IBSA Newswire...
Monday, November 27, 2006
Common Sense Leads to Common Cents
¶ 11/27/2006 12:58:00 PM
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| [As we look back on our progress for the past 45 years, common sense shows us how far we have come relative to the strategies we chose to pursue and the leadership we decided to follow. Common sense says several of our leaders have done marvelously well, but as a whole Black people are still stuck at the bottom of the economic ladder, a ladder with rungs that begin at the halfway point. It is up to us to figure out how to get to the halfway point; common sense suggests we must build add own rungs to that economic ladder.] http://www.blackonomics.com/content.ihtml?cmemstep=1&nid=5967&catid=:catid ======================================== James E. Clingman is the nation's most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His weekly syndicated newspaper column, Blackonomics, is featured in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. He has written five books, the latest of which is Black O Knowledge, Stuff we need to know, and has been the featured speaker for numerous organizations across the United States. | |||
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Join: BlackBusinessSpace.com
¶ 11/26/2006 06:28:00 PM
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At BlackBusinessSpace you can connect with your friends and associates, invite them, post listings, and join groups. It's very different, it's easy, and it's viral -- Its FREE to join.
Connect with people who share your interests. Discuss business, industries, ideas and more. Communicate with a broad group of individuals, easily! Find a New Business Associate - Expand your social NetWork by using BlackBusinessSpace to find and meet new business associates and friends. Start/Join Support Groups - With BlackBusinessSpace, new members can find someone to help mentor and guide them by becoming part of the BlackBusinessSpace community. Become recognized as an expert in your field. Locate/List a Business Opportunity - Browse through the listing directory and post business opportunity listings created by people in the BlackBusinessSpace** network. Submit Articles, RFP's, Resumes, Grants & Press Releases - Presenting your information helps you turn contacts into contracts. Find Places to Go - Looking for business or social activities to do during the week? With the BlackBusinessSpace, you can search for events in your area or even organize events for others to attend. Create and Manage Groups of People - Use BlackBusinessSpace to organize existing groups and/or identify and draw together individuals who share a common interest. These Groups can be focused on any subject, affiliation, or activity. Joint Ventures, collaborations, and networking groups can form their own Groups, as well as family members, newbies, or professionals. Blogging - Members can share their thoughts and voice their own views on the web through their own online blog be it a personal diary, a news page or a political or business commentary. Messaging - BlackBusinessSpaces system allows members to send a note to friends, colleagues and people who are listing items that interest them. Members can communicate with their Groups via group message boards and they can also schedule events to inform everyone in their Group of an upcoming event. Make Money - With the NBBTA affiliate program members can now invite friends to join NBBTA and earn money when new members signup for paid membership! Personal Organizer - BlackBusinessSpace comes with a built-in calendar for members so that they can organize their daily schedules and activities on the go. Answer Life's Questions - BlackBusinessSpace social network is a valuable online resource that contains most of the answers members need. Whether they are seeking to increase their revenue, need a consultant, an organic health regiment, or an investment club, there is a very high chance that someone in the member's network already has the solution or expertise. *How does BlackBusinessSpace.com work? Well if you have used Ryze and MySpace before, then you should know how our system works. Once members are registered with BlackBusinessSpace, they will be able invite people they know to join their personal or professional network. A member's friends will come to BlackBusinessSpace and invite their friends. As the network grows, members will have more opportunities to interact easily with people they know, make friends and associates, and use the BlackBusinessSpace network to enrich their business and social life. To check join now, click the Web link below. (If this link doesn't work, copy it into your browser.) http://www.blackbusinessspace.com/friends/index.php?mode=join&ref_id=180 | |||
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Exhibit by Yolanda Haley Taylor - Sponsored by the Brown Foundation
¶ 11/25/2006 10:44:00 PM
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 Images 2006 Leaders and Role Models: African American Men in Topeka, Kansas You are cordially invited to the opening of a photographic exhibit by Yolanda Haley Taylor "Images 2006: Leaders and Role Models: African American Men in Topeka, Kansas"  Sunday, December 3, 2006 3:00 p.m. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Speaker - Senator David Haley Booksigning and meet individuals featured in the exhibit Free and Open to the public RSVP or for more information contact the Brown Foundation 785-235-3939 or brownfound@juno.com Program sponsored by the Brown Foundation, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and Yolanda Haley Taylor | |||
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Mentorship Portal
¶ 11/18/2006 05:31:00 PM
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Subject: Mentorship Portal
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HUD Property Listing Available
¶ 11/18/2006 01:37:00 PM
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Check Out Added Link to HUD Property Listing
http://www.kansassmallbizpromotions.com/hazimrealtor.htm
Feel free to call me on any property you see listed or to help you sell your home!
