When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. ~ Swahili saying
2 | A fight between grasshoppers is a joy to the crow. ~ Lesotho proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
Editorial by Elevation Allah
V
isit Black Houston Magazine was started to provide an alternate narrative to what you normally hear about Houston. This magazine is an outgrowth of VisitBlackHouston.com, an Online Pan African Business Directory & Event Calendar. Our number one priority is to bring exposure to African, Caribbean, African Latin, and African American Owned & Operated businesses and events in the within the Pan African community. We have a very diverse culture and I believe that we sometimes take it for granted because we are so immersed in it. I’ve been to several cities throughout the United State that have really caused me to miss the culture we have here. Our Black Businesses need support in order to continue to operate. In the past 90 days, 10 Black owned businesses with physical locations have closed down. Economic Empowerment is the start of our liberation or the reversal of the downward economic spiral we are in, nationally and internationally. We need more international allies and we need to become international allies in order to have balance on both sides of the equation. I, Elevation Allah, am looking to form alliances and partnerships with other like minded individuals and organizations who seek to empower the Pan African Community. This is not a job for the weak at heart or the timid, nor is this a thinly veiled attempt to get you to advertise with Visit Black Houston. Do I want your advertising dollars? Emphatically Yes. Is my publication bigger than the struggle we endure on a daily basis? Absolutely Not. No individual is bigger than the cause of the collective. I’m interested in forming alliances to create solution oriented initiatives. We, as a group, need to begin planning the following 3 projects: 1. Population Census, 2. Economic Census, 3. Consumer Price Index Continued on Page 4 A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 3
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
1. Population Census - Black people have been reported at occupying no more than approximately 14% of this country’s population since the first census was done in 1870. Many Black immigrants are counted as “white” or “Caucasian” by the census takers which creates an artificial narrative of whom is the numerical majority and whom is the numerical minority. We need to initiate a project to calculate how many Blacks are in this country and to stop letting other people dictate our population numbers to us. 2. Economic Census - The Department of Commerce conducts an economic census every 5 years. Every year that ends with a 2 or a 7 will have an economic census done for that year. The Economic Census is an accounting of the revenue produced from goods and services in all the major industries. We need to know how much money is produced and spent by the Black community in all major areas of economic activity on an international, national, and municipal level. 3. Consumer Price Index - A Consumer Price Index is a measure of how much money is spent and on what it’s being spent on. If we know how much money we’re spending on shoes, Palm Oil, sun glasses, music, leather, and automobiles then we can make better strategic decisions when evaluating a possible business venture. I’m truly looking for business partners who can see the usefulness of controlling our own destiny by researching and leveraging our own information. Visit Black Houston is positioning itself to become a central repository for all data and solutions for correcting our current disposition in this vacuum of human arrested development. Call Visit Black Houston at 832.707.5057 if you are looking to partner, collaborate, and you’re committed to the struggle ahead. Thank You Elevation Allah - Marketing Consultant 4 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 5
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
W
hen we look at how much money we’re spending in the Houston area, it boggles the mind that we have businesses closing at the alarming rate at which they are closing. This will be turned around overnight because we’re going to become more conscious of where we spend our money. VisitBlackHouston.com currently has free registration for it’s business listing and event calendar. More than 15, 000 people visit the site on a monthly basis and your support is needed in order for the site to grow and eventually be in a position to hire people in the community. This is one of the ways how we keep the Black dollar circulating. Also, by identifying the goods and services we use on a regular basis, the process can seem effortless. I know you work hard for your money, I would never tell you to waste it on anything of low quality regardless of who sells it. Let’s just keep an open mind when it comes to the possibilities. 6 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
Contact Visit Black Houston @ 832.707.5057 for your following needs: Video & Photography Services Creative Services {Graphics, Web, Logo} Direct Mail Marketing Internet Marketing Print Production Services Media Planning and Buying
Email us at Elevation@VisitBlackHouston.com A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 7
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
Do you or a loved one struggle on the stairs? OFF THE PURCHASE OF A NEW ACORN STAIRLIFT!
1-844-668-3838 *Terms and Conditions apply. Call for details. AZ ROC 278722, CA 942619, MN LC670698, OK 50110, OR CCB 198506, RI 88, WA ACORNSI894OB, WV WV049654, MA HIC169936, NJ 13VH07752300, PA PA101967, CT ELV 0425003-R5.
