Blue-Eyed Bankers to Blame for the Crisis?

White, blue-eyed bankers are entirely to blame for the world financial crisis that has ended up hitting black and indigenous people disproportionately, the president of Brazil declared .

In an outspoken intervention as Gordon Brown stood alongside him, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva pledged to make next week’s G20 summit "spicy" as he accused the rich of forcing the poor into greater hardship.

"This crisis was caused by no black man or woman or by no indigenous person or by no poor person," Lula said after talks with the prime minister in Brasilia to discuss next week’s G20 summit in London.

"This crisis was fostered and boosted by irrational behaviour of some people that are white, blue-eyed. Before the crisis they looked like they knew everything about economics, and they have demonstrated they know nothing about economics."

Challenged about his claims, Lula responded: "I only record what I see in the press. I am not acquainted with a single black banker."

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: NCAA Hypocrisy Shows It’s Ugly Head….Again

www.BoyceWatkins.com

Sources says that John Calipari from U. Memphis is close to inking a 6-year, $40 Million dollar contract to sign with the University of Kentucky.  Not only does this contract steam me because Kentucky is my alma mater, but it is indescribably unethical for a professional sports league like the NCAA to spend this kind of money and then simultaneously claim that it cannot afford to share revenues with the families of basketball and football players.

I love when these deals are signed, since it reminds the public of just how hypocritical the NCAA happens to be.

There story is here.

Technorati Tags: ncaa,john calipari,paying college athletes,pay for play,black news,african american news,racism

Bill O’Reilly Loses a Major Corporate Sponsor

After the national protests by YourBlackWorld.com, ThinkProgress.org and ColorofChange.org, UPS is finally getting the point.  Recently, the company sent out an email stating that they are no longer going to advertise on The O’Reilly Factor. 

Bill O’Reilly harassed Dr. Boyce Watkins last year in an effort to have him fired from Syracuse University for speaking against his racism during the Obama Campaign.  Watkins had also called for a boycott of Bill O’Reilly’s corporate sponsors.  Keith Olbermann later supported Watkins, stating that O’Reilly’s attacks were unwarranted and that everything that Watkins said was true.

Read the email below:

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O’Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show.

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The NCAA Responds to Pay for Play Criticism

To join the Your Black World Coalition, please click here

The NCAA Explains its Behavior 

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

In its effort to impact public perception and in response to those across the nation who’ve critiqued the NCAA’s revenue generation at the expense of college athletes and their families, the league has put something on its website entitled: Behind the Blue Disk: Why Don’t You Pay Student-Athletes?

I have provided the statement made by the NCAA, with a “between the lines” short response, explaining why athletes in revenue generating sports deserve to have the same rights the rest of us enjoy as Americans. The arguments used by the NCAA to justify its behavior are eerily similar to those used during slavery, in which the high profitability of the cotton trade led those in power to presume that it was also O.K. to strip other human beings of their labor rights.   Many years ago, some said that slaves were better off under the control of their masters, and that they were actually protecting African Americans by earning excessive profit from their hard work.  Like slavery’s Underground Railroad (which was illegal at the time), coaches and others are sometimes caught giving payments to players beneath the table so these athletes can help their families.  The arguments made by the NCAA can get a bit silly at times, since they are stuck with the difficult task of defending that which cannot be defended.  Even Walter Byers, former Executive Director of the NCAA said “the federal government should require deregulation of a monopoly business operated by not-for-profit institutions contracting together to achieve maximum financial returns.”  Translation:  the NCAA is earning a great deal of money by rigging the economic game in their favor and Congress has been allowing them to do it.  Byers, and many others are saying that the families of athletes deserve to make a living from sports, just like the coaches.

The NCAA’s statement (and my response) is below.  Enjoy!

Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

This is America! Student-athletes should get paid!
Critics often cite capitalism as a reason for paying student-athletes. But not everything that looks like capitalism is capitalism.
Higher education and intercollegiate athletics generate significant revenues, but the revenues don’t go to making a profit for owners or shareholders – or campuses or college sports, for that matter. The revenues go to providing increased opportunities for all student-athletes.

Rebuttal: As I mentioned earlier, slaveholders justified taking away labor rights of slaves because they argued that they were using the revenues of slavery to feed the slaves and clothe them.  They neglected to mention that they were making many individuals wealthy in the process.  Today, the NCAA is a non-profit organization, granted.  But coaches, commentators, corporations and administrators earn millions from this non-profit organization every year.  Finally, the NCAA earns more revenue during March Madness than all the other professional sports leagues, including the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.  I am a Finance Professor, and I know capitalism when I see it.

Nonetheless, student-athletes are doing the work. They should get paid!
This argument falls apart right from the start because student-athletes are students first who have the opportunity to compete athletically. They are not university employees. As student-athletes, they are among the fortunate few that are able to continue their development in both the competitive arena and the classroom.
Rebuttal: I have seen this system up close for the past 15 years as a professor at 4 universities with major athletics programs.  Student athletes are NOT students first, especially those in basketball and football.  Their scholarships are taken away if they do not perform on the field, they are put in dorms away from the other students, they are expected to miss class to play in games, and their time is so taxed that they barely have a chance to do anything else.  The NCAA hardly runs a “weekend warrior” operation, since athletes bring in more money than nearly any other employee campus.

I’m not buying it. Big-time athletic programs are awash in money.
Wrong! More than 90 percent of NCAA schools consistently lose money on their athletics programs. Most are forced to rely on alternative funding to even field teams. Paying players would only make the problem worse.

Rebuttal: Any school that is not making money from college sports should not be paying its head coach more than $100,000 per year.  Instead, many schools sign deals for as much as $6.5 million per year for football and basketball coaches.  It is a bit nonsensical to attempt to argue that you are wallowing in poverty when your organization is creating millionaire television commentators, coaches, and athletic directors every year.  Additionally, schools don’t have to pay athletes at all.  They should only allow athletes to have the same labor rights as coaches and other Americans.  The athlete can then earn money from his/her own image from sources off campus.  You see?  With just a little bit of intelligence, we can assuage the NCAA’s concerns, as they argue that they are nothing more than harmless paupers barely squeezing by.

Why not eliminate the non-revenue sports and pay the football and men’s basketball players?

Nice try but there is no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow either. In Division I, only 30 percent of football and 26 percent of men’s basketball programs make money. For the pure capitalist, that means more than two out of three football teams and three out of four basketball teams would be in jeopardy because they are losing money. But let’s get beyond the economics. The NCAA is about increasing participation opportunities for all student-athletes, not diminishing them. The benefits of participating in college sports are too valuable to limit to a chosen few in two sports.

Rebuttal: Even a company that is not making a profit should have to fairly compensate its employees.  Additionally, many of the universities who claim to be broke are signing multimillion dollar deals with their coaches (the University of Kentucky just gave its basketball coach $6 million dollars to quit).  If you were to simply redistribute the revenue that the coach earns, your problem would be solved.  Finally, participation for all athletes in non-revenue sports is certainly important, and it is ridiculous to believe that other sports would not exist without the blatant violation of student athlete labor rights.  High schools operate sports programs on far less than the billions earned by the NCAA.    

