Perspectives

NFL National Anthem Decree Reverberates a 400-Year-Old Message to African-Americans

June 7, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

By H. Lewis Smith, founder of the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc.

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — To mute the oppressed has always been in the best interest of the oppressor. When a black voice is raised to oppression, those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it. In other words, “stay in your place” applies as much today as it did during the days of physical slavery.

What’s been lost in this brouhaha is the NFL players purpose for taking a knee. Trump has changed the narrative… to disrespecting the flag. Trump’s reference to the NFL players as “sons of b” and “that maybe they shouldn’t even be in this country”, serves as a reflection of what the flag and the national anthem truly represents as it pertains to African-Americans. Black Americans are expected to stay in a so-called appointed place and any attempts at emancipation… an extreme reaction will ensue.

To understand present day issues that percolates in America and Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) require one to retrieve the past so that the present may be better understood. Overcoming prevailing social injustices and inequality issues is the intent and a closer examination of what the national anthem and flag truly represents will reveal why it is that taking a knee isn’t disrespecting the flag but is a pursuit for equal respect… not just for SOME Americans… but for ALL Americans.

The flag and national anthem represents racism, before exposing this racism, and why African Americans are expected to amiably go along, it should be acknowledged that not all white people are racist; There are many moral, noble, honorable, soulful white people who aren’t. If not for the contributions of many white abolitionists, especially the magnanimous and valiant efforts of Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips, life in America for African-Americans would perhaps be non-existent today.

President Grant, strong supporter and advocate for annexation of Haiti was eager to see the mass deportation of the newly freed to the Caribbean, where they would once again be subjected to chattel slavery. Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips fought against this horrible scheme—because of their efforts – the U.S. Senate in 1870… by one vote… failed to ratify the pact, contemporaneously saving Black/African-Americans from being shipped en masse to the Dominican Republic. Grant was outraged at the outcome and for years stopped speaking to Wendell Phillips. In a fit of anger, a fellow senator attacked Senator Sumner with his cane and literally beat him.

Trump is America’s modern-day Grant the following will reveal as to why this is. First let’s look at what the flag and national anthem represents to Black America, from the past leading up to present day.

Racial slurs such as coon, jungle bunny, sambo, Uncle Tom, jigaboo, or porch monkey didn’t trigger mayhem, terror and death into the lives of Black African-American ancestors; instead, it was one word and one word only that did… n**ger. The N-word is the most infamous and profane word in the English language, punctuating an ignominious, malevolent and diabolical history. A sunken place… an image…created for African-Americans to accept disrespect, contempt and revel in it.

For over three centuries, the enslaved were chastised, beaten, and tortured to accept a self-hating, self-destructing, self-abasing and self-abnegating image of self. Today, many African-Americans voluntarily accept this ungodly… sunken place… that’s been bestowed on them. Few understand that slavery didn’t finally come to an end until the early 1960s. Chattel slavery ended in 1865, but conventional slavery, under the guise of different names continued for another 100 years.

The oppressors convinced themselves that in the eyesight of God, enslaved black people were sub-humans (3/5 a person); that they were nothing more than valueless n**gers, and, therefore, any inhumane acts perpetrated upon them were acceptable. This same sentiment holds true today; contemporary police actions stem from 400 years of mental conditioning, with the blessings of an institutionalized systemic.

It was typical to have a picnic on a Friday evening. The word was short for “pick a n**ger” to lynch. They would lynch a black male and cut off body parts as souvenirs. It was important to recreate black slaves into a non-human image (a n**ger) to justify any atrocities perpetrated upon them. This went on every weekend which is where the term picnic came from.

These people became merchants of the macabre as they cut up the victims’ bodies into parts for resale as, souvenirs, mementos, and mantle pieces; hearts, lips, ears, fingers, spleen, liver, lungs, intestines, penis, hands, heads, scrotum and all other body parts and even the Black fetus wasn’t spared.

A Black pregnant woman, Mary Turner in Georgia, had her unborn child cut from her womb as she burned at the stake. While she was inflamed a white man stepped from the crowd, slit her stomach with his pocket knife, and when the fetus fell to the ground, he stomped it and said, “One less n**ger”. Thousands of curbside spectators slapped their knees as they laughed in amusement. The N-word isn’t being used as a racial slur, it is something far more sinister.