8 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 9
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb 2560 FM 1960 RD E. Houston, Texas 77073 Office: 281-784-2142
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10 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
COUNTRY Burundi
INDEPENDENCE DAY
COLONIAL RULERS
July 1st, 1962
Belgium
Rwanda
July 1st, 1962
Somalia
July 1st, 1960
Belgium administered UN Trusteeship Britain & Italy
Cape Verde
July 5th, 1975
Portugal
Algeria
July 5th, 1962
France
Comoros Malawi
July 6th, 1975 July 6th, 1964
France Britain
The Bahamas
July 10, 1973
United Kingdom
Sao Tome &Principe Liberia
July 12th, 1975 July 26th, 1847
Benin
August 1st, 1960
Portugal American Colonization Society French
Niger
August 3rd, 1960
France
Jamaica
August 6, 1962
United Kingdom
Trinidad and Tobago
August 31, 1962
United Kingdom
Cote d'Ivoire
August 7th, 1960
France
Chad Central African Republic Congo Gabon
August 11th, 1960 August 13th, 1960
France France
August 15th, 1960 August 17th, 1960
France France
A
frican and Caribbean countries have struggled for independence against colonialism since the 17th Century A.D. when European countries began to partition and pillage Africa and the Caribbean for it’s natural resources. The only 2 countries that have never been colonized is Ethiopia and North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean. Liberia which was created by and settled by survivors of the Black Holocaust, the most brutal and worst continuous degradation of one people by another, also known as chattel slavery. We placed this chart of Independence Days inside Visit Black Houston in order to remind all of our readers that we all have a responsibility to maintain our freedom in honor of our Ancestors who came before us.
If a Chinese Plum Tree is planted in Canada, Does it become a Canadian Plum Tree? #OneLove A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 11
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
Upcoming Events
State of Black Business Luncheon July 11, 2017 www.austinbcc.org
AFRICAN GREEK PICNIC 2017 July 14 - 16, 2017 www.eventbrite.com
Houston Black Food Truck Fest hosted by The BLA July 15, 2017 www.eventbrite.com
African Caribbean Cultural Day Party July 15, 2017 www.cultural-happenings.com
SOCA PASSION - “Every Last Friday Of The Month” July 28 - July 29, 2017 www.socapassiontx.com
JAMMIN ON THE BAY BOATRIDE 2017 July 29 - 30, 2017 www.houstonpanamanians.com
The Dr Boyce Watkins Black Economic Empowerment Festival August 11 - 13, 2017 www.eventbrite.com
Capital City Black Film Festival 2017 August 17 - 20, 2017 www.capcitybff.com
International Powder Fest Houston August 19 - 20, 2017 www.intlpowderfest.com
African Fashion Week Houston 2017 September 18 - 24, 2017 www.afwhouston.com
BLACK FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS Presents VISION CONFERENCE October 15 - 17, 2017 www.bfpconference.com
12 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
Honest Accounts 2017 How the world profits from Africa’s wealth
A
frica is rich – in potential mineral wealth, skilled workers, booming new businesses and biodiversity. Its people should thrive, its economies prosper. Yet many people living in Africa’s 47 countries remain trapped in poverty, while much of the continent’s wealth is being extracted by those outside it. Research for this report calculates the movement of financial resources into and out of Africa and some key costs imposed on Africa by the rest of the world. We find that the countries of Africa are collectively net creditors to the rest of the world, to the tune of $41.3 billion in 2015. |1| Thus much more wealth is leaving the world’s most impoverished continent than is entering it. African countries received $161.6 billion in 2015 – mainly in loans, personal remittances and aid in the form of grants. Yet $203 billion was taken from Africa, either directly – mainly through corporations repatriating profits and by illegally moving money out of the continent – or by costs imposed by the rest of the world through climate change. - African countries receive around $19 billion in aid in the form of grants but over three times that much ($68 billion) is taken out in capital flight, mainly by multinational companies deliberately misreporting the value of their imports or exports to reduce tax. |2| - While Africans receive $31 billion in personal remittances from overseas, multinational companies operating on the continent repatriate a similar amount ($32 billion) in profits to their home countries each year. - African governments received $32.8 billion in loans in 2015 but paid $18 billion in debt interest and principal payments, with the overall level of debt rising rapidly. - An estimated $29 billion a year is being stolen from Africa in illegal logging, fishing and the trade in wildlife/plants. There are other ways in which the rest of the world extracts resources from Africa, but for which figures are not available; for example, trade policies mean that unprocessed agricultural goods are often exported from African countries and refined elsewhere, causing the vast majority of their value to be