Ella Curry
is the best kept secret in publishing. You heard me.
Sorry Ella, but I could not hold off any longer. I had
to let the cat out of the bag. Ella is the creative
and driving force behind the
EDC Creations Media Group.
I have long felt that Ella deserving of wider recognition
and finally decided to do my part to get her what I believe
is her just due.
As an online
magazine publisher, I work with large established publishing
houses as well as self-published authors. Very few
people are as committed to helping people succeed as Ella.
She is a literary angel.
If you have a
manuscript, book or an idea for one,
EDC Creationsprovides one stop shopping to handle all your
needs by offering top-quality marketing services, graphic
design, website and image development, event consulting and
print production services.
And the most
important aspect of the
EDC
team is that your treated like a loving family member.
Hey don't take my word for it. Do your own research.
Here's to you
Ella. The best kept secret in publishing (until now).
Played in Full - The
Marketing Exploitation of Black America
By Robert
L. Gatewood, MBA
Overview
We’ve all heard the exclamations about how much money flows through the
Black community. One day I was driving down the street and I was simply
overcome by curiosity (If there had been a cat in the road, he would
have certainly been run over on this day). I asked myself, “Why is it
that Black America, which has a larger Gross National Product than many
sovereign nations, can’t quite seem to get a grip on its financial
security.
If you have ever seen one of those B movies where the guy is doing
something dastardly and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror then
you can relate to what happened to me. As I set out to solve the
financial conundrum of Black America, I was parking my luxury automobile
and happened to get a glimpse of myself. What I saw was “exhibit A”
looking right back at me. But I didn’t just see one me, I saw three
me’s; me the executive archetype (someone who knows better than most how
to connect the dots between and someone’s wallet and a cash register.) I
saw me the individual (not the Black American monolith), and it was the
last me that scared me … I saw me the consumer (someone who himself has
often spent beyond his means, and is now wearing a big bull’s eye right
between his eyes.). Now that’s a revelation for you.
I consider myself a rather smart fellow. Graduated with honors
everywhere I went to school, high school, college, MBA you name it. It
dawned on me, that if a smart guy like me has a hole in his wallet, this
problem just might be bigger than the failure to learn the three R’s.
So as I tackled this problem, I also found myself introspecting.
All of us can’t be marchers or prolific speakers. But as I say in my
book, everybody’s good at something. I happen to be an expert marketer,
and I have decided to use it to use my skills to right some wrongs.
Hopefully my book will inspire other like-minded people to become fellow
wrong-righters, but, in their respective areas of influence.
So I encourage everybody to do what they do best in general for the
overall welfare of fellow Blacks but for the purposes of this book and
my mission, I’d like to target some those energies on a specific
objective. Let’s coalesce around a common goal of plugging the seemingly
ceaseless hole in the pocketbook of Black America. If for no other
reason, let’s do it so that our children, like so many of the other
races, will have some kind of a future when its there turn at bat.
Click On Photo To Enlarge
Many of Us Make Enough Money
– We could always use some more but…. If we just put what we already
have to better use, you’d be amazed how well-off most of us actually
are.
YOU Have Been Trained to Spend Your Money, THE PLAYERS Have Been Trained
to Take It
I couldn’t create a less fair fight if I tried. It’s like going fishing
where the fish have been trained to jump in your boat.
Nobody Wants to Admit He’s Been Marketed -
Reminds of me of what drove Harriet Tubman nuts. She said she could have
freed more people if only more people realized they were slaves.
Everybody Plays the Fool, Sometimes -
Just
like the group Main Ingredient use to sing in their hey-day, we are all
game. Some tell-tale signs include: Smoking - Tithing more than saving -
Car note as high as house note –Still paying for last year’s Xmas -
And more!
Enlightenment is not retroactive – I used to smoke.
It wasn’t the health aspects of it that made me stop. The more familiar
I became with marketing, the more I realized that I myself had been
marketed… I had been downright played. In fact I remember the time and
place the light bulb went off. It was about 12 years ago when I was
leaving Tucker Road Park over in Oxon Hill. I just pulled to the side of
the road, threw the cigarettes in a trash can and haven’t picked up
another one since.
It’s a War on the Wallets of Blacks -
It’s an economic struggle that’s not just fought in the store aisles on
Christmas Eve. It’s a generational battle that’s fought in the head. The
heads of Black consumers are on one side; the heads of institutional
forces on the other. In a one-on-one contest, chances for Black America
are not the best, but winnable. But over the generations, the Players
have coalesced into a virtually invincible foe. It’s not the individual
efforts of the Players that are the threat; it’s the synergistic
application of all of them that provides the knockout punch.
The Secret Weapon – Sleeping with the Enemy -
The Players employ a secret weapon that makes your chances of winning
virtually impossible. This stealth squad does a better job than the
Players themselves ever could. It includes General Grandma, Captain
Co-worker, Sergeant Spouse, First Lieutenant Father, Major Mom, and an
infinite number of Foot-Soldiering Friends.
Like Lambs to the Slaughter -
The Players employ some effective tactics that are very difficult to
combat. When applied together they provide the perfect storm.
Social Proof -
also known as herd mentality, desire to belong or by its common name of
“keeping up with the Joneses.”
Mental Externalism
- a mindset where you believe that you have little or no control over
the events in your life
Fear -
the trump card that surfaces s when all else fails.
All
Players Are Not Created Equal - The
Players don’t the wear a big “P” on their foreheads. Anyone can be a
player. There are basically 4 types of Players:
-
Pathological Incorrigible Malevolent Player (PIMP)
-
Passive Opportunistic Player (POP)
- Philanthropic Accidental Player (PAP)
-
Positive Enlightened Player (PEP)
Who Are
the Players?
Who are
these people who are adept at parting Black Americans from their
hard-earned money?
Man or woman - Any race, culture or nationality - Person,
institution or government – Needs someone to play - And more!
Specific Players:
The Government, Politicians, Military, the Courts, Schools, Employers,
Schools,
Santa
Claus, the Church and Others!
You Already Have the Answer!
Is the fate of Black America resigned to that of being fodder for the
Players of the world? Is the purse of Black America an irreparable
sieve? The answer lies within. Breaking the grip of economic dependency
and derelict spending takes an individual effort.
Our Children Are Watching
– I'm doing this for the next generation. I’ve wasted enough money for a
three lifetimes. So this is no longer about me. I’m gladly throwing
myself on the grenade for our Black children who are on deck to be
played by the next generation of Players … if we fail to act now!
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Robert Gatewood
at
www.playedinfull.com/25 or 866-292-4800.
Living Legends
Harold and Hattie
Bell
FORTY-YEARS HAROLD AND HATTIE BELL: IT TOOK A VILLAGE!
By Lavada Starr
Harold and Hattie Bell
were married in November 1968 and in December 1968 they found their
non-profit organization Kids In Trouble. It was in Washington,
DC that they coordinated and hosted their first Christmas toy party for
needy elementary school children. This year marks their 40th
wedding anniversary and their 40th and final year of
coordinating a Christmas Toy Party. The toy party is the longest
on-going community based toy program in the country.
WEDDING NOVEMBER 1968
FIRST CHRISTMAS TOY PARTY
Kids In Trouble’s
“Mom and Pop” DC community based operation has touched children here in
the metropolitan area and as far away as Eastern, North Carolina to
Atlanta, Georgia. When black children were coming up missing and
murdered in Atlanta Kids In Trouble, Inc. held fundraisers to
help organizations fighting to solve the murders. In 1999, when
Hurricane Floyd wiped out a black town in Eastern North Carolina KIT
held a celebrity toy and clothing drive at Union Station in downtown DC.
Without the deep pockets of a Bill and Melinda Gates or Oprah
Winfrey, Harold and Hattie have still managed to touch thousands of
at-risk children via the classrooms, playgrounds, street corners or by
using radio and television talk shows as vehicles.
Hattie is a former school teacher and Harold is a community youth
advocate and sports talk radio and television pioneer. Their work
together with at-risk children is legendary. In February of 2007,
morning talk show host and radio icon Tom Joyner cited Harold on
his show as a little known Black History Fact and in February 2008 the
prestigious Pigskin Club of Washington, DC honored him as a
“Living Legend.” In October 2007 Harold risked his life to save a
16-year old autistic child who had fallen on the subway tracks in SE
Washington, DC.
His Inside Sports radio talk show has changed sports talk formats
around the country and the benefactors read like a Who’s Who in black
media, such as, James Brown (CBS), John Thompson (ESPN), Sugar Ray
Leonard (ESPN), Michael Wilbon (ESPN), Dave Aldridge (TNT), Adrian
Branch (ESPN), Dave Dupree (USA Today), Adrian Dantley (Comcast Sports),
Butch McAdams (Radio One), Glen Harris (WJLA TV-8), Cathy Hughes (Radio
& TV One), Jamie Foster Brown (Sister 2 Sister Magazine) and Omar
Tyree (Fly Girls author).Dick Heller sports columnist for
the Washington Times newspaper says “Harold Bell is the Godfather of
sports talk---the good kind.”
Hattie hails from Orangeburg, South Carolina and she is the daughter of
the late Dr. Charles H. Thomas, Jr. He taught at South Carolina
State University and her mother Elease Thomas was a former school
teacher in the public schools of Orangeburg city. Dr. Thomas was also
the President of the NAACP and marched along with Dr. Martin Luther
King. Dr. Thomas founded and started the state’s voter registration
drive and in 2005 he was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall
of Fame.
Harold’s great-grandfather Rev. Alfred Johnson Tyler laid the
first brick to build Mount Airy Baptist Church in 1893. The
historical structure is located at the corner of North Capitol and L
Streets NW in Washington, DC. The Tyler House two blocks away
was built for low-income families and was named after his great-uncle,
Rev. Earl Tyler. There is little wonder about their love for
community--it is a family tradition.
Harold and Hattie are products of black historical colleges. Hattie is
a graduate of Allen University and taught at Bennett College
in Greensboro. Harold is an alumnus of Winston-Salem State
University. He played football and basketball there for the late
legendary Coach Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines.
He is a sixth generation Washingtonian and grew up in a housing project
in NE Washington, DC Harold is a product of the DC Public School
System where he was an outstanding all-around athlete under the
watchful eye of legendary coach, Dave Brown. He says “The man
saved my life.” William B. Stinson his middle school principal
had predicted to his mother that he wouldn’t live to get out of high
school.
Harold readily admits, “I was going to hell in a hurry, I am glad I
fooled him. Hopefully, Mr. Stinson is looking down on me and smiling.”
He has a whole lot to smile about in 1965 Harold Bell got his
start in youth work with the United Planning Organization a self
help community organization. Harold’s job title was “Neighborhood
Worker.”
Those were some great times, his co-workers and walking partners were
the infamous rebel and civil rights activist H. Rap Brown.
Harold says “Rap was a brilliant brother.” The late pioneering radio
and television personality, Petey Greene was also his confidant
and co-worker. It was Petey who pushed him into sports talk radio. The
United Planning Organization would be responsible for him landing
his next big job. In 1967 the DC Recreation Department was hiring
workers for its elite Roving Leader Program (gang unit). His
employer UPO was providing a grant for the new hires. He was
re-assigned to the DC Recreation Department by being in the right place
at the right time. As a Roving Leader he implemented the first
city-wide organized football and softball athletic programs for the DC
elementary school system.
In 1967 rookie and now NBA Hall of Fame player Dave Bing became
the first NBA player to become directly involved with Kids In
Trouble, Inc. Dave cared about the community long before the NBA
made its now trademark rallying call “The NBA Cares.”
During the 1968 riots NFL Hall of Fame player Willie Wood, the
late Judge Luke C. Moore and Harold walked the 14th
Street corridor arm in arm. Their efforts were partly responsible for
DC being the only city in America not having a lost life as a result of
the rioting. Out of the ashes Harold and Hattie founded the
Hillcrest Children’s Center Saturday Program. The center housed a
tutorial and recreation programs for neighborhood children. The tutors
were members of the Washington Redskins and young white high school
students from Takoma Park Seven Day Adventist Church in Silver Spring,
Md. The students were bussed into the inner-city every Saturday. They
were a strange but welcome sight to the all black community. It was
difficult to find black students at nearby DC Teachers College or
Howard University who were interested in volunteering their time
to help others. Today black college students are now giving college
credits for volunteering in the community. What a difference 40 years
has made.
In 1970, Washington Redskin players, Larry Brown, Roy Jefferson,
Harold McLinton and Ted Vactor became the first NFL team of
players to join Kids In Trouble, Inc. and the first to work in
the community (Hillcrest Saturday Program) as a team. In 1971, CBS
television taped the first ever NFL promo for national television. The
promo showed Larry Brown and Harold McLinton teaching
water safety to inner-city children in the Hillcrest Saturday Program
swimming pool. Now 40 years later every pro sports team Cares,
NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc. They all care because of the “Foot Prints in
the Sand” left by Dave Bing, Willie Wood, Larry Brown, Roy Jefferson,
Harold McLinton and Ted Vactor.
The neighborhood youth who benefited from the program were, brothers,
Lonnie and Leroy Taylor. Lonnie would later become the first black
Chief of Staff of a white congressman on Capitol Hill. His boss would
be Jack Buechner from Missouri. His brother Leroy became a top
salesman for Foreman Brothers, a liquor wholesale house in Washington,
DC. Tim Baylor would go on to play in the NFL and later became
the President of the Black Chamber of Commerce in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Thurston McLain is a graduate of Langston
University and is now a Captain in the Alexandria, Virginia Fire
Department. Dwight Williams became the first black Assistant
Athletic Director in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) at the
University of Maryland and Cardozo High School football coach Robert
Richards won a city championship. Harold says “I can’t remember all
the ones I have lost” but he understands that if you save just one it is
worth the time spent.
On Saturday December 6, 2008 many of those benefactors, residents,
professional athletes, politicians, and media personalities will join
family and friends in a benefit tribute and salute to Harold and Hattie
Bell. The tribute and salute will be held at Ebenezer AME Church in
Fort Washington, Maryland.
Life Time Achievement Awards
will be given to those who have supported and inspired their community
efforts. NFL Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, NFL Hall of Fame
mascot Chief Zee, NBA Hall of Fame player Dave Bing and WJLA TV-7
anchor Maureen Bunyan will be among the honorees. There will be
a special tribute to Washington, DC native and Green Bay Packer great,
Willie Wood.
The highlight of the tribute and salute will be when Hattie and Harold
renew their wedding vows and say “I do and I will all over again.” The
best man and matron of honor will be their “village” of family and
friends.
About the Author
Lavada Starr-----writes
for About Time Magazine and is a freelance writer in Kansas City,
Kansas.
Photos
from the December 6, 2008 KIT Awards Gala at Ebenezer African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Maryland.
From left to right: Photo #1: Comedian Chris Thomas,
Harold Bell, NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing. Photo #2:
Harold Bell, TNT NBA Analyst and Sportswriter David Aldridge and
Dave Bing.
Filmmaker Jordan Coleman
By Vanessa Werts
Nickelodeon
voiceover actor Jordan Coleman is no ordinary 12-year-old. While
most boys his age spent the summer playing sports, relaxing, or hanging
out at the mall, Jordan was on a seven city tour screening his debut
film, Say It Loud!
The pre-teen dynamo, wrote, directed and produced the Say it Loud!
film, which explores the importance of education for
African-American boys. Even more impressive, the young filmmaker
started the project when he was only 10-years old.
Inspired by a challenge from his mother to give back to the community,
the idea for Say It Loud! was born. Based on Jordan’s perception
of boys, and their lack of interest in school, particularly
African-American boys, Jordan decided to make a movie to encourage his
peers.
Jordan used his earnings from his job as the voice of Tyrone the
Moose on Nick Jr.’s the Backyardigans, to fund the
film.
A year and a half in the making, Say it Loud! features interviews
with professional athletes, entertainers, politicians, educators, police
officers, friends of Jordan and men who wish they had studied harder
when they were his age. A list of those interviewed includes: Kobe
Bryant, Michael Strahan, Vince Carter, Ludacris, Yung Joc, Master P, Al
Sharpton, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and many others.
Photos
from left to right: Photo #1: Jordan with Rev. Al Sharpton, Photo
#2: Michael Strahan, Photo#3: Yung Joc Photo #4: Master
P
Click On
Photos To Enlarge
Say it Loud!
Promotes having a “Plan B.” When dreams of becoming a
professional athlete, rapper or superstar fall short of the goal,
having an education is more than just something to fall back on.
The film also addresses what is called the “Fourth Grade
Syndrome.” A point educationally, where many African-American
boys lack the basic skills to perform on or above grade level, so
many give up and become behavioral problems.
Jordan Coleman
is a spectacular young man with an infectious personality, and enough
wisdom for a lifetime. This ambitious young filmmaker is well on his
way to greatness.
Move over Spike Lee! Make room for Jordan Coleman!
The Jordan Coleman Interview
BMIA: I understand you’ve been traveling to cities across the country
screening the film. What has that been like?
Jordan: Yes. And I actually just came back from a seven city tour
around the United States. I had some of my friends come on the tour
with me, we explored different things, I signed autographs, met new
people and just hung out. It was fantastic!
BMIA: Where did you get the idea to do a film on African-American boys
and education?
Jordan:
Um from school. I felt a little bit that in school boys don’t really
care for school, they just want to be the next basketball or football
star. They want to be a rapper or the next superstar. They don’t know
that school plays an important role in being a superstar.
BMIA:I see that you interviewed quite a few celebrities. What was that
like?
Jordan:
It was great! I mean my eyes and my mouth opened actually when I saw
the celebrities in real life. I actually interviewed Kobe [Bryant]
in Los Angeles during the seven city tour. He sent me and my brother a
pair of sneakers. That was pretty cool.
Kobe Bryant and Ludacris
with Jordan
Click On Photos To Enlarge
BMIA: How have your peers received the film?
Jordan:
They loved the film. And they want to be in my next film if I make
another one. But they just love it. They ask me questions all the time
about it.
BMIA: Why do you personally think boys blow off their education and
think that it’s not important?
Jordan:
I personally think they blow off their education because they’re kind of
lazy in a way. They don’t want to work as hard as other boys do. They
just want to play sports, hang around, play video games, go to the mall
and do stuff like that.
BMIA: What motivates you for education?
Jordan:
My mom. She’s a hard knock. She loves school, and she pushes me hard
to do well in school.
BMIA: What is your favorite subject?
Jordan:
My favorite subjects are Math and Science.
BMIA: What do you like to do when you’re not working or in school?
Jordan:
Ahh man...when I’m not in school and not working, I’m usually at
football practice. I love football. It’s my favorite sport. I eat,
drink, sleep, go to school, work, and play football. Me and my dad talk
about football all the time. And I like to go to the movies, hang out,
go to the beach and play video games.
BMIA: What are your plans for the future?
Jordan:
I want to be a sports broadcaster. That’s my biggest dream and to play
college football.
BMIA: Do you realize how special you are?
Jordan:
Yes, I do. (Modestly said)
BMIA: Do you have plans for any more movies?
Jordan:
Yes. Actually I made a reality show treatment for television.
Hopefully I’m making another movie coming out about sports.
Interviewer’s Notes:
Say It Loud!
was featured as part of AMC Theatres 2008 Summer Movie Camp.
Jordan is the first independent filmmaker to partner with the national
movie chain. The film was screened in New York City, Washington DC,
Kansas City, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami.
When I asked Jordan who his favorite interviews were with, he said,
“Kobe Bryant, definitely. He was the best.” Kobe played basketball
with Jordan and even sent him and his brother, Justin, a pair of
snickers. Jordan also enjoyed his interview with Michael Strahan.
“He was a lot of fun. He was hilarious,” says Jordan. After the taping
the two talked football.
With the Say It Loud! Film, Jordan may have stumbled upon the key
ingredient in reaching our youth as he encourages and relates from a
child’s perspective.
If you missed the screening, the Say It Loud!
Book is available free online at
www.sayitloudfilm.com
with a $15 donation. You can also make donations on the Web site and
book private screenings for your church or school. Jordan’s goal is to
show his film to 100,000 people by the end of the year.
This interview was conducted on August 27,
2008 by Vanessa Werts. Thank you Mary L. Moore
from So Much Moore Communications for making this interview
possible.
Black Inventors Develop Autopsy Apparatus
Inventors James Gary
and Sam Merrill
Our “Black In Reality” features
two black inventors, Sam Merrill and James Gary of S & J
Scientific Association, Inc. We spent some time with Sam and Jim
discussing their autopsy apparatus invention. Read our exclusive
interview with them below.
BMIA.com: Tell us about S & J
Scientific Association, Inc. and the autopsy apparatus invention?
Sam & Jim: We were both working
our way through school at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland assisting
with autopsies. We were looking for a better, faster and safer way to
remove the brain during autopsy. When we received our patent we needed
a name for a company and came up with S & J Scientific Association
(Sam & Jim). At the time of the invention we had been working in the
medical field for approximately 20 years.
BMIA.com: Did you guys set out to
be inventors or did this invention evolve out of necessity?
Sam & Jim: No we didn’t set out
to be inventors. We both worked at a major hospital in Bethesda,
Maryland and we both assisted the Pathologist in performing autopsies.
It was our responsibility to remove the brain which was a very tedious
process and we said there has to be a better way and that is how we
became inventors.
BMIA.com: How long did it take
for you to get your invention developed and legally protected? Was the
process difficult?
Sam & Jim: The entire process
took approximately 7 years from idea to patent. To us the process was
not difficult but was more time consuming. We knew what we wanted the
instrument to do and how to design it for that purpose. However, when
our design was laid out on paper to build the prototype we were told by
Associated Design and Engineering that it would not work as we designed
it and they wanted to make changes to make it work properly. They went
forward with their design only to find out that their design would not
work. They then went back to our original design to make the prototype
and it worked properly.
BMIA.com: What makes your
invention unique?
Sam & Jim: When conducting an
autopsy: This tool has an automatic depth control and an ability to
adjust cutting speed from a minimum of 30 seconds to 4 minutes. The
automatic depth control prevents damage to the brain tissue. The cutter
is designed to cut only bone.
The apparatus’ cutter is mounted on a
carrier to move radically toward and away from the axis of the skull.
As the cutter is moved around the skull, it maintains its position
despite the irregular contour of the skull.
The casting of the cutting head can take
the form of a hand piece of a cable driven power tool. The circular
blade saw is driven from a remotely located motor to minimize the weight
and bulk of the cutting head when mounted on the carrier or when it is
used manually.
The cutting head of the apparatus can
also be used manually to cut the entire skullcap without using the
carrier.
More importantly, other cuttings can be
done manually during autopsy, such as cutting of the skullcap with
minimal manual assistance. This apparatus can be wheel mounted for easy
mobility and can be quickly moved from cadaver to cadaver.
BMIA.com: Without being too
technical, what are the benefits to the medical and health community?
Sam & Jim: The autopsy apparatus
saves valuable time during an autopsy procedure. It does not require
that a person hold the cutting saw manually. It is designed to minimize
the spread of bone dust that can contaminate the work environment,
especially if the patient had a communicable disease such as, but not
limited to: hepatitis, AIDS, and tuberculosis. The apparatus is designed
to protect the user from bodily injury.
BMIA.com: What is the target
market for your invention?
Sam & Jim: This apparatus’
targeted markets are: Medical Examiners, Hospitals, Medical Schools and
Veterinaries.
BMIA.com: Your inventions seems
like it is geared toward a very specific market. Have you had any
buyers for your product?
Sam & Jim: Our instrument is
geared for a specific highly specialized area of medicine. It is used
to speed up the process of removing the brain during autopsy to
determine the cause of death. Autopsies are mandatory in certain
situations. We have had some interest in our product, but no buyer
yet. We believe this is because the individuals that make the decision
in the research and purchase of this instrument are not the ones to use
it, so it does not matter to them.
BMIA.com: What are some of the
challenges facing inventors and how have you managed those challenges of
being an inventor?
Sam & Jim: First of all you
cannot let rejection deter you because there will be many during the
planning and development stages and the patent process. Because of
this, one must have a lot of patience, tenacity and perseverance. You
must make sure your invention will theoretical work as planned. Finding
a company with enough medical knowledge and engineering skills to
produce a highly specific working prototype was a major challenge.
