Perspectives

I Say No to a Starbucks Boycott

April 23, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

By Jerroll Sanders

Starbucks has proven to be one of America’s most responsible corporate citizens. In 2014 following the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, by Officer Darren Wilson, then Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz took action when other corporations remained silent.

Starbucks launched its national “Race Together” campaign that encouraged Starbucks’ baristas (workers) to write “race together” on customer coffee cups to spur conversations about race within Starbucks locations. Months later in 2015 following the shooting of Walter Scott, Starbucks CEO Howard D. Schultz was again venturing into the arena of race relations while appearing on stage at Spelman College-a historically-black women’s institution-as part of a panel discussion on the book titled, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

Again and again, Starbucks has been at the forefront of corporate America when it comes to cultivating a society where all people matter.

As President and CEO of ONUS, Inc.-a national organization committed to Resolving Longstanding Problems that Seem Too Big to Fix, I firmly believe in the power of boycotts. Following the killing of Michael Brown, ONUS conducted one of the most effective and long-standing boycotts in Ferguson, MO, against Sam’s Club and Walmart.

Both stores routinely called upon Ferguson Police to arrest Black men who verbally challenged managers’ decisions. Unlike Starbucks, Walmart, Inc. doubled-down in support of its employees’ hateful actions and made no apology for saddling good citizens, who happened to be black men, with unwarranted police records. Walmart then relied upon its deep purse to vigorously defend its deplorable actions.

Starbucks is no Walmart. While I firmly embrace boycotting as an effective tool of free speech, boycotting cannot and should not be Black America’s one retort to offensive acts carried out by individual employees representing what has proven to be a good corporate citizen. I do not mean to imply that Starbucks is perfect; I surmise that Starbucks still has internal issues related to race and diversity.

Nonetheless, I appreciate the steps Starbucks’ CEO and Board of Directors have and are taking in response to the incident in Philadelphia, such as the swift issuance of a public apology, public rebuke of the offending employees’ actions and the planned shutdown of Starbucks outlets nationwide for diversity and customer service training. Starbucks is demonstrating that its promise to do better is far more than a mere gesture designed to quiet a public uprising.

Starbucks has earned what millennials refer to as “street cred.” Consequently, the Corporation deserves grace when employees make missteps or engage in discriminatory actions rooted in personal perspectives. While I am confident Starbucks will make right with the young men who were wrongfully arrested in Philadelphia, I urge its leaders to again take the corporate lead by helping to revamp policing in America nationwide.

The Uniform Reporting Law Enforcement Improvement Act (URLEIA) is the solution to America’s policing problem and will effectively revamp policing from the ground up. Corporations, like citizens, have a responsibility to ensure policing nationwide is guided not by the whims of individuals and powerful conglomerates but by the constitutional and humane application of law.

Learn more about URLEIA by visiting www.ChangeIsOnUs.org. Learn more about Jerroll Sanders who is a business executive, author of The Physics of Money: If You’ve Got My Dollar, I Don’t, diversity expert, and strategist by visiting www.jerrollsanders.com.

Beyond the Rhetoric

April 20, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

National Black Chamber of Commerce Holds Annual Conference in Houston

By Harry C. Alford

Yes, the 1980’s had it going on as far as Black business growth and development. Much of that was due to advocacy coming from our Congress in Washington DC. Led by the great Parren J. Mitchell, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Black entrepreneurs received noticeable representation and empathy for their challenges and struggles. Allow me to pay tribute to the founding members of the CBC: Shirley Chisholm, Bill Clay, George Collins, John Conyers, Ron Dellums, Charles Diggs, Walter Fauntroy, Gus Hawkins, Ralph Metcalfe, Parren Mitchell, Robert Nix, Charles Rangel, and Louis Stokes. They were soldiers! When it came to Black business they would take Parren’s lead and “kick butt and take names”.

It was during their tenures that most rules and regulations promoting diversity in government procurement would evolve and stimulate a vast amount of Black wealth, business growth and an infrastructure in each of our urban communities. Maybe all that success caused an over estimation of Black business progress. We had a good start but there was certainly nothing to rest our “laurels” on.

During the 1980’s the annual Congressional Black Caucus Week would evolve. Every September the CBC Foundation hosts a week- long event of meetings, social gatherings and, most of all, parties. Eventually it would amount to an “Electric Slide Festival’. Blacks from all over the nation come to DC for fun and cheer. In the beginning there would be very relevant workshops concerning the big issues of the day. Today, the important topics are “Where’s the party at?” Go to the DC Convention Center during the day and you will see a sparse group of people participating in the workshops. Come at night and you will find a bustling celebration that would match “Mardi Gras”.

Today, the CBC is a cheering section for the Democratic Party. The issues coming from their annual convention and throughout the whole year are not about Black business empowerment. Any aggressive legislation does not have the “footprint” of the CBC like it used to. More importantly, rules and regulations that are to the detriment of Black business gets introduced without a whimper let alone an objection from the CBC.