OK. But aren’t student-athletes being exploited?
Absolutely not. Our ground-breaking studies show most current and former student-athletes appreciate the educational and athletics opportunities that college presents. In general, student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. They do so while simultaneously playing the sport they love and preparing for their future as a pro in something other than sports. And let us not forget the average full-ride scholarship at a public school is worth more than $100,000, no small sum by any means. In total, Division I and II institutions cumulatively award $1.5 billion in athletics scholarships each year. Division III does not award athletics aid.

Rebuttal: I am not sure what the NCAA is referring to with their “groundbreaking study” (I hope it’s not as bad as the CBS infomercial they featured me on last year, which included several millionaire coaches and commentators – Coach K at Duke, Clark Kellogg, Billy Packer – explaining why athletes’ families should be left out of the revenue-generating pool).   I also recommend that they do a survey of athletes in revenue-generating sports to determine if they agree with the NCAA’s optimistic assessments of the student athlete experience.  The NCAA seems to work very hard to shape the playing field in their favor, as any unbiased survey would show that athletes in revenue generating sports (and their families) would much rather have their labor rights restored.  In fact, the NCAA almost never engages in public debates to defend their current system (when I spoke on this issue on CNN, the NCAA refused to put someone on the show to debate me.  I speculate that they are nervous about dealing with a Finance Professor and Educator who knows the system and has the ear of African American males).
Does Title IX play a role in this issue?
We’re pretty sure it would. This historic 1972 federal civil rights law has been interpreted to say female student-athletes are to be treated the same as male student-athletes. Although it has never been tested in court, we suspect this same interpretation would apply if colleges started paying either. The penalty for not complying is the loss of federal educational funds, something no college can survive without these days.

Rebuttal: The NCAA does not have to pay anyone.  The argument is that they and Congress should stop restricting the labor rights of college athletes.  They can do the same for female athletes as well.  Hiding behind Title IX simply doesn’t work, since there would be no violation necessary.

Documented benefits of being a student-athlete:

• They enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics, and community

Rebuttal: I’ve dealt with student athletes for the past 15 years.  Many of them are tired from practicing constantly, USA Today found that they are steered toward particular academic majors, and they are constantly in fear of disobeying their coaches, even if it is to attend class.  Many athletes do not have the sheer joy that the NCAA attempts to present to the American public.  This reminds me of pictures of happy slaves my history teacher used to show in class.

• They have very positive feelings about their overall athletics/academic experience

Rebuttal: Again, I recommend having an independent body do a survey of former student athletes in revenue-generating sports to determine if their experience was as enjoyable as the NCAA proclaims it to be.  Just ask the family of Curtis Williams, a football player at The University of Washington, who was paralyzed in a game and died a few months later.  The NCAA initially refused to pay for his home care and then later refused to pay his death benefit, even though he was paralyzed on the football field. I would not consider this to be a positive athletic experience.

• They attribute learning invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete
• They are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student-athletes

Rebuttal: I do not disagree with either of these assessments, since I enjoyed being an athlete when I was young.  However, the idea that someone benefits from something doesn’t imply that you have the right to steal their labor rights.  Those forced into slavery gained tremendous physical strength from picking cotton all day, but that doesn’t justify the master’s criminal behavior.  The bottom line is this:  The NCAA has colluded with Congress to strip fundamental rights from a select group of individuals through a nexus of rules and cartels with serious threat of punishment to those in violation of cartel policies.  This sort of behavior would be illegal in nearly any other industry in America, but it is acceptable to the rest of us because most of the players are Black.

So, as the NCAA argues that such abhorrent behavior is actually helping college athletes, we must remember that a thief who vacuums your carpet is still the guy who broke into your house.  There is no getting around accountability.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?”  For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

Technorati Tags: ncaa,paying college athletes,pay for play,black athletes,african american athletes,black scholars,african american scholars

News: Black History Loses a Major Soldier

John Hope Franklin, one of the most prolific and well-respected chroniclers of America’s torturous racial odyssey, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday in a Durham, N.C., hospital. He was 94.

It was more than Franklin’s voluminous writings that cemented his reputation among academics, politicians and civil rights figures as an inestimable historian. It was the reality that Franklin, a black man, had seen racial horrors up close and thus was able to give his academic work a stinging ballast. Franklin was a young boy when his family lost everything in the Tulsa race riot of 1921. The violence was precipitated by reports that a black youth assaulted a white teenage girl in a downtown elevator. In the end more than 40 people died, mostly blacks, although some reports put the death total much higher.

Franklin was among the first black scholars to earn prominent posts at America’s top — and predominantly white — universities. His research and his personal success helped pave the way both for other blacks and for the field of black studies, which began to blossom on American campuses in the 1960s.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: john hope franklin,black news,african american news,black history,african american history

Syracuse Professor Says NCAA Needs Reform – Baltimore Sun Times

The voice on the other end of the phone is passionate, and he’s becoming more passionate by the second. His words grow louder and they fly out faster.

“I grew up in the streets,” he says. “I’ve seen pimps in action. I look at the NCAA and I say, ’Wow, these guys would make excellent street pimps.’ What they say — and I mean this in all seriousness – is what a street pimp would say to a prostitute.”

This isn’t some radio shock jock speaking. Dr. Boyce Watkins is an assistant professor of finance at Syracuse University. He’s in town tonight, delivering a lecture at Loyola College titled, “The Business of College Sports: Is the NCAA Playing Fairly?”

I ask him to explain tonight’s message a bit.

“The model under which the NCAA currently operates was designed without excessive commercialization in mind,” Watkins explains. “Since that time, you see where this amateur sports organization has become effectively a professional sports league that refuses to pay its employees.”

Ahhh, one of those you’re thinking. Kick sports off campus! Tear down the arenas! Set flames to the football field!

But Watkins insists he isn’t against college sports. In fact, he loves them. So I feel a bit better. See, March always brings about conflicted emotions. I love filling out the brackets and love following the tournaments — even though there’s an undercurrent of hypocrisy, unfairness and disparity that fuels the whole show.

I admit: For me, there’s a sense of guilt.

The NCAA is in the middle of an 11-year, $6 billion contract with CBS to broadcast tournament games. Coaches on the sidelines make seven figures a year, even though no one’s tuning in because they want to see what color tie John Calipari’s wearing. And shoe companies are pouring money into universities across the country by the truckload — but the kids who have to wear the shoes don’t see a dime of it.

Click to read.

Notre Dame Doesn’t Want Barack Obama to speak on their Campus?

Jimmy Carter came to Notre Dame in 1977. So did Ronald Reagan in 1981 and George W. Bush in 2001.

The University of Notre Dame has a tradition of inviting new presidents to speak at graduation. But this year’s selection of President Barack Obama has been met by a barrage of criticism that has left some students fearing their commencement ceremony will turn into a circus.

Many Catholics are angered by Obama’s planned appearance at the May 17 ceremony because of his decisions to provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and international family planning groups that provide abortions or educate about the procedure.

The consensus Thursday on the campus of the nation’s most-prominent Catholic university was that any president should be welcomed at Notre Dame.

"People are definitely entitled to their outrage, but I think the main thing is to see that it’s an honor to have the president of the United Statescome to speak here whether you agree with him or not," said Katie Woodward, a political science junior from Philadelphia.

Justin Mack, a senior film major from Dallas, agreed.

 

Click to read.

Technorati Tags: notre dame,black president,barack obama,black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics

Some States May Apologize for Slavery

Tennessee could join the list of Southern states that have apologized for slavery and racial discrimination under a resolution introduced by a Nashville lawmaker.

