Incarceration Nation: Restorative Justice is a Better Way – OpEdNews

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Incarceration Nation: Restorative Justice is a Better Way – OpEdNews

via My Black News by MyBlackNewsAdmin on 12/9/10

Incarceration Nation: Restorative Justice is a Better Way – OpEdNews

Incarceration Nation: Restorative Justice is a Better Way OpEdNews Out of every fifteen African American men, one is living in a prison or jail cell. The numbers are staggering. What about the people at the center of this …

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Food, urban farms and our survival

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Food, urban farms and our survival

via Know4LIFE's Blk Nuz Forum by Knowledge for LIFE (K4L) on 12/9/10

By Starla Muhammad

People tend to eat where it is easy and convenient to get food--regardless of the nutritional benefits--contributing to high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, certain cancers and other maladies striking Blacks at alarming rates. Studies show in poor and predominately Black neighborhoods, there is often greater access to "convenience" stores and fast food chains than to full service grocery stores.  Lack of availability and access to healthy foods, an overall food shortage and its correlation to sickness, disease and death has sparked a need for a united effort to address these critical issues. » FULL STORY

Don’t Wait for Superman … Put On Your Own Cape!

Very interesting article for all parents of school age children to read. http://blackbusinessownership.com

Don’t Wait for Superman … Put On Your Own Cape!

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. on 12/1/10

There’s good reason one of this year’s most talked about films has been Waiting for Superman, the powerful and poignant documentary about the state of America’s public schools. Among the film’s most gut-wrenching scenes: parents of different hues and from different zip codes participating in a series of lotteries so their children can attend first-class charter schools and leave regular public education behind. One parent, for instance, who wanted her child to attend Harlem Success Academy Charter School, was one of 767 applicants vying for 35 slots. Being a parent myself, I felt for the parents and children as I saw the anguish-ridden faces of those not selected. As director Davis Guggenheim stated in the film, too many parents have been forced to “pin hopes on a bouncing ball, placing our children and their future in the hands of luck.”

Jonathan Spear, co-founder and COO of Generation Schools Network, a highly successful nonprofit bringing innovation to urban schools, and my good friend, recently said: “We can’t wait for Superman. Jimmy [Olsen] and Lois [Lane] can help solve this problem, too.” He’s right. We must all be fully committed to fixing our schools. In addition to placing the future of our children in jeopardy, American business competitiveness has been threatened; at a time when the national unemployment rate tops 9%, CEOs of high-tech industries say they can’t find enough qualified applicants on our shores to fill positions.

According to the Broad Foundation, American students ranked 25th in math and 21st in science out of 30 industrialized countries. News reports have disclosed that 10% of schools are “dropout factories”—institutions in which 60% of the freshman class fails to make it to graduation. Although American students of all races and both genders have underperformed, researchers found the overall graduation rate for black males at 47%.

I strongly believe we can reverse this trend, and it starts with across-the-board accountability. Educators have proved that poverty-stricken communities don’t produce failed schools; lack of commitment does. We must adhere to a standard in which teachers and school officials are expected to perform at the highest level. As in the business world, educators who receive high marks should be rewarded with merit pay while underperformers should be cast out. The notion that a teacher can simply belong to a union and receive tenure for life regardless of job performance is pure insanity. Imagine what the state of American industry would be if we had to keep all employees regardless of their ability to perform at a satisfactory level.

Moreover, local school officials and school board members should only be eligible to serve if their own children are enrolled in or have graduated from that public school system. By doing so, I promise you that you’ll have engaged and innovative officials dedicated to solving problems from curriculum development to infrastructure repair.

Ultimately, you can’t have education reform without direct parental involvement. For far too long, too many parents have been absent from their children’s academic lives. We must do more than walk our kids to the end of the driveway to see them off each day, and then never entering their schools again until we appear on graduation day with digital cameras in hand. It’s up to us to make our children and their teachers accountable, clearly stating our expectations, monitoring their progress, and utilizing technology to improve communication. With each of our four children, all of whom attended public schools, my wife and I made an agreement with their teachers that as soon as they even remotely veered off course we would be contacted immediately so that together we could ensure their academic success.

We can no longer afford to stand by and watch our children’s development deteriorate. We must be the guardians of our nation’s public education system and consequently the future of our country. And once we make that commitment to take action, we may all be viewed as superheroes.

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Black Unemployment Keeps Going Up

This is why we must start our own businesses. We must put our own people to work! http://blackbusinessownership

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Black Unemployment Keeps Going Up

via African American News by Staff on 12/3/10

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Today's release of November unemployment data is not good news for President Obama. Unemployment rose nationally to 9.8 percent, after holding steady at 9.6 percent for the previous three months. The jobless rate jumped for nearly every racial/gender demographic. White women still have the lowest unemployment rate of both genders, when comparing African Americans and whites. Black males have the highest.