Another challenge was finding a Patent Attorney specializing in medical
instrumentation who could conduct a patent search to see if your
invention is patentable and that something similar to your invention is
not already on file in the patent office. The attorney must also be
able to respond to the patent examiner and be able to move your idea
through the process to obtain a patent. One of the biggest challenges
was that some of the companies that were interested in the invention did
not want to sign a non-disclosure statement.
BMIA.com: Do black inventors face
different challenges?
Sam & Jim: We are certain that
Black inventors would face all kinds of challenges if they tried to
patent a different product because they would have to be out front more
often. However, our invention is such a highly specialized medical
instrument that companies would never believe that we are black because
they don’t think blacks would have the intellectual ability or knowledge
to invent such a highly specialized medical instrument. Our patent
attorney told us that she wants to take the up front lead when
communicating with companies that wanted to talk with us about our
invention and she would bring us in at the right time. So what does that
tell you? We do all of the email and phone communications.
BMIA.com: What advice would you
give to people who want to be inventors?
Sam & Jim: Protect yourself and
your invention from day one. Be careful who you discuss your idea with.
Pursue your idea and don’t let obstacles stop you. Be aware of and have
knowledge of the long process from idea to prototype to patent. Have
the financial resources or make arrangements for them if needed. Have a
lot of patience. Do not communicate with companies or anyone that is not
willing to sign a non-disclosure statement.
BMIA.com: How can anyone reading
this article learn more and help you?
Sam & Jim:
They can contact us directly for more information and any
questions. There is a very small target market because of the highly
specialized medical instrument. However, a company or manufacturer that
has the ability to mass produce the instrument at a good price and know
the advantages of this product compared to what is on the market now
will be able to help us and themselves a great deal. Any interested
party can visit our web site at:
http://www.autopsysandj.com.
THE GODFATHER: IN SPORTS TALK AND THE COMMUNITY
Tackling a new frontier…obesity in
our children!
By Maggie Linton
Harold and Hattie Bell founded Kids In Trouble (KIT) during the
1968 riots in Washington, DC. It became an official non-profit
volunteer organization in 1986. For over 40 years the program has
worked closely with school principals, administrators, parents,
teachers, counselors, youth advocates and community support staff.
Kids In Trouble, Inc. is one of the most successful independent
self-help organizations in America. The program has benefited thousands
of inner-children. It has survived with in-kind donations from friends
and quite often using money from their own pockets. They have sent kids
to camp and obtained college scholarships, helped kids attend national
sporting events, plus coordinated clothing and toy drives for flood
victims in North Carolina. KIT has also hosted youth gang and
Black History Month conferences and provided mentors and motivational
speakers. These services are all a part of the program’s long and
storied history.
Harold was once a kid in trouble and was “going to hell in a hurry”
according to his middle school Principal William B. Stinson. He boldly
predicted to Harold’s mother Mattie Bell…“Your son will not live to get
out of high school.” Harold was saved by an earth angel, Spingarn High
School’s legendary Coach Dave Brown and the rest is community and
sports talk radio history.
Harold and his heroes, Mayor Walter
Washington and Coach Dave Brown
In 1997 Kids In Trouble, Inc. coordinated a youth gang conference at
Bible Way Church in NW Washington, DC. The conference’s host was
Pastor James Silverman and co-chaired by Jim Brown (NFL) and
Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA). Gang members from New York,
Philadelphia, New Jersey, DC, Virginia and as far away as Los Angeles
were in attendance. It was during this conference Congressman Davis was
first forewarned that MS-13 was moving into his Fairfax jurisdiction.
Since that warning MS-13 has become one of the most feared gangs in
America.
KIT
Conference Celebrity participants: Sam Jones (NBA), Jim Brown (NFL), Tom
Davis (R-Vir), Spencer Haywood (NBA) and Sonny Hill (NBA)
There are 2.1 million people in jail in America, the largest inmate
population in the world. Blacks make up only 12% of the American
population. However 42% of American Black men between the ages of 15-29
are either in custody of the courts or are incarcerated. Many new jails
are underground and many of the white wardens are millionaires, sound
familiar? Minority youth are dropping out of school at twice the rate
of White children. Youth gun violence is also off the charts.
The KIT toy party for needy children is the crown-jewel of the program.
This year Harold and Hattie Bell will celebrate 40
years of marriage and toy parties in November and December
respectively. The toy party is the longest on going community based
program in America. Their community programs have also being copied
around the country by the media and pro sports teams. In the NBA it is
called “The NBA CARES.”
Living Legends, Harold,
Hattie T & Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams While in DC Doug wore two hats
---he was Santa Claus for the KIT toy party
The Health is Wealth
tour is just one of many efforts used by KIT to reach at risk youth.
The program includes introducing people who have managed to break away
from the violence. For example; Rappers (Poetry & Gospel) Alvin
Bowman and Kevin Megginson are two young men from the streets
of Baltimore. They bring messages of hope such as, “I have been
there and done that and it ain’t worth the trip.” Their words of
wisdom should be heard by every minority child in America. Their unique
presentations and messages about “The Game Called Life” leave
young audiences spellbound. The young men’s backgrounds are as
different as day and night. Alvin is college educated and had both
parents at home. Kevin is from a dysfunctional family and a high school
drop-out. Despite their differences they have a lot in common both have
PhDs when it comes to the ABC’s of survival on the ‘mean streets’ of
America.
Alvin aka “Testimony”
is in the process of completing his second solo project titled ‘Testimony…Somebody
Prayed For Me.’ He was a finalist in the 2001 Russell Simmons
HBO Def Jam Poetry competition held at Security Mall in Baltimore,
MD. He is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Kevin, aka “Da Fisherman,”
his words are heart felt, real and anointed. He has been where he wants
none of his young listeners to ever go---jail. He has spent the
majority of his life there. His life experiences, often heard in his
lyrics, are his living testimony. In 2001, he surrendered and vowed to
give his life totally to Christ. His promise was to spread the gospel
about his life and death experiences. He hopes his message will help
other young people avoid the pitfalls and often man made obstacles that
almost took away his freedom for good. Kevin has traveled up and down
the East Coast and was a finalist at the McDonald’s Gospel Fest
in 2003 and 2004. He has also performed at the Apollo Theatre.
Alvin and Kevin’s messages are roadmaps for young people to travel for a
better way of life. The only requirement is for them is to listen and
hopefully heed their advice.
Da
Fisherman & Testimony testify before a group of high school students
Hattie and Harold’s new initiative obesity in our children is a national
health crisis. The tour will travel throughout communities, working to
instill the values of life and encourage healthy eating and exercise
habits. They hope the tour will heighten awareness in children’s mental
and physical health. Their goal is to save one child at a time.
According to data compiled from the University of South Carolina, Rural
vs. Urban, 30 percent of America’s children between the ages of 10-17
are overweight, 14.8 percent are obese. Urban minority children are
more likely to be overweight than rural children. Black children (41.2
percent) are more likely to be overweight than Hispanic (38 percent) and
white children (26.7 percent). The DC metropolitan area has the highest
proportion of overweight children. Kids In Trouble has had the
opportunity to observe young people on playgrounds, in schools and
churches. The imagines they see are astonishing. One can estimate for
each child obesity effects it will touch between 5-7 friends, neighbors,
students, teachers, teammates and others out side of the family. These
children will be bullied and picked on because of their overweight
issues. Being overweight can cause sadness, stress, self-hate and
suicide. It can also lead young people to drop out of school. Many
will seek gangs as a refuge and can lead to unwanted pregnancy among
females looking for love in all the wrong places. This is just some of
the many destructive elements and obstacles facing our diverse community
and affecting minority young people in particular. “Where’s the beef?”
You have to look no further than our children. Hattie and Harold say,
“Sitting around and doing nothing is not an option.”
Harold is also a legendary and award winning sports talk show host. His
‘Inside Sports’ talk format has been used to defend the likes of
legendary fight promoter Don King, the NFL’s greatest football
player, Jim Brown, former Georgetown basketball Coach John
Thompson, and boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. Against an
often hostile media, he stood up for them when they could not stand up
for themselves. The Inside Sports format has being copied on
sports talk radio and television around the world. Harold was the first
sports media personality to be named “Washingtonian of the Year.”
In 2008 the Pigskin Club of DC honored him with a Living
Legends Award. On October 10, 2007 he added another chapter to his
legendary community career. He helped save a 16-year old autistic child
from a certain death. Denise Coleman had fallen onto the tracks at the
Potomac Avenue subway station in SE Washington, DC. Harold, with help
from two metro workers, Adrian Avant and Michael Banks
pulled the child from the tracks seconds before an on-coming train
arrived. She was definitely a kid in trouble.
Harold Bell and Jim Brown
Some of Kids In Trouble, Inc. and Inside Sports program’s
benefactors read like a Who’s Who in the world of black media, James
Brown (CBS), John Thompson (ESPN), Michael Wilbon (ESPN), Dave Aldridge
(TNT), Sugar Ray Leonard (ESPN), Adrian Branch (ESPN), Cathy Hughes,
Alfred Liggins, Jeff Majors and Butch McAdams (Radio One), Glenn Harris
(TV 8 sports talk), Jamie Foster Brown (Sister to Sister Magazine), and
Omar Tyree (best selling author). Sports columnist Dick Heller
of the Washington Times says “Harold Bell is the Godfather of
Sports talk radio—the good kind.”
The KIT team also includes, Ms. Julia Dunkins (founder of
Survivors of Homicide), Ms. LaShonne Williams (The Center for
True Justice and Healing, Inc.). These two ladies both lost children to
gun violence. Ms. Dunkins in 1993 and Ms. Williams in 2007. Rounding
out the team is: original member Andrew Johnson, a former DC
Homicide Detective and agent for the DEA; Theo Brooks, a Roving
Leader for the DC Recreation Department and a leading authority on youth
gangs in the DC Metropolitan area. Theo has written a book entitled
“Gangs in the Shadows of the White House.” During his high school
daysat Cardozo, Hattie taught him and Harold coached him in
football. It looks like they taught and coached him well. Like his
mentors he has become a legend in the inner-city for his work with
at-risk children.
Photo by Rodney Scott
KIT Team, Top row: Alvin Bowman, Kevin Fisher and H. Bell
Standing: L-R LaShonne Williams, Julia Dunkins, Andrew Johnson, H. Bell
and Theo Brooks
To volunteer or make a donation to Kids In
Trouble, Inc. e-mail Harold Bell at:
hkbell@comcast.net or call 240-245-3008.
Maggie Linton is a pioneer in sports talk radio and television. She was
the first woman Sports Anchor on TV in Wichita, KS, St. Louis and
Washington, DC. Maggie has also worked on Network TV and in feature
films. She hosts a radio talk show on XM Satellite Radio, Saturday
nights at 10:00 pm on XM 169.
The Game Of Tennis: An African American Journey
by Bernard A. Chavis is an interesting account of a man who
has seen a lot of problems in terms of race and inequality. It
really makes you wonder why more African Americans don't have an
interest in the game of tennis. It will really get you thinking of a
solution to improve African American participation in the sport.
Mr. Chavis was a standout basketball and football player growing up
in Washington, DC, but never seriously considered playing tennis
when he was young. In a recent interview with Tennis Week
magazine, Chavis stated: "During my youth, playing tennis was out
of the question," Chavis says. "It was not considered a manly sport
and if any of my friends saw a Negro youngster even pick up a
racket, that unfortunate youngster would be teased and ridiculed for
days on end."
Chavis went to college (Villanova University) on a basketball
scholarship. He taught himself how to play tennis and went on to
serve as national president of the American Tennis Association.
In his book Mr. Chavis examines the barriers that prevented blacks
and other minorities from playing and enjoying the game of tennis.
As an administrator and ambassador of the game Mr. Chavis is sharing
his experiences to level the playing game for the sport that he
loves so that young men like me won’t be denied the physical and
business rewards associated with the game of tennis.
GM's Corvette
Plant Manager Honored by the Engineering Deans of Historically Black
Colleges and Universities
Unique Award Created to Recognize Wilmer
Cooksey's Longtime Dedication to African-American Education
Wilmer Cooksey
Detroit, MI
(BlackNews.com) - The Council of Engineering Deans of the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities will recognize GM
Corvette plant manager Wilmer Cooksey with its Lifetime Service
award for his longtime dedication to education for African
Americans. The group will present the prestigious award to Cooksey,
a former college professor, on Saturday, Feb. 16 during the Black
Engineer of the Year Award program in Baltimore.
"Many
people leave the workplace for academia, but Wil did the opposite:
he brought his advanced academic knowledge to the shop floor," said
Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and
Labor Relations, who will speak about Cooksey 's achievements during
the award ceremony. "We are grateful for the leadership he has
brought to GM manufacturing, and we're proud of his lifetime
commitment to education."
The award was created especially for Cooksey, who was an
assistant professor in industrial engineering at General
Motors Institute in Flint, Mich. before taking his first job
GM manufacturing job in 1976. Cooksey held leadership
positions at GM plants in St. Louis, Atlanta and Fairfax,
Kan. before being named plant manager of GM's only Chevy
Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Ky. in 1993. Under
Cooksey's direction, the Corvette and the plant have won
numerous awards. Cooksey, who has called running the
Corvette plant his "dream job," announced his retirement
effective March 1.
Cooksey serves on the Tennessee State University Foundation
Board of Trustees, the Western Kentucky University School of
Business Advisory Board, the Western Kentucky University
College of Education and Behavioral Science, Drug Abuse
Resistance Education Advisory Council and the Advancing
Minorities' Interest in Engineering (AMIE) Board of
Directors.
A
native of Fort Worth, Texas, Cooksey earned a bachelor's
degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee State
University in 1965 and a master's degree in industrial
engineering from the University of Toledo in 1972. He
completed postgraduate work in mechanical engineering at
Michigan State University.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest
automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader
for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about
280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in
Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35
countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks
were sold globally under the following brands: Buick,
Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel,
Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar
subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety,
security and information services. More information on GM
can be found at
www.gm.com
Brenda Rios GM Communications Phone: (313) 655-3165 Email: brenda.rios@gm.com
Many of you were introduced to Wilmer “Wil” Cooksey, Jr., through
our exclusive interview with him in 2003. Mr. Cooksey was named
manager of the world's only Corvette plant in February of 1993. As a
lifelong fan of the car, it was a dream job come true.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Mr. Cooksey received a Bachelor of
Science degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee State
University in 1965. He earned a Master's degree in industrial
engineering from the University of Toledo in 1972 and completed post
graduate work in mechanical engineering at Michigan State
University.
A Distinguished Graduate of the Officer's Training School, Cooksey
served as an executive officer in the U.S. Army Artillery, 1st
Lieutenant. His last assignment was a year in Vietnam. For his
efforts while in Vietnam, he was awarded the bronze medal.
Mr. Cooksey's General Motors career is the epitome of achievement
beginning with his first job as an assistant professor in industrial
engineering at GMI in Flint, Michigan to his current position.
Mr. Cooksey’s accomplishments are long and historic. In 1997
Cooksey received the "Black Engineer of the Year President's
Award." Also in 1997, Austin Peay University named him
"Achiever of the Year" in their Focus Program. He also received
a Presidential Citation from the National Association for Equal
Opportunity in Higher Education in recognition of exemplary
experience that honors Tennessee State University. Dollars & Sense
Magazine honored Cooksey in their 1998 "Salute to
America's Best & Brightest Business and Professional Men and Women."
Cooksey is featured on the cover of African Americans on
Wheelsmagazine as they named the Corvette
the "Best Urban Car of the Year." He has been honored as an
Outstanding Graduate of Tennessee State and named a "Black
Achiever in the Industry" by the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
You can read Gary Johnson’s exclusive 2003 interview with Mr.
Cooksey below.
BMIA.com:How important of a factor was education in your accomplishments?
Education has been critical to my success. In the 1950’s and 60’s
you couldn’t expect or dream about opportunities if you didn’t
further your education. The same holds true today. Growing up I
saw so many people who were not given the professional opportunities
available because of a lack of education. My mother taught my
siblings as well as myself the importance of education. In fact,
all eight of us went to college. An education is something no one
can ever take away from you.
BMIA.com:
You’re involved in a lot of community service work. Were you taught
as a child to be a good citizen or is this something that you
learned later in life in the work world?
Growing up in a lower-income, blue-collar family in Texas, we
depended on services to help us out during certain times. Even
though my mom worked full-time in a hospital, money was very tight.
There were quite a few times when services would bring food or
Christmas presents to the house for us kids.
Now I am in a position to return the favor and help others.
Supporting my community through the United Way and educational
institutions, like Tennessee State University (TSU), are very
important to our workplace and to me.
BMIA.com:
Who influenced you the most?
Wil Cooksey: My mother always had her sights set on
earning a college education. However, she was burdened by taking
care of our family and working full-time. She took night courses
and always kept trying. She was absolutely delighted when I as well
as my siblings earned our college degrees. It was her focus and
determination that influenced me the most growing up.
My wife, Dr. Elizabeth Cooksey, has also been a great influence in
my life. We met while we were in college at TSU. It was with her
guidance and example that I saw the importance of getting a great
education as well as having a good social life. She’s been a
guiding light ever since. This year we’ll celebrate our 40th
wedding anniversary.
BMIA.com:
What’s your position on Affirmative Action in the workplace?
Wil Cooksey: Affirmative Action is absolutely
necessary. I believe that organizations are aware of the importance
of diversity. However, many do not have the action steps behind it
to support creating a diverse workforce. Unfortunately, you are not
going to get the right mix of people automatically.
In today’s competitive market it is very difficult to recruit the
best and brightest. It takes a good recruiting program to attract
the talent and diversity that companies need to be successful. It
requires mentoring, training and hiring practices that bring in
people who are going to continue to grow and challenge traditional
thought.
BMIA.com:
Based on your experiences, how does someone fight racism and sexism
in America?
Wil Cooksey: The most important way to fight racism or
sexism is not to feed or perpetuate it. You cannot win if you use
racism to fight racism. Every individual has to walk the talk and
set the example of how you as an individual want to be treated.
Education is the key. I believe that ignorance is the basis for
most of the racism and sexism that we see in our society. We will
all have a greater understanding of one another if we support
educational programs and opportunities for all different kinds of
people.
BMIA.com:
What was your earliest or most vivid recollection of being
“different?”
Wil Cooksey: I never really realized that I was
different until I started wanting to go to the movies with my
friends. Not only was I black and had to sit in the upper balcony
but I was also tall. In fact I was so tall for my age that I had to
carry my birth certificate with me so the movie attendants would
believe that I was 10 years old. Otherwise, I would have had to pay
more than 10 cents to see some of the greatest westerns ever made.
It is at that age that I realized the inequities between the races.
By working and being surrounded by all types of people, I quickly
learned that if I was going to be successful you have to have a
better understanding of all people.
BMIA.com:
What would you say has been your biggest success to date? (Personal
and/or business).
Wil Cooksey: My entire career I have focused on
becoming the plant manager of the world’s greatest sports car, the
Chevrolet Corvette. The success that the car and the plant
have had – winning more than 55 industry awards – in the past 5
years and launching the brand new Cadillac XLR means a great
deal to me. It has taken the teamwork and focus of everyone at
Bowling Green Assembly.
Personally, my greatest success is being happily married to my wife
for forty years. We’ve been together through degrees, moves, wars,
children and careers. I am very proud of her and her
accomplishments. Most recently she earned her doctorate in
secondary education. It is with her unending support that I am most
successful.
BMIA.com:
Did you have any mentors growing up?
Wil Cooksey: When I first hired into General Motors your mentors were people you
didn’t even know. They worked behind the scenes making sure that
you were given opportunities that you would traditionally be looked
over for. I began my career as a professor at GMI, now Kettering
University, and teaching statistics. However, my goal was to get
back into production management and to become a plant manager. At
that time GM’s Chairman of the Board was Dick Terrell. It was as a
faculty member that I met Mr. Terrell. The board used to come and
have lunches with the faculty quite frequently. He took an interest
in my career and helped me transition to a career in manufacturing
where I eventually became a plant manager. Little did I know that
he was pushing my career from behind the scenes.
Now I serve as a mentor to many students at TSU and I can proudly
look at the careers of employees who have grown up through my
ranks. It is my pleasure and greatest achievement to help mentor
those who have ambition, talent and a drive to succeed.
BMIA.com:
What makes the Corvette so special?
Wil Cooksey: There is no one thing that makes Corvettes
so special. I could talk about all the specific reasons for hours.
Corvettes have to be in your blood. When I lived in Atlanta I
decided that it would be for the best to sell my Corvettes since I
had so many different interests. It didn’t take long before a sense
of loneliness and emptiness set in deep inside me. Corvettes take a
place in your life whether you are driving, washing or showing
them. Very quickly I went to Tom Juniper Chevrolet because I was
having Corvette withdrawal. He let me take a two-toned white and
silver ’82 home right off the lot. I was happy once again. Since
that day I have never been without a Corvette.
Basically Corvettes end up being members of your family. It doesn’t
matter the year or body style, they are all special. You depend on
them and they take car of you.
BMIA.com:
Under
your leadership, Corvette has won a number of prestigious awards.
What did you do to re-establish the Vette and win these awards?
Wil Cooksey: Bowling Green Assembly has been very
successful due to entire team working together to achieve one common
goal. And, that is to be the best assembly plant in the world. Our
organization had to improve its productivity, performance and
quality in order to be more competitive. It took the partnership of
the local UAW to take some bold steps and training of the entire
workforce. We focused on safety and quality.
We also created enthusiasm by listening closely to our customers.
We started to use customer feedback from JD Power, Corvette shows
and other mechanisms to solve quality problems. It took teams of
engineers, management and UAW members working together to get our
quality where it is today. We have learned that if you develop
close relationships and listen to your customers you will be
successful.
BMIA.com:
How important is diversity in today’s workplace?
Wil Cooksey: Diversity is essential. In fact it’s
mandatory if you are going to be successful. Our customers are
diverse just as the people would build our products are diverse.
Companies today will not meet the needs of their customer base if
they don’t have the same diversity in the workplace.
There’s strength in diversity, which means there is more than one
way to always look at something. As a leader, if you have a diverse
organization there is a greater probability that you will make the
best decisions for the entire workforce.
BMIA.com:
As
you climbed the corporate ladder was it difficult to find a happy
balance between work and family?
Wil Cooksey: Unfortunately, you sacrifice a little bit
of your time. However, you have to take on the challenge to support
your career as well as your family. I didn’t get to go to all of my
son’s track meets or my daughter’s band activities as they were
growing up, but I did go to a majority of them.
It has helped that my wife is a professor and has a demanding
schedule as well. It is important that we both remain flexible and
know one another’s schedule.
BMIA.com:
You are a trailblazer. What advise would you give to someone who
wanted to make a career in corporate America?
Wil Cooksey: Here’s the advice that I would give any
young professional wanting to make a career in corporate America:
-It is important to have an excellent education. Excel in your
studies and take educational opportunities such as internships and
work programs that will give you professional experience in your
field.
-As a student, make sure that you attract company representatives
that can give you good advice and take on a mentorship role. As a
student or young professional, you are going to have to help
navigating your career.
-If you are going to be successful it is imperative that you have
strong people skills. Essentially, all people want to do the right
thing. When entering a new organization you need to be part of the
team and not come in a threatening manner.
-Always show initiative. Remember, it is deeds not words that get
the job done. You have to be known for getting the job done
successfully.
-Finally, no matter what the job is remember to always do your best.
Never let anyone see your displeasure with a certain job or let them
see you sweat. Go into each job to make the most of it. If you
always do your best, no one including yourself, will ever be able to
question your integrity.
BMIA.com:
What’s next for Corvette?
Wil Cooksey: We’re very excited about the future of
Corvette both with the 2004 model and the upcoming C6. It has been
a great pleasure to be involved and contribute to three generations
of Corvettes.
BMIA.com:
What’s next for Wil Cooksey?
Wil Cooksey: It’s my goal to have a pleasant and
enjoyable end of my career. The most rewarding thing is to see the
people’s lives that I’ve touched as they go on ahead and achieve
great things. There’s never a dull moment in my life. I am always
ready for the next challenge.