The General Assembly has started debate on a resolution that would express "profound regret" for enslaving African-Americans and setting up the Jim Crow segregation system. The resolution is meant to draw attention to the legacy of racism in Tennessee.

"This is a step toward racial healing," said the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Brenda Gilmore, a Nashville Democrat.

The measure passed its first vote Wednesday in a state Housesubcommittee. One representative, Chattanooga Republican Gerald McCormick, opposed the measure, saying that it would cause division within the state.

"There’s no one left alive today who either had slaves or was a slave," McCormick said. "I just feel like we’re opening up a wound, and I’d rather move forward rather than look backward."

Five former slave states — Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Florida — have passed legislation in recent years apologizing for slavery. New Jersey has also passed legislation apologizing for its role in the slave trade.

Tennessee lawmakers have tackled the issue as well. Last year, Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen sponsored a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives apologizing for slavery, and earlier in this decade, former Democratic state Rep. Henri Brooks of Memphis tried to get the Tennessee legislature to apologize.

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Technorati Tags: slavery,black news,african american news,black politics,african american politics

Genma Holmes: Roland Martin’s Interview with Ben Jealous

Roland Martin, political correspondent for CNN and The Tom Joyner Morning Show, interviewed NAACP’s CEO Ben Jealous about the law suit against Wells Fargo and several other banks for institutionalized racism. Mr. Jealous addressed the records that banks must make public about their lending ratios. Jealous stated that many of the blacks applicants were put in subprime loans that actually qualified for conventional loans. Jealous also stated that African American were target specifically for this type of discriminatory practices.

I read the lawsuit several times prior to my posting several weeks ago but I thought it would be interesting to pull out several key points of the lawsuit to further expand on my original post.
The suit states:

5. Wells Faro Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc target the African American community by capitalizing on their relative lack of experience in dealing with banking institutions and mortgage loans. Upon information and belief, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. are aware of the African American Community’s susceptibility to predatory lending practices, but nonetheless engage in policies and procedures that they know will result in African Americans being steered toward less favorable loans.
6. Indeed, in 2006, the Center for Responsible Lending, a non-profit research organization, found that even when income and credit risk were accounted for, African American were still 31% to 34% more likely to receive higher rate subprime loans, and that the disparities between them and Caucasians with the same risk factors were "large and statistically significant."

These particular points intrigued me more so than others in light of recent charge to hold folks Accountable by Tavis Smiley. Again this is not a personal attack of Tavis, only a charge to him to do his research and get back to the community that he often admonishes to educate ourselves on the issues, to know all the facts, and to dig deeper in our pursuit of being empowered.
Section 11. states The NAACP brings this class action lawsuit seeking declaratory and injuctive relief based upon the Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Civil Rights Act.

Click to read.

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President Obama’s Television News Conference on the Economy

Click the image to watch President Obama’s recent economic address!

 

 

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Black Scholar Boyce Watkins Challenges NCAA to Reform Itself

Here is the schedule for coming media appearances related to the call for NCAA reform by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Finance Professor at Syracuse University.

Boyce Watkins to discuss NCAA and Black athletes on WBCP Radio, Champagne, IL – 3/27/09

Boyce Watkins to appear on Gtown Radio – 3/26/09

Dr. Boyce on NPR to discuss NCAA – 3/26/09

Dr. Watkins to appear on XM Satellite Radio – 3/27/09

Dr Boyce in the Baltimore Sun-Times – 3/25/09

Dr. Boyce discusses the NCAA at Loyola College in Maryland – 3/24/09

Technorati Tags: black athletes,black news,black scholars,african american news,african american scholars

The NCAA vs. Black America: Why The Black Folks are Losing

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor of Finance at Syracuse University. He frequently appears on CNN, ESPN, and other news networks to discuss his innovative ideas for reforming college athletics. Bleacher Report was thrilled to have an opportunity to interview Dr. Watkins about his belief that college athletes should get paid.

1) People often say that the opportunity to receive a free education
is enough compensation for college athletes. What’s wrong with that argument?

A free education is valuable, no one knows that better than a college professor.  The problem is that we can’t assume that $30,000 per year is fair compensation for any job.  If Tom Cruise stars in a blockbuster film, he is going to kick your butt if you try to pay him $30,000, even if you throw room and board in with it.  In America, you get paid what you’re worth.

I see many athletes who are literally responsible for bringing $20M per year into their campuses, yet their mothers are starving to death or homeless.  This should be a shame for us all, since I’ve never seen a D-I college coach’s mother go hungry.

2) If colleges could pay athletes, the wealthier schools would appear to have an advantage. Do you think there would need to be a salary cap or other measures put in place to ensure some parity in college sports?

I am not opposed to the idea of a salary cap, although I haven’t seen a salary cap for coaches.  My goal is not to support preferential treatment for athletes, I only endorse fairness.  I don’t see why coaches and athletes can’t have the same rules.  They are all under the same pressure to win, they are both treated as professionals and expected to produce as professionals.  This pressure doesn’t come from the fact that their campuses love sports so much, it’s because CAMPUSES WANT THE MONEY.   They are pushing these guys much harder on the court and the field than they do in the classroom, because good grades don’t pay university bills; only big wins bring in big paychecks.

But in terms of a salary cap, I would not be opposed to that.  The NCAA is lucky, since they are the only multi-billion sports league that can get away with paying their players 1/100 of what they are worth.  Players would be ecstatic to play for $150,000 per year, which is far less than the millions many of them would earn in a fair market system.  The money wouldn’t have to come from university budgets, they could start by sharing the money coaches get from shoe deals.  After all, the players are the ones we pay to see and they are the ones wearing the shoes.  But as a general rule, the Finance and free market capitalist in me doesn’t like the idea of any kind of government regulation restricting wages.  I am sure coaches wouldn’t like a cap on their wages either.

3) Do you think that recruits should be offered contracts by schools
based on the performance they showed in high school? How would one individual’s contract differ from another?

I don’t think that we know all the answers to these questions, but one thing is true: The market knows ALL ANSWERS to ALL QUESTIONS.  In other words, if a player is the next Lebron James, then the schools know what he can do in terms of revenue generation.  I say let them bid it out and the highest bidder wins.  Seriously, who is to say that Rick Pitino is worth $3 million per year?  Nobody says it, there is a negotiation and the price that he gets is what he is worth.  The beauty about the free market is that when the market is fair, open, and efficient, no one gets more than what they are truly worth, since no one pays more than the value of the commodity.

What I love about the NCAA (who expends a tremendous amount of money on their propaganda machine) is that they do a good job of making it seem that paying the athletes would be excessively complicated and nearly impossible.  The problem is that they find a way to get around the complications when it’s time to bring in a coach for $4M dollars per year.  The market works out all complications, because you either get the deal done, or the game doesn’t happen.  They have a lot of PhDs working for them, and we are smart enough to help them work out the complications of their contracts.

The reality is that anyone who exploits someone else, whether it’s the NCAA or a pimp on the street, is always going to find a good excuse for keeping their money in their pocket.  I say this as a financial expert.  I am sure that when Billy Packer or Dick Vitale show up for their multi-million dollar paychecks, they wouldn’t want to hear any reasons that their money isn’t available.  For some reason, they expect athletes and their families to accept these excuses.

4) What should be done regarding sports that bring in very little revenue such as golf, tennis, and track? Would the contracts for these athletes be substantially less?

