The Black Informant

Minority neighborhoods in Durham and elsewhere in North Carolina have three times the number of payday lenders as white neighborhoods of the same size — even taking into account income, age and gender, a Durham organization reported Tuesday.

The lenders, which give short-term, high-interest loans to cash-strapped borrowers, are widening the income gap between black and white families and pulling people into “debt traps,” Mark Pearce, president of the Center or Responsible Lending, said in a conference call explaining the study results. The center is a division of the Durham-based Self Help Credit Union, which makes loans to low-income borrowers. (more…)

In some respects, I am for these types of outfits as many of us do need that extra hand from time to time before payday. However, I would have to say that I am more against these types of businesses than for them as they make it easier to be habitual about borrowing money at high interest. What I totally don’t like is the fact that as the article mentions, these businesses are seen mostly in low-income areas. In short, it keeps the poor POOR.

A while ago, I was approached by someone to buy a “payday” business in Atlanta. I thought about it for about 3 seconds and turned it down. It just did not feel right to me at the time. My feelings have not changed since then.

I dunno, the thought of charging people in the low income bracket high interest just does not seem right to me.

Just my 2 cents (with no interest).

Like many of you, I have heard just about all angles concerning the justification of Wal-Mart’s existence. The one thing that is largely missing from this ongoing debate is black folks.

I think that Wal-Mart for black folks is more of a blessing to the community than anything else. Low prices and jobs are always a good thing for a community in need of both. I know that is a very simplified explanation, but I think I am (for the most part) on target on how black folks feel about Wal-Mart.

The only issue that I see that could be a wrinkle for some black folks in this issue is Wal-Mart’s fight against those who want to unionize. So far, I don’t see that as a deterrent keeping black folks away from Wal-Mart.

I just decided to float this issue out there to see what you guys thought about it.

Your thoughts??

Like many of you, I have heard just about all angles concerning the justification of Wal-Mart’s existence. The one thing that is largely missing from this ongoing debate is black folks.

I think that Wal-Mart for black folks is more of a blessing to the community than anything else. Low prices and jobs are always a good thing for a community in need of both. I know that is a very simplified explanation, but I think I am (for the most part) on target on how black folks feel about Wal-Mart.

The only issue that I see that could be a wrinkle for some black folks in this issue is Wal-Mart’s fight against those who want to unionize. So far, I don’t see that as a deterrent keeping black folks away from Wal-Mart.

I just decided to float this issue out there to see what you guys thought about it.

Your thoughts??

Mississippi will honor four martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement who died violent deaths as the victims of hate crimes.

Emmett Till, the 14-year-old who was beaten to death in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a White woman, and the three civil rights advocates who traveled to Mississippi to urge Blacks to vote in 1964 and were later found dead, will be remembered and honored by having highways in the state named for them. (more…)

Naming streets after civil rights icons is just as effective as removing confederate flags off of state capitols in my opinion.

For years we watched Negroes from all over the country in protest after protest demand that confederate flags come down. Breathless local news interviews captured blacks in anger telling millions in television-land about the horrific memories the confederate flag brings everytime they see it (as if we go into some state of shock and endless weeping everytime we see a confederate flag–this is especially bogus for those of us who have never lived in the segregated south). I’m not a famous guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know a lot of black folks of all ages, and I can tell you the confederate flag does as much harm to us today as a mosquito with no bite. Honestly, we just use the flag as a way to hold “guilty as charged” over white people.

This brings me to the trend of street-naming. Any black person will tell you that if you want to look for the worst street in the city, start with MLK Boulevard/Ave. So much for honoring those that sacrificed for us. I also heard someone in the past argue this point. According to them, it is the racist city planners that pick the worst street—once again “their” fault–not ours. If this is the case, they why is it so hard for us to clean it up?

***Someone did a whole documentary on exactly what I am saying here. I saw it on PBS sometime ago. Do a search on it, and if you can get it–please do. It was very good. (for the race-conscience among us, YES it was done by a black person)***

It is one thing for us to allow the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. to be rendered “old history” by naming streets after him, but to drag Emmett Till and the other civil rights workers into this false appeasement does nothing for us or future generations.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for naming landmarks after civil rights workers, former slaves, and blacks who contributed to this country, but by far the best way to remember their sacrifices is to #1- teach the full history about these people, #2. Continue where they left off in history. Just relying on a street named after them will do nothing.

So is that true? Are a good majority of the African American basketball players that Dr. Lapchick’s study points out only see the short term solution of escaping poverty by trying to use a college career as a stepping stone to the three letter league or is Coach Brown, myself and others just that far sighted and do not see the overall picture ourselves? I ponder the question because I’m a firm believer that this study does indeed shed some light on a situation that the Black community fails to even acknowledge. This is basically a study that the community doesn’t want to read because it tears into the very ‘Cinderella” fabric of the world as the community knows it. In past years maybe no one would take notice but this year’s study deserves the attention of the Black community and the community at large because there are some disturbing trends that need to be discussed in an open forum manner.

THE FIGURES THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE

Dr. Lapchick’s study for 2005 showcased some very disturbing numbers that seem to suggest that something is just not kosher for the Black college athlete who plays basketball. A few highlights of the study are as follows and are taken directly from his study:

• Less than three in 10 (17, or 28 percent) of the men’s tournament teams graduated 70 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes, while only 10 (16 percent) graduated 70 percent or more of their African-American basketball student-athletes.

• More than two out of five (25, or 42 percent) of the men’s tournament teams graduated 60 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes, while fewer than one in five schools (12, or 19 percent) graduated 60 percent or more of their African-American basketball student athletes.

• Among the women’s teams,(more…)

Read the rest of this article when you get the chance. They also provide a link to the actual full report.