BMIA.com:
Is there anything you’d like to share with our readers that I didn’t
ask?
Wil Cooksey: People are your greatest resource. It’s
amazing what you can achieve when everyone works together. You’re
greatest strength is those who surround and support you.
So what do you think? If
you would like to respond to this article
click here
and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
Leonard Rowe
“The Man Behind The Tour”
Leonard Rowe
is a soldier in an industry that can be cut throat,
racially discriminatory and relentlessly unyielding. His work
provides jobs to communities across the country and many don't even
know to credit him or his kind for bringing money into black communities.
His work may seem like a fun and
glamorous career, but he is quick to pull the sheet back on the
scathing bed of corruption that holds the deep dark secrets of this
field.
Despite the many drawbacks and situations that occur as he pushes
forward he finds enjoyment in his work and feels he has not only a
right but a purpose in staying. His staying power is quickly
credited to God and those who have supported him. Leonard Rowe sees beyond
the concerns and problems and realizes that giving up will not make
the path any easier for his predecessors, nor will his fight for
justice be one that is fought with any more ease for those who
remain behind.
So
who is Leonard Rowe and what does he do? Is he a literal soldier in
the armed forces? Does he work in the corporate world and bang his
head on the glass ceiling we all have heard of? Is he out there
fighting the “good ol’ boy” system of politics? No…he's a top flight
concert promoter. And yet he manages to shed light on an
industry that still has deep roots in a racist thrust toward
monetary power shifts within the entertainment industry.
I
asked Mr. Rowe if he knew a lot about promoting and just how he got
started and he began to recant his genesis. “I started promoting in
1975. And it was on a whim that I started promoting. I was in love
with a group at the time called The Spinners. I wasn’t
thinking about entering into the industry at all. I just wanted to
see The Spinners perform. So a friend of mine and I flew out
of Atlanta to Newark, New Jersey to see the Spinners. We got up
there around noon and we decided to go downtown to Symphony Hall to
where they were playing. I went down to the building and the line
was two blocks long. At that particular time, the tickets were
seven dollars [in Newark] which was high because down South the
tickets are traditionally lower than they are up North. So that
seven dollars was extremely high and I thought it was a lot of
money. As I stood in that line about a block away from the
building, I mumbled out to myself, talking out loud “I wonder who’s
getting all these seven dollars.” And some guy who was standing in
line said, “The promoter gets these seven dollars.” I didn’t know
what a promoter was or what he did but I made up in my mind that
that was what I was gonna be and here I am some 32 years later.
So basically that is how I got interested and into the industry.”
Rowe continues with the story, telling of his first loss and how
important it was to have a strong support system. “I went from
there and started learning as much as I could learn on my own
because, no one helps you in this business. No one volunteers
advice. I went from there and met a good banker who was my friend,
and is my friend today. He went out on a limb and loaned me a few
thousand dollars, which I lost, but I was able to keep going doing
about two shows a year. So with him on my side, and by the grace of
God, I was always able to keep going. But, to get ahead, I always
tell people it’s like obtaining credit. You could be a person
coming out of college with no credit…never had bad credit and never
had good credit. You walk into a bank and ask for a Visa and that
banker will deny you nine times out of ten; not because you have bad
credit but because you have no credit at all. You can go across the
street to another bank and ask for a Master Charge and a banker
there might see something in you and take a chance with you and say,
‘Come on…I ain’t supposed to do this but I will issue you a Master
Charge.’” Once he gives you that Master Charge you can go
immediately back across the street and ask for a Visa and they will
give it to you, so it’s like that in promoting.”
I
couldn’t help but wonder who the first act was that gave him a
chance. Rowe affectionately talks about that break like it was
yesterday. “I was able [to get a big act] a few years after I
started, I was never able to get a real superstar artist, to talk to
one of the biggest groups in the country at the time. The O’Jays.The O’Jays gave me about half of their tour. For some reason
they liked me. I don’t know why, but they did and I got half of
their tour and it was all successful. All of the shows sold out in
every major arena that we played and from that point on I began to
book every major artist n the country from Michael Jackson on
down. So I give a lot of credit to The O’Jays for going out
on a limb and taking a chance with me. I am thankful today to them
for that.”
I
read about the struggles and problems Rowe has had in the industry.
He was the man behind a major class action lawsuit against the
concert industry. The lawsuit was dismissed, a major setback for
Rowe, but he continues the fight and is not giving up on pursuing
equality. I needed to know more about the injustice he fights
because so far, things seem as though every day hard knocks we all
must deal with when starting a new business. Leonard Rowe then gave
me a history lesson full of insight that made me feel privileged to
be privy to such a wealth of knowledge.
“Being a concert promoter is a very highly stressful job. They are
responsible for all costs. If people decide not to come to your
show, you are still responsible for the costs. Its very stressful
not only to play one show, but to launch a national tour like an R.
Kelly tour when you are hitting every major city in the US it
becomes very highly stress. Especially in these days; Black
promoters are becoming extinct. They are basically gone. That’s
due to the racism and discrimination in this industry, they have
basically eliminated us. So, it’s very hard for Black Promoter to
maintain. Yes, I have been blessed. I know I have to stay around
as long as I have. It’s the way the industry treats us. A black
promoter is not given the opportunity to promote a White act like an
Elton John or a U2 or The Rolling Stones. The
White promoters, and I know all of ‘em that came into the industry
with me, are able to promote any and all acts be it Black or White.
If I call the booking agency and ask them what’s available for me,
they’ll only go down the Black roster. If a White promoter calls
that same booking agency and asks what’s available, they’ll go down
both the Black and White roster. So it’s very hard for a Black
promoter to maintain in this industry, no matter whether he has the
wherewithal or the knowledge…that doesn’t matter. They will not
sell me a date on U2 and they make no exceptions for that.
So, it’s difficult. But, I have to keep going and fighting for what
is right, which I intend to do.”
The
obvious injustice is apparent in that equality is not practiced, but
it runs deeper. He shifts gears and talks about the turn around
benefits of supporting African American promoted concerts.
“R. Kelly
should be commended for what he has done. He stepped
forward to fight against that type of racism and gave his whole tour
to a Black promoter. And see, many people don’t know what all that
entails and what is the significance of that. So, let me tell you
the significance of that. A promoter, be it Black or White, sits at
the helm of the distribution of that concert dollar. That promoter
is the person that hires the catering service, the limo service, the
production service, the security company and the list goes on and on
for a tour of this magnitude. So, when a Black promoter sits at the
helm, all of a sudden, Black security companies profit. Black
production companies profit. Black catering companies profit. And,
the list goes on and on. So instead of that concert dollar
fertilizing Beverly Hills and commercial districts like Rodeo drive,
that dollar is brought back to our community. That is something
that the ticket buyer is not aware of when they go to that glass
window and stick their money through that hole and think they are
just goin’ to see Janet Jackson or think they are just goin
to see Prince. That wealth is a lot of money being taken away from
them by the White promoter who is putting that money back into the
White companies and White business districts of this country. But,
when a Black promoter is aware of that and an artist is aware of
that, they and try to take that wealth and redistribute it into our
own communities like the White promoters do. We are just trying to
do what’s right with the concert dollar and make sure that Black
America sees their money again that they stick through that glass
hole.”
When asked if the artist has much control over the promoter they
choose for their concert, he quickly responds “All of it! All of
it! I stick it on them. All of it!” He takes a moment, however,
ad gives the artist some grace… “But, I will say this; the booking
agency is paid a lot of money to give them advice, but when they
[the booking agency] do not even recognize Black promoters, the
artist has no knowledge of the Black promoter. It’s like this:
before the fair housing bill was passed they didn’t know that real
estate agents did what is called “steering.” If you call a real
estate company and say “I’m looking for a house for two hundred
thousand dollars, I want x amount of bedrooms and one and a half
baths.” If they only show you what’s up for sale in the Black
neighborhoods then you don’t even know what’s for sale in the White
neighborhoods and that’s how they kept segregation going. The same
thing exists in the concert industry.”
Many have discussed the strength in numbers. Why is their not a
union of form of unity amongst the Black promoters in America?
Wouldn’t that increase the power and booking ability of the Black
promoter? “Black concert promoters are a limited breed. Those that
work on a national level are down to about five. Not the local ones
doing club concerts, but on a national level. It’s an industry that
is difficult to break into, no matter how much money you have. I
have you guys come up to me all of the time and ask me how to get
started. Every time they ask me that question, I cringe because it
is so hard for them to get started. It’s a hard question for me to
answer. It really is.”
Rowe takes a moment to reflect on those he has worked with and who
he really enjoyed. “Who have I enjoyed? Because of my relationship
with him; Michael Jackson. He was not difficult at all to
work with. I also enjoyed working with The Temptations. God
gave them a gift and they just had what it takes. There are so many
that I enjoyed working with…Patti Labelle, Stevie Wonder and
I am now enjoying working with R. Kelly. But relationship
wise, I am very close to the Jackson family and I really enjoyed
working with Michael. And, I’m looking to work with him again. I
have been talking to him and trying to get him ready to go.
Hopefully I will be able to get him ready for next year. I talked
to him earlier this year and he said he wanted to do it next year.
So, hopefully, we’ll tour the world real soon.” Although he has
proven he has staying power, there are still artists he would love
to work with. “I have worked with just about all of the African
American acts, but I would love to be able to work with a U2
or ‘The Rolling Stones’, but the industry would have a fit.
Maybe one day that’ll happen.”
One
day…maybe…if the concertgoer and artists begin to support and demand
tours promoted by Black promoters. And, just why should they
support the Black promoters? Rowe says it best when discussing the
current R. Kelly tour that features J. Holiday and Keyshia Cole. “This tour is a tour that is produced, organized
and controlled by African Americans and we ask that they come out to
support us ‘cause we are trying to support them as well.”
"DOUBLE UP" TOUR STARRING R. KELLY,
WITH KEYSHIA COLE & J. HOLIDAY
Posted 12/3/2007 Leonard Rowe Photo credit: Renee Hannans Henry,
Access Atlanta
Special thanks to Juanita Stephens of J. S. Media Relations for
arranging this interview.
So what do you think? If
you would like to respond to this article
click here
and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
FATHERLESS BOYS: A Single-Mom Watches Her Teenage Son Struggle with
Impending Manhood
By Vanessa Werts
Across America, in the inner-city and in suburbia, fathers are
silently disappearing from their sons’ lives. Over the last decade,
fatherlessness has emerged as one of the most consequential trends
facing society. What was long thought to be primarily an
African-American problem, stemming from poverty and poor education,
has become an issue that crosses both racial and class lines.
Fatherless boys are crying out for affirmation, attention, and the
unconditional love of their absent fathers. Too often they flounder
about life with no real sense of self and a wounded
heart. Unfortunately, for society and for many boys without fathers,
feelings of awkwardness, confusion, and hurt play out in staggering
statistics of violence, crime, and imprisonment.
According to the
National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), a non
profit organization established to combat father absence and promote
responsible fatherhood, violent criminals are overwhelmingly males
who grew up without fathers, including 72 percent of adolescent
murderers and 70 percent of long-term prison inmates.¹
Nonetheless, not all boys without fathers display deviant behavior.
Some internalize the weight of their emotions and silently struggle
with who they are and what they will become. Much like my
16-year-old son, Marcus, who besides a few undesirable grades, gives
the impression of being well adjusted.
Although we have our parent-teen challenges, Marcus is mostly
reserved and predictable. I can always count on him to have a
fervent opinion, even when he’s wrong. Yet he’s timid and uncertain
in social settings. Teachers often compliment his respectful
demeanor saying how pleasant it is to have him in their class. One
time a friend of mine referred to him as the “gentle giant,”
comparing his kind spirit to his tall stature. Considering
everything I know about my son, nothing could have prepared me for
his reaction to a disagreement between us or his eventual
melt-down.
That Saturday morning started out as many of
our weekends do. I went out for an early morning walk and returned
to the sound of video games and cartoons blasting from the
televisions. As I walked across the living room floor, I noticed
there were potato chips lying in the carpet next to the sofa. When
I questioned Marcus and his younger brother, Deon, neither of them
admitted to being responsible. So I gave them an ultimatum to tell
the truth or deal with the consequences. This sparked a bit of
defiance in Marcus. From there, a difference of opinion escalated
to his breaking point.
Frustrated with me, Marcus slammed his hand against the bathroom
wall. The sound and the eruption of emotions that followed
confirmed that his reaction was about something much deeper than our
confrontation. Finding release, Marcus sobbed well over an hour.
Pain and sadness were etched in his face as warm tears trickled over
his cheeks. Each time I asked what was wrong, he cried louder –
harder. “I’m tired of everything and everybody,” he finally
exclaimed between gasps. “It’s all my dad’s fault. I just don’t
think he appreciates me.”
Memories of my own fatherless childhood washed over me as I consoled
and wept for my son that day and for the millions of fatherless boys
who want more than anything to have a father who cares.
After my ex-husband and I divorced twelve
years ago, his relationship with Marcus settled into a pattern of
random calls and sporadic visits. Though rough at first, Marcus
eventually adjusted to the new arrangement, expecting me to be there
to tuck him in bed at night, and for dad to call and make
arrangements to pick him up for a trip to ToysRUs.
Back then, their relationship was amicable.
Now, with puberty and an awakened consciousness as factors, careless
fathering has become a futile distraction in Marcus’s mind. Broken
promises and inconsistent communication caused a wedge in his
relationship with his father. “At 12-years-old, I was on the fence
about him,” says Marcus. “I began to loose faith in him when I was
in 6th grade.” By the time he turned 14; Marcus claimed
not to care whether he saw or heard from his father at all.
Sadly, Marcus thinks he doesn’t need his father or guidance from any
man. His belief: “I will become a man based on my own experience
and instincts. And I’ll use what I’ve learned from my mom and other
adults – mainly family - who have given me advice or life lessons.”
When fatherless boys quit expecting and stop hoping, something
terrible happens to them, and to society. “The absence of a father
can shatter a child’s world,” President George Bush said at the
Forth National Summit on Fatherhood in 2001. “We know that children
who grow up with absent fathers can suffer lasting damage.”
President Bush went on to say, “Nearly every man who has a child
wants to be a good father, I truly believe that. It’s a natural
longing of the human heart to care for and cherish your child. But
this longing must find concrete expression.”²
Undeniable facts: there were 12.9 million one-parent families in
2006 – 10.4 million were single-mother families, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,
Families and Living Arrangements: 2006.
“Court and school officials report that many children do not even
know what to put in the ‘Father’s Name’ blank on printed forms,” David Blankenhorn, president of the
Institute for American
Values, wrote in his 1995 book Fatherless America.³
Supporters of responsible fatherhood initiatives are as varied as
the reasons for father-absence. From pro-fatherhood groups to
public officials to the federal government, they all weigh in on how
to address fatherlessness. Expectedly, opinions differ on the
reasons why fathers abandon their children and the methods used to
address the problem. Nevertheless, the resounding truth we all
agree on is: children need their dads.
Federal funding and grants are available for
programs designed to strengthen fatherhood. Like the NFI, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services joined the
fatherhood movement last year and launched a national initiative,
the 2006 Promoting National
Fatherhood Initiative. The
program is currently on-going and enables
fathers to improve relationships and
reconnect with their children.
It’s widely believed that manhood must be learned, that it’s not a
birth right. I agree. Yet for Marcus, past experiences with men
have been synonymous with disappointment and rejection. Promises
are continually broken by his father, and calls are infrequent at
best. On the occasion his father does call, Marcus makes excuses
not to spend time with him. I used to make him go with his dad.
Not any more. Disturbing as it is to think, considering his
attitude towards his father, I often wonder if it’s too late to
reach him.
“It’s never too late!” says
Marvin Dickerson, President of
the Greater Washington DC Chapter of 100 Black Men, a non
profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for
African-American youth, particularly males. “I think it’s harder as
time goes on because their options diminish. Methods have to change
with the age range.”
Because Dickerson’s father passed away when he was only
10-years-old, he knows all too well what its like to grow up without
a father. Remembering life after his father’s death, Dickerson
says, “I had a lot of positive people around me who thought I was
special and went out of their way to take care of me.” Even so, he
admits that his fondest memory is of his dad coming to see him play
in a youth All-Star Baseball game. Coming off the field after
making a major play, Dickerson recalls looking into the stands at
his father. He says the proud that’s-my-boy smirk on his father’s
face was priceless. “It was the best feeling.”
Recently, I registered Marcus for a group-based mentoring program
operated by 100 Black Men of Greater Washington DC, Inc. The
program inspires youth to identify personal dreams or goals and
build action plans toward achieving them. “The realization of
seeing them when they start to dream,” says Dickerson, “when they
start thinking about the future, I know it’s worth it.” There is no
substitute for dad. However, mentoring programs give fatherless
boys and their families a ray of hope.
Through mentorship, I hope Marcus will begin to value his life
regardless of feeling unappreciated by his father. And that he will
discover his personal greatness. But mostly, I hope being mentored
by committed caring men will help fill the void created by his
father’s absence.
Riding along in the car one afternoon Deon
said, “Mom, I’m a happy soul.” He flashed his signature smile.
Imagine that. Astonished, I turned to look at him and asked what he
meant. Pondering his answer, he finally said he was just happy. At
8-years-old the soul knows when it is nurtured and loved
completely. Marcus once felt that way. Before maturity and the
realities of life began to whisper that life is about choices and
sometimes you’re not the chosen one.
What will become of America’s fatherless boys? What price will
society ultimately pay if this trend continues? The clock is
ticking.
²President George W. Bush,
President Bush Speaks at the Forth
National Summit on Fatherhood at the Hyatt Regency Capital Hill,
Washington, D.C., June 7, 2001.
³David Blankenhorn,
“Fatherless America: Confronting our Most
Current Social Problem" (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995), p.
10.
Vanessa Werts
is a freelance writer currently working on her
first novel. She is an optimistic contemporary, compelled to write
articles that voice true expression of those directly
impacted by negative social trends in the Black community. Vanessa
lives in the Washington D.C. area.
So what do you think? If
you would like to respond to this article
click here
and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
Mighty Sam McClain and Bon Jovi Finalist In
International Songwriting Competition
"Congratulations, your song "I Wish You Well"
is a Finalist. Only 287 songs out of over 15,500 songs have reached
this status." (This song is on the new "Too Much
Jesus" (Not Enough Whiskey) CD, which, as yet, is unreleased, but
available at
www.mightysam.com).
"Congratulations again, your song "Show
Me The Way" is a Finalist." (this song performed as a duet with Jon Bon
Jovi on the "Give US Your Poor" CD)
"I Wish You Well" -- Blues Category
"Show Me The Way" -- Blues Category
Also, just a quick reminder...there is
only a limited time to get your friends and fans out to vote for your
song on People's Voice (deadline is March 31). This competition is
separate, and in addition to, to the regular ISC competition which is
judged by our amazing panel of judges.
Vote in the People's Voice! You be the
judge.....but vote for Mighty Sam McClain and his two songs!!!!
representing the "arena rock" camp,
pairing up with the formerly indigent Mighty Sam McClain on
the rousing, gospel-inflected "Show Me the Way" (not
the
Peter Frampton song).
Jon Bon Jovi
the Rock Icon continues his commitment to homelessness all around
the world by recording for the CD and video for Give Us Your Poor.
Jon Bon Jovi, who has since been named Habitat For Humanity's
first-ever Ambassador. In December 2006, Jon recorded a song by
Mighty Sam McClain with
Mighty Sam's band backing. Mighty Sam wrote the lyrics and co-wrote
the music with band member Donn Scott Shetler.
Check out our
exclusive interview with Mighty Sam McClain.
Black Men In
America.com routinely receives a lot of books and CD’s. A couple of
years ago while going through the mail I ran across a CD by an artist
named Mighty Sam McClain. I decided to listen to the CD. Mighty Sam
McClain is a bluesman. Mighty Sam’s voice was strong and his band was
kicking it. In fact, his band reminded me of the legendary Memphis STAX
band from the 60’s. After listening to the entire CD, I decided to find
Mighty Sam McClain and make him the first blues artist interviewed on
Black Men In America.com.
Also, Sam has had a tribute
song written for him by Mark Stepakoff, an outstanding Boston
singer-songwriter, which he recorded on one of his CD's. According to
Mighty Same, Mark really tells Sam’s my life story in song.
On June 24, 2006 at the Music
Hall in Portsmouth, NH, Sam hosted the Mighty Sam Music Festival, another dream come true for
the singer.
A few years ago
Mighty Sam
returned from a seven week tour of both Russia & Turkey,
headlining the Efes Pilsen International Blues Festival, where
he brought his unique, soulful sound to thousands in the sold
out performances. Backed by a strong horn section, including
Massachusetts local, Scott Shetler on sax, Mighty Same delivered
the funk, the soulful blues, the country flavor and the
emotional intensity which characterize his style...and he was
welcomed with love. The audiences were wildly enthusiastic! Also
included in the lineup were "Little Charlie and the Nightcats",
Fruteland Jackson and "Philadelphia"
Jerry Ricks.
After a few
moments talking with Mighty Sam it became very clear that Mighty
Sam McClain is a God fearing man who is
virtually unknown in the black music community.
While studying for
this interview I didn’t meet one black person who had heard of Sam
McClain. I found Mighty Sam to be a gracious and humble man. I also
found Mighty Sam to be a masterful storyteller. There were times when I
was mesmerized listening to this man talk about his experiences. His
life has been a rollercoaster ride. Raised as one of 13 children,
McClain first began singing gospel music in his mother’s church on the
northern edge of the “Bible Belt” in Monroe, Louisiana in the early
1940’s. He left home at the age of 13 before starting work as a cotton
picker to escape an abusive stepfather. He later found employment with
local R & B guitarist, "Little
Melvin" Underwood and followed him through the “Chitlin Circuit,”
first as his valet and then as a lead vocalist.
McClain
subsequently built his reputation as a vocalist recording for Malaco and
Atlantic Records. He also appeared three times at the Apollo Theatre.
Afterwards, however, his career went into freefall, and through much of
the 70s and 80s he subsisted on the streets of Penascola, Florida. It
was only in 1983 that he made a comeback, when producer Carlo Ditta
invited him to return to the studio and record
Pray. With interest in his
lost career reborn, the Japanese label Dead Ball followed that release
with a live recording of one of his shows in Tokyo. McClain also made a
series of guest appearances on an album recorded by
Hubert Sumlin for Black Top Records
in 1987, before spending the next five years working on a failed real
estate venture with his third wife in Houston.
Sam McClain had
dropped off the face of the earth it seemed until he re-emerged on
AudioQuest Records in 1993 with a stunning new album, Give It Up to Love with
McClain originals alongside two cover versions of
Al Green and
Carlene Carter. This new recording
attracted rave reviews in the soul and R&B music press, and was followed
up two years later by Keep On Moving,
as McClain at last began to enjoy the fruits of his labors and talent.
Over the next three years, as the momentum continued to build, McClain
released four albums, including Soul
Survivor, which included the track
New Man In Town, featured on
the FOX TV show "Ally McBeal.”
The song was used in 11 episodes of the popular television show and put
some nice “change” in McClain’s pocket.
Grammy nominated
Mighty Sam McClain has also been nominated for numerous W.C. Handy
awards in
the Soul/Blues vocalist category. Real
Blues magazine awarded McClain as the
Soul/Blues
Entertainer of the Year for three years in a row. Rolling Stone magazine has
called him "The Great Torchbearer of Soul" and
Pulse magazine has referred to
him as "America's best purveyor of red-clay soul/blues."
Black Men In
America.com has dubbed Mighty Sam McClain as a living legend of soul
music, gospel and blues. That’s right, soul music. Sam McClain is so
diverse that he reminds me of Little Milton, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Z.Z. Hill and
Bobby BlueBland. If you want to hear good soul music
with a gospel and blues edge
click here and order Mighty
Sam’s music.
For those of you
who are not familiar with Sam McClain I hope this
interview introduces his music to a new audience
of fans who will support him by purchasing his music and attending his
shows.