Yes, they would be.  That’s the way things work in the real world.  I am a professor, and some could argue that educating our youth is far more important than being a Hollywood actor.  However, I will always make less money than (and not be attractive enough to date) Angelina Jolie.  I accept that.

I find it most ironic that when individuals expect payment equity among young athletes, as well as gender equity, they almost never mention the necessity of such equity among the coaches.

Again, going back to a fair market, if an athlete brings revenue to the university, he/she should have the same rights of negotiation that coaches, administrators, corporate sponsors, and everyone else getting paid from his/her labor.  If you simply release the rules and let the market work, you will get the result you are looking for.

5) How would you like to reform the horrendous academic environment in college athletics?

I agree, the environment is horrific.  I’ve seen athletes admitted to college with no expectation that they are ever going to consider graduating.  Money is a drug, and a drug addiction can make any of us lower our standards.  Universities are no different, as many of them abandon their academic missions in exchange for the opportunity to earn a few million dollars off the next superstar from the ghetto.

We must remember that incentives roll downhill. A coach with high graduation rates and a low winning percentage would be fired, while a coach with low graduation rates and a high winning percentage is given a raise and promotion.  This shows blatant disregard for the value of academic success.  I see universities giving coaches blank checks for controlling every aspect of their players’ lives in order to get them ready to play, but they throw their hands up and negate their responsibility to see to it that these young men and women are getting educated.  The excuses are interesting: “We can’t make them study if they don’t want to!”  At the same time, the same coach who claims that he can’t make the athletes study miraculously finds a way to get 80 grown men awake at 6 am for intense weight lifting sessions.  They are able to motivate the athletes to do what coaches deem to be most important.

I don’t completely blame the coaches for these contradictions, I blame the campus.  Coaches understand that they are not going to be rewarded for academic achievement.  Winning, however, is key to their job security.  Campuses should take the lead in putting oversight in place that insures that academic progress is the most important part of any athletics program.  That means that if a player has practice the night before an exam, he/she misses practice.  If they have an exam during a game, they miss the game (even if it is a million dollar game on ESPN).  THAT, my friend, is the life of a student athlete. Right now, college athletes live the lives of professionals.

6) If you were named President of the NCAA, what other changes might you make other than compensating athletes?

I am hesitant to be an armchair quarterback on the NCAA, primarily because I believe that many of the administrators in the NCAA know that what they are doing is wrong.  In fact, Walter Byers, the former executive director of the NCAA has reversed his position and stated that athletes should be paid.  Honestly, anyone with common sense realizes that if you earn millions for someone else, you deserve more than a college scholarship.  I believe that Myles Brand, in spite of the propaganda exercise performed by he and CBS Sports last year (in an attempt to refute my analysis), knows that he would never allow himself or his coaches to operate under the same constraints, penalties and exploitation placed on athletes and their families (especially if his mother were getting evicted, as many of these players come from poverty).  In fact, I found it quite ironic that nearly every participant in the CBS sports special was earning at least a few hundred thousand dollars per year while simultaneously explaining to athletes and their families why they shouldn’t get any of that money.

Beyond paying the athletes, I would make a decision: either the NCAA is going to be a professional organization or an amateur one.  It’s not going to be a hybrid.  A truly amateur organization doesn’t have coaches earning as much as $4M dollars per year.  Coaches earn no more than, say, $80,000 per year.

• An amateur organization doesn’t fire losing coaches with high graduation rates and reward winning coaches with low graduation rates—any coach hired by the NCAA is expected to not only teach at the university, he/she is expected to ensure that academic achievement is first and foremost in the life of each athlete.

• The rules should disappear: why can’t players transfer to other schools without being penalized?  Coaches leave in the middle of the season all the time.  Why is it illegal for athletes to receive compensation from outside entities?  Coaches take money from whomever they please.   Athletes are given the same responsibilities as adults, told to behave as adults, yet we put rules in place that treat them like children.  Again, anyone who exploits another human being, whether it’s the NCAA or a corrupt warlord in a third world country, is going to place constraints on you and then guise his/her motivations by claiming that the rules are in place for your protection.  That is the consistent theme of the NCAA’s justification for controlling their student athletes.  But their desire to protect the athlete goes out the window when an athlete gets into trouble, loses his/her eligibility or loses his/her scholarship for not being able to perform on the field.

• The NCAA needs to redefine its mission and be honest with the world.  Right now, it is an elephant with bunny ears, swearing that it’s nothing but a harmless little rabbit.  The truth is that the NCAA is exactly what it appears to be: a professional sports league.  So, rather than allowing me to become the head of the NCAA, I would rather be the head of the House Ways and Means Committee, which initiated an investigation into the NCAA and began to question its non-profit status.  A bureaucratic beast that has grown so deformed with contradictions needs to be deconstructed and rebuilt in a model of fairness.  As it stands, the NCAA exists in stark contrast to the values most of us embrace as Americans.  I’ve seen it up close over the past 15 years and it bothers the heck out of me.

Check out Dr. Watkins’ website http://www.yourblackworld.com/. Your Black News. Your Black Life. Your Black World.

Technorati Tags: black athletes,black familes,african americans,black scholars

Report: More Out of Wedlock Births Than Ever

Forget the baby boom. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any year in the nation’s history — and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. The 4,317,119 births, reported by federal researchers Wednesday, topped a record first set in 1957 at the height of the baby boom.

Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40%, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

For a variety of reasons, it’s become more acceptable for women to have babies without a husband, said Duke University’s S. Philip Morgan, a leading fertility researcher.

 

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Black Commentary: Domestic Violence: Who is at Fault?

By Hugh V. Collins

Based on the article posted earlier, "Boston Teens state Rihanna is at Fault for Assault", I was compelled to add my perspective.

I am a Boston resident and while I’m not surprised at how some "teens" may think, it is surprising and alarming that they think Rihanna is responsible for her demise. I see teenagers running the streets of the city daily and I tell you, sometimes I just have to shake my head. Why do I feel like you see the same behaviors and think the same thing?

One may say a person’s behavior is a direct indication and response to what medicine they receive at home. I use the term medicine because it is something someone usually takes to heal a symptom and some of these kids haven’t been getting the right medicine. Domestic violence is common. Whoever tells you domestic violence it is not common is living under a rock. The thought process of the teenagers surveyed, while not unstable, may have answered in honesty based on their exposure to what happens in their home, and how they perceive the behavior of the participants of the parties involved – the abuser and the abused.

