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Five Savvy Books by Successful African-American Entrepreneurs

By goodblacknews on November 22, 2014

Successful entrepreneurs understand that the way to success is to be a lifelong learner. From staying abreast on latest trends to reading up on tried-and-true strategy, leaders win by seeking knowledge.  Here are five books that will help any entrepreneur do just that:


The Man From Essence by Edward Lewis
Written by Edward Lewis, co-founder of Essence magazine, this book tells the story of how he started his company with three partners, eventually reaching and impacting millions of people with a landmark publication for women of color. He became the last man standing by the time it was sold to Time, Inc. Lewis details the motivation behind his drive to succeed, her personal triumphs and challenges and insights on management, startup strategy and perseverance through the ups and downs of the publishing world.

How to Succeed in Business Without Being White: Straight Talk on Making it in America by Earl G. Graves
In a society where white men dominate the top seats at major corporations, this book serves as motivation and mentorship for African-American innovators. Being one of the most prolific executives in business, Graves tells us his own story of how he  became a multimillionaire, the director of several of America’s Fortune 500 corporations, a philanthropist and entrepreneur, how he built the legacy of Black Enterprise. The business icon touts: “Economic power is the key to success in a capitalistic society.”
Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire By Reginald F. Lewis
Lewis’ first successful venture was his $22.5 million-leveraged buyout of McCall Pattern Co., where he sold it for $65 million in 1987, and made an astounding 90 to 1 return on his original investment. He re-branded the corporation as TLC Beatrice International Inc. As the CEO and chairman, Lewis increased the company’s worth in rapid time,an with revenues of $1.5 billion, TLC Beatrice made it to the Fortune 500. It was also the first company on the Black Enterprise List of Top 100 African-American owned businesses. This book details how all of this happened and will inspire many bosses for generations to come.

Success Never Smelled So Sweet: How I Followed My Nose and Found My Passion by Lisa Price
Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter, tells the story of her life, starting from the beginning with her childhood days in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the moment her business was created and how it bloomed. The innovator provides motivating and enticing stories and explains how she went from bankruptcy to grossing over $2 million yearly while working from home. Price believes that life will guide each and every one of us until we realize our own inner truth, regardless of the challenges we faced to reach to our destination. She also shares with us advice her mother gave her and recipes for her best-selling products.

Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of A Black American Millionaire by Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Gardner Hines
A.G. Gaston was the grandson of slaves and was born penniless. At his death, he was worth more than $130 million and helmed several businesses. This is the story of his life through the eyes of his niece and grandniece. Gaston was determined to make a difference for African Americans during the time of slavery. When he passed away in 1996, he was one of the richest men in America. Black Titan is the story of a man who changed the future for all black businesspeople in our country.
article by Cristie Leondis via blackenterprise.com

NYPD Deputy Chief Juanita Holmes, Formerly Abused by Husband, Rises to Top Spot of Domestic Violence Unit

By goodblacknews on November 21, 2014
Deputy Chief Juanita Holmes (left), seen at the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn, which she led with Capt. Vanessa Knight (right), is now in charge of the NYPD's Domestic Violence Unit.
Deputy Chief Juanita Holmes (left), seen at the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn, which she led with Capt. Vanessa Knight (right), is now in charge of the NYPD’s Domestic Violence Unit. (LINDA ROSIER/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

An NYPD chief who made headlines when she was beaten by her husband is the new head of the Domestic Violence Unit, the Daily News has learned.
Deputy Chief Juanita Holmes, 50, was picked by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to replace Deputy Chief Kathleen O’Reilly, who was put in charge of Patrol Borough Manhattan North.
In 2011, Holmes was beaten by her husband on the front lawn of the home of an NYPD detective he accused her of having an affair with.
Holmes, who suffered broken ribs in the attack, told authorities her husband, retired Hempstead, L.I., Detective William Fowlkes, was mistaken.  Fowlkes later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.  An order of protection was also issued, but he avoided jail time under the condition he attend domestic violence classes.
Sources said the incident did not play much of a role in Bratton’s decision to transfer Holmes, a 27-year veteran.

