Black Entertainment, Money, Style and Beauty Blogs - Black Voices http://blogs.blackvoices.com Black Entertainment, Money, Style and Beauty Blogs - Black Voices http://blogs.blackvoices.com/media/feedlogo.gif Black Entertainment, Money, Style and Beauty Blogs - Black Voices http://blogs.blackvoices.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Can You Afford to Retire?http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/10/14/can-you-afford-to-retire/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/10/14/can-you-afford-to-retire/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/10/14/can-you-afford-to-retire/#commentsFiled under:

Are you saving enough for retirement?

Apparently not, according to a new study by Ariel Mutual Funds and Charles Schwab Corp. The two investment companies say African-Americans save far less money in their 401K plans than Whites. And they are saving no more than they did 10 years ago. In fact, despite the stock market boom of the last several years, blacks are no more likely to be investors, preferring more cautious plans that offer less risk and much less reward. And even when offered company-matched 401K plans, African-Americans invest in them at a much lower rate.

Truth is most Americans are not saving enough for retirement, but for African-Americans who often have fewer family resources and who are often responsible for supporting an extended family, the consequences can be dire. In addition, Ariel Mutual Funds President Mellody Hobson says blacks tend to invest more in less liquid real estate, so this foreclosure mess may have even graver consequences.

Hobson says we should follow the flight attendant's rules: Put the oxygen mask on your face first before helping others.

Here are some of the highlights from Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey:

  • Of the 500 Blacks and 500 Whites earning more than $50,000 annually, the median amount of money saved by Blacks surveyed is less than half of their White counterparts ($48,000 versus $100,000). On a monthly basis, median savings is $182 for Blacks versus $261 for Whites.

  • In 1998, when 57% of Blacks and 81% of Whites said they owned individual stocks or stock mutual funds. A decade later, still just 57% of Blacks are stock investors, compared to 76% of Whites. During the past ten years, the number of Blacks who own stocks or mutual funds rose as high as 74% (in 2002) only to fall again, while White participation has consistently hovered within a few percentage points of 80%.

  • Retired Blacks have median savings of just $73,000 compared to $210,000 for Whites. Blacks, on average, also retired earlier than Whites (59 vs. 61) and are more likely to rely on a pension or Social Security rather than a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan.

  • Fewer Blacks than Whites have gone through some of the basic steps of retirement planning, such as calculating the amount of money they need to live comfortably in retirement. However, those who consulted with financial professionals were much more likely to have saved more than $100,000 by the time they retired, and were much less likely to have retired early.

For more information, visit www.arielmutualfunds.com or www.aboutschwab.com to read the entire report.

Read more here: http://news.aol.com/business/story/_a/blacks-less-likely-to-have-401k-plans/20071011122909990001

 

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]]>Digital Diva2007-10-14T22:34:00+00:00Don't Get Got by Identity Thieveshttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/12/dont-get-got-by-identity-thieves/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/12/dont-get-got-by-identity-thieves/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/12/dont-get-got-by-identity-thieves/#commentsFiled under:

A friend IM'd me the other day about something I had to post about, even though she might choke me after she reads it. She discovered this week that one of her credit cards had been canceled and reissued with a new credit limit, without her knowledge and permission.

That should send red flags up for anyone: "My identity may have been stolen!"

My friend was concerned, but busy career woman that she is, was putting off calling the card's issuer to see what was up. I insisted she call right then and there. And that's the same advice I'd give everyone reading. Identity theft can't be taken lightly, and if you think your identity may have been stolen for any reason, make resolving the issue your top priority. Like I told my friend, if someone has enough of your info. to tamper with a credit card in your name, they have enough to empty a bank account in your name, too.

The Federal Trade Commission has an identity theft web site that recommends four steps if you think you've been got:

1) Cancel any accounts that might have been affected.

2) Place a fraud alert in your credit report with all three agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

3) File a report to the FTC.