The great Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program for the Department of Transportation was off to a fantastic start. It met disaster when Congress allowed white women into the program. They have poached it from double digit growth to a percentage level less than 2% for Black participation.

The fantastic 8a program has created more Black millionaires than all the other minority programs put together. Then in the mid-1990’s the “Alaska Native Corporation -ANC” program came into the 8a arena with more advantages favoring these ANC’s versus real minority businesses. Today, we have blond hair, blue eyed Caucasians perpetrating themselves as Alaskan natives. Many of them are multi-billion – dollar businesses getting set-aside contracts while the volume of Black owned 8a firms are being decimated. The ANC’s have no size standards (restrictions for small business), no graduation date (like our 8a’s), and enjoy the liberty of subcontracting their work to major firms who don’t qualify to be in the program.

Then comes the big “knock out blow”. There is no doubt that construction unions are discriminatory by nature. Their Davis-Bacon rules have racist pedigree. Their intent is to secure most construction projects and block any diversity in the contracting and workforce arenas. Union only projects are known as Project Labor Agreements. They are blatant “Jim Crow” in their practice. Oddly, the overwhelming number of CBC members support these Project Labor Agreements. I cannot reason this other than political contributions that construction unions donate to CBC members and old-guard civil rights organizations.

For the above reasons, we convinced President George W. Bush to ban PLA’s from sizeable federal contracts. To our shock, the first executive order from the desk of President Barack Obama was to reinstate the PLA’s. This former CBC member received over $600 million in donations from labor unions. It was a blatant sell out. As a result, Black construction participation at the federal level is disappearing and the Congressional Black Caucus turns its head.

Times have changed. Black business must keep being increasingly organized and push its agenda. A dependence on the Congressional Black Caucus may be a little naïve now. I see no Parren Mitchells, Gus Savages, Louis Stokess, etc. within the ranks of the CBC. That is not to say there won’t be anymore of that ilk. There is just a big shortage now. We need to find some good “warriors” and send them to DC.

Read Part I and Part II HERE

New Book, “The Grass is The First to Go,” Tackles Violence, Morality, Race and Politics

March 7, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Motivational speaker and author, Orlando Ceaser’s, new book uses art to tackle hot topics. The Grass Is the First to Go is ten one-act plays with a discussion guide to stimulate thought and spirited conversations. Their controversial nature and provocative content is written to inspire and jolt people to sit down and talk.

The news is filled with stories on crime, gun violence, mass incarceration, Black Lives Matters, #MeToo, sexual harassment, injustice and gentrification. Schools, businesses and other organizations confront morality, racial identity, unconscious bias and stereotypes. There is a need for resources to increase engagement and interactive problem-solving. The Grass Is the First to Go can be staged or read aloud in small groups to help create dialogue, solutions and action plans. They can help groups break down walls and build understanding about diversity and inclusion.

Am I Black Enough? is a play about the struggle in communities when people within the same group have their cultural and racial identity challenged by their own. The signature play, The Grass Is the First to Go, speaks to the lack of stewardship and the failure to value life, opportunity and resources. I Protest, was inspired by young people in the Black Lives Matter Movement. These brave and vocal souls stand up for justice and equality and against hypocrisy and injustice. My Life Defined, begs the question, what does it say about our lives if our pursuit of pleasure, self-indulgences and selfishness direct our behavior toward matters that do not address the major inequities of our times?

Orlando Ceaser is a writer, professional speaker, thought leader and voiceover specialist. He spent his first career as a business executive in the pharmaceutical industry. He has over 30 years of experience in sales, management, training, diversity, marketing, leadership and personal development. He aspires to entertain, educate and inspire people to unlock their leadership greatness to reach their dreams.

Mr. Ceaser advises students, parents and employees to become Impact Players in school, work and in their communities. Impact players are individuals who are prominent and dominant in their fields. They are the game changes who improve performance through their actions. Mr. Ceaser achieves this objective through key note addresses, workshops, spoken word CD’s and books.

Mr. Ceaser has presented to prisoners and those responsible for ministering to them. He presents two decision making models; The Know System™ and The Objection Model – The Art of Refusal™. These models guide users to make decisions consistent with their faith and value systems. Mr. Ceaser is the author of twelve books including Unlock your Leadership Greatness, Leadership above the Rim, The Isle of Knowledge, Look for the Blessing and Leadership Greatness through High Performance Poetry. His blog, www.myozonelayer.com focuses on management, motivation and leadership. For more information, please visit www.OrlandoCeaser.com.

Curse Inflicted: From Slavery To Sex Trade

March 6, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Recy Taylor Legacy

As Black History month begins many people think of others who have paved the way for blacks and others in America. To have freedom, liberty and justice were not just given to blacks, it was fought for and blacks are still fighting for equality.