The term was used as an identifier and a method of separating Black people from the remainder of the populous; it was used as a psychological conduit to breed thoughts of inferiority eradicating self-dignity, pride, and self–respect. It was White America’s way of rejecting Black people as their [equal] and accepting them as a so-called white man’s burden. Because slaves were considered non-human, and lower than a dog, whites believed that in the eyesight of God, classifying the black enslaved as n**gers made it okay to dehumanize, brutalize and subject them to anything and everything ungodly. They further somehow conveniently justified that these acts of inhumanity were forgivable by God because they believed… in a sick twisted way… they were carrying out God’s work. Same as Trump’s autocratic twisted rationalization that African-Americans should ignore but, nonetheless, respect how the American flag symbolizes contempt and disrespect for Black America.

Yet in knowing this hard and ugly history, as seen in present day, the N-word is strung into every line of TV/movie scripts and hip-hop lyrics to make the entertainment more appealing and relatable to African-Americans. Thanks to the marketing, globalization, and commercialization of the N-word, youths of all races now refer to one another as the N-word.

In affect Black America has given the entire world the green light to… trivialize… the dehumanization, butchering and slaughtering of their enslaved ancestors. Thinking like helpless and hopeless victims, black users of the word see eradicating use of the term as impossible, yet it is they who are keeping the word alive.

Such an attitude is the opposite of the prevailing boldness during the 1960’s when the indomitable spirit of Black America rejected labeling references such as Negro and Colored, choosing, instead, to refer to ourselves as Black and African-American. People were different it was a time when pride, dignity and self-respect meant something.

For more than five centuries, racism has legitimized assassinations, massacres and genocides. The doctrine of white supremacy has demonized, brutalized and dehumanized non-whites of the earth for centuries. Racism has been the global driving force behind the dispossession of continents, destruction of civilizations, and extermination of an entire people. The American flag and national anthem is symbolic of this and more.

Racism is about structuring social, political, and economic circumstances. Psychological and cultural circumstances such that one race can take advantage of another. One race can enhance itself at the expense of another. It has little to do with overt race hatred, or negative attitudes or the projection of racial stereotypes. Racism involves the power of one race to impose its will upon another. This is what Trump, the evangelicals, the American Institutionalized Systemic, Neo-Nazi, KKK, and other White Supremacist groups are all fighting to preserve (MAGA).

The flag reflects a reality the Black community has been locked into a NO WIN situation. All the wealth and power in this country has been dispensed over 400 years systemically into the hands of the majority white society. Black people don’t own a significant amount of anything to be able to control their lives to the extent that would promote and allow collective progress. Whites in America today control almost 100% of the income, wealth, power, resources, privileges and all levels of government, making it impossible to compete. America is unapologetic about this and its reneging of the promised 40 acres and a mule.

It’s a gross error in judgment when black athletes address one another as the N-word. It’s illogical, irrational to try and demand respect from others while simultaneously disrespecting one another. Colin Kaepernick is on record as using the N-word, unfortunately, he is the one who took the knee.

Proverbs 29:18 says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Black America’s salvation can only be won for its self, by its self. Looking to others to complete this feat for us is NOT going to work. Depending on political parties and the government to win this battle for us is not the answer. Instead, enlightenment, commitment to the collective community’s progress, and establishing economic independence must be at the forefront of each member’s mind and present in every single action taken and association made. Ultimately, this mindset will lead to self-reliance and self-respect, which are the proper ingredients of advancement.

Anything less, we can expect to always be treated in an exploitative, subordinated and exclusive manner; to assume otherwise will prove to be an exercise in futility, as our demand for respect will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Whether it’s taking a knee or staying in the locker room, one thing is abundantly clear… the oppressor has NO interest in acknowledging the concerns of African-Americans. Black folks had better wake up to the true significance of an ongoing 400-year-old message of being labeled the N-word, voluntarily going along with the program is foolhardy and delusional.

When African-American soldiers returned home from WWII they were meet with unpatriotic jeers admonishing them not to forget their place as that of a n**ger.