The Mighty Sam McClain
Interview
Mighty Sam
McClain:
Gary, Sam McClain here man. Listen, thank you my brother, so much for
your heart-felt attitude towards Sam McClain and this music. I am so
grateful my friend. Eternally grateful. Always.
BMIA.com:
Mighty Sam, it is a pleasure to finally connect with you. My late
mother-in-law introduced me to the blues 20 years ago. So when I had
the opportunity to interview a real blues man, you know I had to jump on
it. I just want to ask you some questions.
Sam McClain:
I’m going to try and answer your questions. I might get to talking too
fast (laughing). You know, I tend to run on, like I’m doing right now.
You know what I mean? (Laughing) But, listen man, I thank you so much my
brother. This is great; I just heard some good news about my wife
yesterday. We took her in for an operation and the doctor went in just
before he got ready to operate on her. He had put her to sleep, but just
before they got ready to do the surgery they went in to look again and
it wasn’t there. Good Lord had removed it man. God is so good. God is
so good. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m here. (Laughter) I know
you always ask people like me, what advice would you give someone who
wants to make it in the music business. That’s the first thing I’d tell
them – put God first. Put God first. Put everything in its right
perspective and you got success right there. But, anyway, I’m going on
and on here. So, my wife is back home and we took her in yesterday at
about 4:30 and we brought her back home around noon. It was a blessing.
It was an absolute blessing. God is so good. Whatever that doctor saw;
it’s gone. Good Lord moved it.
BMIA.com:
I’m very glad to hear the good news about your wife.
Sam McClain:
All right, now back to the business of the Mighty Sam McClain
interview.
BMIA.com:
OK. How long have you been in the music business?”
Sam McClain:
Well I’ve been in the music business for a long time, man, I started
singing when I was five years old, as you know a little bit about my
background. I started making money – the first time I made money was in
elementary school. I was in the 7th grade – my Physical Ed
teacher put together a little local band there for us and we made a
little money, then. And so I guess I considered myself in the music
business at that time, you know. (There’s a little noise going off in
the background. Forgive that. It’s just my other phone going on.) But,
that’s when I first made any money – so I guess that’s what being in the
music business is about to a lot of people – being able to make a living
at it as well as being in your craft and something that you truly love.
So, I guess I’ve really been doing it now on – from that point I started
working with Little Melvin – a little while later on -- Little Melvin
Underwood. I worked with him as his valet, and I worked from valet up to
background singer and then I worked from background up to lead singer.
And, so, you know, putting the years together, I’m that kind of figuring
as I’m talking here. I guess I been in the business for fifty years.
Yes, forty-five years. That‘s question number one. It took me a long
time – I hope I have enough tape.
BMIA.com:
“How did you get into the business?”
Sam McClain:
Well, I think I just answered that, pretty much. Really getting on the
road, I was on the road with Little Melvin, and, as his valet – toting
his guitar and his amplifier and stuff like that and just kept on doing
whatever little chores that need to be done. I was the gofer man. You
know. And from that I started getting more and more into the business.
You know, as time went on I started learning about the business. You
know, as time went on I started taking over my own career and in the
late years, like now, my label, etc. As time went on I started learning
more about the business and the music and whole trip.
BMIA.com:
Did you think you would last this long?
Sam McClain:
There was time when I definite thought, I was about to give up on myself
and give up on God and everything else. And I know a lot of people that
didn’t think I would last this long. Well, didn’t think I would last,
period -- (laughter) Much less this long. My stepfather used to tell me
– even before I left home – you know, I left home when I was thirteen
years old – and my stepfather used to tell me that I would never amount
to shit. This is even before I left home, you know. I was a child. I
mean this guy, he was what he was. I loved him, I really wanted him to
be my father, but that‘s the way it was. So, there was time when I
thought I wasn’t going to last and there was time when other people
didn’t think I was gonna last. (Laughter) But, praise be to God, here I
am. And we’re trucking on. God gave me this voice, that’s why I’m
still here. I’ve always had this to hang on to. When everybody leave –
when there was nobody else around the voice has always been here. The
music has always been here. So, that’s where we are with number three –
Did you think you would last this long. Alright.
BMIA.com:
“Who are some the artist that inspired you? And, who influenced you the
most?”
Sam McClain:
Early on, there was, all of the older cats, you know, from Little Willie
John, Ruth Brown, Clyde McFadden, Big Joe Turner, Ivan Joe Hunter – all
of those people back in those days – and B.B. King, cause we used to
listen to a lot of radio out of Nashville Tennessee. Enjoying Rich Byrd
and all those guys. That’s the kind of music we played, you know. But
my biggest influence became, Bobby Blue Bland.
BMIA.com:
What was it about Bobby Blue Bland
that made him you’re biggest influence?
Sam McClain:
When I first heard Bobby Blue Bland – it’s like, man, it’s like heaven
opened up. “There it is, there it is – right there.” That’s what I want
to be. And right now Bobby and I are considered to be – I consider us
friends – we can run across each other quite a bit. And, I lived to see
that dream come true – I used to say, “One of these days I’m going to
have me a tour bus. I’m gonna drive right up side Bobby’s bus and get
off my bus and get on his bus.” Well God has let me live long enough to
see that happen. Man, I tell you. You know, this little cotton picker
from Montgomery Louisiana. The very first time I saw Bobby, I couldn’t
even get in the event because I was too young and didn’t have the money
either. You know, and God has let me live long enough to where I
followed this man all my life and now he calls me up on stage just like
– every time he see me he won’t wait till I get up on the stage with
him. You know – that’s a dream, I mean that’s a dream. So, I would have
to say Bobby’s been one of my biggest influences – still is. Today, I
love that man so much, he is a sweet and kind man -- very kind to me,
very very gracious. I feel very blessed to have got chance to meet him
and be in his company and consider him my friend. So, he’s one of my
biggest influences. Now moving down the line, I love
Al Green. I think Al Green
is one of the soulful cats out there.
BMIA.com:
Do you get a chance to hang out with Bobby?
Sam McClain:
As a matter of fact I’m going to see Bobby this Thursday. They’re
playing at a club in Boston called “Scullers.” And, Joe Harden just
called me a little while back. Joe Harden
is Bobby Blue Bland’s trumpet player – who married my first cousin,
Gladys. And the first song on “One More Bridge To Cross” was the one you
said you liked – Joe wrote that first song – he wrote it to my cousin –
“Why Do We Have To Say Goodbye?” Oh Gladys wanted a divorce and Joe
didn’t want any divorce. You know what I mean? So, that’s where that
song came from. It was given to Bobby. But, Bobby and them, they
couldn’t hear it. So Joe passed it on to me and I could hear it. So I went on did it for him. But, yea man, I see
Bobby and Joe all the time – I mean, cause like Joe is my first – he
married my first cousin, so he’s family and he’s been with Bobby Bland
for thirty years or more and he’s the bandleader/trumpet player. So, you
know, yes, I’m very close to the family. I feel very blessed to have
lived to see this.
BMIA.com:
I really like you’re latest CD –“ Sweet Dreams” – it really tells a
story. It has a classic down home blues feeling. The horn
section is tight and the guitar is strong. And, of course your voice
is classic. How has the CD been received?”
Sam McClain:
Well the CD has been received very well. Where it has reached, it’s just so
hard to get this music anywhere – into the right hands, man, its tough, and
even to my black people – that’s another reason I am honored, so honored
that you are calling and asking me to be a part of what you and your people
have going. Because it seems like God just snatched me up and put me on this
side of the track, ‘cause this one the only place I could survive because my
black people just wasn’t accepting nothing I had to say and if this side of
the track didn’t exist I don’t know what in the hell I’d be right now.
The CD has been received very well
from people of which they have heard it. Or had a chance to hear it. But
that’s the hard part – getting it played, you know, and having the
promotion. I did it all myself – my wife and I – and we spent quite a
bit of money.
BMIA.com:
Has it been difficult to generate publicity and promote your music?
Sam McClain:
Man, we bought a full-page ad in magazines, Living Blues
and Blues Review, and every time you buy a full-page ad in
Blues Review, I mean that’s $1700, you know. So we bought
a half a year in that magazine. That’s just one magazine. Same thing
with Living Blues – full-page ad, you know. So, we did
the best we could on promoting. But that still was nothing – that was
nothing.
Click On Photo To Enlarge
BMIA.com:
What do you mean that was nothing?
Sam McClain:
Just what I said, that was nothing. The CDs don’t get, don’t get no
airplay, we don’t have radio stations playing – not no big radio
stations, I mean – you know – it’s just, it’s tough. But under the
circumstances, it was very well received. You know and certainly one of
my most proudest projects. Because it’s the first time I had to take on
the whole ball of wax myself.
BMIA.com:
What do you mean by that?
Sam McClain:
I wrote the music, produced the music, and etc., etc. I mixed the
music, edited the music and that was a first for me. And I was the first
one at the studio and the last one to leave. And before that, it was
just the opposite. I’d usually be the last one to the studio and the
first one to leave. (Laughing) You know – the responsibility got
bigger, you know. When you say, “I’m going to do it myself.” Well, okay,
well you got to be responsible as well. So, it’s been received very
well.
BMIA.com:
“Where do you find your inspiration to write songs?”
Sam McClain:
From life – just life in general man. Life in general. And since I’ve
gotten to know God, or since I’m getting to know God, from that place as
well, from a very deep spiritual well. Everything comes from there.
Everything springs from there – my spiritual life. And, the life that I
see as I live here on this earth with my brothers and sisters here. And
the work that I have to do now – that’s why I have this voice. God gave
me this voice – no formal training, no education, no anything like that,
you know. Just open my mouth and this voice came out and it still comes
out. And God has taken care of it through all the years when I drank
and smoked and did all that stuff. I mean, God has taken care of me.
You know, I mean I slept outdoors, went hungry, I mean, you know the
story. And my voice is still here – stronger and better than ever. You
know. It’s amazing what God can do, you know. So that’s what my
inspiration comes from.
BMIA.com:
You really do come across as some who believes that he is truly
blessed.
Sam McClain:
Man – (laughing) – every time I look around I realize what a miracle I
am, you know – I know I am a walking miracle. And then my wife just had
another one [miracle] just Monday, as I told you about. And it’s
amazing – everybody in my band is very well educated pretty much. Some
of them got degrees hanging on their walls and stuff. That’s amazing.
And, they all white, (laughing) and this little black boy from
Louisiana, from the cotton field, writes the check. That’s what the
good Lord can do man. It just never ceased to amaze me. (Laughing) It
just makes me smile. It’s good. It’s good, man. But that’s where the
inspiration comes from – life and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
BMIA.com:
Mighty Sam, how many albums and CDs have you recorded during your
career?
Sam McClain:
Oh, it is quite a number. Quite a number. Off the top of my head I
would say, (pause) twelve, maybe, ten or twelve, twelve. But there’s
been more than that released – there were some bootlegs out and there
were some singles – there was about twenty-two singles that got released
– well eleven singles/twenty-two sides. It’s somewhere in that number.
BMIA.com:
Tell us about the people who come to see you. My sense is that you
seem to be more popular among white audiences and virtually unknown
among black folks. Is that true?
Sam McClain:
That is so true. That is so true. You see it very well. And why? Like I
just told you. I didn’t have no choice. I was forced to leave home. It
was like all my life I been having to run just for survival. But, in the
same sense, that’s what God wanted me to do. Cause God was bringing me
in through the back door. I don’t know why, man. And it is painful too.
I mean, cause I don’t even get a chance to go back home much. And I
think about home. I love that country, Louisiana. I just love the smell
of it. I can smell it as I talk it about right now to you. But, I can’t
find what I need and look for there on the physical side or the
spiritual side. So, I was forced to leave. And, but it’s been a blessing
as well. But, yes, most of my audience is white and I go out right now.
We’re starting to go all over the world. I just got back from
Europe the 15th of this month. We’ve been over there three
weeks. And I go to Europe often. I been going to Europe now for the
past eight years, quite often, some times three or four times a year.
And we spreading – going further and further out as we go. I am
scheduled to go to Russia and Turkey this year, October 26th,
we leave here to go do a tour in Russia and Turkey. We’ll be over there
from October 26th through December 16th. So,
that’s what, a good seven weeks over there. It’s a great thing. I’m
very thankful that God let me live it see this. And, why am I going on
this tour? Because of this voice. God gave me this voice. This voice
is taking me to Russia. Its amazing. This little black boy from Monroe,
Louisiana out of the cotton fields. (Laughing) You know. But anyway.
That’s virtually, that’s pretty much my audience – pretty much white.
But we’re starting to reach a few black people.
We're starting to
come around. You know there’s this program –
Soul Patrol
– you probably know about Bob Davis – he’s on Internet Soul Patrol – if
not, check him out. He’s got a great connection into the black scene.
And we been connected with Bob for some years and he tries to bring us
together as much as he possibly can. Tries to get us to support one
another etc., etc. Bob’s got a thing coming up the last of this month –
the 30th and the 31st and in Pittsburgh or right
outside of Philadelphia somewhere right there in the area. So you go to
his sight and check it out. Soul Patrol – Bob Davis – lot of information
there man. He’s grown, he gets about 2 or 3 million hits a month. And I
guess he’s been established now for about 4 or 5 years. He did well,
he’s coming on strong. Anyway, he’s part of the connection that kind of
keeps a little bit tied to the blacks. But we’re starving for black
people over here man. But, we got a few. And the few we have we’re
thankful. And they’re great. (Laughter) But anyway – that’s what I
think about the case. I just don’t know exactly why the black people
don’t come. Sometimes black people don’t get out there – they don’t want
to be social – they don’t want to go on the other side of the track –
and sometime its because of all kinds of reasons – they don’t want to
financially – one thing or another. I don’t have all the answers man. I
just like to see it get fixed. I got this song I just wrote called,
“Just Want To Be” and I don’t want to wrong, don’t want to be right – I
just don’t to be what ever it takes -- (Laughing) to make this shit
work, you know. I just want to be whatever you need, Darling. Ain’t no
more fighting, ain’t no more right or wrong, I just want to be whatever
it takes to make it work. You know. Any way.
BMIA.com:
When you think about some of the artists of today’s generation, who do
you listen to and like the most?”
Sam McClain:
Well, there’s a few artists I like, man. I like Johnny Lane, he’s a
fiery young artist, guitar singer. He’s got a great voice. His voice
sounds like he’s about ninety years old – deep soul. I like Bernard
Allison, Susan, Shameeka Copeland, Shameeka Copeland, she’s ah, she’s
deep. She’s got a strong voice. She sings a lot of blues, but I hear
here sing a lot of other stuff and all that voice she’s got. But, I
like her, she’s a great person. And I know her father too, you know.
But, I get to see her every now and then. But, that’s a few artists you
know (pause), I like Eric Bibbs. There’s a few, there’s a few.
BMIA.com:
How did I get the name Mighty Sam?
Sam McClain:
Wow, boy. That came from a mistake. I was leaving in Pensacola Florida,
I just went to Pensacola and I was with the group, The Dophine Sextets
and at that time I was going by the name of “Good Rocking Sam,”
(laughter). Can you believe it? Don’t tell nobody I told you this shit
– (laughter) – Good Rocking Sam. (Laughter) And one day the club owner
made a mistake and put up “Mighty Sam” and the band started teasing me
about that shit, man. They rode me, they rode me, Gary, they rode my
ass. (Laughter) Hey, Mighty, Mighty, Mighty. And it stuck, man, they
wouldn’t let it go, man. And most of my friends, right today, most of my
real friends, they call me “Mighty.” “Hey there Mighty, what’s up
Mighty?” (Laughing) So that’s how that came by. It was given to me.
It was just – it stuck. Yep. Alright.
BMIA.com:
Sam, the music and entertainment business is a tough business. A lot of
folks don’t last long or make it at all. I’m sure you’ve experienced
your fair share of rejection and hardship. How have you managed to
survive and strive?”
Mighty
Sam and the Band
Sam McClain:
Well, just what I told you a while back. It’s all about God man. God
will be the first thing you ever hear come out of my mouth. When you ask
me about any of these kinds of questions that’s far beyond my
explanation and the complexity of it. I have turn it to God. ‘Cause all
this stuff is bigger than me. And I realize that. I realize that
there’s a Creator. You know, somebody created this and I thank God that
I got sense enough to see that. And, that’s where everything comes from.
That’s why I’ve hung on because I believe in the Lord with all my heart
and I pray and I try to be a good person – the best I can be. I fall
short everyday – I get up everyday and want to kick my own but and I
thank God that he has a sense of forgiveness and sense of humor. And
because it would be tough. But that’s how I survive, man. It’s the Lord.
I trust in the Lord with all my heart and he takes care of me. He
always has – he gave me this voice and he’s leading me through here, in
spite of my self – because I’ve did some foolish, crazy things and God
has taken care. And that’s why I am still here, man. It’s the good
Lord.
BMIA.com:
You hung around a lot of folks that fell short to victims of drugs,
alcohol. How did you manage to survive?
Sam McClain:
Same thing. Same thing. Cause I got involved with drugs, and alcohol
myself. I mean, I drank like a fish. I started smoking cigarettes before
I left home. I used to light my mother’s cigarettes and I smoked
cigarettes up until about fifteen years ago. About thirteen years, I
guess. And I drank up until about nine, nine years ago. And, you know,
so how did I survive that man? It’s all by the grace of God. You know.
And, of course, I’m sure I helped because I wanted to. When I got ready
to stop drinking I told my wife, I said, “Honey, I’m not drinking this
crap anymore.” And she smiled. Because I kept a house full of booze all
the time. I’d go to the store and I’d get a basket or cart just like we
got a grocery cart. I’d buy a couple cases of beer, a couple gallons of
cognac, or whatever the stuff we was drinking. I moved up to cognac in
my late days. You know, I started making a couple of dollars (laughter)
– I went from wine to cognac. And it’s all with the same drunk.
(Laughing) Didn’t make any difference. (Laughing) I found out its all
the same old drunk. You know. (Laughing) Oh well. But anyway, God, man.
God is the one that help me through all that crap. That’s it.
BMIA.com:
Just like that?
Sam McClain:
Just like that.
BMIA.com:
Tell me something interesting about you that most people don’t know.
Sam McClain:
Probably how great a sense of humor I have about life. (Laughing) I’m
learning to laugh. I didn’t know how great a sense of humor I had myself
until I stopped drinking and started get the cob webs and shit cleaned
up and I started realizing how much fun – I have more fun – I laugh more
now than I ever laughed in my life.
BMIA.com:
I can see that. You’ve been laughing quite a bit during this
interview. So that’s it? People don’t know that you have a sense of
humor?
Sam McClain:
I don’t know what’s too interesting about me that most people don’t
know, man. I don’t know what that could be. Most people that know about
me, they got an idea that I believe and love the Lord with all my
heart. And that’s my top priority. And everything follows that for
me. But, I don’t know man. I got a great sense of humor. (Laughing) I
love to laugh. I love laughter. Let’s move on to the next question.
BMIA.com:
OK, how about this one. What’s the best part of being Mighty Sam
McClain?
Sam McClain:
(Whew) Knowing that I’m a child of the living God – the living Creator
of this universe. That’s the best part about anything. And all of the
joy and all of the hopes and all the aspirations and all of everything
follows that – in its right perspective. So, I guess the best part about
being anything – if I wasn’t Mighty Sam and know what I know now; I’d
give you the same answer. I could be Mighty Joe, Who Diddy, don’t make
no difference. People ask me about success – that’s when I became
successful. When God looked down and smiled upon me and manifested
himself to me. So that’s the best part of being Mighty Sam, man. Just
being aware of the living Holy Father. ‘Cause it makes me a better
person, makes me try to be a better person. I want to help make this
world a better place than when I found it. And I think I do that in
some way with my music and hopefully with way I live.
BMIA.com:
Why do you do what you do?
Sam McClain:
Because it’s my destiny. I love it, but it’s also my destiny. I tell
people all the time, its like a blessing and curse sometime. I have to
sing – if I don’t sing, I die spiritually. I die. So, this is my chosen
profession. God gave me this voice and he wants me to sing. He wants me
to use it ‘cause I draw people to God through my voice. And I know that
because they tell me. They come up to my concerts, they stand up in
lines, they wait for hours to tell me. They write from all over the
world. I just got a letter two days ago from a lady from Macedonia – we
just left this poor country over there. This lady wrote me the sweetest
little letter thanking me for coming to her country and that the country
needed me and this music and it helped lead her back to God. You know,
that’s what makes it all worthwhile, man. You know, but I had to get to
a place where God could show me that – he owned everything, he owned me,
he owned my voice so I should be singing and being a positive light for
people to see. You know. So that’s what God has done. He’s bringing me
back from the dust of hell so people can see what he can do with
something that most people had counted out and left for dead. You know,
and here we are walking round. (Laughing) Walking right on.
BMIA.com:
Wow! Destiny. Singing is your destiny as determined by God.
Sam McClain:
Alright Gary, its just my destiny man. – It’s what I’m supposed to do.
I’m a singer. Like the song says, “I’m a singer, I’m a man with a
song.” This is my way of letting people know that God is alive, cause I
don’t hesitate to tell people all over the world. Everywhere I go I
mention the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t hesitate, that’s my duty. And
that’s why God gave me this voice and he knew I had the balls to do it
cause it tough. People don’t want to hear about that, but they meet and
greet me then that’s what they gonna hear cause I don’t know any other
way to talk. Because I live everyday and breathe – my faith in God. I
wouldn’t be having this conversation right now if I didn’t believe
that. It would be useless to me cause I see how fallible man is and how
useless and helpless he can be. I’ve got to have something bigger than
man to believe in, son. (Laughing) This ole boy do.
I didn’t finish
Yale (laughing) but I ain’t no damned fool. God is my shield; he’s my
rock, man. I love the Lord. And I’m glad he loves me. And God bless
you too man. I really appreciate you Gary. And I hope you enjoy this
thing man. I’m looking forward to a relationship. And I appreciate you
helping me out and trying to support this music, this ministry.
BMIA.com:
Sam, I’m very excited to help you promote your music, which leads me to
my next question. How can people reading this article support Mighty
Sam McClain?
Sam McClain:
Go to the web site (www.mightysam.com),
write me, call me, buy this music if you can. Come to the shows, tell
people about it. There’s so many ways. So many ways. And not only
support Mighty Sam McClain, but also support any good live music out
there because that’s the only way it’s going to survive. People have to
support it – not just with talk but by spending the money to buy the
music from the artist. Because it’s such a rip off – it’s hard for the
artist to get their money. So if you can buy it directly from the
artist – that’s always best. But any way you can it’s a help to the
artist. But I appreciate anything you do for Might Sam – I mean tell
somebody about it. Go to the web site, check it out, listen to the
music, go buy the music, write me, I’ll send you the music, everything
is right there on the web site, my e-mail, my phone number, everything
is right there. So, drop me a line – let me know what you think. I’ll
certainly get back to you – that’s a promise.
BMIA.com:
I’m getting ready to wrap up Mighty Sam, but I have to ask you the
following question. What advice would you give to someone who wants to
make it in the music business?
Sam McClain:
Well, first of all I go back to believing in God, believing in yourself,
be talented, and love it – love it man, you got to be sure this is what
you want to do because it’s tough. You got to love it with all your
heart. The Bible said, if you don’t love something enough to lay down
your life for it, you don’t (laughing) really love it, and see that’s
what I’ve had to do, literally, for music.
BMIA.com:
What do you mean by that?
Sam McClain:
I’ve had to sleep outdoors, eat out of garbage cans, I been married four
or five times. I mean I’ve sacrificed everything for this music. You
know. Because I love it. And it loves me back. (Laughing). So my
advice would be to definitely make sure you love this stuff because it’s
a tough tough business. And then, educate yourself. Educate yourself
as much as you possibly can about this business because you will need it
to know what’s going on about the business. Even when you have people
working for you, you need to know what they’ve done and not supposed to
be doing and should be doing about your business and your career. If you
don’t know what they should or should not be doing; you don’t know
whether they doing right or wrong. I learned late, but I am still
learning. But, I thank God that I’ve come far enough to learn to where
I’ve got as much control as God would allow me have now in my career, in
my own publishing, my own label, my own production company, my own
agency, my own band, my own tour bus (laughing).