 

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Lawrence Watkins: How to Set Goals and Achieve Them

by Lawrence Watkins Kevlar is a material that is five times stronger, but is lighter and more flexible than steel on an equal weight basis. It is used in many products ranging from bulletproof vests and cables to sports and audio equipment. It has been around for over 40 years and more uses are being discovered for this “wonder” material every day. When I think about goal setting, Kevlar provides a great analogy on how individuals should structure their inherent wants and desires for maximum clarity and performance. When creating the mastermind plan for your life, you should have strong goals that challenge you, yet have enough flexibility to change your path if a great new opportunity comes your way. As Lewis Carroll eloquently said in Alice in Wonderland: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” said Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where…” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. It is easy for a person to become diverted from fulfilling his/her passions and true calling. It becomes even easier if you do not have an end goal in mind, similar to the way Alice was feeling in Wonderland. I do not want you to be in Wonderland and you should not want to be! The most important thing is not for your goals and vision to be perfect. The most important thing is to aim for at least the general vicinity on where you want to be. In the classic self-help book Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maxwell Maltz talks about humans’ innate self-correcting mechanism. As humans, we have a trait that automatically guides us to self-improvement. Think about the basketball player who endlessly improves his/her jump shot or the foreigner who learns a second language well into adulthood. Each person has an end goal and they learn from their deliberate practices by correcting their mistakes when they veer from their original course. We can harness this self-correcting power to accelerate the goal achievement process. However, it all starts with knowing a general direction on where you want to go. You can relate this concept to riding a bike. Have you ever ridden a bike standing still? I haven’t. The bike only stays balanced as you are pedaling and pushing forward. Now that we have talked about why creating a vision is important let’s get into the fundamentals of the life vision development process. Developing your Kevlar Vision There is a lot of debate on whether your overarching vision should be all encompassing or narrow in scope. Proponents of having a narrow vision say that this is to keep you focused on the end goal and enable you to not become distracted by items that do not line up with your plan. A simple example of this goal forming process would be to become a CEO of a Fortune 100 company whose work focuses on telecommunications. This vision is very focused and allows the goal-setter a specific task in which to focus. Another strategy is to have your vision statement flexible and all encompassing. An example of this is Google. Their mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” No part of this mission has to do with creating a great search engine or text advertisements. This structure gives Google the freedom to change with the times and not have a myopic view of what it originally set out to accomplish. I am a strong proponent of the Google strategy over the first example which gives a very focused vision. As I previously mentioned in a prior article, my mission is “to become a tycoon politically, socially, and economically so that I can have a positive impact on my community.” I originally developed this statement my junior year of college and I strategically tweak it every year. I use this statement as a guide to make both large and small decisions in my life. When I decided to forgo corporate America to start my own business, I used my mission statement as guidance. When it came time to decide on a business school, I continued to use this statement as a guide. Use Backward Planning To Set Your Vision Imagine that you are about to attend one of the most important events in your life. It will be held in a room big enough to hold your friends, family, and others who are important to you. The room is conservatively decorated and at the front is a large table with candles all around. In the middle of the table is a large box. What is in this box? YOU! It was a celebration of your life and there was not a dry eye in the place. Coming from the back of the room is an old friend with a tape recorder playing your voice. You are explaining to the people close to you about your life. How would this story go? What did you want out of life? What did you value most? Who did you wish to be? Answering these questions is the first step of developing your Kevlar vision. Backward planning is a process of starting with your end goal(s) and working backwards to create an action plan to achieve the aforementioned goal. You cannot plan any further out than your funeral! Once you truthfully answer the previously questions, you can then work backward and think about what you need to do to turn your vision into a reality. Remember, the intermediate goals do not have to be concrete, just make them like Kevlar and rely on your self-correcting mechanisms to guide your course. Life is nothing but a series of decades, years, months, weeks and days. People always look far to the future and say that they want to live an extraordinary life. But how are you going to live an extraordinary life if you wake up thinking you want to have an ordinary day? Backward planning is an important step to an extraordinary life. Guidelines for creating powerful goals Chicken Soup for the Soul author, Jack Canfield, defines a goal as “the ongoing pursuit of a worthy objective until accomplished.” I want to walk you through some of the attributes you may want to look for when deciding on your goals. Your Most Important Goals Must be Yours This sounds obvious, but many people have their life purpose created by someone else. These people may be your parents, a spouse, friends, etc. I have a friend who is a doctor at a prestigious hospital. He is making great money while helping sick patients become well. The only problem is that he is miserable. When asked why he went into medicine he states, “My grandfather was a doctor, my father is a doctor, so my parents told me I was going to be a doctor too.” You only have the chance to live life once. Do you really want to spend your life living someone else’s dreams? When you let someone else, or society, determine your definition of success, you are sabotaging your future. I do not condone lying, however, the last person you should ever lie to is yourself, especially when it comes to planning your life. A technique that I use to make sure that my most important goals are my own is continuously asking myself one question. What do I really want out of life? The introspective process of regularly asking this question helps you to focus and organize your goals and determine what is really most important to you. Your goals must be meaningful The pursuit of meaningful goals will help you achieve greatness much quicker than the pursuit of non-meaningful goals. This is because meaningful goals are exciting and a person does not mind putting in the extra effort to accomplish them. This is analogous to school. Have you ever had a class that was too easy? The class was so easy that you did not offer the proper effort and instead of excelling you underperformed? Suddenly, the class that was a definite “A”, turned into a “B” or worse? I have done this numerous times. In fact, this was the story of my middle school and high school years. The classes did not challenge me enough and I did not perform anywhere near my highest potential or capability. Granted, in grade school you do not have as much control over your life compared to your adult years, however, individuals show symptoms of this problem well into their adult life. Subsequently, total commitment to your goals is a critical ingredient if you want to be the best person you can be. This is true for both professional and personal goals. I recently finished the book Call Me Ted, which is an autobiography of the billionaire, Ted Turner. Turner’s father was a successful and wealthy billboard entrepreneur back in the 1960’s. Although successful in his career, the elder Turner was depressed and ended up committing suicide in his forties. In the book, Turner hypothesized why his father committed suicide. He is confident that the reason was that his father did not set his goals high enough, resulting in a lack of purpose for his life. Our situations may not be that dramatic, but as philosopher Jim Rohn once said, “There are two major pains in life. One is the pain of discipline, the other is the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces, but regret weighs tons when you allow your life to drift unfulfilled.” Your goals must be measurable Although your vision statement needs to be flexible and answer questions about your life’s intents and purposes, the intermediate goals and objectives need to be firm. Management guru Peter Drucker says that “What gets measured gets managed.” This is true in business and in life. Remember, a goal without a number is just a slogan. It is easier for your brain to operate day-to-day on concrete items as opposed to the abstract. Both are important, but concrete is more important to execution. Conclusion I cannot stress enough the importance of developing a strong, but flexible vision for one’s life. Do not underestimate the power of the self-correcting mechanism present within each of our lives. I use this concept when initially training people who work within my company. You will be surprised by what you can accomplish by aiming even for the general vicinity of your ultimate goal. If you do not remember anything else I have written, please remember one thing . . . If you aim for the stars, you will at least hit the moon! Always aim for something! Lawrence Watkins is the CEO of the Great Black Speakers Bureau.  For more information, please visit www.GreatBlackSpeakers.com. Technorati Tags: black speakers,african american speakers,black social commentary,lawrence watkins