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Juanita Holmes (far left) and her sisters have all been cops. (MICHAEL SCHWARTZ/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

“Does being a victim in a domestic incident give you perspective that might help?” one source asked.  “Of course, but it’s not why she got the job.”
After the unseemly incident, some NYPD insiders predicted Holmes, then a deputy inspector, would not advance much further in her career.  But she returned to her Brooklyn station house, the 81st Precinct, which she ran after her predecessor was transferred following corruption allegations by whistleblower Officer Adrian Schoolcraft.
While there, she testified on the city’s behalf during a civil trial over the NYPD’s controversial use of stop-and-frisk, which she said “can be used to deter a crime that’s about to happen.”
For a time, Holmes’ second-in-command at the 81st was Capt. Vanessa Knight. It’s believed to be the first time two black women ran an NYPD precinct.  Holmes was subsequently promoted twice more and is now a deputy chief.
She took over the Domestic Violence Unit on Monday after a short stint as the No. 2 officer at the Training Bureau.
article by Rocco Parascandola via nydailynews.com

Black-Owned Food Trucks Give New Meaning to Meals on Wheels

By goodblacknews on November 21, 2014
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Nnamdi J. Nwaneri and Na’Im Moses (ADEDAYO KOSOKO OF QUEENS CHAPEL CREATIVE AGENCY)
Once a month from April through October, in a vacant Washington D.C., lot near the famed Nationals Park, about 20 food trucks convene for an evening of music, food and dancing. Hundreds of D.C. locals have the opportunity to purchase everything from lobster rolls to Korean tacos, from homemade ice cream to gourmet hot dogs.
One thing you quickly notice while trying to figure out which 20-minute line to endure for your next culinary experience is the demographics of the food-truck owners. Food trucks have become a big business—some may even refer to them as the next big thing in culinary fads—but if you’re attempting to find food trucks owned by black people, it’s similar to seeking the figurative needle in a haystack.
But not impossible.
Nnamdi J. Nwaneri is one of the owners of NeatMeatDC, and his food truck is one of the few black-owned trucks in the D.C. area. NeatMeatDC started in 2007, when Nwarneri teamed up with his Howard University law school classmate Na’Im Moses. The two men realized they had similar goals outside the law profession.
You’d be mistaken if you thought NeatMeatDC served your average sloppy joe sandwich. With a menu that includes such masterpieces as a pulled spiced pork joe in a cerveza chipotle sauce, it’ll make you think twice about pulling a Manwich can from your local grocery store’s shelf.
When asked why he wanted to start a food truck, Nwaneri waxed poetic about his intentions. “‘A lawyer’s either a social engineer or he’s a parasite on society’ is a quote from Charles Hamilton Houston. We reference this quote many times, as it is interconnected to our legal education as well as our life’s mission. We believe that creating a viable business allows us to become social engineers to benefit ourselves, our friends and families, and, most importantly, our society,” Nwaneri says.
It’s this enterprising spirit that has motivated other black food-truck owners, too. But starting out in the food-truck business isn’t something that can be done overnight. The NeatMeatDC team took 18 months from conception to launch, and it’s still a growing endeavor.

Lisa Price, Angela Yee, MC Lyte and More Honored at WEEN Awards

By goodblacknews on November 20, 2014

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The 4th annual Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network Awards were held yesterday at New York’s Helen Mills Theater, bringing together a who’s who of powerful women in entertainment to celebrate one another. Honorees included Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price, radio personality Angela Yee, hip-hop veteran MC Lyte, financial literacy expert Lynn Richardson, fitness motivator Jeanette Jenkins, and singer Sevyn Streeter.

With past honorees like actresses Vivica A. Fox and Nia Long, radio personality Angie Martinez, and broadcaster Soledad O’Brien, the goal of WEEN is to lift up women who aspire to work in the entertainment business, while awarding those who have made great strides. WEEN’s co-founder and chair, Valeisha Butterfield-Jones, remembers the first moment when she felt she simply had no choice but to empower women.
“Russell Simmons, Common, Dr. Ben Chavis, and Kevin Liles were guests on Oprah in 2006. There was an audience of women and from satellite they brought in women from Spelman talking about the misogyny in the entertainment biz and the Nelly “Tip Drill” video,” she says. “I felt like I had this huge responsibility to do something. I didn’t know what ‘do something’ meant. But I knew I was too close and too involved to be silent.”
Butterfield-Jones set out to make a difference. Inviting 40 women of power to a rooftop in New York to discuss issues pertaining to women in the business, the turnout more than doubled expectations: 121 women showed up to support, collaborate, and speak up. The success continued. “At the first major WEEN event at the Hammerstein Ballroom, I was super nervous. And when I arrived I saw a line of girls, thousands down 34th Street. And it was another aha moment,” says Butterfield, who served in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011 as deputy director of public affairs for International Trade. “Cause this wasn’t just something we thought could work and thought was needed. The evidence was here. Young women were crying for support and mentorship.”