BMIA.com:
Like I told you earlier, you’re a blessed man.
Sam McClain:
You know I’m very blessed. But I had to learn this over the years. And
that’s what I would advice anybody to do – to love this business with
all your heart; love the Lord with all your heart; love people with all
your heart; treat people like you wish to be treated; and be true to
yourself. Be true to yourself and to the music and love it and it will
love you back. It will take you someplace. I love you. God bless
you. And I sure thank you man for this opportunity to share this with
you and your fans, your listeners, your viewers. And you saying its an
honor, its an honor for me, Gary, it really is.
BMIA.com:
Thank you Sam. I’ll call you on the road in a couple of weeks.
Sam McClain:
You got the phone number here. If you want me to answer some more
questions or clear something up just give me shout and I’ll see if I can
straighten you out, son and get you on the right route. Thank you
again. God bless you and I look forward to talking to you again.
Thanks Gary.
BMIA.com:
Thank you Sam.
Folks show your support for Mighty Sam McClain by visiting his web site
and purchasing his CD's. Click here to go there now.
Publisher's note:
This
interview was updated on March 9, 2008. The previous feature was
posted on September 8, 2007. The original interview
was posted in September 2005.
So
what do you think? If you would like to comment or respond to
any of our content
on this page or web site
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
Former NFL Player Rick “Doc” Walker Proves That Hard Work and
Preparation Leads To Winning
Rick
"Doc" Walker, a veteran of nine NFL seasons, distinguished himself on
the football field with his blocking and timely pass catching. "Doc" was
a starting tight end for Coach Joe Gibbs’ 1982 World Champion Washington
Redskins. He developed the concept of the Skins’ "Fun Bunch" and was an
original member of the famed offensive linemen known as the "HOGS."
Playing for coach Dick Vermeil's UCLA Bruins, Rick received Lineman of
the Year honors in 1977 and became a Rose Bowl champion. Also that year,
the Associated Press (AP) selected Rick as an All American.
As a
broadcaster, Rick currently delivers color commentary for the ACC
College Football Game of the Week aired on Lincoln Financial Sports. He
is host of "The Doc Walker Show" weekdays from 9am - 11am on
SportsTalk980 WTEM (Washington DC) and is the host of Doc Walker's
Proview on Comcast SportsNet.
Selling
Power
Magazine chose Rick "Doc" Walker as one of the region’s top motivational
speakers. For
speaking engagements, Rick specializes in corporate team building and
sales training.
Rick serves on the board of directors for
The Touchdown Club Charities
and The Spencer Foundation.
As an event chairman he has helped Providence Health
Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
and the YMCA. He
currently hosts the annual
Doc Walker Alzheimer's Golf Tournament,
now in it's 9th year.
Rick "Doc" Walker #88
Click On Photo To Enlarge
Doc knows
a lot about winning. In college he played for coach Dick Vermeil's UCLA
Bruins. He also received Lineman of the Year honors in 1977 and
became a Rose Bowl champion. Also that year, the Associated
Press (AP) selected Doc as a college All American.
Doc was
preparing for life after football while he was playing football. Like
many others before him, Doc leveraged being a Redskin and a world
champion to his benefit and transitioned in to broadcasting when his
playing days were over.
As a
broadcaster, Doc currently delivers color commentary for the NFL on
CBS-Westwood One Radio. He also serves as color analyst for the ACC
College Football Game of the Week aired on Jefferson Pilot Sports.
If you live in the Washington, DC area, you can hear Doc
on the radio, every weekday from 9 to 11 AM on the Doc Walker Show
on Sports Talk 980 WTEM. Doc is
also the host ofDoc Walker's Proview on
NEWSCHANNEL 8 in Washington, D.C. You can also listen to Doc
online at
http://www.sportstalk980.com/main.html.
The Rick “Doc” Walker
Interview
BMIA.com:
Hey Doc. Thanks for taking time out for this interview. You played 9
seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and on the 1982 World
Championship Washington Redskins. You were also a college All American
and a Rose Bowl Champion. You know what winning looks like. What
lessons have you learned from sports that you’ve been able to transfer
in your life?
Doc Walker:
The best lesson I’ve learned is you don’t always win, but you must always give a winning effort. Success starts at the top, all great teams
have strong leadership, owners that are smart enough to hire the best
people available and allow them to do their jobs. In Corporate American
ego remains the number one threat to building strong relationships
biased on trust and respect. You can’t have a great team without great
teammates.
BMIA.com:
Let’s talk about your background. What part of the country did you grow
up?
Doc Walker:
I was born in North Carolina but raised in Southern California. My
Father was a Marine.
BMIA.com:
When you were growing up, how important was it for you to get a good
education?
Doc Walker:
My mother made it very clear that education was the foundation to
success in America.
BMIA.com:
You’re involved in a lot of community service work. Were you taught as
a child to be a good citizen or is this something you learned later in
life in the work world?
Doc Walker:
Being a product of the 60’s I grew up with the understanding that being
a good citizen was mandatory. Lying, cheating, stealing, and robbing
were not tolerated. Despite the social injustices of our country I was
encouraged to learn the system and compete in it at the highest level.
BMIA.com:
You’ve always seemed to have an entrepreneurial spirit. When you
arrived in DC, you were an officer with a company called the Record Den.
You also became associated with solid DC area businesses. Was this part
of your preparation for life after football?
Doc Walker:
I was very lucky to have met professional athletes in college that
talked to me about life after playing. I tried to never live too close
to work in an effort to build relationships with people in the
community. I totally enjoyed my experience with my teammates.
There is
nothing like working and winning a championship, but it’s short lived
and often unrealistic to mainstream life in America. The best way to
make a smooth transition to the real world is to never allow yourself to
leave it!
BMIA.com:
Who influenced you the most?
Doc Walker:
The biggest influence in my life has been my mother. She introduced me
to law and order. She strongly encouraged me to be active in church, to
volunteer and to never limit my goals because of the color of my skin.
BMIA.com:
You do a lot of motivational speaking in corporations. There are many
folks who feel that they cannot climb the corporate ladder because of
racism. Based on your experiences, how does someone fight racism in the
workplace?
Doc Walker:
Like I was taught. Your race is not going to change so you better learn
how to expand your mind and find a way to be the best you can be. It may
never be a level playing field, but it’s a disgrace to our forefathers
to blame "the man” for your failures. Look at what our great
grandparents had to deal with and overcome! As Hall of Fame coach
John Thompson says, “You can’t schedule opportunity. The question
is will you be ready to take advantage of an opportunity if and when it
comes?”
BMIA.com:
How important is diversity in today’s workplace?
Doc Walker:
Diversity is very important in today’s workplace. America is a melting
pot of cultures. Smart companies look for people that give them the
best means to understand the marketplace and deliver products that
people want to buy. On the management side you can’t manage people you
don’t understand. Good managers make it their business to accept our
differences and blend our talents to make a great company.
BMIA.com:
What would you say has been your biggest success to date?
Doc Walker:
My biggest success
personally is my family. Watching my wife build her real-estate business,
helping our boys grow into young men, while maintaining good
relationships with my friends and co-workers. Winning a high school
league championship, a Rose Bowl championship and a Super Bowl
championship was wonderful. Being a part of a top rated radio show on
Sports Talk 980, and the development of
ProView tops it all.
BMIA.com:
Tell us about your cable show Doc Walker's ProView.
Doc
Walker:
Doc Walker’s ProView
is an interview show that showcases some of the sports world’s greatest
performers. We are entering our 4th year on the air, every
Tuesday night at 8pm and Saturday’s at 6am on News Channel 8. Visit
www.docwalker.comfor a preview of our shows,
contests and business networking opportunities.
BMIA.com:
When you speak to youth, what is your most popular message or theme?
Doc Walker:
Most of my business as a
speaker involves me with corporate America. When I have a youth audience I stress the
importance of making a good first impression, setting realistic goals
and building sound fundamentals. Young people have a great opportunity
to write their own script. If only they understood what the person who
wants to hire them is looking for.
BMIA.com:
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to make a career in
sports?
Doc Walker:
Anyone looking to make a career in sports must first love sports! As
Albert Einstein said, “Love is a better master than duty.” Sports
are not
as easy as it appears. You have to watch and listen to hours and hours
of games and read and talk to as many people in the business as possible. My advice is to start covering
high school sports, writing, filming,
coaching or joining the training staff is a good way to get involved in sports.
It's a long road, but as far as I’m concerned it beats work!
BMIA.com:
You are seasoned broadcaster, with shows on TV and radio. You’re also a
family man. How difficult is it for you to maintain a happy balance
between work and family?
Doc Walker:
Any successful person needs an understanding family. Most people want
the spoils of success but don’t understand the price you pay in being absent.
The more you travel the less time you spend with love ones. Everybody
has to chip in and help. The hours are long and you work on most
holidays. The benefits are worth it as long as you don’t lose you
perspective of what makes you happy.
BMIA.com:
What’s the best part of being Doc Walker?
Doc Walker:
The best part of being Doc Walker is having no barriers and doing what
others say can’t be done. Not being afraid to fail.
BMIA.com:
Fill in the blank. “If I didn’t play sports, I would ____________.”
Doc Walker:
If I didn’t play sports I would have been involved in the music
industry.
BMIA.com:
Thank you Doc.
Doc Walker:
You’re welcome.
Left
to Right: Photo #1:
Veteran broadcaster Smokin' Al
Koken,
Doc
and Hall of Fame Coach John
Thompson on location.
Photo #2: Doc,
Clay Goldsborough and
Derek Walker
on the networking scene. Photo #3:
Doc delivering a keynote address.
So what do you think? If
you would like to respond to this article
click here
and sign our
Guestbook to leave a public or private statement, comment or reaction.
Jackie Robinson - An American Hero
It's been six
decades since Jackie Robinson took the field as a member of the
Brooklyn Dodgers and broke baseball's color barrier. And all around
baseball, players, managers and coaches are honoring the Hall of
Famer by wearing his retired No. 42.Click
here to learn more about this American hero who
epitomized courage and made life better for all of us.
Change Your Game
Plan: The Randy Kearse Interview
By Gary A.
Johnson
Randy
Kearse is a very strong willed, talented and
unique brother. Randy is the author of
“Slanguage”
and “Changin’ Your Game Plan.”
Randy was arrested when he was a teenager for attempted murder and sent
to Rikers Island. After
serving four month and six months on probation, Randy was release and
tried to stay out of trouble. His Uncle arranged for him to get a good
job in the garment district in New York.
About two years
later Randy got caught up in the whirlwind of the crack epidemic. Randy
was making fast money in the illegal drug trade. Randy was an above
average student. He did his street homework and used his smarts and
ascended to the higher ranks of known drug dealers from Brooklyn. With
his partners in crime they hustled their way from the mean streets of
Brooklyn to the too sweet and ripe state of North Carolina. At the
height of his hustle Randy was part of a team of 25 “associates” spread
across three cities.
In 1992 after a six-year run, Randy got
comfortable, made a mistake and became a wanted man.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the New
York Police Department (NYPD) and the Raleigh, NC, police were looking to bring him and his cohorts to justice
for their “last dance.”
Randy Kearse went
to prison and served his time. He went to prison in his 20’s and came
out in his 40’s. He is a different man, with a compelling and inspiring
story. Last month, Randy stopped by the Black Men In America.com office
and spent most of the day with us. This is a story that every brother
should read.
The Randy Kearse
Interview
BMIA.com:
You
served time in a federal prison. How much time did you serve and what
did you do to get there?
Randy Kearse:
I was
sentenced to 15 years in Federal Prison. Being there’s no parole in the
Federal system I had to do 85% of that, which amounted to me doing 13
years 6 months and 2 days. I went to prison for a federal drug
conspiracy. From 1986 up until I basically got caught, I had been
trafficking narcotics from New York to North Carolina. In 1992 I was
indicted, arrested and convicted.
BMIA.com:
How old
were you when you went to prison?
Randy Kearse:
When I
went to prison I was 27 years old.
BMIA.com:
When
you were serving time in prison, what did you do to pass the time?
Randy Kearse:
I spent
a lot of time thinking, and planning for my future. I read a lot. I’d
read any and every newspaper I could get my hands on. I watched all the
informative TV I could. I exercised and stayed to myself mostly.
BMIA.com:
What
was a typical day like for you?
Randy Kearse:
A
typical day for me would be getting up about 5:00 am in the morning and
preparing for breakfast. By 6:00 a.m., I was out of my cell on my way to
eat breakfast. In the federal eating breakfast isn’t mandatory like it
is in some other prisons. The job I had didn’t call for me to get up
early but I did anyway. I was looking forward to when I would be
released. I knew when I got out prison I had to work so I got myself
into the habit of “early to bed, early to rise.” You can’t accomplish
too much lying in the bed half the day.
After breakfast
I’d watch the news for about an hour and then return to my cell and
straighten it up. It would be about 9am by now. I’d go downstairs and
exercise for about an hour and a half. After exercising I’d go back to
my cell take me a shower and prepare for the noon meal. During the down
time I had waiting to go to the noon meal, I’d be reading or writing
something. Sometimes I’d have a stack of newspapers that were a week
old. After the noon meal I headed to the “office” (ha-ha-ha). That’s
what people used to say about me when they’d see me making my way across
the prison compound to the library. Sometimes I’d go to the library at
9:00 am right after watching the news and skip exercising, but most
times I’d be in the library right after the noon meal up until the jail
had re-call.
BMIA.com:
Re-call? What’s recall?
Randy Kearse:
Re-call
is when the prison makes everyone return to their respective housing
units so they can conduct a count of every inmate in the prison.
Normally re-call is 3:30 pm. When we returned to the housing unit I’d
watch the news until we had to go to our cells for the actual count.
Once the count cleared I would go back downstairs to watch more news
until the evening meal was called. The evening meal was normally called
about 5:30 pm. Once I ate, I went to the job I had, which was ground
maintenance where I was supposed to walk around picking up cigarette
butts. Though this job was the lowest paying job in the prison, paying
$5.00 dollars a month, it was the perfect job for individuals like
myself who really didn’t want to work at all. We’d sign in at 6:00 pm
and then we were sent off to pick up cigarette butts, but of course
nobody ever did their job. Once you signed in you were basically on your
own to do what you wanted until the time you had to sign back in at 8:45
pm. After signing in I would go back to the library or “the office.”
I’d stay at the
library until it was time to sign out. I spent a lot of time in the
library for a few reason. One, because it was one of the few places you
could go and think. The library and the chapel were the only places in
the prison you could go and escape the madness that surrounded you. Most
people who came to the library usually had something on their mind.
There would be brothers trying to fight their cases, some writing books
and others reading and going to school. You very rarely had any drama
jumpin’ off in the library. I had some typing skills so I’d make a
little money typing for some guys.
Around 8:45 pm I
signed checked out of the library and had to return to the housing unit
for the evening head count. That count normally didn’t clear until after
10:20pm. By that time I’d stay in my cell and read or write for the
remainder of the night. Very rarely would I come out my cell after the
evening count cleared. This was basically my routine for a large part of
my incarceration. Let me add this, the reason I didn’t want to work is I
needed all my time to work on the plans I had for the future.
BMIA.com:
So you
your focus was on planning for life after prison?
Randy Kearse:
Yes. I
made it my business to stay connected to what was going on in society.
There were guys who watched BET all day. Other would workout and play
basketball. That was not the routine for me. The only thing that can
help you when you get out is to prepare for the future when you get out
of jail.
BMIA.com:
What made you different?
Randy Kearse:
I refused to let society write the last chapter of my life. I accepted
responsibility for what I did wrong. I was guilty as charged and
accepted that. Once I did that I was FREE to think about where I was
going. Time is your life and you have plenty of time in prison.
BMIA.com:
Tell us about some of the guys you met in prison.
Randy Kearse:
You have a lot of smart guys in prison. Do you hear me? In my case, if
I took the same energy that I used to beat the law into doing something
positive, the sky is the limit. If criminals use the same work ethic in
a positive way they can be successful in society.
BMIA.com:
How did you get caught?
Randy Kearse:
I got comfortable. I was doing the same thing for so long, that I just
slipped up.
BMIA.com:
We were talking about our young people and music before we started the
interview. Share with our readers how you think young people have been
sold an illusion.
Randy Kearse:
Young people need to be aware. Young people are in trouble. It is our
responsibility as older black men to show them the way. A lot of
rappers are putting out a lot of negative images and selling our young
people down the drain. Young people are in trouble. Rappers are
talking about what he does from the safety of his studio and gets paid a
million dollars. You go out and follow what he says and you get a
million years. Think about it. Young people have bought into what
rappers say the streets are about. I know what the streets are about.
The streets are about NOTHING!
BMIA.com:
Let’s
talk about your background. What kind of environment did you grow up
in?
Randy Kearse:
I grew
up in Brooklyn, N.Y., came from a good home. Both parents at home, both
worked. My mother was a schoolteacher, my Pops worked for transit. We
lived in the projects but the projects I grew up in wasn’t buck wild. At
that time most the guys I grew up with had their mother and father at
home. All the parents worked. There’s nothing in my background that
could possibly attribute to the negative path that I took. I was an
above average student all through school. I got bored with school and
dropped out. Instead of going right, I chose to go left.
I received my GED
without even studying for it. I went in, took the test and passed it
1-2-3. My parents instilled a lot of good values in me. They stressed
education, making an honest living, respecting women, and things like
that. They also did their best to show me that there was life outside of
the projects so I had a good upbringing. The neighborhood I grew up in
wasn’t what most people would consider to be poverty stricken, so you
can’t attribute being surrounded by poverty to my decision to get
involved in the drug trade.
People have this
image of the brothers who choose to run the streets as coming from
broken homes and growing up in poverty, when that’s not the case for a
lot of folks. Most brothers come from good homes even if they came from
single parent households.
BMIA.com:
What is
it about you that made you say, “I’m going to turn my life around?”
Randy Kearse:
For me,
it wasn’t saying “I going to change my life around.” It
was more like saying, “I have to change my life around.”When you don’t have nothing but time to think about your life, your
past, your present and your future somewhere during those reflections
you should be saying to yourself that you don’t wanna spend the rest of
your life living the life you’ve been living. When you’re young and
doing your dirt in the streets you tend not to think about getting old.
You’re out there running the streets caught up in your own hype, basking
in the glow of being a ghetto celebrity so you’re just living for the
moment. Once all that comes to end and you’re faced with the fact that
you won’t be getting out of prison until you’re 40, 45 or 50 years old,
reality sets in and you start thinking about what you’re going to do
with the rest of your life.
You know you can’t
get out and run the streets again, so in a way you’re forced to change.
If you can accept, embrace and grow with change you have a better chance
of making it when you get out of prison. If you reject and deny that you
have to change, more then likely you’ll keep living the kind of
lifestyle that leads to prison or worse, death. I seen so many elderly
men in prison and I knew I didn’t wanna spend the rest of my life
incarcerated. The life I was living had taken its toll on me. When it
all came to an end I was financially broke and emotionally drained. I
didn’t wanna live like that again.
BMIA.com:
What drives you to succeed and be the best?
Randy Kearse:
What
drives me to be my best is my desire to show society that I’m bigger
then the stereotype they have for brothers like myself. Let society tell
it, after spending 13 and half years in prison I can’t come home and be
successful. Statistics say that 78% of individuals released from prison
return within three years. I come home to tear holes in that statistic.
I’m on a mission to show all the people who stood by me and supported me
during my incarceration that their support and sacrifices weren’t in
vain. Even in my darkest moments I had people still believing in me, so
I owe them and payment for them is seeing me be the best I can possibly
be. What also drives me is my desire to be an example for all the
brother and sisters still locked up in the system. To show them that
someone who came from where they are, still managed to come home and
live a positive, productive and successful life. That’s very important
for me. I represent all the brothers and sisters who have to walk the
road that I’m walking now.
BMIA.com:
How
would you assess your role and level of responsibility for the things
that have happened in your life?
Randy Kearse:
I only
have myself to blame for the things that have happened in my life. I’m
not one of those dudes who blame everything and everybody for going to
prison. I did what I did. I was guilty. I broke the law. No matter how
unfair that law may have been, when I chose to break it I left myself
open to be treated anyway the system wanted to treat me. In life we all
have choices, if you choose to make bad choices you can’t cry foul when
those choices come back and bite you in the butt. You have to take
responsibility for making those bad choices and begin to make better
choices. No one promised me the system was gonna treat me fair if I
broke the law. Whatever role you play in a crime, once you consciously
break a law whatever happens to you is of your own doing. One of the
biggest problems people have when they’re incarcerated is not taking
responsibility for being there. In my book I speak about that.
BMIA.com:
Who
motivates and inspires you?
Randy Kearse:
I’m
deeply motivated by the memories of all the friends and love ones who’ve
passed away. I lost a lot of good people while I was away. The memory of
my brother Dee Kay who passed away in 2000 is a major source of
motivational fuel for me. He’d never accept that I didn’t rise to the
occasion when it was time to rise up. Brothers like Malcolm X, Don King,
and the actor Charles Dutton, brothers who spent time in prison and came
home with a changed game plan, inspire me. Lesser-known individuals like
Tony Reid, Kelvin ‘Toast’ Hopkins and Daniel ‘Danny’ Gonzalez who’ve
kept their vow to stay out of prison also inspire me.
BMIA.com:
Has
serving time in prison changed your outlook on life? If so, how?
Randy Kearse:
Doing
time has definitely changed my outlook on life. While I was running
around playing the so-called ‘game’, little did I realize that society
wasn’t playing games with me.It wasn’t until I was behind bars
did I truly realize the seriousness of my actions. Even if you take away
the prison aspect of the lifestyle, how many times did I actually put my
life on the line being in the drug trade? How many times do we hear
stories about people being murdered in a drug deal gone wrong or during
a robbery? Where is the ‘game’ in that? I have no idea. Doing time
taught me how to appreciate what life truly has to offer. Time has a way
of humbling you if you allow it to. I was able to put my priorities in
order. I no longer take life for granted. My mother used to always tell
me, “You get out of life what you put in to it.” Your prison experience
can be a stepping-stone or it can be a crutch. I chose the
stepping-stone. I believe that regardless of what you go through you can
overcome it if you want to. When you hit rock bottom you can stay there,
or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep it moving.
BMIA.com:
How
long have you been out of prison?
Randy Kearse:
I’ve
been out 1 year 3 months in December and I’m loving it. (Ha-Ha-Ha).
BMIA.com:
Did you
find the transition difficult? If so, how so.
Randy Kearse:
The
first week or two I had to get my bearings but for the most part I fell
right into the swing of things extremely quick. Within the first week I
was surfing the Internet, had an e-mail address and preparing to self
publish my first book. By the end of the second week I was employed so I
didn’t waste any time putting the plans I had into effect. I stayed
abreast of everything that was going on in the world so I didn’t come
home still thinking it was 1992. Things like seeing everyone talking on
cell phones tripped me out. I pretty much left prison prepared for the
next part of life’s journey. I came home on a mission. I had a solid
family support system when I reached home so that also made the
transition painless. I knew when I left prison what I had to do, so as
soon as I got out I got right to it. I wouldn’t say that my transition
was hard at all. I didn’t come home with all the prison mannerism,
vernacular or pent up anger that a lot of people bring back to society
so you would have never known I did time unless I shared that with you.
BMIA.com:
What
was the first thing you did when you got out of prison?
Randy Kearse:
The
very first thing I did when I walked into freedom was thank God for
bringing me through my journey. I thanked him for giving me the strength
to make the necessary changes in my life to lead a positive life. I went
straight to see my mother and I gave her a long hug. After that we sat
and talked for a long time. My mother has been my number one supporter
and friend through my prison journey. Then she tried to make me eat one
of her turkey burgers (Ha-ha-ha).
BMIA.com:
Have
you learned anything about yourself as a result of serving time in
prison?
Randy Kearse:
Yeah I
learned I don’t have a criminal bone left in my body (Ha-ha-ha). When
the judge hit me in the head with those 15 years, he knocked the thug,
the gangster and the street mentality right out of my head for real. I
learned that I have the ability to bounce back from this experience if I
believed in myself. I also learned that my prison experience doesn’t
define me, but it helps make me the man I am today.