4) File a report with local police.


I'm not sure how my friend's situation worked out, but whatever the case, nobody should take identity theft lightly.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-07-12T08:23:00+00:00Is Race a Factor in Atlanta Foreclosure Mess?http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/10/is-race-a-factor-is-atlanta-foreclosure-mess/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/10/is-race-a-factor-is-atlanta-foreclosure-mess/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/10/is-race-a-factor-is-atlanta-foreclosure-mess/#commentsFiled under:

Black folk have been moving to Atlanta in droves for the last 20 years, and why not? Who doesn't have a cousin or college classmate who told them about the good jobs and cheap houses?

Well, all that glitters ain't gold. A New York Times piece this week details how Atlanta has one of the biggest foreclosure problems in the country, even though its economy is stronger than many other places. One problem with the story though: it skipped over a very likely and obvious connection between that foreclosure rate and Atlanta's overwhelmingly black population.Nationwide the story's been the same with foreclosures: housing prices rose too fast, people took out exotic mortgages with adjustable interest rates to afford them, and when prices fell and rates rose, those people could neither sell the houses or afford the higher monthly payments on them.

But there's a lot of evidence that points out that African-Americans got the worst of it, because minorities were more likely to use risky loans to buy houses. It makes even more sense that Atlanta has a big foreclosure problem when you consider that it is full of college-educated, affluent African-Americans, who at least one study suggests were actually more likely to be using risky mortgages to buy than lower-income blacks.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-07-10T11:18:00+00:00Researchers to Study Black Women Entrepreneurshttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/09/researchers-to-study-black-women-entrepreneurs/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/09/researchers-to-study-black-women-entrepreneurs/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/09/researchers-to-study-black-women-entrepreneurs/#commentsFiled under:

Wanted: Black female entrepreneurs with ideas about why you're more likely to start a business than anybody else in America yet likely to have that company grow more slowly than anyone else's.The Center for Women's Business Research, based in Washington and Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., are doing a study in five cities to figure out what the challenges are for businesswomen of color and how to better address them.

I'm sure the comments page for this post would save some of the money the sponsors, which include Wachovia Bank, Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, are spending on traveling to five cities to hear about problems that have been routinely discussed for years: most women in the business world have experienced sexism in some form that may affect how their business grows. Add that to the lack of capital and in some cases experience or connections that are too common to minority entrepreneurs and you're probably on the right track.

In either event, the results of the research are due out next year. The next session takes place in San Francisco July 11; to participate, you have to be a female entrepreneur of color running a company with between $250,000 and $5 million in annual revenues and willing to give up a day of your time.

More details are at www.womensbusinessresearch.org

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-07-09T13:00:00+00:00Oprah Says 'To Hell With' Her Criticshttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/oprah-says-to-hell-with-her-critics/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/oprah-says-to-hell-with-her-critics/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/oprah-says-to-hell-with-her-critics/#commentsFiled under:

It's been months since the controversy over Oprah's funding of an all-girl's school in Africa reached its peak, but it's almost certain to kick back up again after this Sunday's episode of BET's Meet the Faith.


The show is taking up my favorite issue -- money in the black community -- this week and is featuring an interview in which Oprah answers critics of her decision to fund a school overseas instead of one here in the U.S.

I've seen a small clip of the interview because (shameless plug here) I'll be BET.com's guest blogger for Meet the Faith for the next two weeks (you can and should check out the blog, which starts Monday, July 9, at http://betintroduces.com/shows/meetthefaith/ ), and her response is certain to get some viewers worked up.

"To hell with your criticism," she says. "I don't care. I don't care what you have to say about what I did, because it's what I did."

Ouch. Tell 'em how you really feel, Harpo.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-07-06T15:45:00+00:00Bill Clinton: America's Top Black Philanthropist?http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/bill-clinton-americas-top-black-philanthropist/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/bill-clinton-americas-top-black-philanthropist/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/07/06/bill-clinton-americas-top-black-philanthropist/#commentsFiled under:

Here's a unique idea for an awards show that I wish I'd known about before it happened.