Tavis Smiley’s Personal Accountability – Beyond Barack Obama

by Genma Holmes

While I was reading the lawsuit filed by the NAACP for predatory lending practices, my eyes kept returning to Wells Fargo. My something-smells-funny nose kept sniffing until I looked across my desk and saw the program guide from the recent State of the Black Union (SOTBU). In large font was the Wells Fargo logo, titlesponsor of the event. I wondered if the NAACP had any dialogue with Tavis Smiley prior to the lawsuit being filed. The bank that is being sued for institutionalized racism sponsors a think tank for black folks. (You cannot make this stuff up.)
Wells Fargo has sponsored the SOTBU for several years. SOTBU was the brainchild of Tavis Smiley and birthed from his weekly commentary on the Tom Joyer Morning Show. Tavis Smiley quit the TJMS in April of last year and moved on to other projects that needed more of his attention. One of those projects is to hold President Obama accountable for his political record and campaign promises made on the campaign trail as outlined in his recent book.
From his book:
“During the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, while I was still the resident political commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, I caused quite a stir among the listeners, who are largely African-American, by insisting that we hold then Senator Barack Obama accountable for both his political record and his campaign promises. I wasn’t singling him out, but rather applying the same standard to him that we should apply to all.
I feel now, as I did then, that it is our responsibility as engages citizens to expect now-President Barack Obama to live up to the promises that made him an appealing candidate… As Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail reminds us, ‘Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes from the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.’
So, let us take Dr. King’s lead… and go forth and make real the promise of our democracy.” — Excerpted from the Foreword (pages xii-xiii)
The SOTBU website states "Some of the most influential thinkers, entertainers, and political leaders of our time gather each year to discuss the State of the Black Union during Black History Month. Presented annually in February by Tavis Smiley Presents, the symposium was created to educate, enlighten and empower America by bringing people together and engaging them in thoughtful dialogue, leading the way to constructive action."
The man who has written a book titled Accountable, has accepted sponsorship for years from a bank that is being accused of forcing blacks into subprime mortgages while whites with identical qualifications got lower rates. Class-action lawsuits were filed against Wells Fargo and HSBC in federal court in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was also the host city for the State of the Black Union.
My words may anger some but this is equivalent to a child molester opening up a neighborhood daycare center. It is this type of irony in the black community by leaders and organizations that keeps folks from getting ahead. "Leaders" play nice and accept money from the very organizations that causes the most harm and perpetuate media stereotypes. This happens in many communities but it is perverse in the communities of color.
Does this means Tavis is going to turn his journalistic intuition on Wells Fargo and hold them accountable? I hope so. These are serious charges being leveled at a time when banks that are behaving badly are receiving TARP bailouts. Is he going to compile the number of loans that were given to blacks vs. whites and research the information and give it to the board of directors of Wells Fargo? Will he ask for their resignations? Now that is taking action. Will he helped them be a better bank by helping them exam how they conduct business with people of color? Will he turn down their sponsorship next year and take their logo off his website with a link to their mortgage department? That would be worthy of an NAACP Image Award! Is this not what several of the panelist ask often when others accept sponsorship or advertisement from organizations that do not tow the line when allegations or perceived racist misconduct occur? All the time.
Tavis has always asked his listeners and viewers to be watchful and test everything and everyone. How did Wells Fargo allege predatory practices get around Tavis who would not allow then Senator Obama to campaign without a thorough scrutiny of the issues and his character? President Obama who has been on the national political scene less than ten years is being exam microscopically by Tavis. While SOTBU, Tavis and the same panelists year after year have held meetings with very loud megaphones on radio and television turned blind eyes to the practices of Wells Fargo and others. Practices that have gone on much longer than President Obama has been in the White House according to the time line stated in the NAACP lawsuit.
Many of the speakers at Tavis’ 2009 SOTBU event were the same faces sitting in the audience for the 2009 NAACP Image Awards. The award show was televised on the Fox Network, which was the subject of a boycott. (You cannot make this up.) Some body’s PR people are not talking to the other folks’ legal department and the legal department is surely not talking to the marketing representatives. In the fragile world of sponsorship and raising dollars for mega events to show accountability, this sounds like a church split or at the very least biting the hands that sponsor/televise your events. This is enough to leave one confused and bewildered.

 

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Michel Martin: NPR Host Speaks on Michael Steele

Click the image to listen!

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Pres Obama’s Fear Language Might Kill the Economy

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.DrBoyceMoney.com

Let’s be clear: This recession has become President Barack Obama’s personal War on Terror. Like the War on Terror, the enemy is evasive, the challenge is global, international cooperation is necessary, and the battle is unlike any other in our nation’s history. Wars are good for political business: when people get scared, politicians get a blank check to fulfill their legislative agenda. After 9/11, President Bush used fear to get the entire nation to sign onto the Patriot Act, and years later, we are wondering if someone is going to tap our cell phones and illegally imprison us for not eating our Freedom Fries. Bad legislation is like an STD: you can pick it up with a snap decision, but you pay the price for the next 20 years.

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Syracuse Professor Boyce Watkins Says Chris Brown is Not a Monster

Click the image to watch the video.  In this clip, Dr. Boyce Watkins appears on CNN to say that “Chris Brown is not a monster”. 

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Marc Lamont Hill on Michael Steele and the GOP

by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Columbia University

Over the past week, the political world has been tuned into a highly  unusual soap opera involving Republican Committee Chair Michael Steele  and conservative radio jock Rush Limbaugh. After Limbaugh was publicly  lambasted for stating that he wanted President Obama’s agenda to fail,  Democratic leaders wisely used the moment as an opportunity to anoint  the polarizing pundit as the de facto leader of the GOP. Steele, the  actual leader of the party, dismissed Limbaugh as a mere “entertainer”  whose show trades in “ugly” and “incendiary” remarks. Limbaugh soon  fired back, telling Steele to do his job and to stop acting like a  “talking head media star.”

Of course, partisan infighting is not uncommon in politics –though  such public spats are typically the property of the Democrats.  The  difference, however, has been the party’s response. Instead of  rallying around its newly appointed leader Steele, GOP honchos have  either taken the side of Rush Limbaugh or remained conspicuously silent. Even Steele himself caved into Limbaugh, apologizing for his  remarks and removing any lingering doubt about who the real don is.
By allowing Michael Steele to be publicly undressed by a party  extremist, Republicans have tacitly confirmed what many of us already  knew: they haven’t changed one bit. Despite their post-November promises to rise above bitter partisanship, the GOP decided to cosign  Limbaugh’s antipatriotic machinations. Instead of living up to their  promise to broaden their message and appeal, Republicans have instead opted to defer to the steward of its most vile, ignorant, and bigoted  constituency. Most disturbingly, they have legitimized their antidemocratic enterprise by hiring a black man,  but giving him no more political muscle than the queen of England.

To be clear, I am not trying to diss Michael Steele, who I know personally and like a great deal despite our political differences. My concern is that the seductive aroma of power and prestige have  diverted his attention from the harsh realities of his circumstance. 
Like many prominent African Americans, Steele has climbed the heights  of white society under the false premise that he is being judged purely on merit rather than color. This couldn’t be further from the  truth. While the Republican party is willing to use Steele’s black  face to celebrate its ostensible progress, it is equally committed to  reducing him to nothing more than a paper champion. Hopefully, Brother  Steele will stop drinking the Kool-Aid long enough to recognize this  and come back home.

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Black News: Pres. Obama Focusing on Turkey

For one of his first foreign visits, President Barack Obama will call on NATO ally Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country viewed as critical to aiding the U.S. pullout from Iraq, turning around the Afghanistan war and blocking Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The invasion of Iraq has strained the long friendship between the U.S. and Turkey, a Western-style democracy that straddles Europe and the Middle East and has an Islamic-oriented government. Obama’s visit, expected at the end of a European trip in early April, would mark an improvement in ties.

"We share a commitment to democracy, a secular constitution, respect for religious freedom and belief and in free market and a sense of global responsibility," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday in announcing Obama’s plans after meeting with Turkish leaders in the capital.