BMIA.com:
Do you
have any advice for women and family members who are waiting on their
man or their father to return home from prison?
Randy Kearse:
Encourage and challenge your love one to create a vision for his future.
Then encourage, challenge and support that vision as much as possible.
Repeatedly ask him what his plans are when he gets out. Don’t accept
anything but a detailed plan. Show your love one tough love too. No one
needs to be running around prison with three or four pairs of brand new
sneakers. There’s no need to send a love hundreds of your hard earned
money so they can live comfortable in prison. The kind of support you
give your love can handicap him, because you can make him so comfortable
he might feel he doesn’t have to change. He’ll think if goes to prison
again, he’ll be just as comfortable as he was the first time. And
lastly, be mindful of the reading material you send him, if all you send
him is urban street novels how can you expect him to break away from
that kind off mentality?
BMIA.com:
Let’s talk about your books. Tell us about
“Slanguage”
and “Changin’ Your Game Plan.”
Randy Kearse:
“Street Talk: Da Official Guide to Hip & Urban Slanguage,”
is not only a 700 plus page
dictionary/guide that interprets the whole hip-hop and urban slang
vernacular, it’s also a documentation of the unique language that we as
African-Americans use to communicate. I wanted to show the world that
our language was more extensive then the couple of catchy words or
phrases that make it into the mainstream.
Randy Kearse:
“Changin’ Your Game Plan! How to use incarceration as a stepping stone
for SUCCESS,”
is about the journey of change that one should
embark on while locked up in order to come home and lead a positive,
productive and successful life after prison. This is the blueprint for
turning a negative situation into a positive opportunity. I’ve seen too
many brothers return to prison because they refused to change their game
plan.
BMIA.com:
What do you want people to learn or get as a result of reading your
books?
Randy Kearse:
With Street
Talk I just want people from our
community to celebrate that we have a unique language. And I want
mainstream America to respect that uniqueness. They’ll get a hold of a
word from our culture and run it into the hole and before you know it’s
like they invented the word or term. Bling bling is a prime example.
With Changin’ Your Game Plan!
I want brothers and sisters to know that there’s
life after prison. Prepare for your future while you’re away so you can
have a future when you get out.
BMIA.com:
In your opinion what’s the biggest challenge facing black men in
America?
Randy Kearse:
There
are many challenges facing black men in America but if I had to pick the
biggest challenge it would be breaking away from this ‘street mentality’
that has so many of us stagnant and unable to reach our full potential
in life. That mentality that has us looking at the reckless lifestyle we
live as ‘the game.’ That mentality that will make us kill one another
over something as petty as a stare or bump. That mentality that says the
only way to succeed is to sell drugs, the only way to get respect is to
pick up a gun, and the only way to be a man is to bed as many women as
we can. That mentality that makes us see women as nothing more then
sexual objects and not to be respected. It’s erasing that mentality to
me that is black men’s biggest challenge in this country.
BMIA.com:
How can people reading this feature support you?
Randy Kearse:
They
can support me in two ways, of course by picking up both books, but more
importantly by doing what they can do to teardown these negative images
that society has of black people, in particularly black males. And one
of the ways of doing that is being a positive example for others to
follow. Get out in the community and talk to these young people, one on
one or in a group, they need help.
BMIA.com:
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow their dream
and turn their life around?
Randy Kearse:
Don’t
be afraid to step away from the crowd. Being different is the true
measure of a leader. Believe in yourself, in your vision and in your
dreams even when no one else does. And remember, we all mistakes in life
but it is what we learn from those mistakes and how we apply those
lessons to our lives that help make us who we are.
BMIA.com:
Anything else that you want to share that I haven’t asked about?
Randy Kearse:
One
thing, if you have a friend or love one who’s incarcerated, all it takes
sometimes is an encouraging letter or card to set that person on the
journey of change. You might not wanna deal with someone because they’re
in prison but these are the same people who will be returning to our
communities one day, think about that. I can only wonder what life
would have been like for me if my family and few friends had given up on
me.
BMIA.com:
Thank you for taking the time to answer these
questions. If you have any questions for Randy you can hit him up at
randykearse@yahoo.com
or visit his web
site for his book
www.randykearse.com.
Also check out Randy's other site
My
Prison Journal.com.
Randy Kearse:
No,
thank you for allowing me the opportunity to get my message out there.
We need more people like you and media outlets like Black Men In
America.com to counter the negative images of our BLACK MEN IN AMERICA.
So what do you think? If you would
like to respond to this article
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private
comment.
Black Business Is
Serious Business
I first
learned of Martin K. Hunt through his brother Ken, who suggested that I
might want to interview his brother for Black Men In America.com. Ken
explained that his brother and sister-in-law Jacqueline wrote a book
called “The History
of Black Business: The Coming of America's Largest
African-American-Owned Businesses.” The thought of a book on black
business was appealing, so I asked for a copy of the book.
Once I
read the book, I immediately knew that this was a gem, a Black Men In
America.com “must buy.” I contacted Martin set up the interview.
Folks, this
is one of the most comprehensive books on black business that I have
ever read. Martin and Jacqueline (two Harvard educated professionals)
have accomplished something that other authors failed to do, and that is
give an inspiring and historical
account of black business in America. The case-based approach of this
book uncovers the forces that have affected America's largest
Black-owned businesses before and after 1970. This book also paints a
picture of the business environments that promoted or discouraged the
most successful Black businesses over time. If you are in business or
want to get into business, this is a “must read.”
Gary
Johnson recently interviewed Martin Hunt. Here’s the result of that
interview.
The Martin K. Hunt
Interview
BMIA.com:
First things first. Martin thank you for taking the time to participate
in this interview. I am very impressed with your book. I’ve never read
anything like it.
Martin
Hunt: Thank you.
BMIA.com:
What made you want to write a book about the history of black business?
Martin
Hunt: The book was a labor of love.
During my second year at Harvard Business School, I was asked to write a
summary overview of minority business for Michael Porter, a strategy
professor, as part of a summer internship. What started out as a brief
summary, I realized would be valuable as a book on Black Business
because there was no one source that summarized this important
information.
As a student of
Black business and business in general throughout my life, I read Black
Enterprise magazine religiously, yet still it did not give me one
unified vision of the history of Black business.
That is where I felt
my book, The History of Business, would fill a void for the average
reader. I am not a PH.D. or academic. I am a business executive that
loves business. As such, I felt that I could write a book that was fun,
enjoyable, and enlightening, so that people would want to read it.
BMIA.com:
This is a “joint venture” with your wife Jacqueline E. Hunt. Did you
two have a strategy or game plan for writing the book?
Martin
Hunt: I provided business frameworks and
she provided the educational rigor of what would get through to the
reader. I thought that would be a perfect combination.
BMIA.com:
Which entrepreneurs in your book impressed you the most?
Martin
Hunt: John Johnson, Reginald Lewis
and Bob Johnson are my favorites; we met John Johnson in a drug
store in Chicago by accident. He was informed of our project and
promised to endorse our book. We were impressed that he had read the
work personally and by the fact that he had a review written in Ebony,
as promised. For a man worth a few hundred million dollars to meet you
in drug store and remember your book and then review it was amazing.
BMIA.com:
Let’s stick with these pioneers for a moment. What’s your impression of
these men?
Martin
Hunt: John Johnson is a hero for
Black Business because he told a story with pictures that made us
proud. At a time when there were few publishing outlets for
African-Americans, he stood large and is a wonderful example of the
American dream.
Reginald
Lewis is the most provocative entrepreneur of
the twentieth century for the history of black business. Reggie grew-up
in Baltimore, was a lawyer, worked on mergers and acquisitions and used
private equity as a tool for business like no other African-American
prior. He predicted that others would follow and they have.
Bob Johnson
is a great example of Reggie’s vision. He made his money with Black
Enterprise television (BET), but more importantly used private
equity to take BET public, then take it private and then sell it. He
gained three billion dollars personally.
With that money, he
is now leveraging his wealth to create more enterprises with his
ownership in the Charlotte Bob Cats and RLJ Holdings in real estate,
private equity, hedge funds and other ventures. Business is business.
We will see many African-Americans play these new roles throughout all
aspect of American business.
And so the goal of
the book is to open ourselves to those possibilities and make sure the
next generation can see these great examples so that they can elevate
their dreams to become major players in American business.
BMIA.com:
Can you talk about the research process?
Martin
Hunt: We researched the book on night and
on weekends. I was working at first for Michael Porter at Harvard
Business School in the beginnings of the Initiative for a Competitive
Inner-city (ICIC). I then worked for a large consulting firm and
then at a large utility doing merger and acquisitions.
We used the Harvard
Business School library, the Library of Congress and every library where
I had major projects when I was consulting. Jacque was a high school
biology teacher and then an Academic advisor at the University of
Chicago. She took some time off when I was traveling to put the
finishing touches on the book.
After the book was
completed, we then formed the Knowledge Express Company and published
the book. We used R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Chicago to print the book
and marketed the book through major distributors, Amazon.com and Barnes
and Noble.
BMIA.com:
I love the way the book is written. You give the reader a history tour
of black businesses going back over 100 years. What were some of the
key things that you learned about black businesses while researching and
writing this book?
Martin
Hunt: We learned that there have always
been African-American entrepreneurs since before America was America.
We also learned that there were always thousands of
African-American-owned business as far back as the number of
African-American was recorded in 1863.
During Slavery
and after we saw four types of businesses, which the book explains in
four categories: adventurers, inventors,
bankers and
insurance companies.
They were generally sole proprietor, mom and pop businesses. We also
saw founders of new United States expansions that were more liberal to
African-Americans like Jean Bapist DuSable, a fur trader and
original settler of Chicago.
After Slavery, we
had Apartheid in the United States and African-American businesses
focused on the African-American community for their customers. The
‘History of Black Business” explains this phenomena with the Black
Diamond which explains the forces that made Black business grow during
this time. Many companies started prior to 1970 like Motown, Johnson
Publishing, and banks and insurance companies like Carver Federal
Saving Bank and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Some of them exist today.
After the 1960s, as
the forces of Apartheid were dampened with Civil Rights laws, Black
businesses began to get larger and more diversified with some linkages
to Fortune 500 companies and automakers. The largest Black businesses
rose from having over nearly $500 million is sales in 1973 to over $20
billion today.
African-American
businesses now are more fully diversified and that trend will grow.
Black business can be global. Financing is better and the use of the
stock market and other equity sources are available more now than
before.
We see a push into
private equity, large real estate deals, money management and venture
capital and technology. Black business will continue to look more like
the distribution of majority businesses in America.
‘The History of
Black Business’, explains this evolution and gives you framework to view
the future. It is important that more people of our kids become part
of this new business opportunity. We should think of business ownership
as deeply rooted into our culture, positive for our communities and
critical to providing resources for our future.
BMIA.com:
This is a great history lesson. When you look at black businesses at
the turn of the century and black businesses today, what are the major
differences?
Martin
Hunt: Black businesses in 1900 were
constrained by the denial of basic constitutional rights. Businesses in
2000 were gaining steam into new and different fields with new
techniques to get there. Black businesses today exhibit some of the
same characteristics, as earlier, but also have new possibilities.
Going public, going
private, venture capital, private equity, Fortune 500 experience, new
connections to Fortune 500 companies at the highest levels and the
concept of the serial entrepreneur all are now a reality.
The concept that
ownership through equity is important and that the public markets can be
accessed is more possible now than ever.
BMIA.com:
What do you want people to learn as a result of reading your book?
Martin
Hunt: That everything is possible – they
can be Oprah, Bob, John or Reggie and know what each of them did to open
new doors for all of us to benefit from. There is a paved road for
entrepreneurial success.
Too many times the
definition of African-American business is limited to what some thought
in the past. African-American businesses can be global, multi-lingual,
great employers and vehicles for tremendous growth. Reginald Lewis’
Beatrice International was a good example of this in the 80s and early
90s.
BMIA.com:
How important has education been in your life?
Martin
Hunt: Education has always been very
important.I am the son of two educators, Kenneth and Virginia
Hunt. Education was a valuable commodity in our house. Diversity of
thought and the ability to create are the most important things in
business. These can be gained through education.
BMIA.com:
Tell us about your background.
Martin
Hunt: I am the second of four kids. Ken,
Janine and Karen are my siblings. I was a middle child in a group of
extraordinary talented kids. I worked hard both in school and in
athletics and never gave up. We were raised in New Castle, Delaware and
my family is from Chester, Pennsylvania.
I went to Media
Friends School in Media, Pennsylvania until 6th grade and
then went to Delaware public schools. I graduated from William Penn
High School and then Swarthmore College. After working for a few years,
I went to Harvard Business School.
My wife is half
Chilean and Dutch and lived all over the world. She speaks five
languages fluently and considers Spanish as her native tongue. She came
to the United States for college and graduated from Southern Methodist
University. We met when she was completing her masters in Education at
Harvard.
BMIA.com:
Based on your research, who would be in YOUR black business Hall of
Fame?
Martin
Hunt: They
are listed in the book. There are so many great African-Americans it
would be hard to choose. Surely James
Forten, Madam C.J. Walker, John Johnson, Don Barden, Dave Bing, Bruce
Llewellyn, Reginald Lewis, H.J. Russell, Oprah
and Bob Johnson
would be among them.
BMIA.com:
What’s the state of black business today? Do we need more black
businesses in our community?
Martin
Hunt: The state of Black business today
is growing.
I believe that
African-American businesses are growing faster than what statistics can
tell you. There is a framework in ‘The History of Black Business”
called the Black Diamond which is an analogy to Michael Porter’s
Diamond framework. The Diamond framework explains how location, cities,
countries and regions become and stay competitive.
As the factors of my
Black Diamond framework grow closer to Professor Porter’s Diamond
framework for America, African-American-owned businesses will create
sustainable competitive advantages at the same level of any other
business.
That will take the
form of ownership stakes in Fortune 500 companies, controlling interests
in private equity funds and as stewards of the public markets and
pension funds.
Yes, we still need
more African-American businesses in our communities and in general.
Businesses employ people, provide wealth to owners and drive investment
into a community.
BMIA.com:
What role do you see entrepreneurship playing in the black community?
Martin
Hunt: Sustainable economic bases drive
resources into any community. The ability for America to sustain its
competitiveness is tied to how well African-Americans, as well as any
other American group, can access the promise of inventiveness and
opportunity that makes America so special.
BMIA.com:
Are black businesses held to a higher standard? Should they be?
Martin
Hunt: Black businesses, as all businesses
should build sustainable competitive advantages to win in the market
place. They should also be great corporate citizens. If they can do
that, then they will make our society stronger.
BMIA.com:
There is a widely held perception that black businesses fall short when
dealing with black people. As a result, black businesses complain that
black people don’t support them. I call it “the white man’s ice is
colder” syndrome. What’s your reaction to this?
Martin
Hunt: That thinking comes from an old
paradigm. This book presents a new paradigm that I think serves every
community well. Business should win in the market place and ensure they
serve the community well. We must do both.
BMIA.com:
How has the Internet changed life for black business?
Martin
Hunt: The Internet has the potential to
bring the world into your living room and make knowledge readily
available. I believe that the Internet holds great promise in the
development of great African-American-owned businesses.
BMIA.com:
Why is it important to have black owned businesses in our community?
Martin
Hunt: Ownership provides the ability to
create sustainable economic bases that can pay for schools, invest in
new technology and provide access to the thoughts and ideas of tomorrow.
BMIA.com:
In your opinion what’s the biggest challenge facing black men in
America?
Martin
Hunt: The ability to change the
perception of what is possible is our most important initiative. I
believe adversity will be what it may. Your reaction to it, especially
in America, can provide the key to overcoming that adversity and
prospering.
BMIA.com:
How can people reading this article support you?
Martin
Hunt: Buy the book and then talk about
it. For books like “The History of Black Business” to be
written, they must be purchased. For ‘The History of Black
Business” to improve the future for America, it must be read and
talked about. Enjoy the book and share.
BMIA.com:
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business?
Martin
Hunt: You can start now.
(1)Decide what need or want your business will
fill.
(2)Assess how you will make money and
compete. Answer why your business will have a competitive advantage
that you can maintain.
(3)Make a written plan to articulate your idea
with investors, if you need investors. Then detail when your investors
will get their money back plus a profit return.
(4)Make a plan that starts today.
(5)Add to your plan everyday with milestones
and goals until you are ready to launch your business.
Good luck.
BMIA.com:
Thank you Martin. This has been a great
interview.
So what do you think? If you would
like to respond to this article
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private
comment.
Hill Harper
A Phenomenal
Man in His Own Right
By Jessica
Tilles
“For the first
time ever, I witnessed Jessica Tilles at a loss for words,” noted
Gary Johnson, publisher of Black Men In America.com. “I can’t believe
it. This is truly a first!”
Yes, it was
definitely a first. I was at a loss for words. My favorite, actor said,
“Hello, Jessica. How are you?” and I couldn’t respond. Hill Harper, the
man I have adored from afar, every since the first time I saw him on the
TV show “City of Angels.”
I’ve met a lot of
people in my life: celebrities, best-selling authors, millionaires, and
the like, and I’ve never been so enamored by them, and definitely not at
a loss for words. I had always been known as the woman who couldn’t keep
her mouth shut, the one with the quick comebacks. But not today!
My being speechless didn’t even make the top of
list. What ranked #1 on the All Time
Stupidity List was my running around
the office like a complete idiotic fool, because the phone had rung and
I knew exactly whom it was. Hill Harper!
I ran around the
office, mind all boggled up, unable to breathe, on the verge of a
nervous breakdown because Hill Harper was on the phone, and he was going
to have a conversation with me! The thought of speaking to Hill Harper
was much better than the threesome fantasy I had in my dreams with Blair
Underwood and Michael Beach. Well, wait…hmmm.
Finally, I had
regained my composure; turned on the digital recorder my brother had
given me as a gift, and sat down to receive the mental orgasm of my
life. Did I say I loved me some Hill Harper?
Hill Harper, an
Ivy League educated, award-winning actor and entrepreneur, has made it
his life’s purpose to help instill self-confidence, tolerance, morality
and humility into young men.
Harper saw first hand while mentoring, that
today’s youth are at a loss for positive role models, constructive
outlets, and the motivation to dream big and accomplish anything they
set their minds to. In his New York Times bestselling book, Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your
Destiny, he provides uplifting
wisdom that encourages, empowers, and provides alternative views of what
it truly means to strive to be a successful man.
Letters to a Young Brother,
a series of letters written from a brother-to-brother point of view, is
based on questions that young men have personally asked Harper. In the
book, Hill addresses many of the tough issues by providing his own
personal insights along with those of various successful men and women.
The book is
literally a roadmap for mentors, targeting young males lacking positive
role models. Harper offers uplifting wisdom and constructive outlets
that encourage, empower, and provide alternative e views of what it
truly means to strive to be a successful male. The book touches on
topics such as building solid foundations with friends and family;
mining our resources with school, work and money; girls, sex and
relationships, dreams and aspirations, as well as Harper shares personal
life occurrences, offering advice and a “way out.”
In today’s
society, there seems to be a lack of mentoring for our young brothers
(and sisters too). Hill’s inspiration comes from deep within, a strong
family background, and high morals and values. “We are in crisis mode,”
said Harper. “Metaphorically speaking, our young men are lying in the
streets injured and we, as men, need to stop right now, look at
ourselves in the mirror and say that we have to do something.”
Letters to a Young Brother
is written with a sophisticated theme, but is accessible to even the
most reluctant reader, “because that is whom I wanted to reach. You see
the tone, style and writing content is critically important, which is
why I included the pictures in the book of me with different people,”
said Harper. He feels it’s all about caring, trying to bring the reader
into the book, showing that this is not an academic book or an
assignment from school, but rather something you would want to read
because you want to read it, and the response has been overwhelming.
Harper receives hundreds of e-mails a day.
Harper’s initial
experience with trying to get his book published was disheartening.
Several of the publishers indicated that “It’s a great idea but we don’t
believe young boys read, and if they do, we don’t know how to reach
them.” In one book pitch meeting, he was told, “Hill, please don’t write
a book for this population; we want to do a book with you, but please
not this book, you are proposing a book for a population that doesn’t
read.”
Harper proved the naysayer wrong, by sending out a
personal plea asking for support in promoting
Letters to a Young Brother,
requesting people to buy multiple copies and gift them to any young men
or parents of young men. Prior to the April 20, 2006 release date,
10,000 copies were sold via pre-orders.
Click On Photos To
Enlarge
All proceeds from the sale of
Letters to a Young Brother
will go towards
The MANifest Your Destiny Foundation,
a non-profit youth organization, established by Harper, dedicated to
empowering, encouraging, and inspiring underserved males to succeed. The
philosophy behind the organization is to provide young men with
nurturing support systems, resources, encouragement, and guidance though
mentorship, scholarship and grant programs.
The MANifest Your Destiny Foundation
provides financial resources and practical experience to support young
men’s academic or professional field of interest. Internships and/or
apprenticeships are awarded to eligible young people who have
demonstrated their passions and commitment to furthering their education
through academic achievement and community service, much like the
founder Hill Harper. In addition, the organization awards grants to
deserving young men seeking to start their own business.
This interview was the most fulfilling and
intriguing I’ve ever done. Hill Harper is my favorite actor, and he’s
not bad on the eyes either. I am a huge fan of
CSI: New York
and I make it my business to catch every role he has portrayed. But,
what people say is true. You really don’t know someone until you sit and
have a conversation. He is truly God’s gift and I feel richer having
been in his presence.
Hill, thank you
for a wonderful interview and making this fan’s dream come true. Oh
yeah, and thanks for one hell of a…well you know. :::Wink::::
Jessica
Tilles is the best-selling author of Anything Goes, In My Sisters’
Corner, Apple Tree, Sweet Revenge, Fatal Desire and Unfinished Business, co-founder of J.T.’s
Book Corner and columnist for Black Men In America.com.
So what do you think? If you would
like to respond to this article
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private
comment.
George E.
Curry Continues To Be One Of The Great Voices In Black America
I think that
George E. Curry is one of the great “voices” in journalism and in black
America. If you have not heard of him or read his work, here is your
opportunity.
I became aware of
George’s work about 18 years ago. I read one of his newspaper articles
in the late 1980’s and was drawn to his “tell it like it is” style of
writing. George E. Curry was named “Journalist of the Year” by the
National Association of Black Journalists in 2003 and is listed by
the organization as one of the most influential Black journalists of the
20th Century. He was president of the American Society of
Magazine Editors (ASME), the first African-American to hold the
group’s top position. Curry has been in journalism for 36 years,
starting as a reporter for Sports Illustrated, working as
a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as a
Washington correspondent and New York Bureau Chief for the Chicago
Tribune, Editor-in-Chief of Emerge: Black America’s Newsmagazineand now as a syndicated columnist and Editor-in-Chief of the
National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) News Service.
He is frequently in demand as a public speaker and appears frequently as
a commentator on radio and TV.
Last week George
Curry and I met in downtown Washington, D.C. In addition to having a
great time, I walked away with some additional “life lessons.” In fact,
I seem to always get one of those “a-ha or light bulb” moments after
talking with George. One of the great things about George is that he is
willing to share his vast knowledge and experience with folks who are
willing to listen and take action.
Here is my
exclusive interview with George E. Curry.
George E. Curry:
A Voice That Needs To Be Heard
BMIA:
First of all, George, thank you for taking the time to participate in
this interview. How important has education been in your life?
GEC:
Thank you for this opportunity. Education is and has always been the
passport out of poverty. That was true when I was growing up in
segregated Tuscaloosa, Ala. and that’s true today. More than any other
factor, education determines what kind of life you, your children and
grandchildren will have. In addition, it provides broad knowledge that
is so necessary in everyday life.
BMIA:
Tell us about your background.
GEC:
As I mentioned, I grew up in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the oldest of four
children and the only son. My mother did domestic work and my stepfather
drove at dump truck at the University of Alabama during a period when
African-Americans were not allowed to enroll. Neither of my parents
completed high school, but they emphasized the importance of getting a
sound education. Even growing up in public housing, we had subscriptions
to The Tuscaloosa News, the local daily, and the Pittsburgh Courier, the
Black newspaper that opened up a whole new world for me. I learned so
much about Black history and Black accomplishments from the Pittsburgh
Courier.
