine the pressure and consequences inflicted on those convicted. If you're not an educator, you have no idea. Nevertheless, cheating or the infliction of duress to cause cheating is not okay. Although the parties involved have not only fallen from grace and employment, and risen to public spectacles of shame, they are not hardened criminals to be prepped for intake. Conviction is one thing, jail time is quite another. A more befitting punishment and cost effective use of taxpayer dollars would be to impose a sentence that provides educational services to offenders convicted of offenses that SHOULD call for jail time, carry out other humanitarian forms of community service, as well as probation. Erasing answers on test answer documents is not an offense that should render jail time. While this blemish in the educational tapestry is one that maynot be forgotten, in its remembrance are larger lessons to be learned. The teacher is time and society is the student, there WILL BE another test. The scandal is over, but is it handled?
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Enjoy somethingnew! Atlanta is one of the top places to visit for entertainment and dining. We plan to add to the city?s ambiance by hosting the first annual Georgia Peach Fashion Week (GPFW). With its aim to promote collections to editors and retailers several months before they will be in stores, GPFW will be a means of exposing designs to the press and wholesale buyers. GPFW will take place on Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13, 2015, with an opening reception for VIP and media. The GPFW will include runway shows, red carpet arrivals, designer showcases, product launches, and performances. This three-day event will run alongside Atlanta?s Apparel Market which is visited by buyers from all over the Page 7
world. An opportunity like GPFW will give this specific audience another avenue to explore. Another important component to our event is the charitable aspect. GPFW is partnering up with a nonprofit, 501c3 organization, TWIN OF A KIND速 (TOAK) as their official charitable organization. TOAK is a self-empowerment organization geared towards encouraging and building confidence in youth/young adults to ?Love the skin they?re in? by offering motivational workshops and mentoring programs. To learn more about TOAK, visit www.twinofakind.org. To learn more about Georgia Peach Fashion Week, sponsorship, and attendance, visit our website at www.georgiapeachfashionweek.com www.BOLDFavorMagazine.com
A G ood
POLITICAL C ouple
David and Myesha Good ar e a political power couple often called the little Obamas. The Goods' ar e leader s of sever al political or ganizations and ar e leader s in their community. Their passions together ar e to inspir e people to r un for political office, give a voice to the voiceless, pr omote winning str ategies and fight for voting r ights. David is a political str ategist who advises candidates on what is needed to ensur e victor y on the final days leading up to the election. Dur ing his 15 year s in politics, Mr . Good has developed str ong r elationships with civic, chur ch, legal and community leader s. He cur r ently ser ves as Chair of the Douglas County Democr atic Par ty. Myesha is a political campaign consultant, str ategist and tr ainer who is often sought after for her exper tise thr oughout metr o Atlanta and the US. Myesha has spear headed successful campaigns for state, city and local officials. Fr om her gover nment and campaign exper ience ear ned over 13 year s, she has come to develop a str ong networ k of r epr esentatives fr om all br anches of gover nment, pr ivate businesses, non-pr ofits and the inter national community. Myesha cur r ently ser ves as the 13th Congr essional Distr ict Chair of the Geor gia Democr atic Par ty. Together the Goods ar e civic leader s in their community and when it comes to politics, they know what's Good.
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David and Myesha Good are a political power couple. Affectionately called "The Little Obamas", the Goods have committed their professional lives to political involvement, advocacy, and civic engagement. So it is fitting that the piece they wrote for the March issue of BOLD Favor Magazine - "What Made the Good List" should be the feature piece of the inaugural issue of BOLD Politics. When you start reading the piece - a review of the State of The Union Address - you may begin to wonder why we would choose to publish a piece that analyzes issues discussed almost three months ago. But as with all things of great magnitude, the issues presented herein remain relevant and deserve a second look. So enjoy this BOLD feature compliments of this GREAT couple. "Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:" ? President Barack Obama, January, 20th, 2015 This year?s State of the Union Address, President Page 9
Barack Obama's 1st with a Republican controlled Congress, hit on a lot of strengths, issues and negotiating that made the Union strong. It seems like that depends on what side of the aisle you fall on if you agree with it or not, but that's American politics. But what about the people who don't care about the political aisles of Republican/ Democrat, those who care about the effects of immigration, job creation and livable wages, police brutality, security, international policies, Terrorism, war & conflicts across the world, education, equal & civil rights and other issues. They don't want high praise on this and that from one party and then bickering on the same issue from the other party. People want the truth about the economy and laid out facts and plans on what to do about issues facing the world. In his address, the President laid out that the economy was the strongest since the turn of the century by saying: 路Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is
growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before. More of our people are insured than ever before. And we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we?ve been in almost 30 years. 路At this moment -- with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, booming energy production -- we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It?s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years and for decades to come. Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort? With that said about the strong economy, what is it that made the Good List from the President's address that has people?s pulse pulsating and their hearts pounding around the world....? Sources used were www.BOLDFavorMagazine.com
news media giants like CNN, CNBC and BBC as well as the eyes and ears of everyday people. 路The President to rousing applause mentioned that ?Thanks to Vice President Biden?s great work to update our job training system, we?re connecting community colleges with local employers to train workers to fill high-paying jobs like coding, and nursing, and robotics. Tonight, I?m also asking more businesses to follow the lead of companies like CVS and UPS, and offer more educational benefits and paid apprenticeships -opportunities that give workers the chance to earn higher-paying jobs even if they don?t have a higher education.? What does this mean for you? This is support for a collaboration between hiring businesses looking a trained workforce and community colleges to train workers for new careers, all coordinated through a single government program. The President said the cost to the student would be $0.00.