The following video exposes how black soldiers were disrespected and how patriotism didn’t extent to them:
https://youtu.be/zSZTHGOGA0Y

H. Lewis Smith is the founder and president of UVCC, the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc., (www.theunitedvoices.com) and author of “Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Love Affair with the N-Word”, and “Undressing the N-word: Revealing the Naked Truth, Lies, Deceit and Mind Games”. Follow him on Twitter @thescoop1

Waffle House incidents remind us (again) what to do (or not do) when “living while Black”

May 18, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Editorial—

There are two lessons to be learned from the latest Waffle House incident in which a “police” officer was videotaped using Gestapo-type tactics against an unarmed Black teenager:

First, racist police officers continue to advertise their presence in cities big and small, north and south, across the country. They are apparently emboldened by a judicial system that exonerates them in all but a few high profile cases, and the general public’s perception that the boys in blue are always justified in their overly aggressive treatment of Black men.

Even in an era when almost every citizen is armed with the technology to record wrong doing, rogue cops seem oblivious to public scrutiny, contributing to African Americans’ resentment, distrust and fear of those sworn to protect and serve us.

The latest Waffle House incident was a prime example. Occurring just a few weeks after an avowed racist killed four Black diners (before being stopped by a brave Black customer) and two weeks after police used excessive force to restrain a Black woman—exposing her breasts in the process—last week’s incident was preceded by an argument between a tuxedo clad teenager and a store employee.

Apparently embellished by a growing tsunami of racism across the country, the employee quickly called police.

A burly “officer of the law” responded and within moments relied on despicable and ruthless tactics to subdue the non-threatening Black teen who had just escorted his young sister to a high school prom. Recorded by a passerby whose cries for restraint went unanswered, the officer choked the teenager before throwing him to the ground.

The second lesson is to parents: If you haven’t already, tell you sons not to engage police under any circumstance. Instruct them to be polite, not to argue, roll their eyes, or reach for anything real or imagined. Do not give the police any reason to become aggressive.

If you have a complaint, keep it to yourself until you are safe.

If stopped in a vehicle, put your hands on the steering wheel, turn on your interior lights and clearly announce any movement. Also, turn your cell phone on record or video and place it on the dashboard—before the officers approaches your car.

Your son or daughter may very well have right on their side. But if nothing else, American history has taught us that being legally or morally right does not always translate to immediate victory. Sometimes you have to put your emotions (and your pride) on the back burner until you’re safely away from the fire.

Checking the Narrative on Black Women’s Leadership It’s Not Only Time to Court Black Women’s Votes, But Also Support Them As Candidates

May 7, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

By Glynda C. Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen

Glynda C. Carr

Kimberly Peeler-Allen

In a recently published Rolling Stone article, recording artist Janelle Monae exposes a disconcerting, yet largely universal awareness shared by Black women seeking to exercise power: when we reveal ourselves to be human and inevitably imperfect, we are too often labeled unworthy and incapable of leading. It’s why, Monáe says, she spent the better part of a decade masking herself behind the persona of an android named Cindi Mayweather.

Monáe’s unusual response to coping with this awareness may be unique to entertainment, but her acknowledgment speaks broadly to the very harsh, extraneous judgments that women-particularly Black women-face when they attempt to lead. These judgments were on full display in a recent New York Magazine article that ostensibly explored the campaigns of the two women-Stacey Abrams, who is Black, and Stacey Evans, who is White-running to become Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate. What the article manages to offer, however, is litany of demeaning characterization of Abrams, including suggesting that she is “uppity,” financially ill-equipped, hard to relate to and unmarriageable. In short, the article is a regurgitation of some of the most demeaning and hostile labels that Black women come up against whenever they attempt to claim seats of power.

Progressives need to pay attention, because these imbalanced judgments are not only unfair, but also defeating in a age when Black women are an indispensible, and perhaps the most critical factor in Democrats prevailing come November. If we don’t check and challenge false narratives about the character and viability of Black women candidates seeking to serve at all levels of government in all types of communities, we will no doubt spend the next two years once again analyzing what went wrong.

Politics is inherently a word war between competitors, but the tenor of the criticisms hurled at Abrams reads especially personal and especially coded. Left unchecked, there is a real risk that these immaterial characterizations will overshadow the strength of her qualifications. Abrams, who served eight years in the state legislature before stepping down to run for governor, is by far the most accomplished of the candidates vying for the top of Georgia’s Democratic ticket. As house minority leader, the Ivy League-educated attorney blocked efforts to raise taxes on the poor and working families; protected access to reproductive healthcare; and passed legislation in support of grandparents and other kin raising children. She also started the New Georgia Project, which registered more than 200,000 voters over two years. Her vision for Georgia includes universal pre-K, living-wage jobs and criminal-justice reforms that level the field for all the state’s residents.