BMIA:
That’s a great testimony to the importance of black newspapers in our
communities. Do you have any other strong childhood memories?
GEC:
Yes, I mentioned my mother doing domestic work. When she returned home
from work, she had to ride in the back seat of the car. That angered me
and it angers me to this day. As a boy and I told my three sisters,
“They better enjoy this one because the only time any of us are going to
be in anyone’s back seat is when we are being chauffeured.” Racism can
cause you to react two ways: it can crush you or it can serve as a
motivator. It motivated me. It made me more determined to succeed.
BMIA:
How did you get into the newspaper business?
GEC:
I’ve known since the 8th grade that I wanted to become a
journalist.
BMIA:
Since the 8th grade?
GEC:
Yes. At the time, I had never met a Black journalist and the only way
African-Americans appeared in the local newspaper was if they were
athletes, entertainers or suspected of committing a crime. I knew there
were many more stories in our community and I wanted to tell them.
Ironically, I could and did get a job directly out of Knoxville College
as a reporter for Sports Illustrated, the largest sports magazine in the
world, but couldn’t get a job with my hometown newspaper. Looking back,
they probably did me a favor. I should send them a thank-you note.
BMIA:
What prompted you to become editor of EMERGE magazine?
GEC:
That was in 1993 and by then I had worked at Sports Illustrated,
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and for the Chicago Tribune,
both as a Washington correspondent and as the New York bureau chief.
When Bob Johnson, CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET),
offered me the job as editor-in-chief, I jumped at the opportunity. I
felt I could draw on all of my past professional experience and develop
Emerge into a true, cutting-edge, take-no-prisoners
newsmagazine. And we did just that, winning more than 40 national
journalism awards. It was the best job I’ve ever had.
When I took the job,
my stepfather, William Polk, said, “George, you’re doing the opposite of
what White people have done. They have usually raided the Black Press to
hire reporters for White papers. But you have done the reverse, you’re
taking Blacks from White papers and bringing them home.” I hadn’t really
looked at it that way.
BMIA:
How hard is it to operate and manage a print magazine?
GEC:
Journalistically, it was no different from operating at any other place.
The challenge was that because it was a monthly, there was always a
struggle to remain timely. Most people don’t know this, but there is a
three-month lead time in magazines. That means I had to look three
months into the future and predict, as best I could, what the world
would look like when that issue would be published. So we would time our
Clarence Thomas stories, for example, to the opening session of
the Supreme Court. Our Kemba Smith story was first published in
May, when students were graduating. In fact, our first cover story on
Kemba featured her in a cap and gown. It wasn’t always easy – sometimes
we were good and at other times, we lucked out.
BMIA:
What were the challenges that led to the demise of EMERGE
magazine?
GEC:
How much time do you have? Where shall I begin? Let me begin by stating
that for the seven years that I was editor of Emerge, Bob Johnson
and Debra Lee, the publisher, granted me complete freedom to run
the magazine as I saw fit. As you know, we were pretty controversial.
We ran Clarence Thomas on the cover with an Aunt Jemima-style
handkerchief on his head and depicted affirmative action foe Ward
Connerly as a puppet, replete with the strings. At no point did Bob
or Deb say, “Tone it down” or ask me to go easy on anyone. I think it’s
important to state that for the record.
Emerge
was closed in the summer of 2000 to make way for
Savoy
magazine. Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I am going to say it anyway
– Savoy
was nothing but Ebony
on steroids. It was a fluff magazine. At the time, Bob Johnson was in
the process of selling BET
to Viacom and essentially farmed out the company’s magazines to Keith
Clinkscales, whose plan was to kill Emerge and start Savoy.
What eventually happened was that Keith killed at least five Black
magazines over a two-year period –
Emerge, Heart & Soul,
BET Weekend,
Honey
and a couple of others. That’s his legacy.
What irked me more
than anything else was that Emerge was on the verge of making
money; we were close to breaking even. In the magazine industry, it
often takes a while to earn a profit, but once magazines turn the
corner, they can earn millions every year. At the time they killed
Emerge, our circulation was larger than the Nation, the New
Republic and the Weekly Standard, all magazines that had been
publishing longer than Emerge. But they had owners sensitive to
how long it would take to make a profit and they were supported. We
didn’t enjoy that support and, hence, the closing of Emerge.
BMIA:
What was the most important lesson you learned when you were running
EMERGE magazine?
GEC:
A.J. Liebling, the famous media critic, said: “Freedom of the press is
guaranteed only to those who own one.” My next step will be to own a
media entity, not working for someone else. If I own it, I can determine
its fate. I never want to go through the experience I went through with
the shutdown of Emerge.
BMIA:
I understand that EMERGE may be on its way back to the newsstands. Is
this true?
GEC:
Let me put it this way: I will not be happy until I own a news outlet
and that may or may not be in the form of Emerge. I am determined to
come back out with something that does not insult the intelligence of
our people. That’s the most I wish to say about it at this point, but
stay tuned.
BMIA:
You’ve written three books. Although, they’re somewhat different, what
do you want readers to learn or “get” from your work?
GEC:
You’re right, all three are different. The first, written when I was
29-years-old, was about Jake Gaither, the legendary former
football coach at Florida A&M University who won 85 percent of his games
over 25 years and never had a losing season. The second was, “The
Affirmative Action Debate” and the last one was, “The Best of Emerge
Magazine.” I am at work on book #4, which I will discuss once I’ve
finished writing it.
More than anything
else, I want readers to appreciate the enormous contributions of
African-Americans. I hear many African-Americans complain about Whites
writing about Black history. Two of them --David Garrow and
Taylor Branch – have won Pulitzer Prizes for books they wrote on the
Civil Rights Movement. But if we don’t write our own history, we forfeit
our right to complain.
BMIA:
Who are some of the people that you admire?
GEC:
Historically, W.E. DuBois is my all-time favorite. I also admire
William Monroe Trotter, Paul Robeson and Ida B. Wells-Barnett.
As an adult, Nelson Mandela is clearly in a class by himself. I
am also a huge fan of Mary Frances Berry, the former chair of the
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
The people who
influenced me the most growing up are not nationally-known: Robert L.
Glynn, the head of McKenzie Court, my housing project in Tuscaloosa;
Mr. Robert Wade and his family were considered the First Family of our
housing projects and set some pretty high standards for all of us; my
high school principal, McDonald Hughes, was legendary and
influenced thousands of us; Mrs. Johnnie Giglio, my first-grade
teacher; Mrs. Hazel Hackett, my homeroom teacher and high school
guidance counselor; Mrs. Dorothy Smith or Miss Dot, as she is
known, a neighbor who knew me before I knew myself; Henry Holbert,
my high school football coach, and my football coach at Knoxville
College, I.G. Brown. Dr. Robert Owens, the president of
Knoxville College at the time, impacted me greatly. Of course, my mother
and stepfather as well as my uncles and aunts had more influence on me
than anyone.
BMIA:
What role did they play in your personal and/or professional
development?
GEC:
Each of them, in his or her own way, gave me guidance, inspiration,
encouragement and tenacity. Amid rigid segregation, they told us that we
could excel and accomplish anything we desired. They didn’t place
limitations on our dreams and made sure no one else did, either.
Remember, I attended all-Black schools in Tuscaloosa. When the school
system was finally desegregated, the down side of integration was that
the best Black teachers were often assigned to the predominantly White
schools and the worst White teachers were assigned to the Black schools.
I am so blessed to have attended school under the care of loving, caring
and demanding Black teachers.
BMIA:
How do you define success?
GEC:
I define success as what you do for others, not what you do for
yourself. What have you done to impact and uplift the people who need it
the most? That’s the test, that’s the yardstick.
BMIA:
What has been your greatest success?
GEC:
That’s an easy one. In 1977, I, along with my friends in the Greater
St. Louis Association of Black Journalists, began a workshop for
Black high school students. We held intense, daylong sessions for seven
or eight consecutive Saturdays. With the help of local chapters of the
National Association of Black Journalists, I started similar
workshops in Washington, D.C. and New York. Overall, there are about 15
workshops, all of them still running, patterned after the St. Louis
model.
Working with
Northwestern University, I also taught in a special Washington-based
program for students from historically Black colleges. Prior to that, I
taught summers at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. At
different points, I have been able to read an Associated Press story by
Bennie Currie or a Chicago Tribune story by his wife, Celeste
Garrett, whom he met in the St. Louis program. I can turn on CBS-TV
and see Russ Mitchell, one of my former students, or BET and see
Jacqui Reed, another former student. If I travel to Nashville, I
can stop by to see E.J. Mitchell, the editor of the Tennesseean.
If I go to Columbus, Ga., Ben Holden is the top editor there. If
I am in Orlando, Mark Russell is managing editor of the Orlando
Sentinel. Another former student, Ann Scales, used to cover the
White House for the Boston Globe. My former students have worked
for the Wall Street Journal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
the New York Daily News, the Newark Star-Ledger, the
Atlanta Constitution, the Philadelphia Inquirer, ESPN
magazine, TV and radio stations and too many other places to name.
Of course, these
students probably would have made it anyway, but I am delighted to have
helped them along the way.
Even more satisfying
than having my former students become my colleagues is that some of them
started their own workshops. There is nothing more satisfying than that.
Nothing. Not only did they appreciate what we had done for them when
they were young, they understood that they have an obligation to train
the next generation of Black journalists. It doesn’t get any better than
that.
GEC:
www.BlackPressUSA.com
is the official Web site of the NNPA, the National Newspaper
Publishers Association. It is actually administered by the NNPA
Foundation and contains stories published in our member newspapers.
BMIA:
How many people do you “reach” through your various media outlets?
GEC:
More than 15 million.
BMIA:
What’s the state of Black journalism? Do we need more journalist of
color in our community?
GEC:
As I mentioned in my speech at the Millions More Movement, my
fear is that Black-owned media is at risk of being taken over by
White-owned companies. Look at what’s been happening to Black businesses
in general. Motown Records was sold. Johnson Hair Products
in Chicago was sold. BET was sold to Viacom. Essence was
sold to Time, Inc. Black Voices.com is owned and operated
by AOL, a Time-Warner subsidiary. Over the next 50 years,
the U.S. population is expected to grow by 50 percent. During that
period, the White segment of the population is expected to increase only
by 7 percent. Shortly after the year 2050, Whites will be a minority in
this country. So, there is nowhere else to expand except to purchase our
valued Black institutions and businesses. To avoid that, some Black
papers and broadcast outlets may need to merge in order to become
stronger.
As for journalists,
yes, we need greater and broader representation, but not representation
simply for representation’s sake. It’s not enough to hire someone with a
Black skin and a White mind. We should have learned that from the
Clarence Thomas experience. We need journalists of color in these
newsrooms who know that they bring different perspectives to the table
and are not afraid of defending those perspectives. They must not be
what Nathan Hare calls “Black Anglo-Saxons.”
BMIA:
What role does journalism play in today’s political process?
GEC:
Journalists should be watchdogs for the public. But too many of them
have become lapdogs for those in power. Some are nothing more than
glorified stenographers.
BMIA:
Are Black journalists held to a higher standard? Should they be?
GEC:
Not just Black journalists, generally most Blacks in all walks of life
are held to a higher standard. Is it fair? No, but it is reality. What
we must do, particularly with our young people, is to remind them that
despite that double standard, they can still be successful. We don’t
tell them that enough.
BMIA:
How has the Internet changed life for Black folks?
GEC:
The Internet has produced an information explosion. It is a weapon of
mass instruction – for everyone. Unfortunately, there is a gap between
computer ownership among Whites and Blacks, but we’re closing that gap.
The Internet provides a unique opportunity to close the information and
education gap between Whites and people of color.
BMIA:
Why is it important to have Black-owned and Black interest media in our
society?
GEC:
In 1827, Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper,
proclaimed: “We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken
for us.” This is just as true today as it was in 1827. Now matter how
you look at it -- and I spent almost a quarter of a century in the
White-owned press – White publications are not going to reflect the
goals, aspirations, and perspectives of African-Americans or people of
color. As I mentioned earlier, an increasing number of conglomerates
are buying Black businesses and we risk losing the few voices that we
have.
BMIA:
What’s the best thing about being George Curry?
GEC:
I’ve never been asked that question. Miss Dot, a family friend back in
Tuscaloosa, told someone who was surprised that she knew me, “I knew
George Curry before George Curry was George Curry.” And she did.
I never think about
being George Curry, as such, but I do recognize that I have media
platforms that most people don’t enjoy. The military can strike by land,
air or sea. I can voice my opinions in print, on radio, on TV or over
the Internet. Because I have that access, I feel a special obligation to
voice the concerns of the voiceless. When you see me on TV, whether it’s
on the Today Show, Nightline, C-SPAN, Good Morning
America, BET or wherever, you better believe that I have thoroughly
prepared for that appearance. Too many people are counting on me to
represent, as young people like to say, and I can’t let them down. I’m
not just representing George Curry. I’m just the conduit, representing
millions who will never have access to national TV.
BMIA:
In your opinion what’s the biggest challenge facing Black men in
America?
GEC:
Let me start with the general and move to the specific. Over the years,
the fundamental issues for Black people have, for the most part,
remained unchanged: education, employment, economic development, access
to health care, political empowerment or what some call civic engagement
and more recently, the prison industrial complex. Racism is the common
denominator that runs through all of those.
As for men, we’ve all
read the dreary statistics about more men in their 20’s being imprisoned
than enrolled in college. I do a lot of speaking around the country each
month, especially on college campuses, and I am appalled by the number
of women in college compared to the paucity of Black men. That has
tremendous ramifications for the future of Black families and our
community, if we are to continue as a community.
I edited the
National Urban League’s “State of Black America 2006” report and it
was pointed out in one chapter that America spends $10 billion a year to
lock up Black males and only $2.8 billion to educate them. For the past
two decades, virtually every state has spent more on prison construction
than building new colleges. From 1985-2000, state spending on higher
education increased by 29 percent. Over that same period, state spending
on corrections increased by 175 percent. Clearly, we need a change in
public policy.
From a community
standpoint, we must reclaim our Black males, even if we have to do it
one male at a time. We must go back to the things that worked for us –
Scouting, the village approach to rearing children, church involvement,
etc. – and realize they can still work today.
Finally, we have to adjust some
attitudes. I remember speaking at North Carolina A&T one time and
afterwards some young brother came up to me in tears because I addressed
an issue that had been heavy on their hearts. Because their fathers
weren’t home, they had been carrying this baggage around all of their
lives. In my speech, I noted that my father wasn’t home. And I listed
many others whose father weren’t home: Frederick Douglass, W. E. B.
DuBois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Jackson, Al
Sharpton, Barack Obama, Alexis Herman. I said, “Welcome to the club.
Now, let’s move on.” We must turn a negative into a positive.
BMIA:
How can people reading this article support you?
GEC:
First, I think we need to support our Black colleges, our Black media
outlets and our Black businesses. Secondly, I mentioned that I do a lot
of public speaking. Organizations can book me by going to my Web site,
www.georgecurry.com.
I also have a weekly newsletter – it’s free – and people can sign up for
it by going to my blog, (There’s no www)
curryingfavor.blogsport.com.
You’ve already mentioned my three books. I write a syndicated column
that runs in Black newspapers each week. We definitely need to support
the Black Press.
BMIA:
What advice would you give to someone who aspires to serve in the
community?
GEC:
Nike put it best: Just do it.
BMIA:
Thank you George Curry.
GEC:
Thank you.
This interview was conducted by Gary
A. Johnson for Black Men In
America.com and posted July 2006.
So what do you think? If you would
like to respond to this article
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private
comment.
MS. CATHY HARRIS: A WOMAN IN THE BUSINESS OF EMPOWERING AND UPLIFTING
HER COMMUNITY
Creativity, unbridled talent, ingenuity and
profound thought is in abundance in the African American community and
are a mere sampling of the gifts that the African
American community brings to the Table of Humanity. Ms. Cathy Harris is
an individual whose creativity, unbridled talent, ingenuity, strong
sense of justice and profound thought is helping others to transcend
boundaries and create options. She is a woman who is in the business of
uplifting and empowering her community. Harris is an author, lecturer,
consultant and a mother who came to my attention on an evening in April
2006. I was working late in my office and listening to WURD 900 AM, a
radio talk show station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is taking
“community radio” to a whole new level, when I heard Ms. Harris’ dynamic
voice. Her message was so compelling that I stopped working on my
project. Instead, I listened intently to what she had to say and began
taking notes. And after hearing what she had to say, I decided that
Ms. Cathy Harris was a person that as many people as possible needed to
know about.
So, who is Cathy
Harris? Who were her role models? Where was she born?
“I came from
humble beginnings. I was raised in rural Georgia – Bowdon, Georgia – the
middle child of nine siblings. My role models were my mother, Maya
Angelou, Harriet Tubman and other women whom I thought were absolutely
great. My mom told me that as I go out into the world to treat everyone
right -- treat others like you want to be treated. Respect others
especially your elders,” Ms. Harris stated.
Mindful of the
fact that Ms. Harris is a community organizer, entrepreneur, author,
publisher, lecturer, consultant and mother, I wanted to know how she was
able to maintain balance in her life in view of the fact that she had
become “all things to all people” outside of her family circle. Ms.
Harris offered the following:
“I count my
blessings everyday. I know I have been fortunate. Despite the pain I
have felt in my life, I have learned to also count my victories. I
raised two daughters from the ages of four and five who are now graduate
students. I told myself a long time ago that I was going to be happy
no matter what. I retired from my federal government job in 2005 after
going through ten years of workplace abuse. After spending fifteen
months out of work on unpaid stress leave, I was in a bad place. I often
wonder, ‘Why did I get better?’ So many women who had gone through
workplace abuse never got better. I asked myself ‘Why Me?’ I realized
after returning to work that I had a true purpose in life and that I
would uphold my purpose to educate, inform and empower others to take
control of their own lives.”
For twenty-seven
years, the federal government employed Ms. Harris. During the course of
her employment, she was moved by certain circumstances to become a
“whistleblower” to form the Customs Employees Against Discrimination
Association (“CEADA”). Why did Harris become a “whistleblower”? Why
did she create CEADA?
“After witnessing first-hand for many years
unethical practices against international travelers, I knew it would be
me that came forward. I had spoken to several co-workers all over the
United States, who too, confirmed that the racial profiling was taking
place at their port -- but I knew since I lived in the hometown of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., that it would be me who came forward. I knew I
had to blow the whistle on the United States Customs Office. I took
three steps. One: I formed Customs Employees Against Discrimination
Association because being a part of an organization is powerful. Two: I
went to the National Newspapers Publishers Association – the NNPA -- (www.nnpa.org)
and asked then-President Dorothy Leavell who was also the founder of the
Chicago Crusader to give my organization a reporter who could help us
expose the United States Customs Office. She gave us Professor Linn
Washington from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who put
out stories every two weeks for six months on the abuses of Black women
international travelers committed by Customs employees. Three: I went
to a media attorney. The attorney took my story to a local investigative
news team -- Fox 5 in Atlanta, Georgia -- which later won the Peabody
Award for my story Singled Out by U.S. Customs.” So who or what
inspires Ms. Harris? How is she able to “step out on faith”?
“I am inspired by
other activists and advocates who have done much more than me. They have
stood on the front lines and spoke for those who had no voice. It’s also
my calling to do the same. So many people have lost their way because
of the current administration, the outsourcing of jobs and the
downsizing of corporations,” Harris remarked.
The discussion
moved to the number of books Ms. Harris has authored which include, Flying While Black; a three-book series entitled,How
To Take Control Of Your Life; The Failure of Homeland
In-Security; The Cathy Harris Story; and
Discrimination 101. What motivated Harris to write these books?
“The only books that have been out is Flying
While Blackand How To Take Control of Your Own
Life. The other three books will come out this year though. I
wrote all the books because the stories had to be told so others could
learn from my struggles. How To Take Control Of Your Own Life is
available at
www.HowToTakeControl.com.
My other books are available on
www.angelspress.com
or on
www.amazon.com,”
explained Ms. Harris.
Cathy Harris is
fearless. She has no qualms about “walking through fire” or daring to
“go where Angels fear to tread.”. And she has a very low threshold for
injustice. What makes Cathy Harris fearless? What makes Cathy Harris
not have any trepidation about “walking through fire” or daring to “go
where Angels”?
“Leaving home and
joining the military was my first introduction to injustice. I learned
at an early age that there was a lot of wickedness in the world. I
witnessed first-hand several acts of racism against minority soldiers
and sexual harassment and sexism against women. Being a mom of two
daughters, it made
me very
uncomfortable. I thought of my daughters being in these predicaments and
not knowing what to do. From the very beginning, my conscience told me
that eventually I would have to make a stand against injustice. I had no
idea that a country girl from rural Georgia would one day stand up
against the government and make them make many changes.”
So, why did Harris
decide to empower others by sharing her experiences, skills and
knowledge?
“How will our kids
know they must step up to the plate if they don’t know the stories of
their ancestors? Young people who know about their history will go
further in life. Our kids must know that we stood up and they must too.
Too many people are taking their stories to the graves and no one will
ever know their legacy. I was determined to leave something behind not
just for my family but for others faced with some type of atrocity in
their lives.”
And what is Ms.
Harris’ key message?
My key message is
that everyone must be in the business of taking care of people. We must
be committed to uplifting and empowering the community. Sometimes in
life we will come to a crossroad in our lives. The real test is: ‘Which
road will we take?’”
Note:
The publisher would like to publicly acknowledge D. A. Sears for
conducting this interview.
So what do you think? If you would
like to respond to this article
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private
comment.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Fighting Crime with Style, One Story At A Time
Tom Morris, Jr.,
epitomizes everything that this web site is about. Tom started from the
same place that most of us did, maximized his opportunities and is
making a positive difference in the community. Tom is seen by millions
of people every week. He may not be a household name, but I guarantee
you’ve heard his distinct voice and have seen his stories on
television.
In 1987, Tom seized
an opportunity to pursue a life-long dream of working abroad. He was
hired by the Virginia-based Sverdrup Corporation and trained as
an anti-terrorism security specialist on a contract assignment to the
U.S. State Department’s newly formed Embassy Task Group (ETG).
The task group was charged with implementing new, high-security
protocols at U.S. embassies and consulates around the globe as mandated
under the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986.
Tom Morris was the first person accepted into the ETG to become a "Cleared
American Security Specialist" who did not have any prior military or
law enforcement background. After receiving training at the U.S.
State Department’s Foreign Service Anti-Terrorism Institute, Quantico
U.S. Marine Base, and from U.S. Army Special Forces
instructors, Tom was issued a Top Secret clearance by the State
Department and was subsequently deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia
east Africa. Tom arrived in Somalia in March 1988, just three
weeks before the Somali civil war erupted. He fulfilled his one-year
contract there assigned to the U.S. Embassy.
In 1993, Tom
returned to his broadcasting career as a segment producer with the
FOX television network crime show, “America's Most Wanted.”
Tom is the Senior Correspondent on “America’s Most Wanted” (AMW),
one of the five longest running prime time shows on television. In his
interview with Gary Johnson, Tom discusses his diverse background,
black-on-black crime, how he defines success, mentoring, education and
more. When he’s not fighting crime, Tom is also a Hip Hop DJ, pianist,
and award-winning poet. If you’re looking for an inspiring and
motivating feature, this is a “must read” article.
The Tom Morris, Jr.
Interview
BMIA.com:
Hey Tom. How ya’ doing today? Tell us a little bit about your
background. Many people are familiar with your voice, but they don’t
know about the man behind the voice.
Tom Morris,
Jr.: I was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1956 in a segregated
hospital. My father is a Baptist minister, as was his father, so I was
raised a 'preacher's son' and immersed in religion from birth. When I
was a child, my father was an ambitious young minister devoted to
serving humanity through Christ, and we moved pretty much every five
years throughout my childhood as he took on different assignments. I
grew up in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Northumberland County,
Virginia. After high school, I enrolled in Virginia Union University (VUU)
in Richmond. Both of my paternal grandparents, Mom, Dad and various
aunts and uncles had graduated from 'Union and attending that
historically Black college was almost an automatic decision for me. I
don't think I ever really considered going anywhere else. A VUU, I
actually had one professor who taught my grandfather, my father, my
mother and finally me!