1900 SE 29th St. Topeka, KS 66605 (785) 383-8942 
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Friday, November 10, 2006
Are you an entrepreneur looking for a way to increase online sales?
¶ 11/10/2006 08:18:00 AM
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Thursday, November 09, 2006
Thanks
¶ 11/09/2006 09:47:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Creating jobs...
¶ 11/07/2006 11:41:00 AM
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| Over the years I have worked with numerous business owners that have the desire to grow their business but in many instances they have all shared the same frustrations in getting more customers or more business. Since products and services are not one-size-fits-all, it really takes a plan to reach those results. In the role of an agency, that don't sell products, providing insight or advocacy is a service just as important as a for-profit product or service. Many of you have received emails promoting a business, providing information about or for your business, and articles written on doing better business; or not doing what brings business down. To that end, I want to touch on the construction side of business since it is a big thing in Kansas right now. Our agency is focused on getting Black folks good paying jobs or the skills to obtain them. When we succeed in helping a business grow we hope it eventually means they will be able to hire people and therefore bring them into the economy. This is how many immigrants find work or grow their business. Currently, there are some large construction projects going on in Kansas. Ft. Riley, Ft. Leavenworth, the Topeka Bridge Project, the Renovation of the state Capitol to name a few biggies that are right under our nose. In Kansas City KS there is a lot of building going on around the Kansas Speedway and the Legends area, and the spinoff of work surrounding Ft. Riley include Junction City and Manhattan. In a nutshell, if you have a business that can provide this type of work, or the skills / interest in doing this kind of work there is no shortage of opportunity. Part of the problem in getting contracts have been a companies capacity to effectively compete. It may be lack of proper insurance or workman's comp, bonding issues, lack of capital, or administrative help to get the paperwork in order and submitted in a timely fashion. Without taking care of these issues we not only don't get the work, but we also don't create the jobs. In the end we have too many of our folks on the outside looking in and in some cases resentment towards those who got the jobs and contracts. How do we fix this??? I have discussed this with several businesses involved in the construction industry that are general contractors. These are companies that don't to the sub-contracting work, but are the primary contractors that in turn sub out the work. On many larger projects (those whereas a contract may be worth $500,000 to $3M) having the capacity to get them is high. But, when we don't get them it knocks out two birds, the contractor and the potential employees to work the job. Both are then sitting on the sidelines while others reap the financial reward. In several cases, the General Contractors don't want to be sub-contractors; which they have the right and should expect fairness in bidding, but without willingness to have latitude in order to keep work and employees working we sort of throw the baby out with the bath water. Maybe all serious contractors should develop divisions in their company's that focus on winning the sub-contracted work too? Many people believe that some work is better than none at all. That's what probation officers tell their folks as well as welfare case managers. We even talk about Black folks needing to take any job if that's what it takes to take care of themselves and their families and responsibilities. Shouldn't this apply to Black contractors too? I hate to see the Billions of dollars in construction work pass us by because we have not formed a way to take advantage of the opportunities. We will never see a large reduction of Black unemployment in Kansas if we stay the course and will continue to see others decreasing their unemployment numbers because they play by a different strategy book than we do. Regardless of who is Governor, President, Senator or Congressperson, we have to be wise enough to take our destiny in our own hands because no one can better do for others until they best do for themselves. I think we all have an opportunity; if not responsibility to share information that can help someone else better their lot in life. Now there's a New Years resolution to consider. Lazone Grays | |||
Office Accounting Express 2007
¶ 11/07/2006 09:51:00 AM
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http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=40589AA4-F8B0-440C-B31C-064A09F8E986&displaylang=en
OverviewOffice Accounting Express 2007 is the ideal accounting solution for new or existing home officebased small businesses. Office Accounting Express 2007 helps small business owners and bookkeepers save time on everyday tasks, work the way they want, and grow their business through online sales, online invoicing, and payment processes. And Office Accounting Express 2007 comes with the familiar look and feel of the Microsoft Office system.
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Saturday, November 04, 2006
Black Groups Respond to Need for New Black Leadership
¶ 11/04/2006 09:32:00 PM
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New Black Leadership
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Soulfood -- 'It's home cooking'
¶ 11/04/2006 09:31:00 PM
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The Disappointment of Diversity
¶ 11/04/2006 09:30:00 PM
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by Zekita Tucker
It seems that naturally, the goal to increase diversity in the workplace would be to increase ultimately the number of women (white women) rather than those of an assorted ethnic, cultural, or racial background to fill management and even high level executive positions. Just as history has shown us, the original call for diversifying business, politics, and even colleges and universities was implemented for the integration of people of color (particularly black people) into the corporate work force that had been relentlessly shutting us out.