In short, Abrams has the kind of leadership experience, legislative track record, relatable story and vision for the state that voters across the board should be eager to support. But with the May 22primary just weeks away, She has had to spend a good deal of time talking about her debt-a situation wrought largely by her need to support family members in need-instead of her vision for a new Georgia. The distraction is vexing for many reasons, including that debt is not a disqualifier for holding office. If it were, a majority of our elected officials-most especially our current president-would never have been elected.

The irrelevant scrutiny experienced by Abrams is hardly isolated. Black women candidates and elected officials face a litany of race- and gender-coded criticism about perceived shortcomings that are never mentioned in examining the qualifications of other candidates.

Too often, Black women seeking leadership are labeled with false narratives that paint them as angry instead of impassioned, financially irresponsible instead of willing to stretch their resources to help others, or young and inexperienced instead of ambitious and trailblazing. Recent examples of this are plentiful.

When St. Louis, Missouri, Treasurer Tishuara Jones lost her 2017 bid for mayor by just 888 votes against an establishment candidate with much deeper pockets, the city paper’s editorial board wrote that “a dose of humility” might have made voters more supportive of Jones’ candidacy. And when Lauren Underwood announced her candidacy for the Illinois 14th District U.S. House seat, many in the Democratic power structure were quick to write her off as non viable even though she grew up in the district and previously served as a senior advisor to Department of Health and Human under President Barack Obama. Despite this criticism and a corresponding lack of Democratic establishment support, in March, Underwood took 57 percent of the Democratic Primary vote to beat out her six opponents-all men.

In November, Underwood, Abrams and hundreds of other Black women running for office across the country will face off against their opponents for local, state and national offices. Many of these women exemplify the kind of promising, proven leadership that progressives say they want. But if we refuse to challenge and correct damaging, false narratives about Black women’s leadership abilities-and records-we will ultimately deprive our towns, cities, states and country of the elected officials who are most connected, committed and able to address the inequities and divisions chipping away at our democracy.

There’s a lot on the line in 2018. If creating a fair, equitable and tolerant country is truly our goal, then we must make an urgent stand and put our resources behind candidates who embody these principals. That means not only courting Black women’s votes, but also supporting them as candidates who eager and ready to provide the kind of strong, effective leadership that can help turn our country around.

Glynda Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen are co-founders of Higher Heights for America is a national organization building the collective political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office. For additional information visit: http://www.higherheightsforamerica.org.

Missing Eric Vickers – Part II

May 1, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Beyond the Rhetoric 762

Harry C. Alford

Eric joined up with the Hoosier Minority Chamber of Commerce at the right time. United Airlines was putting up a billion-dollar project and resolved to break us by excluding any members of our organization. This was “do or die” for us and it was a blessing to have Eric “Rambo” Vickers on our side. United’s strategy was to cut us off. Isolate and then ignore rendering us useless. Eric came up with the strategy of uniting as many minority contracting organizations as possible.

When we gathered for a showdown meeting with United in Chicago (their home base) we had assembled a coalition made up of contracting organizations representing Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville, all of Indiana and MBELDEF (headquartered in Washington, DC). We had demanded to speak to United President Wolf during a lunch at the Hilton Towers Hotel in downtown Chicago. United thought it was just going to be with me and the local group Black Contractors United which they funded and felt confident that they would support them and oppose me. They walked into the room with their principals, PR agent and some press. The press was to our surprise and the absence of President Wolf was an extreme disappointment.

Eric told us during our strategy morning session that if Wolf doesn’t show we will shutdown the meeting and kick them out of the room. It took five minutes of introduction when Eric stood up and demanded they leave the room. Eric in his rhetorical elegance began, “Don’t touch that food! We demanded to speak to President Wolf and he has refused to meet with us. Therefore, leave this room and prepare for the most organized, multi-state demonstration against your racist company. It will start in Indianapolis and spread to every city that is represented here by us. Eventually it will spread throughout our nation and the entire world will know how evil your business practices are. We won’t stop until you change your ways.”