The visit is "a reflection of the value we place on our friendship with Turkey," the chief American diplomat said on the last stop of her week-long trip to five countries. The president asked her to make the announcement, she added.

Turkey had advised against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and refused to permit U.S. ground forces to launch elements of the attack from Turkish soil.

 

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On the Other Hand: Dr Boyce and Madeline Talk Chrianna, Octomom and More

Dr Boyce Watkins and Madeline Hatter discuss Chris Brown,  Octomom and other political issues in this episode of “On the Other Hand”.  Click the image to watch!

 

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Dr Boyce Watkins Appears in Essence Magazine w Tyler Perry

Dr Boyce Watkins, Finance Professor at Syracuse University, appears in the March issue of Essence Magazine to discuss money and investing in light of the 2009 Financial Crisis.

Dr. Watkins is one of the world’s leading experts in Finance and was the only African American in the world to earn a PhD in Finance during the year 2002.  For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

Dr Watkins has been in Essence Magazine many times in the past, particularly due to his popular book, “Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good.”

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Nat. Black Graduate Student Association Welcomes Dr Boyce Watkins

Dr Boyce Watkins will be the keynote speaker at the 2009 National Black Graduate Student Association Conference, to be held in Houston Texas March 11 – 15. The theme for this year’s conference is “Engaged. Empowered. Expect It.”

NBGSA is a non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to encouraging the high-quality achievement of African-American students through academic, professional, and social programs.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is one of the world’s leading Black scholars and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?”  He was also the 2007 Black Speaker of the Year.  For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

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Dr Boyce: What We Must Learn from Chris Brown and Rihanna

 

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

Forgive me for diving into the crazy world of pop culture, but the fact that Chris Brown and Rihanna are a couple again is something on which I had to comment. I am not speaking on the issue because I love Chris Brown or Rihanna’s music (they are ok). I am commenting because young people need to have a serious conversation about relationships and domestic violence.

Here’s the deal: I don’t know exactly what Chris Brown did and did not do. From the picture I saw and police reports, it appears that he may have done some serious damage to Rihanna’s face. Again, I am not convicting Chris Brown and I am not pretending to know if he is a bad human being. In fact, Chris Brown could very easily be a good man who did a very bad thing. But if he did do this damage to Rihanna, then he should pay a price for his actions.

But it appears that Chris won’t be paying a price, since Rihanna does not seem to be interested in pressing charges. Rihanna’s actions are nothing new: Every day, across America, women are beaten to a pulp by their boyfriends (roughly 13,000 incidents per day are reported to police), and then choose to excuse their inexcusable behavior. The prosecutor prepares a solid case that will send the guy packing for years, and the case falls through because the woman chooses not to press charges. So, as extraordinary as Rihanna might be as a performer, her behavior is actually quite ordinary.

Chris Brown, if he was the cause of the facial damage shown on pictures released to the media, needs serious counseling. He needs to learn that growing up watching your father beat your mother (as Chris admitted on the Tyra Banks show) may establish a destructive social norm, thus making you believe that violence is appropriate in male/female relationships. He also needs to learn about the serious consequences for brothers who choose to beat up on their partners. Even if Rihanna is crazy, provocative or evil, you have no business laying your hands on a woman. Not only is violence wrong, but it will land you in a criminal justice system that destroys the lives of young black men every day. I understand young people making mistakes (I’ve made far too many to count), but you must learn from those mistakes, and we are not doing young people any favors by pretending that this didn’t happen.

Rihanna needs her own counselor. She needs one that will give her and other young women the self-esteem to realize that there are few genuine excuses for a man to put his hands on you. She needs to have someone who truly understands where all this is going, to make her realize that no matter how cute he is, how popular, how rich, or how charming, a man like this can eventually kill you. You don’t know domestic violence until you’ve seen DEATH. It starts innocently enough, and eventually escalates to the point that someone is in the morgue. Any self-respecting adult should, in my humble opinion, refuse to sit idly to the side and allow your teenager to ponder reasons that Chris Brown should have hit Rihanna. No, he should not have done this, and I encourage Chris to make sure he sends the same message.

Old people can be obnoxious. We pee on the parades of young love by writing articles like the one I am writing right now. I hate doing this, but I have my reasons. My friend, a professor in Florida, died at the hands of her husband, who then killed himself and left her two young children without parents. This happens every day, and most of these cases start out like the situation between Chris Brown and Rihanna. In fact, your daughter, friend, sister, mother or cousin may have that lovable boyfriend who only shows peeks and hints of violent behavior, but just enough that your gut is telling you that something isn’t quite right. Listen to your instincts, for they’re trying to tell you something. Love should not end with anybody getting punched. Domestic violence is not a silent killer…..it usually warns you all along the way. Whether you choose to listen is up to you.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?” For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

Technorati Tags: chris brown,chris brown and rihanna,rihanna,black news,african american news,black social commentary

Black Gospel: Analysis of the “New Black Church”

 

By Rev. Nicholas A. Pearce

Though often portrayed as a singular, monolithic entity, many scholars debate whether “the Black Church” truly exists. While the distinctive differences that have so long divided predominantly African-American Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches are apparent, a potentially pernicious predicament currently demands our attention. While many people focus on the differences that exist among denominations and local churches, our attention must turn to one critical challenge we face within many of our churches. Young people are always labeled “The Church of Tomorrow,” which suggests two things: (1) that their spiritual gifts, leadership, and contributions are less meaningful, insignificant, and/or invalid at present and (2) the presupposition that tomorrow is promised. As countless young people leave the Church and still others sit restlessly in the pews waiting for a tomorrow deferred to finally arrive, the question we must confront is clear – when is “tomorrow” today?

The situation looks much like a track relay race. Our parents in the ministry were passed the baton of the Word of God by their parents and find themselves running the race of leadership as the next generation prepares in anticipation of receiving the baton in the exchange zone. Our forerunners in the ministry generally fall into one of three typological categories as they approach the exchange zone. (1) Some of our parents finish strong and cleanly pass on the baton to the next generation to run the next leg of the race. (2) Others of our parents, hearing the acclamation of the cheering crowd, decide to run an extra lap and skip the waiting generation in the exchange zone. Other racers with fresh legs soon pass by as these overzealous individuals run out of energy and solemnly realize that the baton was meant to be passed to the next generation. The overlooked and disenfranchised next generation ponders their befallen state and searches for other constructive outlets for their energy and talent that was intended to be expended in the race. (3) Still others of our parents approach the exchange zone with timidity, fearing that they will slowly fade out of the picture as they relinquish possession of the baton to a seemingly untested new generation. The combination of the outgoing generation’s insecure ambivalence to let go and the waiting generation’s consequent loss of self-assurance, the baton exchange is botched. No matter how well the previous lap had been run, no matter how talented the next runner may have been, the baton was dropped; the race was lost.

Does the Church have the luxury of leaving its young people and their gifts in a perpetual holding pattern, never to land? Can the Church afford to continue to mistakenly equate seniority with maturity as young people are prepared yet overlooked in the exchange zone? Will the Apostle Paul’s 1 Corinthians 12 treatise on unity in the body of Christ and the importance of each member thereof extend to a generation waiting to lead? Even a cursory glance at the state of the “Black Church” reveals an institution wrestling with its identity, struggling with being attractive while remaining authentic and grappling with the challenges and realities of a new day. Will an intensifying focus on devising better methods instead of making better men and women for the Kingdom of God cause the 21^st century Black Church to institutionally marginalize itself? God forbid – but let us earnestly wait for the day when tomorrow becomes today and the next generation carries forward the baton of leadership.