We the People of the United States, in O rder to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general W elfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. -Preamble to the United States Constitution (1787)
路When it came to cyber-attacks and hacks, such as the recent Target hacks, the President voiced his ideas and said: ?No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids. So we're making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity Page 10
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theft, and protect our children?s information. That should be a bipartisan effort. If we don?t act, we?ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.? For people around the globe the President wants to push legislation to protect America against cyber-terrorism and to lead the world in this type of initiative. The world?s economy is at stake whenever trade secrets and company?s banking and investments are in the hands of hackers and cyber-terrorist. If legislation is passed then this will create world-wide employment opportunities in the tech and security industries. 路When it comes to a strengthening economy, nothing hits car dependent nations more than the price of oil. From the address the President mentioned ?We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas. America is number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008. And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at the pump.? Oil production in America has resurged since Obama has been in the Oval Office. According to the Energy Information Administration, oil field production in the U.S. went from pumping 5 million barrels of crude a day on average in when he took office to pumping almost 9 million barrels a day in 2014. That?s more than a 70 percent increase. This is why in some parts of the Country, especially in the Southeast where prices are less than $2 a gallon at the pumps for regular unleaded. In the end the President hit on many issues Page 11
and goals, but the ones he will push forward on despite opposition, he mentioned midway in his address to Congress by saying: 路We can?t slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can?t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we?ve got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto. He followed this up with his support for new regulations on Internet providers and for overriding state laws that limit competition for high-speed service. 路I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community -- -- and help folks build the fastest networks so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world. The State of the union pointed out where America is as a nation and how our footprint is on this planet. We may not all agree with the State of the Union but we should know where our concerns are in the eyes of the White House and Congress. Let?s end this by reciting the promises of this government: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. -Preamble to the United States Constitution (1787) www.BOLDFavorMagazine.com
Sl av ery (sley-v uh -ree) Slavery? such an ugly word. And didn?t we have this conversation already? Didn?t this end over two hundred years ago? Perhaps the conversation has been had. But no, slavery has not ended. It has simply taken on new forms. One such form is human trafficking. Let?s be clear. Human trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children using violence, deception and coercion. This form includes forced prostitution, labor, servitude, and often criminality. Sex trafficking, in particular has received a lot of media attention. From celebrity public service announcements to legislative moves to a recent Being Mary Jane episode, the information is circulating. However, marketing studies show in order for a message to resonate it must be heard a minimum of seven times. Why should I listen, you may ask? You may say it has nothing to do with me! In the eloquent words of Martin Luther King, Jr., ?Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.? It?s not the ?other?side of town but rather the ?interrelated structure?of our cities, suburbs, and neighborhoods. It?s no longer the ?dark?side but rather the daylight from which girls are being lured. Slavery, in every sense of the word should evoke a set of indescribable emotions that prompt you to do something. So, what can you do? 1. Write your legislators and implore them to take an aggressive stand against trafficking. 2. Warn your daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, and others about the dangers. 3. Keep a watchful eye for others who may be trapped. Be ready to share the Trafficking Hotline number (888) 373-7888. 4. Join forces with others who care about the issue. There is strength and volume in numbers. Let?s stand together to end all slavery, once and for all!
Deborah Hightower
555-555-5555 1234 5th Ave. NYC, NY 00000
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We N eed Di v erse Books
New gr assroot s or ganizat ion We Need Diver se Books (www.WeNeedDir ver seBooks.or g) sent out a cal l for unique, or iginal books wit h st or ies t hat r esonat e wit h diver se audiences, and Aut hor Sar ak Ar dest ani answer ed. Ms. Ar dest ani publ ished her f ir st chil dr en's book "The Rol y-Pol y Pumpkin: The Unt ol d Cinder el l a St or y," a r et el l ing of a Per sian f air y t al e t hat is a mesh of Cinder el l a and Lit t l e Red Riding Hood. Ms. Ar dest ani is of Per sian ancest r y and embr aced t his 555-555-5555 oppor unitNYC, y tNY o 00000 shar e her cul t ur e 1234 5th tAve. wit h t he wor l d. To pur chase a copy of t he book, visit Amazon.com. Page 13
Synopsis: In this classic Persian fairy tale, a future mother?s heartfelt wish literally comes true, and a baby pumpkin is born! As much joy as the pumpkin brings into its parents? life, the Roly-Poly Pumpkin struggles while growing up for being so different from others. T his lack of acceptance makes the Roly-Poly Pumpkin keep its true identity secret. But a prince eventually discovers the beautiful girl hidden inside the pumpkin. W ith the unconditional love of the prince, the Roly-Poly Pumpkin shares her magic with the world and learns how to let her own light shine. T his Cinderella-like story (based on "K adou Ghel Gheleh Z an") reminds us of being true to your heart, holding out for the one you love, and the power of love to transform us into something greater. www.BOLDFavorMagazine.com
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