But like then, in contemporary times, the cries of the unheard white woman who wants her proclaimed rightful place next to her man are pushing the black woman and man back into second string. And now the seats that were once being opened for blacks are being taken over by Rosie the Router who fights hard every day to prove her equality. It is true that while many blacks are welcomed to high level positions in the workforce that they were once essentially banned from; the number of them in high ranking chairs is still one that is frustratingly low.
We often see stories of black people who have achieved some level of success within the business world. They are singled out as high achievers, hard workers, and as those who have somehow broken that glass ceiling. Arguably, these stories play a major role in our conditioning (by white media), in order to portray a changing world that allows for every man to contribute as long as he is competent, intelligent, and is willing to play by their rules. Unfortunately, what we dont see is when we get mesmerized by these individual stories of success, is that these stars of the black business show had to go through crucial bouts of assimilation and acceptance. And probably hardly ever saw a face that looked similar to their own while they fought this uphill battle to be the only blackface at the executive round table. What hell that must be.
The world obviously knows that the white male has the business world by the balls (for now anyway). And when we push to get into this arena on a level playing field, the grip gets tighter. Even still in 2006, these fallacious claims of diversity and equality can be chalked up as a clear hoax. No more than another game being played to manipulate, trick, and deceive- unfortunately, this is how the world operates now.
These new diversity programs have become no more than an innovation. They are new found programs that reinforce the limitations imposed on almost all dark skinned people on the planet without the messiness of past injustices. In other words, the doors have opened but they are on an automatic timer that shuts them after the black capacity has been reached.
Major corporations spend millions on diversity programs and training but fail to recognize the true meaning of diversifying. Many of us are still confused by the language, the efficacy of the programs, and why the white women has yet to become a definitive category within these programs. When reviewing the category of women, one has to wonder- just what women are they talking about. There is always statistics on Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. and then of course Women. As if this group is somehow separate from the others, or perhaps there are no women in the other groups?
If major corporations really wanted companies orchestrated by all people- not just mainly white or Europeans with a sprinkle of color here and there- there would truly be no serious need for the implementation of programs to racially and/or culturally integrate the work place. It would just be. These very weak attempts and high priced programs would not even be necessary.
While there is a huge hype about this issue, the more intricate details that prove it to be hype are usually hidden and are undeniably indicate of the real truth. Deep within the corporate commercials featuring a black person (male or female), a white woman, an asian (usually a woman), and a person that looks something similar to what could be called Hispanic there is a web of deceit and propaganda. The commercials and pamphlets talk about acceptance and equal opportunity, etc. etc., but like all promos there is something unsaid, unseen, and unheard. Its usually truth.
The true ranks are clear but often shrouded from the people. While there are claims of equality on the surface the penetration of such illuminate otherwise. Taken from the source: Catalyst, Women of Color in Corporate Management: A Statistical Picture; DiversityCentral.com lists the earnings of women in particular in comparison to each $1.00 (U.S) earned by white males. This list indicates that while black women have the second highest attainment of education (second to Asian women), black women earn only $.57 (U.S.) compared to the white male $1.00 while white women, who have less education compare at $.59 (U.S). It really doesnt get any more in your face than that!
On the Global front, the problem of diversified markets and business may be seen in another light. That is, if you are not African or of African descent. Diversified markets and business where Africa is concerned is seemingly no more than a bunch of mindless chatter. It sounds really good and the words look really impressive on paper but the show and prove has yet to happen. The October issue of Fortune Magazine catalogues a list of the worlds 50 most powerful women and the list appears to be culturally inclusive, however, a very simple mind could be mislead into believing that the continent does not produce any productive and talented business women. On the list, the only country that is mentioned on the continent of Africa is South Africa whose reported powerful woman is CEO of Transnet, Maria Ramos who is not even black. The same story rings true in the U.S. Fortunes 10 Highest paid executives- all white and all male. For their powerful U.S. Womens list there are only two African American women: Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Inc.) and Ursula Burns (Xerox).
This entire game of letting a few people in (save the ones who have created their own businesses) to secure a good reputation and good game face is a sad thing. It is indeed a game. One that limits and/or limits access to fair business, fair politics, trade, and on some levels education. The fight for equality and diversity will be one that will last for far more decades than any of us can foresee. In 2005 it was reported that the U.S. Labor Force alone had great disparities. The workforce is 73% white, 48% women, and 11% African American (Workforce 2020, Hudson Institute).
Those percentages alone could turn many stomachs but the numbers are not as damaging to the heart as the up close and personal eyewitness of black people still having to struggle for fairness and equality for the most basic of elements and the means and opportunity to acquire a stable and comfortable livelihood in a modern world.
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Zekita Tucker is a freelance writer and author of Dont Call Me Nigga for children ages 6 yrs and older. Please visit her online at