As society think of black women in black history, brings acknowledgement of Oprah Winfrey referencing Recy Taylor in her great speech when she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes Awards. Oprah mentioning her legacy brought worldwide attention to the past, the history of women in America to the #Me Too Movement. Shining light on her story brought many at home watching to tears. The story of Recy Taylor is that she was walking home from church and suddenly abducted at gun point and raped by a group of six white men in 1944. The white men took her into their car to a secluded area. She was threatening to be killed and she thought they were going to kill her, but they let her walk home in fear. She survived the traumatic, sexual violence event, and she reported it to law enforcement right away. She stood up. She spoke up as many women never have the courage to do, because of fear of losing their life. She didn’t remain silent and used her voice for herself and all the other women who were afraid to use theirs. The sheriff sought after the suspects who committed the crime, but no arrest was made. Her house was firebombed at night, and she and her family moved to her father’s house. Many of the men had denied the rape while 4 of them confessed in doing it consensually. Our historic Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks of the NAACP stepped in to bring exposure to her case. Sadly, she didn’t receive any justice in the court of law in Alabama. Two grand juries declined to indict the men. She eventually separated from her husband and moved to Florida with one child. She partnered with another man but didn’t have any more children because the vicious sexual assault left her infertile.

Those times were fragile, and many black women never saw any justice to sexual misconduct. With the women’s movement taking place in America and during Black History Month, a salute goes to honor all the black women for their strength, perseverance and desire to have their voices heard. The debut book Curse Inflicted: From Slavery to the Sex Trade examines black women in history to present day and the sexual harassment, sexual violence and sex trafficking that often takes place.

Crime and violence are so prevalent in black women lives and Recy Taylor story gives birth for other women to continue to fight the fight. The criminal justice system needs to be reformed, and so does criminalizing sex trafficking victims. The newly released book Curse Inflicted, will discuss the reasons why all of this sexual misconduct takes place in black women lives and how they can stop it.

Rent vs. Own: Millennials are beginning to tip the scales

March 5, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Article courtesy of Staten Island Advance via “The Rundown”

Elizabeth and Dmitriy Shenker were tired of handing over their hard-earned cash to a landlord.

So when they went searching last year for a place to live on Staten Island, they chose to buy a detached single-family home for $810,000 in a new development in Prince’s Bay.

“The interest rates are really good right now, and prices have been creeping up over the last few years. While that makes it more difficult to buy, it also makes it a little more appealing,” said Dmitriy Shenker, a branch chief for the Department of Homeland Security.

“When you rent, the money goes from your pocket into the air; when you’re paying a mortgage, you have an investment,” he added, noting his wife works as a business engagement manager for Pearson Education.

The Shenkers, both 32 years old, are part of a new wave of millennial home buyers who are boosting the housing market. For the first time in 13 years, twenty- and thirty-somethings have proven to be a driving force in the U.S. housing market.

Home Ownership Rates

Nationally, the home-ownership rate rose to 64.2 percent during the last quarter of 2017 — up from 63.7 percent during the same time in 2016, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

And the number of homes owned by people under age 35 rose to 36 percent during the fourth quarter of 2017 — up from 34.7 percent over the same period the previous year, Census Data shows.

The trend is prevalent among Staten Island home buyers, experts say.

“Millennials as a whole are expressing great interest in owning a home,” said Ron Molcho, director of the Staten Island Board of Realtors and a broker with American Homes Group. “We have seen a steady uptick over the past two years. They [millennials] have surpassed the baby boomers as the largest sector of buyers. They are looking to settle down, get out of renting and start building equity.”

Like the Shenkers, many millennials say rising rent prices have caused them to save up and sink their money into a home.

Young single Americans are tired, confused and scared about dating during #Metoo

(MarketWatch)

Dan Sheehan, a 27-year-old writer in Los Angeles, has felt a palpable shift in the dating world over the last six months compared to the last time he was single two years ago.

When the bill comes on a first date, he doesn’t jump to grab it first. Drinks with a potential partner can feel like a “job interview,” he said, and people on dating apps are flaking on meet-ups more often. That’s partly due to the monotony of online dating, but the tense political climate, the depressing news cycle, and the discourse surrounding #MeToo – a movement meant to highlight women’s experiences with sexual assault and unwanted sexual advances – have put a damper on the dating experience, he said.

“There is a weird apathy on both sides,” he said. “In and of itself dating is kind of exhausting even when there isn’t a larger political movement around it, so I think having to do it in addition to being reminded of this terrible stuff going on is hard,” he said.

Men and women must navigate new rules on dates

Single Americans say they are “extremely confused” about dating, particularly in the past three months following the #MeToo movement, a recent survey of 3,000 singletons by dating service Three Day Rule found. The October 2017 revelations of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein touched off the global #MeToo movement, which led to conversations about what is appropriate both inside and outside the workplace.

Men are concerned about crossing boundaries, having their actions misinterpreted, or even adhering to traditional gender roles like paying for a date, said Three Day Rule chief executive officer and founder Talia Goldstein. Meanwhile, some women said they were too worn out by inappropriate behavior or triggered by the news to want to spend time with men, and some worry about how and when to call out men they’re dating for harassment.

“I have definitely seen fatigue, for so many reasons,” Goldstein said. “It’s partially due to the #MeToo movement, but partially because people have been online dating for so long it really is exhausting.”