When I got back home the result of the meeting was all over the press including local television. I began to organize a formal demonstration at the Indianapolis Airport. We recruited the Concerned Clergy (organization of 50 Black churches in Indianapolis) to participate in the demonstration. Also, and to our pleasant surprise, we got a call from the construction unions. They were mad at United Air Lines also since they refused to have a Project Labor Agreement for the construction after promising that they would. They pledged 600 demonstrators for our upcoming protest. I received a permit for the formal demonstration which allowed us to have 1000 protesters in front of the airport. At the same time of the demonstration airports representing the above cities would also have picket signs at the local United Airlines ticketing booths. The press was going crazy!

Two weeks before the big demonstration I got a call from Indianapolis Mayor Goldsmith’s office. They said the Mayor wants to meet with me immediately and be in his office by 9:00AM. A week prior to this I spoke with the mayor and he said, “Harry, United may move the project to some other city.” I replied, “Fine, we don’t want them here if our Black contractors can’t participate.” I guess he realized our commitment. When I got to his office representatives from the Governor’s office, United Airlines and a couple of lobbyists were there. The mayor stated, “Harry just what is it you want?” I retorted, “Our demands have not changed. We demand 15% of all work including architecture, engineering, construction, real estate relocations, concessions, legal work, etc. Plus, we should have a disparity study done. Mayor Goldsmith smiled and said, “OK, its done so let’s all shake hands and tell the press.”

After six months of struggle, it was over. That afternoon I received calls from some of my members. United Airlines construction manager called and said they should come in and decide which projects they wanted to perform. One of our Black law firms called and thanked me for getting him a lucrative retainer. Two Black real estate agents called and thanked me for getting them some relocations. Victory was ours. It was real, living, and immediate.

This was one of the greatest affirmative action victories in the nation. Pretty soon the whole nation knew about it. Calls from other Black chambers and minority organizations were being made. Some would come to town to see it for themselves.

One evening my wife Kay would say, “The entire nation knows about us. Maybe we should represent the whole nation.”

I called Eric and MBELDEF’s Anthony Robinson and retired Congressman Parren Mitchell about it. They all said, “Do it!”

The rest is history. It was the beginning of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: [email protected]

DATED: May 1, 2018

Congress owes victims of mass shootings laws that keep guns out of the hands of American terrorists

April 26, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

If you listened to Armstrong William’s syndicated radio talk show Monday, you probably were as shocked as we were to hear him provide a ‘partial’ list of mass shootings in America over the last 20 years.
The list went on for several minutes, which gives you an idea of how many “native” terrorists and psychopaths were included in his deadly diatribe. Most of the mass shooting victims numbered a half dozen people per rampage.
Interestingly, none of the three dozen terrorists were Black, although many of their targets were racially motivated, including the Waffle House murders of last Sunday morning.
Two thoughts come to mind when you provide listeners (or readers) with the cold hard and deadly reality of homegrown terrorism in America: first, despite the pronouncements and political rhetoric that usually follow this tsunami of terrorism, their concern ends there, with words and little or no action.
In fact, Congress has even turned a blind eye to the cries of America’s youth, who assembled by the thousands around the country on two occasions this month, demanding gun control and safe schools (the focal point of a half dozen terrorist attacks).
Secondly, in all but a couple of cases, the guns (sometimes semi-automatic weapons) were legally purchased.
That disheartening reality is true because there are few “national” safeguards to protect us, from “them,” (the terrorists).
For example, while some states have strict requirements for obtaining a concealed-carry permit, or to purchase a gun, in many others a mentally disturbed, domestic abuser with a felony conviction can walk into a store, plunk down his money and walk out with a bazooka.
We’re exaggerating…BUT, not by much.
And there are also “strawman sales,” in which guns are purchased by a person on behalf of someone else who doesn’t qualify for a gun because of a prior felony conviction.
Our leaders on the national and local level better wake up, swear-off NRA money, and realize America is a—in military jargon—“target-rich environment.”
They must create and pass legislation that, while not denying law-abiding, felony-free citizens the right to “bear arms,” keeps these “weapons of mass destruction” out of the hands of not only felons, but those who have had multiple run-ins with the law and/or suffer from some form of mental disease.
Congress owes the victims and their families…the nation…nothing less!