Black unemployment rose again from 15.7 percent to 16 percent. This number is slightly lower than the high of 16.3 percent experienced back in August. When scaled with the white unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, the black unemployment rate is 79.8 percent higher than that of white Americans.

 

Click to read.

7 Money Lessons from the Bible

Greta lessons for all of us to follow! http://blackbusinessownership.com

7 Money Lessons from the Bible

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Sheiresa Ngo on 12/6/10

The Bible is not only a source of inspiration, comfort, and a guide for living, but also a guide for how you should manage your money. Take a look at what you can learn from this powerful book. —Sheiresa Ngo #####

Take control of debt.

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” —Proverbs 22:7 #####

Keep track of your money and think before you spend.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” —Luke 14:28 #####

Leave wealth for the next generation.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children...”   —Proverbs 13:22a #####

Be honest in your financial dealings.

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”     —Proverbs 13:11 #####

Seek financial counsel.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”      —Proverbs 15:22 #####

Use caution when co-signing a loan.

“A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.”   —Proverbs 17:18 #####

Pay your taxes.

“Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” —Proverbs 13:7 #####

For further reading:

• 5 Financial Lies that Could Land You in Hot Water
• The 7 Deadly Sins of Money Management
  

10 Web Commandments Before Choosing a Video Host

Info for your website

10 Web Commandments Before Choosing a Video Host

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Marcia Wade Talbert on 12/6/10

Web video is becoming an important feature for all websites. In fact, studies show that video will exceed 91% of global consumer traffic by 2014. Once you decide to include video on your website, you have to determine which company is best suited to host your video content. To help make your decision process a little easier, here are 10 things you should consider before purchasing a hosting contract and uploading your videos to a third party vendor. —Marcia Wade Talbert

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Flesh out your use case scenario. You will need to choose an online video platform (OVP) based on your needs. “There are 84 OVPs in the Vidcompare database and they are all of varying degrees,” says Kristopher Drey, founder of VidCompare.com, a site that evaluates the features of different OVPs. Understanding how you will use video on your site will help you get through those OVPs and find the right one for you. Ask yourself how you want to use video and what purpose will it serve.

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Find a video player that is customizable. “You want that video player to look like your website, and carry your logo,” says Drey. “You want it to match who you are as an entity.” That's extremely important because video is very viral. You can share a clip via email, post it to your Facebook page, send a link via twitter, or embed it on your blog. "When that video is shared you want your brand to be perpetuated in that video player every single time it is shared," adds Drey.

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Make sure it has an uncomplicated user interface. You also want a provider that has a clean and easy to control content management system. “A lot of providers offer a 30-day free trial and allow you to kick the tires,” says Drey, who started VidCompare in September 2009 to help businesses understand the differences between the host offerings on different platforms. “I encourage people to do that because… you will be spending a lot of time in that CMS [Content Management System]. You want it to feel comfortable to you.” You don’t want to be confused about where your video goes when you upload it, or how to interpret the stats. For a clean user interface that's easy to understand try Vzaar and Wistia.

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Include syndication tools. Syndication allows you to get found. You want users to get access to your videos in as many ways as possible; not only on your website, but especially within search engines. There are tools that will push your custom video out to other websites, and give users the ability to set up an RSS or Media RSS feed (an RSS feed is a subscription to news, video, blogs, etc. published online) based on your media files. "Typically, syndication tools are not extra, so make sure the provider does not charge an incremental fee for it," says Drey. If they do, that's not the right provider for you.

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Get the ability to view videos across multiple platforms. It is incredibly important that people are able to view your video on different screens. Maybe you want people to watch the video on the train every morning on the way to the office using their iPhone, iPad, or any other smart phone. Talk to the provider about their ability to convert your video into multiple formats. “A lot of providers will be able to encode your original video file into different formats for you and spit out one video for the web, another formatted specifically for the iPhone, and another one for HTML5,” says Drey. “HTML5 is becoming more ubiquitous and it is browser agnotstic, [meaning] you can look at an HTML5 video on an Android phone, an iPhone or a computer in any browser.” Again, the ability to convert to mobile versions should be included in your package.

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Find players that can go viral. OVP’s are best for businesses who want to send as much traffic to their own site as possible. Portals like YouTube won’t send you traffic, but they can sometimes help you spread your “brand” in ways that you couldn’t imagine were possible. For example, following the sexual assault of his sister, Antoine Dodson appeared on a local news program. His television rant became infamously known as “The Intruder Song” and elicited over 44 million views and countless genre remakes, including one by North Carolina A&T’s marching band. The song reportedly generated enough money on iTunes to buy Dodson’s family a home in a safer neighborhood and send Dodson back to college. "The Intruder Song" wasn’t a stunt, but some businesses purposely orchestrate humorous videos on YouTube just to draw attention to their brand.