A New Image of Black Fatherhood [PHOTOS]

By goodblacknews on November 20, 2014
Giovanni and 9-month-old Ethan chill on their Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn stoop.  (Photo by Marcus Franklin) 
By Marcus Franklin
This photo essay is part of Life Cycles of Inequity: A Colorlines Series on Black Men. In this installment, we explore and challenge the notion that black families face a crisis of fatherhood. The installment includes a dispatch from Baltimore, in which four dads challenge the easy assumption that all children of unwed mothers have absent fathers. 
In June of 2013 I started photographing black men and their children and created The Fatherhood Project, the online home for photos that capture them in ordinary moments. A single dad helping his daughter with math homework during a break at work. A dad teaching his daughter how to walk as they wait to see a doctor. A father and son chilling on a stoop.
Why photograph black men and their children? What’s extraordinary about these subjects?
For starters, black men taking care of our children is, on some level, revolutionary—and a form of resistance to the legacies of laws and other tools used to hinder our ability to parent. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, for example, fathers were routinely separated from their children as family members were sold. And currently, disproportionately and consistently high incarceration and unemployment rates for black men have made it difficult, if not impossible for many to parent. There’s also the disproportionately high rate of homicide among black men, whether by people in their own communities or at the hands of the state. My own father was murdered by a cop a couple of weeks before my 15th birthday.
As New York Times writer Brent Staples asked in a tweet this past Fathers’ Day: “Imagine yourself jailed on a low-level Rockefeller-era drug charge. Now a felon: denied a job, housing and the vote. How would you ‘Father’”?

Little League Star Mo'ne Davis to Release Memoir in March 2015

By goodblacknews on November 17, 2014
Mo'ne Davis, the 13-year-old girl who made history as the first girl to pitch a shutout game in the Little League World Series, is taking her inspirational story from the plate to the page.
(Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)

Everyone’s favorite Little League pitcher, Mo’ne Davis, landed a deal with Harper Collins Children’s Books and will release Mo’ne Davis: Remember My Name on March 17, 2015.  In August, Davis became the first girl ever to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series.

The 13-year-old from Philadelphia went on to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, star in a Chevy commercial, and donate her jersey to the Baseball Hall of Fame to commemorate the historic achievement.

On the book, Davis said, “I hope it encourages people to take a chance and play the sports they want to play and not just the ones people expect them to play.”  Below is an early peak at the cover and jacket copy via harpercollins.com:

Harper Collins Children's Books will release Mo'ne Davis: Remember My Name on March 17, 2015.

An inspiring story of a courageous young girl who learned to play ball with the boys, only to outshine them on the national stage in the most watched Little League World Series of game of all time. Mo’ne Davis’s story is one that will encourage readers to reach for their dreams no matter the odds, young girls to play ball with anyone, and add a new chapter to the rich history of women in baseball.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

7 Year-Old Violinist Leah Flynn on Mission to Share Her Music & Inspire Other Children (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on November 16, 2014
Listen Up: 7-Year-Old Violinist on a Mission
From JetMag.com:
Like the late, great Whitney Houston so beautifully sang: We believe the children are our future.  To that end, JET introduces you to Leah Flynn…a sweet, caring young violinist who wants to use her talents to improve the world around her.
Taking a break from her evening routine of violin lessons taught by her dad, seven-year-old, Leah Flynn energetically tells JET, “I want to go on national shows and play for millions of people so lots of children can see me play, then maybe they want to play an instrument!”
She’s ambitious and determined on her musical mission.
Practicing violin since she was five, Leah has performed in front of various audiences ranging from senior centers to churches located around her family’s Florida home.  Her biggest audience thus far: during an appearance on the TV show, Good Day Orlando.
If you wonder what gives her the strength to show off her skills at a young age, her approach  to overcoming nerves is simple, “All I do is take a deep breath and just focus on my violin while I’m playing.”
Leah’s  music is more than a hobby, it’s a way of providing inspiration and a healing mechanism for the soul.
Growing up near the area where the devastating killing of Trayvon Martin took place and, most recently, watching from afar the unrest unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, Leah confided something in her parents, Paula and Lennox Flynn.
She told them she wanted to offer those who suffered the soothing sound of violin strings.  “Leah said, ‘Mommy, people are so sad and it’s not a good thing,” Paula Flynn recalls.
That conversation led to her father, a musician himself who started Leah on the piano, to teach her “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” so she could play for local residents.  The pint-sized player hopes to perform for the Governor of Missouri and the people of Ferguson.
But while she waits for that opportunity, nothing is holding the energetic violinist back. She’s currently practicing Christmas carols to share with listening ears throughout the holiday season.
And JET wants to do our part to get her a national audience. Watch her performance of favorite song,”Let It Go” from the popular movie, “Frozen”.  Enjoy and be sure to keep Miss Leah on your radar!