Three African American racial justice leaders respond to Starbucks effort to end bias in its company

April 25, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

Heather McGhee, president, Demos

Sherrilyn Ifill, president/director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund

Bryan Stevenson, founder/executive director, Equal Justice Initiative

NEW YORK, NY – Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and Heather McGhee, president of Demos released a statement today regarding their participation on the Starbucks Advisory Committee, which is addressing the company’s efforts to prevent discrimination in its stores:

On April 12, two black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were arrested by police at a Starbucks location while merely waiting to meet with a business associate. A Starbucks manager had called the police because she said the men – who had only been in the store for a brief period – had yet to make a purchase.

The racial justice leaders issued the following statement:

“The arrest of the two young men in Starbucks is a stark example of the ongoing struggle of African Americans for full citizenship and dignity in American life. Since last week, a number of other high-profile incidents involving discrimination against African Americans demonstrates the breadth and shameful persistence of this problem.

“We were encouraged by the clear and unequivocal statements by Starbucks’ leadership, expressing their desire and intention to deal directly with the issue of racism. This is a rare phenomenon in corporate America. We have pushed and will continue to work to ensure that this highly visible moment – for Starbucks’ 175,000 employees, the other major corporations who watch Starbucks, and the country – is done right. We have been clear from the start that the company must build a framework for anti-bias training that extends beyond the planned May 29th training and that becomes part of the company culture. In addition to the need for an anti-discrimination curriculum – which will consist of an ongoing education for all employees, with real measures for evaluation and monitoring – we made clear that a thorough review of the company policies, as well as consultation with local, not just national leaders, is necessary as they move forward.

“Even with these caveats and concerns – and, we imagine, there will be more as this process unfolds – we realize the extraordinary step that Starbucks is taking to do better on an issue that affects every workplace. Starbucks exists in 8,000 communities in our country. We see this effort as an opportunity for Starbucks to demonstrate leadership in advancing a commitment to equal treatment and opportunity in true partnership with the communities they serve. We expect to issue a report to Starbucks, with recommendations about the company’s policies, a multi-phase training framework, and the ongoing work they will need to undertake in order to really move the ball.

“We know that the problem of anti-Black bias and other forms of discrimination is not Starbucks’ problem alone; it’s a deeply American problem, made consequential and often lethal by the compounding force of unaccountable, discriminatory policing. A larger issue here is the mass criminalization of our people, and we each made it clear to Starbucks that they have the privilege and responsibility to influence not just employee practices, but police practices in Philadelphia and across the country. We will continue to advocate on that front, both with Starbucks and with the police, and welcome your thoughts about how we can make the greatest impact.”

Beyond the Rhetoric: Missing Eric Vickers – Part I

April 24, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

By Harry C. Alford

Eric died on April 14, 2018. Pancreatic cancer took this warrior out. We are certainly going to miss him. Allow me to reflect on the great battles we won with Eric Vickers on our side during intense battles.

I was working in the Indiana State Government as Deputy Administrator for Minority Business Development. This was a job my wife got me. She read the job description and realized that it was tailor made for my expertise. She and a few of her friends worked the Evan Bayh campaign for governor and this was one of the jobs they had to place loyal campaign participants. She would shortly become the Director of Marketing for the new Indiana Lottery. So, we closed our two video stores and stopped our real estate brokering. After nine years of pure entrepreneurship we were back doing the “job thing”.

While finding ways to integrate Black owned businesses into the government procurement sector I met interesting people. One was Laverne Morrow (from St. Louis) who was actively managing a campaign regarding Black participation in the upcoming White House Conference for Small Business. By law, the Conference was started during the Jimmy Carter administration. Reagan reluctantly continued it, President George H.W. Bush ignored it and now it was president Bill Clinton’s turn. He received it with open arms and the organizational process was now starting. I received a mailing from Laverne announcing a program to populate the conference with Black entrepreneurs and advocates. The mission: Protect affirmative action programs which some groups were aiming to abolish. She organized a meeting in Washington, DC for anyone willing to get involved in the upcoming battle.

I got funding for my participation. It was there that I met Anthony Robinson, President of Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense Fund. MBELDEF was started by retired Congressman Parren Mitchell. Its mission was to defend minority owned business against the ever – growing regulations barring affirmative action programs and the many lawsuits popping up to challenge them.

The conference was successful for us. The federal government kept all affirmative action programs intact. Oddly, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama refused to replicate the White House Conference on Small Business. That is something we need to present to Donald Trump. It is still on the books.