Rev. Nicholas A. Pearce serves as Associate Minister of the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, IL and is a doctoral candidate at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. Contact: npearce1@alum.mit.edu

Technorati Tags: black church,black pastors,black preachers,african americans,black social commentary

10 Thoughts on the State of the Black Union

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

I love Tavis smiley and I love the State of the Black Union. I must also admit that my mouth (which my mother used to say will either “make me great or get me killed”) has probably burned any bridge I’ve had with Tavis, thus implying that you will likely never see me on a panel at The State of the Black Union conference. I am ok with that, since I don’t like traveling when I don’t have to, and I don’t like the idea of having to kiss pinky rings of old school leadership in order to fit in (once you accept someone’s support, you can become beholden to them, reducing your ability to be honest). Beyond that, I have a nasty habit of telling the truth, which is neither profitable nor popular. So, the Your Black World Coalition is going to be my venue of choice when it comes to matters of Black Public Policy. Our corporate sponsors are clean, which means that we have a green light to do what’s right without worrying about offending Exxon Mobile, Walmart, The Republican Party, or McDonald’s. Again, I say this with all love and respect for Tavis Smiley.

As a Finance Professor who has spent the last 20 years studying money, I want us to understand the nature of how financial incentives can play a role in the nature of a forum such as The State of the Black Union. This is especially true in the midst of a financial crisis, during which our financial challenges may lead us to make decisions that are not always in the best interests of our constituents. I want to make it clear that my commentary on the State of the Black Union in the past has not been intended to be destructively critical in any way, as I feel that the forum is an important and necessary component of the Black community. But I am going to propose some quick thoughts about the State of the Black Union that should be considered for the future. If this venue is to be considered an important component and gathering of some segments of Black leadership, it is critical that we understand how to properly manage the temptation by some to use the venue as a source of power.

1) Corporate sponsors should be properly vetted: If the State of the Black Union is to be presented as the pseudo-diplomatic forum that Tavis Smiley wants us to perceive it to be, then just any old sponsor simply won’t do. No banks accused of predatory lending using the venue to wash away their sins with a donation to the Tavis Smiley Bank account. No firms trying to sell liquor, tobacco or other products. No companies which appear to get rich from exploiting the poor. All potential corporate sponsors should be evaluated by an unbiased committee and careful consideration should be given to the nature of the donor, where the money is going and other ways that the sponsor must prove their interest in serving the community. President Obama would never allow his State of the Union address to be sponsored by enemies of his country, but that is what we are doing if we allow any dirty corporation to walk through the door to give us money for our forums.

2) Consider the political agendas: I went to a great conference a couple of years ago in Atlanta, and wondered why there were so many videos and speeches being shared that had nothing but good things to say about the Bush Administration. It didn’t take me long to figure out why – The Bush Administration was a major donor to the conference, and in exchange for their money, they wanted the organizers to persuade Black folks to become Republicans and to love George Bush. I don’t think it worked. The lesson to be learned is that taking care of the gatekeepers can mean that those behind the gate are being manipulated. Don’t let another man sell your brain. If your brain gets sold, you should get the money.

3) Be careful with the Obama-Haterology: It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Tavis Smiley was a clear “homie” to Hillary Clinton. This close relationship, as well as some hope that he might be her Press Secretary, led to some “interesting” words being fired across the aisle last year as Barack Obama chose not to attend the conference. This forum is designed for the people and should not be used to reflect the personal agendas of a few powerful men. One must draw the line between carefully considered critiques on The White House vs. politicized attacks in response to being “dissed”. I too have critiqued our president, but I have always wanted him to succeed.

4) Kill the self-righteousness: There is no boss of the Black community. We are not children who need to be told what’s best for us. Being of a strong religious background, Tavis Smiley can sometimes become more of a preacher than a leader. There is this idea that he and a few others know the solutions and the rest of us don’t have a damn clue. Please get over your selves….we’re all smart people. This does not, for one second, imply that strategic and intelligent guidance cannot be meaningful. But this guidance must be balanced with mutual respect for the people you are serving.

5) Kill the “flossing”: Sometimes, when people get on their respective soap boxes, the forum can become a contest of who can make the most earth-shattering, slap-ya-leg, koolaid-coming-out-of-your-nose, “hoo-hoo-she-sure-is-funny!” moment. Due to the presence of media, which many people on the panel are seeking by attending this forum, we can be pressured to entertain more than enlighten. While entertainment is excellent, the focus must be on commentary which educates the public. I encourage the audience to watch the forum and listen to the content and substance of the rhetoric, and not be swayed by distractive inflections, body language or vocal tones. Some of us are very good at saying a lot and saying nothing, all at the same time.

6) FYI – Here is the source of Smiley’s power (for which I congratulate him): He gets C-span to show up and he has access to major White corporations. Were there no media and/or no corporate sponsorship, The State of the Black Union forum would cease to exist. This is not to disrespect the nature of the platform, but to help those who don’t understand business and media to see why so many of our leaders flock to the forum and why many Black leaders gladly appear on Fox News. Since they don’t have any other outlets for their work, this is one of the few provided. This gives a great deal of power to the owner of the platform, sort of like having the only grocery store or hospital in town. When Black folks get more ownership of media (even online media), the need to succumb to the power of others will cease to exist.

7) This is not the only forum in Black America: Kevin Powell, a man who will eventually be elected to Congress, holds Black male empowerment forums in New York City. The “Your Black World Coalition” has done amazing work in the past. “Color of Change” engages in meaningful, effective protest that is not sponsored by any of the corporations known for the exploitation of African Americans. “Dangerous Negro” is a group of young, intelligent brothers who are changing campuses across the world. Tavis Smiley’s insinuation that The State of the Black Union forum is the place you must be if you truly care about Black people is simply wrong. You can be in a lot of places and still care about Black people, which is why there are a lot of Black Bloggers, Black leaders and Black business people who are choosing not to attend The State of the Black Union.

8) The Money Makes a difference: I am a Finance Professor, which makes me the last person to criticize anyone for showing up to collect the cash flow. But the truth is that money is POWER. Money determines what we do and who we do it with. So, the idea that (what some consider to be) one of the most critical forums in the Black community is driven by corporate sponsorship granted by our historical oppressors is a very serious and problematic contradiction. I encourage us to find ways to sponsor other forums without sponsorship from mainstream corporate America so that we can speak real truth to power.

9) The Covenant with Black America: This is a great book. But it is still just a book. It is a book written to make a profit. When you see the book being advertised to you, there is a business model designed to sell the book. It is not the most important book in Black history, it is not necessarily a “must-read” for you and your kids. It’s just a book. Remember that. If the advertisers convince you that it is a “must-read”, then they’ve achieved their corporate objectives.

10) We need Tavis Smiley: Tavis, like most of us, has to make a living. He has done an amazing job with his work and platforms, and like the rest of us, he is not perfect. If you are compelled by his work, you should support him and support The State of the Black Union, I know I will. Also, just because Tavis seemed to have personal reasons for his attacks on Barack Obama, that doesn’t mean that his critiques were invalid. Yes, we have a Black President, but we need Black leaders. The greatest Black leader in the world is the one you see in the mirror. Get out there and do your thing.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?” For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

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