BMIA.com:
You graduated from Norfolk State University, with a Bachelor of Science
Mass Communications. I get the sense that education was important to
you when you were growing up. What were you taught about education?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
I majored in print journalism and thought I wanted to work at a
newspaper, but by the end of my junior year, I began to look at
television or radio as better career options and transferred to Norfolk
State University to continue my undergrad studies there as a Mass
Communications major. I actually began my television career while still
in undergrad at WVEC Channel 13 in Norfolk, Virginia, so when I
graduated in 1980; I came out of college with a year and a half of
actual TV Newsroom experience.
Education was always
important in my family. To this day, at my parents' house a college
diploma hangs on the wall that belonged to one of my great-aunts who
graduated in 1898 or thereabouts. My father explained to me when I was
a boy that I would be the fifth generation of my family to attend
college and he helped me understand the legacy and benefits that history
meant. Growing up in the 1960's with parents who were on the front line
of the civil rights movement meant never taking for granted the
opportunity that Black people were dying and getting beaten down in the
streets for, and my parents made sure that my brother, sister and I
understood what it meant to be able to contribute to the world as a
professional in one's chosen area of endeavor. My mother and father
never told us 'what' be. They just stressed that whatever we strove to
do, that we should do our very best at it, and make every effort when
possible to use our talents to make the world a better place, while
making a living.
BMIA.com:
Tom, you have a lot of different jobs in a variety of disciplines. Can
you briefly talk about some of the jobs that you had and how they may
have helped you in your current position at AMW?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
I've been doing some kind of job since I was 12 or so. From riding a
Huffy bike slinging newspapers out of the baskets, to cutting grass and
selling fresh fish out of the trunk of a car when I was 17. During a
couple of my college summers, I worked for the National Park Service
Maintenance division doing construction on various federal concrete
projects in Washington. So, I learned what it meant to work hard with
your hands and I learned to respect those who do that for a living.
After college, I started my television career working on camera crews
covering the White House and Congress in 1991 for Independent Network
News and CNN. Both started up around the same time around 1980, but
only CNN survived for the long haul. After about four years covering
the national news scene as a cameraman, soundman, and sometime field
producer, I was ready to do something different. So, I left television
to go to work for Prince George's County Maryland's Economic Development
Corporation to help do outreach to minority entrepreneurs in the rapidly
growing and affluent Black suburb.
After accomplishing
a few things there, I set off for what would be my ultimate career
departure, or so I thought at the time. I talked my way into an
anti-terrorism security program called the Embassy Task Group under the
U.S. State Department. This was in 1987. The fact that I was let into
the program at all was pretty incredible, because they were only hiring
men with military or police backgrounds and I had neither.
The primary
attraction for me was the promise of travel and adventure, romance and
maybe even danger abroad. It was my chance, or so I thought, to live a
life of international adventure like my literary hero, Ernest
Hemmingway. The company with the State Department contract was
SVERDRUP. It's one of those companies where the military-industrial
complex is like a hand and glove. I went through a series of interviews
with retired Generals, Colonels, and execs before they made reached a
consensus and granted the exception to let me into the program.
After six months of
anti-terrorism training in Rosslyn, Virginia, and at the U.S. Marine
Base Quantico, I received a Top-Secret clearance and was deployed as
part of an 8-man security team to the embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia. I
arrived in country in March of 1988, just two months before the Somali
Civil War erupted. After spending a year in Somalia I decided not to
renew my contract for a second year because it was clear to me that the
country was headed for collapse. Today, Somalia is one of, if not the
only country on the planet that has not had a government since 1991. It
remains a lawless rogue-land. I arrived home in the states on January
2, 1989.
I wanted to continue
in the high-level anti-terrorism field at first and went to work for
another security agency assigned to the U.S. Department of Energy in
Washington. After a year and a half there, I decided to return to media
work and took a job as an account executive with a British stock
photography agency in their Georgetown office. In 1993, one of my
clients from the agency gave my resume to his neighbor, a man named
Lance Heflin. He would be the man who would change my life in so many
ways.
Lance Heflin is the
executive producer of AMERICA'S MOST WANTED. Three weeks after
he got my resume, I was called in to start freelancing as a research
reporter producing crime reenactment stories for AMW. I did good work,
had strong descriptive writing skills, and after producing stories for
about six months as a freelancer, AMW hired me.
In 1996, Lance gave
me the ultimate shot in the television game. He'd decided that I
might be a natural on camera. So, he let me step in front of the camera
(with no previous experience) on prime-time television no less, and
start reporting crime stories. I never looked back after that. Today,
in 2006, I'm 13 years deep into AMW and am the show's senior
correspondent and producer.
So, I've had what I
would call a 'varied, but consistent' background. By varied, I mean
that I've done several different things in the professional world, but
always consistently tried to conduct myself with a level of competence
regardless of the particular career endeavor and keep moving forward.
BMIA.com:
How do you define success?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
I define success as first and foremost being able to support oneself and
one's family adequately and progressively. That's the first measure of
success to me. Secondly, I define personal success as being able to do
work for a living that gives emotional and tangible enjoyment. Many
people have jobs they hate. I've had very few of those and I'm not
exactly sure why that is, but the fact is, I've had my professional and
personal ups and downs in the his life of hard knocks, but I've always
been blessed to see a better day.
BMIA.com:
Your accomplishments are impressive. What’s the best part of being Tom
Morris?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
The best part of being Tom Morris, is getting home at the end of a day
at the office, or from the airport and walking into my house and seeing
the people, (and pets) that I love healthy, safe and content. My
youngest son's name is Justice. You can guess why I chose his name.
It's what I've worked for since before he was born. Just seeing his
face makes my life all right instantly. The other good things about
being Tom Morris are having the respect of my family and colleagues, and
the public that appreciates the work I do on television working for
justice for victims of violent crime, being healthy, and continually
seeking knowledge. I love to read and I love my work, because what we
do at AMW makes our society a little bit safer in some way, by taking
one criminal off the street at a time.
BMIA.com:
Clearly a lot of work goes into AMW. How do you explain the success of
the show?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
AMW has been on television since February 1988. It is today one of the
five longest running prime time shows on television. The main reason
it's been successful is because it allows the audience to potentially
interact with it by calling 1-800-CRIME and get results. When you watch
AMW, you never know if you'll be the person who spots that fugitive, or
recovers that missing child we showed you. And almost every week that
magic happens somewhere in America or abroad as a result of our
viewers. Now we've got AMW.com as an additional tool, so you can look
up that suspicious person in an instant and get more details too.
BMIA.com:
What percentage of the folks featured on your show are captured?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
As of April 3, 2006, we have aired 844 episodes and we've caught 879
fugitives. So we average one capture per show.
BMIA.com:
What changes have had the most impact on the show over the years?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
AMW is always improving the quality of the show itself. In the early
days, the show was all film reenactments. Today we still do those, but
there's a lot more news, breaking stories, high-tech graphics, music
scores and of course the ever-passionate man-hunter himself, our host,
heart and soul of the show…John Walsh. He's an amazing man who will
fight the fight for all of the victims of crime to the end. John holds
it down strong for the kids and everyone else who's been a victim. I
love that guy. Walsh is the man!
BMIA.com:
What’s your biggest challenge working on the show?
My biggest challenge
working on AMW after 13 years is keeping my on-camera game tight, fresh
and evolving. Because I never did local news on camera before AMW gave
me a shot at it, my style is loose and relaxed in front of the camera.
This show has allowed me to do some uniquely creative things and I've
sort of blazed my own trail creatively with a long string of unique
stand ups in my stories that are almost theatrical in their style of
reporting. This show lets its producers push the creative envelope
visually and stylistically in ways that you'll never see on any other
serious news magazine show.
BMIA.com:
How important is it for black men to see someone who looks like them
achieving success?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
It is incredibly important for young Black boys growing up to see
successful Black men. But there's more to it than just seeing them. We
see them on television and in movies. We see them in magazines, and on
the athletic fields. But something is going terribly wrong these days
with the state of our young men and it's partly because of the increase
in homes without fathers, but also because the way many of them are
measuring success has nothing to do with achievement…it's all about the
fast money and getting it any way they can. Even a lot of the kids who
do have good father figures are following the rappers of this day and
age and not their father's examples. We are in a war for the minds of
our Black males and I am afraid that we're losing rapidly. The prison
system seems to be the winner these days, not the college campus. If we
don't find a way to reverse it, and that is going to mean getting the
Black, young entertainers and music industry execs to develop a
conscience about what they're feeding kids.
BMIA.com:
Do you feel a sense of responsibility to the black community and do you
see yourself as a role model?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
I've tried to be a man who kids will see as a normal guy, who loves God,
hip hop, basketball, cars, likes the fine watches, fresh threads and the
diamonds too, but takes care of his family, earns a good and honest
living, and respects women. That's who I am. I do a lot of my
interaction with kids on various basketball courts during pick up games
and I try to strike up a dialogue with them when I can to see where
they're headed, what they want to do with their lives and give them
advice. Whenever time permits, I go to schools and talk to kids about
my job, life, the future and the real world. My time is always at the
mercy of the show and I'm on the road a lot, so planning things is
difficult, but I fully intend to do more when time permits.
BMIA.com:
Did you have mentors along your road to success?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
My first mentor was without a doubt my Mother, Eleanor Robinson Morris.
Mom is an amazing woman and she nurtured my talents as a writer from an
early age, got me involved with music lessons, encouraged me to hunt and
fish, took me and my brother and sister to museums, plays, movies,
historic sites and made sure that we had a well-exposed childhood that
opened our minds up to the wonders and possibilities of life. We went
places, took many trips, saw many things of wonder and awe. My parents
both led by example, and as early as the 1970's, they were traveling to
places like communist Russia to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ at the
height of the cold war. They always taught us that we were not only
Virginians, or Americans, but instilled in us that we were citizens of
the world, equal to all, humble among millions, and capable as any.
Outside of my family, my blood, the people who have helped me the most
professionally have all been 'other than Black.'
I say to that to
point out to the brothers who are paranoid about 'the man,' that White
people aren't all trying to keep a brother down. In my experience, a
few are racist, (and one time in my career, I've sued 'em to prove it
when they came at me wrong) but most of them aren't. They want the job
done right and they want 150% effort with a good attitude. When it gets
down to climbing the ladder in a career, you never know who is going to
help you up, or give you an opportunity, but a lot of times you'll find
yourself in a situation where the hand that pulls you up, may often not
be same color as yours, so getting along with people in addition to
having ability is important.
As Black people in
the 21st century, I believe that we obviously have to help each other
just as we have always had to. However, I also believe that seeing
ourselves as equal in this society and in the workplace no matter where
we work, leads to progress. But, when racism rears it's ugly head in
your life you can fight back legally, and intelligently, and you can
prevail.
I've had the great
fortune to have professors and bosses who were White who believed in me
and went out of their way, and sometimes out on a professional limb to
give me a fair shot at my dreams. And I never had to compromise my
beliefs or integrity to get that shot. I just had to deliver the goods
when the time came and do good work.
BMIA.com:
How important is networking?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Networking is important because you never know who you know now and what
position they may be in tomorrow. Don't burn bridges with your tongue
or your negligence. Build a network of the people you meet and treat
them all with dignity and respect, and remember, a little kindness and
personality can go a long way to opening a door someday because someone
remembers something good about you.
BMIA.com:
OK Tom, this is the part of the interview where we “strap” you in the
Black Men In America.com Hot Seat. This is our version of “Call and
Response,” where we say something and you call out the first thing that
comes to mind. Are you ready?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Ready!
BMIA.com:
Great. Black-on-Black crime.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Black on Black Crime: We have a serious problem and everybody in
America that is paying attention or watching the news knows it. It's
getting worse every day and our young men seen hell bent to keep
America's criminal justice system chock full of brothers. The problem
lies not just with the kids though. When a block is terrorized by it's
own sons…the parents on that block have abdicated their leadership and
lost their courage. Black neighborhoods and Hispanic communities are
not terrorized by White kids. They are terrorized by their own.
Unfortunately with the high school drop out rate for young Black males
at an all-time high and rising, turning this problem around is going to
be a daunting, if not impossible task.
BMIA.com:
A good book or a good movie?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
A good book or a good movie can both be good entertainment for me.
BMIA.com:
Favorite female artists.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Too many to narrow down like that… too many great ones…I miss Phyllis
Hyman. God rest her soul.
BMIA.com:
Favorite male artist.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Two Michaels. Jazz crooner Michael Franks is my favorite male singer
and revolutionary rapper/singer Michael Franti of SPEARHEAD is an
inspiration to me too.
BMIA.com:
Favorite charity or cause.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
My church, which knows better than I do where the money is needed for
missions.
BMIA.com:
Favorite way to relax.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
By my fireplace with a good Merlot.
BMIA.com:
Favorite song of all time.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
'Every Single Soul' by Michael Franti on the Spearhead album "Stay
Human."
BMIA.com:
Top 3 things you must do to be successful in life.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
1. Never believe that nothing bad will happen to you, so be prepared
spiritually and emotionally for the unexpected setbacks. 2. Believe in
God and let him work through you by acknowledging that YOU are not the
center of the universe. 3. Handle your business as thoroughly as you
can. Work hard and love the work you do no matter what it is.
BMIA.com:
Biggest challenge facing black men today.
Tom Morris, Jr.:
The biggest challenge facing Black Men in America today is Black men in
America today. It used to be the Klan. Then it was 'THE MAN.” Now
it's us on us fighting on the same bus. It's got to stop. We can't
survive and improve our children's futures by killing each other every
day.
BMIA.com:
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Five years from now I hope to be hosting a show and continuing to use my
talents as a communicator to make a difference in this world.
BMIA.com:
Anything else you want to share with the BMIA family?
Tom Morris, Jr.:
Thank you BMIA.com for wanting to write about me. You're actually the
first magazine to ever do an article on me. I've been seen on
television by millions for years, but you are the first to ever do a
feature on me. Thanks!
BMIA.com:
It's our pleasure!
So
what do you think? If you would like to comment or respond to
any of our content
on this page or web site
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
1500 Meters Gold medalist Enrico
Fabris (center), Silver medalist Shani Davis and Bronze medalist
Chad Hedricks on the medal stand
Shani Davis
Wins The Gold and The Silver
Updated February
21, 2006
Davis became the first black athlete to
claim an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history Saturday,
winning the 1,000-meter speedskating race and justifying his decision to
focus on himself first, his team second.
“I’m one of a kind,”
Davis said, fully aware of how much he stands out in the mostly white
sport. “I’m a different type of person. I have a different charisma. A
lot of people don’t understand me.”
That much was clear
from the racially charged messages to his personal Web site — “people
saying they hoped I would fall, break my leg, using the N-word,” he
said.
Davis showed no
immediate emotion after the last two skaters failed to beat his time. He
was cooling down in the warm up lane, skating slowly with his arms
behind his back.
Finally, he smiled and waved to the
crowd, picking up a stuffed bear that a fan tossed on the ice. As he
came to the other end of the rink, Davis found Wennemars waiting. The
friendly rivals gave each other a big hug in front of the orange-clad,
predominantly Dutch crowd, prompting the biggest cheer of the night.
On February 21,
2006, Davis skated to a silver medal in the 1500 meter race beating his
selfish "teammate," crybaby Chad Hedricks.
This 23-year-old phenomenon began making history at age
17 when he became the first U.S. skater to earn spots on both the short
track and long track Junior World Teams and accomplished that feat three
years in a row in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Davis has traveled all over the
world competing in Canada, Hungary, Italy, Finland, Poland, Germany,
Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Korea, and China.
American Shani Davis, left, is congratulate by the Netherlands' Erben
Wennemars after winning the gold medal in the men's 1,000
speedskating final. (Photo courtesy
Brian Bahr / Getty Images)
On February 5, 2006,
Gary Johnson interviewed longtime supporter and family friend April
Hill, who was on her way to Torino, Italy, to support Davis. Hill, who
has known Shani for years explained, “There are some great competitors
out there but Shani is a gifted athlete who has the right frame of mind
and determination to bring back the gold.”
Shani has a
tight-knit group of supporters. A few years ago I had dinner with
Bob Fenn, Shani's coach. Fenn firmly believes that Shani is
capable of winning a gold medal.
Shani raised by his
mother Cherie on the south side of Chicago, IL. He started
roller-skating at local rinks at age two. At age three, Shani used to
dart around the roller rink so fast that many times the skate guards
would chase him just to ask him to slow down. Seeming to become bored
with roller-skating, by age six, it was suggested by a coach that Shani
switch to ice. Shortly thereafter, his mother started working for an
attorney, Fred Benjamin, whose son, Jeff, just happened to be involved
in speed skating at an elite level. It was at that time that Benjamin
suggested that Shani give speedskating a try.
Shani joined the
Evanston Speedskating Club at age six and within two months started
competing locally. By the time he was 8 years old, Shani was winning
regional competitions in his age group.
As remarkable as
Shani has been, so has his mother Cherie. Think about it? Cherie Davis has done a remarkable job with this young
man. She learned the rules of speedskating early on helped
navigate her son's career. In an effort to build his endurance Cherie
would wake Shani to run a mile on a track close to their home. There
were no speed skating clubs in the inner city of Chicago. Cherie and
Shani later moved to the far north side of the city to be closer to the
rink. Cherie Davis always taught Shani to be a leader, and not a
follower. Now her “free spirit” son is making history.
"My mom never
thought of herself first, and I credit most of my success to her. She
continues to manage my career and is always there for me," says Shani.
So
what do you think? If you would like to comment or respond to
any of our content
on this page or web site
click here and sign our
Guestbook
to leave a public or private statement, comment or
reaction.
Who is
Reginald Ware and what is
Blackdoctor.org? Reginald Ware is
another example of what this web site is all about. He’s an ordinary
man, doing extraordinary things. Ware is the visionary and driving
force behind
www.blackdoctor.org.
Blackdoctor.orgis the definitive health portal for
African Americans. It is the only resource where Blacks can go to get
current, accurate information on how to manage their health and their
lives.
Blackdoctor.org
is committed to providing better access to
quality healthcare for African Americans by delivering targeted,
searchable information and dynamic interactive health content for
African Americans as well as a unique referral service to find qualified
Black doctors.
When it
comes to healthcare, our research has shown that the ability to access
quality healthcare and information in America is different, and in many
cases inferior and with fewer options than that for white Americans.
That’s one of the reasons that we started offering our
Upbeat…Downbeatand
Healthy Living columns.
The latest
research speaks to “Evidence Based Medicine” and how Blacks are
different due to such factors as genetics, culture and lifestyle. Ware
saw the need for a dedicated web site that deals specifically with Black
healthy lifestyle issues. And
BlackDoctor.org is that site. Simply
stated,
BlackDoctor.org is designed to educate,
inform and motivate all Americans to take better care of themselves and
their families.
Now, back
to Mr. Ware. Ware founded Heart & Soul Magazine, which was the first
healthy lifestyle magazine for African American women. In its prime,
Heart & Soul touched the lives of over one million African American
women and served as a unique lifestyle guide who’s central theme was
“You can do it.” Although another company publishes the magazine, it
shares Ware’s commitment of improving the quality of life for African
Americans.
Ware’s
list of achievements include developing a leading gaming portal on the
Internet called “winhourly.com” and working with major media companies,
however,
BlackDoctor.org is clearly his
passion.
BlackDoctor.org provides African
Americans the ability to find answers to all of their healthcare
questions and concerns. While
BlackDoctor.org is not the total
solution to eradicating the healthcare gap, it clearly is a step in the
right direction.
We sat
down with Reggie Ware in his office in Chicago to learn more about him
and
BlackDoctor.org.
The
Reginald Ware Interview
Click On Photo
To Enlarge
BMIA.com:
You have a diverse background. Where did you grow up? Go to school?
R. Ware:
I grew up in Cincinnati, OH and attended the University of Arizona on a
football scholarship. I graduated with a BS degree in Marketing from
the U of A.
BMIA.com:
What lead you to develop Heart & Soul Magazine and develop a
leading game portal on the Internet?
R. Ware:
Heart & Soul grew out of a health care public relations firm that I
owned at the time. We had developed a database of great health articles
and Heart & Soul was created to be an ongoing outlet for targeted health
information. The gaming portal was a fun business that allowed me to
learn the ins and outs of Internet marketing. It seems now that
everything has led me to do
BlackDoctor.org.
BMIA.com:
How long has BlackDoctor.org
been online?
BlackDoctor.org
was officially launched on Nov 15. 2005.
R. Ware:
Research shows that the general population guidelines for annual exams
and check ups don’t necessarily apply to African Americans. We tend to
develop diseases at a much younger age than the general population.
Consequently, we need a different game plan and
BlackDoctor.org
leads that charge. Our goal is to be the first point of call whenever
an African American needs anything related to health, fitness, and
nutrition and weight loss. We also provide a free referral service to
help locate qualified Black doctors. We presently have the largest
database of black doctors online so people who prefer Black doctors can
come to
BlackDoctor.org
for a free referral.
BMIA.com:
We know that there is a “gap” between blacks and Latinos getting
healthcare and information compared to whites and other cultures? How
big is that gap? Can you share some data and help put this in
perspective for us?
R. Ware:
The disparities in healthcare are well documented for most of your major
diseases. Let’s look at Asthma. In 2002, the current asthma prevalence
rate among Blacks was 38 percent higher than that for Whites. African
Americans accounted for 26 percent of the 4,200 deaths attributed to
asthma in 2001. Lastly, African Americans were three times more likely
to die from asthma than Whites.
BlackDoctor.org
shares African American health statistics for most diseases on our web
site. That is one of the reasons we feel our site is invaluable.
BMIA.com:
Wow. That was helpful. Why is there such a gap?
R. Ware:
The gap, in my opinion is caused by genetics, environment and culture.
BMIA.com:
What do you mean by environment?
R. Ware:
Environment includes access to health care.
BMIA.com:
How can black people close the gap?
R. Ware:
We first need to have access to healthy lifestyle information on a
continual basis. Secondly, because we tend to develop diseases at
earlier ages, diet and exercise is very important for preventative
measures. Thirdly, we need to see our doctors more often for exams,
etc. Blacks have higher infant mortality rates simply because Black
women may not see a doctor in her first trimester. We hope our FREE
doctor referral service on
BlackDoctor.org
will help solve this problem.
BMIA.com:
What are some of the most critical health or medical needs that need to
be addressed in the black community?
Heart Disease:
The leading cause of death for all racial and ethnic groups. African
Americans are 30 percent more likely to die of heart disease than
Whites.
Cancer:
African Americans are 30 percent more likely to die of cancer than
Whites.
Stroke:
African Americans were 40 percent more likely to die of stroke than
Whites.
Diabetes:
The African American death rate due to diabetes was more than twice
that for Whites
Infant Mortality:
Infant mortality rates are more than twice as high for African
Americans than for Whites.
HIV/AIDS:
In 2000, 47 percent of all cases reported in the U.S. were among
African Americans, and the rate of new AIDS cases among African
Americans was almost 10 times higher than among non- Hispanic
Whites.
BMIA.com:
Has
BlackDoctor.org
helped to address some of those needs? If so, how?
R. Ware:
Our mission is to inform, educate and motivate. The most significant
thing we have done is to create this dynamic health portal where African
Americans can conveniently get timely, accurate health information.
That is why we are so pleased that
Black Men In America.com
is writing about us to help get the word out. Awareness is key.
BMIA.com:
Why should black folks log on to
BlackDoctor.org
instead of
WebMD or another
medical site?
R. Ware:
WebMD
is a phenomenal web site. They do an excellent
job of delivering general population health information. However, you
can’t find targeted content for African Americans on their site.
BMIA.com:
How do you define success?
R. Ware:
First phase of success is when everyone knows we exist and understand
that we have their best interest at heart. The second phase is when our
users start taking our advice and using it to improve their lives.
BMIA.com:
Who are some of the people that inspired you to achieve?
R. Ware:
My parents were the most influential. They were both in education and
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