By now, I was working within the Department of Administration at a vicious pace. There was so much to be done and it appeared that I was the only human being in the history of Indiana to start down the long winding road of Black business development. Despite that I managed to take the Black business participation numbers for state procurement from 0.6 percent to 6 percent within 18 months. Severe backlash started coming from the local powers. I contacted Anthony and told him that I was being checked every time I made a move towards progress. I had no alternative but to form a free standing independent organization and jump into this fight for Black business development. Kay and I came up with the idea of having a local chamber of commerce. We admired the local Indianapolis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Indianapolis had about 4,000 Hispanics at the time. We figured that since the city had over 260,000 Blacks why shouldn’t it have a Black Chamber of Commerce too.

We formed the Hoosier Minority Chamber of Commerce. We felt Blacks in Indiana weren’t quite brave enough to have an association with a Black moniker yet. Instantly, we had over 100 members and became a force. What was missing was a “kick ass” attorney who could handle the future litigation we were planning on. I brought Anthony out to Indianapolis and explained my long-term plans. I wanted to organize civil disobedience and legal action on a list of entities such as the City, State, Public Schools, white construction companies, United Airlines and a few major corporations based within the state.

It didn’t take long for Anthony to say, “We need to get Eric Vickers over here.” The next week I met with Eric. I put him up at the Hyatt Hotel and took two days to explain our situation. This state was not going to allow Black business to grow. It was dead set on stopping the Hoosier Minority Chamber of Commerce in its tracks. United Airlines had announced a new $1 billion maintenance hub at the Indianapolis Airport. The procurement arm of the company made it clear to local Black businesses that any member of the Hoosier Minority Chamber of Commerce will not get a contract at the hub.

When I told this to Eric he smiled. “They just gave us the opportunity to change this from a local issue to a national issue. It is a federally regulated airport and United is a Fortune 100 corporation. The fight must be on a national battlefield. It’s so romantic!”

Little did Kay and I know we were about to go on the wildest “ride” of our lives. We were hanging with Eric Vickers. Stay tuned!

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: [email protected]

DATED: April 24, 2018

37 texting acronyms and abbreviations every parent should know

April 24, 2018 By MCJAtlanta Leave a Comment

By Shea Saladee

courtesy Momaha.com

If your teen has a smartphone, there’s a good chance they’re familiar with a list of acronyms, abbreviations and short-hand to they’re incorporating into their messages.

As an educator of teens and young adults, I hear some of this verbiage being used in the classroom. As a parent of tweens, I also feel like it’s important to understand how technology is being utilized so I can best prepare myself and them. After all, some are harmless, but some could be potentially risky or downright dangerous.

Here’s a list of texting acronyms and abbreviations parents should be familiar with. The list was curated from my own knowledge as well as information from articles on CNN, McAfee, Yahoo and USAToday.

1. 9 or CD9: Parents are nearby

2. 99: Parents are gone

3. 143: I love you

4. 182: I hate you

5. 1174: Party meeting place

6. 53X: Sex

7. 2DAY: Today

8. 4EAE: For ever and ever

9. ADN: Any day now

10. ADR: What’s your address

11. AFAIK: As far as I know

12. AFK: Away from keyboard

13. ASL: Age/sex/location

14. ATM: At the moment

15. CU46: See you for sex

16. DOC: Drug of choice

17. F2F or FTF: Face to face

18. FWB: Friends with benefits

19. GNOC: Get naked on camera

20. GYPO: Get your pants off

21. HMU: Hit me up

22. IMO: In my opinion

23. IRL: In real life

24. IWSN: I want sex now

25. LH6: Let’s have sex

26. KMS/KYS: Kill myself, kill yourself

27. KPC: Keeping parents clueless

28. LMIRL: Let’s meet in real life

29. LMK: Let me know

30. MOS/POS: Mom over shoulder, parent over shoulder

31. NM: Never mind

32. NMU: Not much, you?

33. PIR: Parent in room

34. QQ: Crying

35. TBH: To be honest

36. WTTP: Want to trade pictures?

37. WYRN: What’s your real name?

It’s also important to note that, as with technology, the lingo is always changing and evolving. Emojis now have specific meanings as well, particularly symbols such as eggplant, peach, cherries and water drops (we’ll let you figure those out).

***

Shea Saladee lives in Papillion with her husband, Brent, and their three children. She works as an instructor at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

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