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Opt for detailed analytics. With a basic package providers will tell you your video has been viewed 25 times and shared five times. “But there are providers that provide incredibly robust data,” says Drey. “They will tell you not only how many times a video was watched, but how many times per viewer…where the videos are being watched geographically…and at what point in time did viewers rewind the video.” Look for videos that will provide you with drop off rates, which will tell you what time most people stop watching a video. "That will tell you if you're boring your audience or that there is something wrong with the video," says Drey. Based on this information you can then choose to make your video shorter, add more of the content that viewers watch the most, add advertising right before a drop off point, or change the content entirely.

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Add interactivity. “This is very incredible technology,” says Drey. “Companies like Veeple, Ooyala, and a couple of others are doing really exciting things with interactivity.” With interactive videos you can hover over something and get a full description or a phone number, or click on it and download a pdf or send an email. For example, you can watch a Cheerios commercial (above), mouse over the cereal box and see a pop-up providing you information about the brand. If you click on the box, you can go to the brands website to read about why the oats in Cheerios are healthy, play a game, or get coupons.

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Check to make sure you retain ownership. Do you still own the content after you’ve uploaded it? Although it is standard for you to retain ownership of your video with most companies, “when you speak to your OVP that is a question you should ask point blank,” says Drey. You want to make sure that they are not going to use your original raw files or any of your converted files and mobile versions.

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Ask about a flexible migration policy. If you aren’t happy with the service of the company you chose will you be able to transfer your video to another video hosting platform? If the company goes out of business what will happen to the videos that you have stored on their server? The last thing you want your customers to see is "Video Not Found." Will you get your videos back? If not, will you get your money back? Ask them what will they do to help you get your files back if you decide to switch vendors at the end of your contract. “Find an OVP that is financially viable,” says Drey. “If they are young and new that doesn’t mean they are not a good company, but you will sleep better if you know they are not going away anytime soon and your content will be protected for years to come.”

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For more information about adding video to your website read:

• How to Determine if Web Video is Right For Your Business
• How to Optimize Video for Your Website
• How Online Video Can Boost Your Firms Bottom Line
  

Have Black People Really Made Progress?

Have Black People Really Made Progress?

Progress? Let’s see: We have a African American President, Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest women in the world. We have countless other Black Millionaires. We don’t have to sit on the back of the bus. We have the right to vote. You can see Black people on television all day singing dancing rapping and playing sports. We even have whole television networks dedicated to Black people. One is African American owned TV One and one is owned by a multi national corporation BET/CENTRIC. So at the surface Black people seem to be doing very well.

Here is the reality! The unemployment rate of African American men is almost twice the national average. 25.8% of African Americans live in poverty compared to only 9.4% of Whites living in poverty. Blacks are 46% of the US prison population even though we are only 15 percent of the US population. I could go on forever detailing statistic that point out the tragedy and despair in our community.

How did this happen? How could this be? Didn’t we march and fight for Civil rights? Didn’t Dr. King and countless others give their lives to improve ours? We fought to be equal with our slavemasters children and got the right to live where they live. Eat at the same restaurants. Sleep in the same hotels. Isn’t this what we needed to live better; to be able to live with them and be brothers with them? Then why are we in the condition we are in now? Why is there such and economic divide in America?

Some of you may disagree but INTEGRATION is the main cause of our economic  plight. Instead of fighting to be part of the white man’s community we should have use that energy to build up our own. Instead of us begging the white man for a job we should have been pooling our resources and creating our own. Since the civil rights movement. Our condition has declined not improved. We have regressed not progressed. The Civil rights movement had it wrong. You can’t put politics before economics. The economics of the Nation controls the politics of the Nation. George Fraser said it best “He Who Writes The Check Controls The Deal” Who financed the Civil rights movement? White people! That’s why they control what goes on in our community and not us.

Every other ethnic group in America finance their own agenda to improve the lives of their people but us. They build up the communities in which they live. They support the schools and colleges their children attend. They can do this because they own and support the businesses that service their community. This is done in every community but  the African American Community.In our community everybody else owns the businesses but us. The few businesses that we do own struggle because we don’t support them as we should.

The Black Movement of the New Millennium must be an Economic Renaissance . Where Black people take charge of our destiny and start to create businesses to service our people. Support the black business where ever they may be and support the schools and colleges that our children attend. Then we will truly start making progress!

We all must do our part! Start your own business today!

http://www.blackbusinessownership.com