The question for today as it pertains to this article is: Will information like this motivate anybody to action, or will this just serve as more ammunition for those that love to debate?

REDBY, Minn. Mar 22, 2005 — The suspect in the worst U.S. school shooting since Columbine smiled and waved as he gunned down five students, a teacher and a guard, asking one of his victims whether he believed in God, witnesses said. The teen’s grandfather and his grandfather’s wife also were found dead, and the boy killed himself.

Some of the victims were shot at close range, medical officials said.

Reggie Graves, a student at Red Lake High School, said he was watching a movie about Shakespeare in class Monday when he heard the gunman blast his way past the metal detector at the school’s entrance, where an unarmed guard was killed.

Then, in a nearby classroom, he heard the gunman say something to his friend Ryan. “He asked Ryan if he believed in God,” Graves said. “And then he shot him.” (more…)

My hope is that we do not get so used to hearing about these types of situations that we just get numb to it. All I am going to do with this case is wait and see just how the media is going to portray this student: either as a gun-toting “white guy” (by the way, he was American Indian who may have looked white)–underling their case against “…the right to bear arms”, or are they just going to play it down in about a week because he is non-white.

Weather we want to admit it or not y’all, white people do get a bad rap when cases like this arise. Murders can go on for weeks in da’ hood and we will barely see the local news covering it while one white guy that goes buck-wild gets all the national coverage.

REDBY, Minn. Mar 22, 2005 — The suspect in the worst U.S. school shooting since Columbine smiled and waved as he gunned down five students, a teacher and a guard, asking one of his victims whether he believed in God, witnesses said. The teen’s grandfather and his grandfather’s wife also were found dead, and the boy killed himself.

Some of the victims were shot at close range, medical officials said.

Reggie Graves, a student at Red Lake High School, said he was watching a movie about Shakespeare in class Monday when he heard the gunman blast his way past the metal detector at the school’s entrance, where an unarmed guard was killed.

Then, in a nearby classroom, he heard the gunman say something to his friend Ryan. “He asked Ryan if he believed in God,” Graves said. “And then he shot him.” (more…)

My hope is that we do not get so used to hearing about these types of situations that we just get numb to it. All I am going to do with this case is wait and see just how the media is going to portray this student: either as a gun-toting “white guy” (by the way, he was American Indian who may have looked white)–underling their case against “…the right to bear arms”, or are they just going to play it down in about a week because he is non-white.

Weather we want to admit it or not y’all, white people do get a bad rap when cases like this arise. Murders can go on for weeks in da’ hood and we will barely see the local news covering it while one white guy that goes buck-wild gets all the national coverage.

The director of IBM’s Almaden Research Center is constructing a replica of a 1965 Cobra in his Morgan Hill garage. Dean plans to outfit the hot rod with a video camera and a laptop to record a journey across the country.

While the project may sound ambitious, it’s not a big deal for Dean, who holds nearly 40 patents, including three for the IBM personal computer. (emphasis mine)

…“Until recently, we haven’t had the world’s best storage products, but thanks to some of the work that Mark did in the storage systems area, we now have some of the world’s best products,” says Paul Horn, IBM’s senior vice president of research, who oversees all of IBM’s research. “I am counting on him to continue that leadership.”

…He was equally determined when he decided to attend Stanford University to get a doctorate so he could advance at IBM. “He was a bit of an unusual student,” says David Dill, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford, who was one of Dean’s thesis advisers. “He was already on the fast track at IBM. He had already done quite amazing work there. There was stuff I had read in the newspaper that he had done.”

In 1995, three years after his return to IBM from Stanford, Dean was appointed an IBM Fellow, the first African-American at the company to receive the prestigious honor. IBM fellows are given a broad mandate to identify and pursue projects in their area of expertise. (more…)

The director of IBM’s Almaden Research Center is constructing a replica of a 1965 Cobra in his Morgan Hill garage. Dean plans to outfit the hot rod with a video camera and a laptop to record a journey across the country.

While the project may sound ambitious, it’s not a big deal for Dean, who holds nearly 40 patents, including three for the IBM personal computer. (emphasis mine)

…“Until recently, we haven’t had the world’s best storage products, but thanks to some of the work that Mark did in the storage systems area, we now have some of the world’s best products,” says Paul Horn, IBM’s senior vice president of research, who oversees all of IBM’s research. “I am counting on him to continue that leadership.”

…He was equally determined when he decided to attend Stanford University to get a doctorate so he could advance at IBM. “He was a bit of an unusual student,” says David Dill, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford, who was one of Dean’s thesis advisers. “He was already on the fast track at IBM. He had already done quite amazing work there. There was stuff I had read in the newspaper that he had done.”

In 1995, three years after his return to IBM from Stanford, Dean was appointed an IBM Fellow, the first African-American at the company to receive the prestigious honor. IBM fellows are given a broad mandate to identify and pursue projects in their area of expertise. (more…)

When I attended the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference in Dallas last year, there was all of this talk about getting involved in the political process and providing funding to campaigns. I stood up and said, “Stop saying what should happen and just do it. There are 1,000 folks in this room who have the ability to give $1,000 each to a political campaign or political action committee. That’s $1 million. So, what are you going to do?” Folks looked at me like I was a nut. I guess when you tell folks to put up or shut up, most do the latter instead of the former.

I told the head of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation the same thing. While playing in a golf tournament, I told him that I thought it was nuts that 30,000 attend the CBC legislative conference annually, yet I’ve not gotten a single piece of correspondence or an e-mail on issues of interest between meetings.

Whether it’s Tavis and his gatherings, or the CBC, NAACP or any number of other organizations, what we can learn from our past is that we were able to effect change by establishing an agenda and then ORGANIZING. Having a meeting only to plan another meeting doesn’t create an agenda. That’s a waste of time. (more…)