Read more: http://www.jetmag.com/news/leah-flynn-seven-year-old-violinist-mission/#ixzz3JHHhCHSi

Soledad O’Brien's New "Black in America: Black and Blue" Documentary on Aggressive Police Tactics to Air 11/18 on CNN

By goodblacknews on November 16, 2014

Soledad-O’BrienSoledad O’Brien‘s new documentary “Black in America: Black & Blue” premieres Tuesday, November 18 at 9 PM ET on CNN. The new installment of her “Black in America” series touches a hot button issue, in the wake of the Ferguson, MO shooting and riots. The documentary will portray the personal stories of the men affected by aggressive policing tactics, many of whom were able to document the confrontations in shocking videos.
Among the stunning statistics that O’Brien points out, the NYPD reported made more than 5 million stops between 2002 and 2013.  80 percent of those stops were African American or Latino, and 88 percent of the stops did not result in arrests, summons, or evidence of any crime.
“What is so shocking is that this police practice was used around the country – and in some places still is – with the theory that police were stopping criminals,” said O’Brien. “It’s shocking that the city where this was popularized was stopping so many innocent people.”
See the full press release below:

Wells Fargo Donates $250,000 to the Urban League for Save Our Sons Training Program

By goodblacknews on November 15, 2014

Urban League Save Our Sons
Urban League Save Our Sons

ST. LOUIS — The Urban League announced a $250,000 grant from Wells Fargo & Co., parent company of St. Louis-based Wells Fargo Advisors, to support the Save Our Sons workforce training program for African Americans and other men aged 21 and over residing in Ferguson and surrounding North St. Louis County communities.
“We are very grateful to Wells Fargo for joining the Urban League in partnership to help young African American men and others find viable jobs in the St. Louis area,” said Michael P. McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc.
The Urban League’s Save Our Sons initiative is a workforce and job training program that will serve up to 500 men in St. Louis County over the next two years.
“Wells Fargo is committed to the communities in which our customers and team members live and work,” said Mary T. Mack, President of Wells Fargo Advisors. “By providing resources and support to the Urban League and the ‘Save our Sons’ program, we can help the North County community begin to create long-term economic growth and quality of life for the families who live there.”
Save Our Sons is an extension of the Urban League’s Workforce Investment Act program (WIA), a federally funded initiative that has reached 6,000 St. Louis high school students. Training sessions will include everything from public speaking and team-building to emergency financial preparation and health care and will be held across North St. Louis County.
To enroll in Save Our Sons, please contact Herta Shikapwashya, Urban League Vice President, at (314) 679-3500.
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is a social service and advocacy organization that works to fulfill its mission of Empowering Communities and Changing Lives. Programs are offered in the areas of Economic Empowerment, Meeting Families Basic Needs, Educational Quality and Equality and Civic Engagement and Social Justice.
Source: Business Wire
article via gbmnews.com

President Obama and the First Lady Encourage Americans to Apply for 2015-2016 White House Fellows Program

By goodblacknews on November 14, 2014

the-obamas-racist-tweet-puerto-ricoPresident Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are encouraging Americans to apply to the White House Fellows Program. The 2015-2016 application was launched on Nov. 1 and became accessible online. The program has become the nation’s leading fellowship for public service and leadership, gearing in exposing individuals to first-hand experience and a better understanding of operations performed in the Federal government. The White House Fellows Program consists of one working full-time in the offices of the Cabinet Secretaries, Senior White House staff, and other high-power Administration officials in Washington D.C.  This opportunity will provide a very exciting and rewarding year to the chosen candidates, showcasing a behind-the-scenes insight into the inner workings of how our government functions.

President Obama and his wife are quoted saying, “In the 50 years since its founding, the White House Fellows Program has helped prove that those who love their country, can change it. Our Nation needs your drive and talent, and we hope you consider applying to the program.”
To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen, you cannot be a current Federal government employee (with the exception of career military personnel), and you must have received a Bachelor’s degree and be currently working in your chosen profession. The selection process will be based on professional achievement, evidence of leadership and management skills, commitment to public service, and skills to succeed and have potential for growth. The application is available here from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, 2015.
article by Cristie Leondis via blackenterprise.com