earned abroad. The figures show that the rest of the world is profiting from the continent’s wealth – more so than most African citizens. Yet rich country governments simply tell their publics that their aid programmes are helping Africa. This is a distraction, and misleading. Our figures comprise both the movement of financial resources and two categories of costs imposed on African countries by the rest of the world. First, there is the cost to African countries of adapting to climate change: a process which has been overwhelmingly caused by richer industrialised and industralising countries, not Africa – amounting to $10.6 billion a year. Then there is the cost to Africa of mitigating climate change – to reorient African economies onto a low carbon path - again due to the need to tackle climate change: the annual cost here is even greater, at $26 billion. These costs are included since they entail expenditure – a loss of resources – by Africa for processes which it has largely not been responsible. Read the full story on http://www.cadtm.org/Honest-Accounts-2017-How-the-world to finish reading this story
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 13
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
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For marginalized and stereotyped cultures, bias reporting is not new, but, is it finally time to set the record straight? #myamerica
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AND... OVERCOME THE STIGMA. Learn to reduce stress and elevate the dialogue around sexual health. THETREMAG.COM 14 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 15
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
“CARIBBEAN ECONOMIST MARLA DUKHARAN REVIEWS 2017 BUDGET, “I EXPECT GROWTH TO DECLINE SIGNIFICANTLY…”
OVERVIEW - The Barbados fiscal year 2017/2018 budget statement came in the context of another year of weak economic growth, increased financing of the government by the Central Bank and the National Insurance Scheme, and a further decline in foreign reserves. The prior fiscal year (2016/2017) budget statement promised a reduction in the fiscal deficit to between 7.9% (worst case) and 5.8% (best case) of GDP. However, the deficit came in at around 8.2% of GDP. The Finance Minister has now proposed a small fiscal surplus for the current fiscal year ended March 2018. We spoke with leading Caribbean Economist Marla Dukharan to get her insights on just how attainable this new and more ambitious fiscal target is for Barbados, and on the specific measures proposed to achieve it. Read the full story at https://barbadosunderground.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/barbados-budget-2017-2018-marla-dukharan.pdf
“CALL FOR CARICOM AND REGIONAL MEDIA PRACTITIONERS TO VISIT VENEZUELA ON FACT FINDING MISSION” It is critically important that the Governments and people of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) acquire an accurate understanding of precisely what is going on in our sister Caribbean nation of Venezuela — a nation that the powerful United States of America (USA) has perversely designated as a “national security threat” to the USA.
And we will never achieve any such “accurate understanding” if we depend on Western media institutions for our information about Venezuela ! The reality is that the government of the USA has determined that the United Socialist Party (PSUV) administration of Venezuela is their enemy, and they are therefore currently engaged in a multi-faceted campaign to bring down the Administration of President Nicolas Maduro by any means necessary. And central to this “campaign” is a strategy of “Psychological Warfare” in which the media is assigned a critical role. It is against this background that I now hereby CALL upon the governments of CARICOM to designate and send a SPECIAL ENVOY to Venezuela for the purpose of investigating the situation “on the ground” and making an informed analysis of the Venezuelan reality and the role that CARICOM can and should play. I am also CALLING upon the media houses of the English-speaking Caribbean to do likewise, and to send an investigative team to Venezuela to see for themselves and to deliver to our people an independent and objective “Caribbean” assessment of the situation in Venezuela.
And I am making these CALLS against a background of my having visited Venezuela on several occasions and finding the reality that I witnessed with my own eyes significantly at odds with the impressions and images presented by the powerful Western media corporations ! I am fully aware that “Psychological Warfare” is a very real phenomenon, and that it is routinely deployed against regimes that the USA and other powerful Western nations determine to be their “enemy”. Read the full story on
https://barbadosunderground.wordpress.com/2017/05/07/call-for-caricom-and-region-
al-media-practitioners-to-visit-venezuela-on-fact-finding-mission/ 16 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 17
A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb
18 | Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb | 19
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