Last month, the National Center for Black Philanthropy held its sixth annual honors for those it deemed most dedicated to charitable giving that benefits the black community. The Philanthropist of the Year award went to Wintley Phipps, a Grammy-nominated gospel singer who founded the US Dream Academy, which uses the Internet and other technologies to tutor at-risk youth. Awards also went to educator Dr. Dorothy Height, Warren Thompson, president of Thompson Hospitality Corp. and a few others.

The most interesting award, though, might have been the special achievement in philanthropy honor that went to former president Bill Clinton. I guess if he qualifies as the first black president for some, he should also qualify for an award in black philanthropy.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-07-06T12:53:00+00:00Tyra Banks: Pamper Your Employees, If Not Yourselfhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/29/tyra-banks-pamper-your-employees-if-not-yourself/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/29/tyra-banks-pamper-your-employees-if-not-yourself/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/29/tyra-banks-pamper-your-employees-if-not-yourself/#commentsFiled under:

Last week I wrote about model and entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons' advice on managing money.

In a new interview I did this week with Kimora's friend Tyra Banks -- a respected former supermodel-turned-media mogul -- I found out that not every model has the same issue with cash burning a hole in their pocket. In fact, the multimillionaire muse calls herself "the queen of cheap" and swears she couldn't bear looking at the bill for flying privately, so she went back to commercial with the rest of us.

OK, now we know Tyra's not a big spender (but if you watch her talk show, you probably already knew that). But there's a lesson that any entrepreneurs or aspiring ones might be able to take from Tyra's business practices: a lot of the money she doesn't spend pampering herself goes to making her employees feel special.

"I think it's important to reward employees and to understand that when you invest in your employees, they invest in your company more. I send some of my employees on vacations. It's just an investment in them to show that they're appreciated, to show that they dedicate a lot of their life to me," she said.

Again, I'm posting the audio of the interview on blackpeoplesmoney.com. Click here to hear it.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-29T10:20:00+00:00My Biggest Money Mistake: Kimora Lee Simmonshttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/22/my-biggest-money-mistake-kimora-lee-simmons/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/22/my-biggest-money-mistake-kimora-lee-simmons/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/22/my-biggest-money-mistake-kimora-lee-simmons/#commentsFiled under:

I've been wanting to do this for a long time: corral rich and famous people and ask them about their biggest screw up with money and for their advice for the average person on how to avoid the same thing. This week I've got the first one with model, fashion designer and self-proclaimed queen of "fabulosity" Kimora Lee Simmons. I plan on doing these once a week from now on, and posting audio of some of the interviews.

So, for the benefit of all those about to blow a paycheck on looking fly and having no savings to speak of, what was Kimora's biggest money mistake?

"Spending all my money and not saving it. Spending, spending, spending on things that you think make you fabulous but they don't."

Things like what, Kimora?

"My first car was a BMW convertible when I was 15 and a half. My mom begged me not to get it for a ton of reasons now I would beg my children not to get it....I didn't want to listen, I was hardheaded."

Do tell, girl. Thanks for the words and playing ball on this question.

Click here to listen to audio of Kimora's chat on blackpeoplesmoney.com.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-22T15:01:00+00:00John Kerry's Minority Business Bill Gets Republican Helphttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/21/john-kerrys-minority-business-bill-gets-republican-help/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/21/john-kerrys-minority-business-bill-gets-republican-help/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/21/john-kerrys-minority-business-bill-gets-republican-help/#commentsFiled under:

John KerryJohn Kerry found a Republican senator to help him try and pass a law that would benefit minority-owned companies. Olympia Snowe, represents Maine in the Senate and signed on to Kerry's bill as a co-sponsor, which is important because having support 'on both sides of the aisle' can help a bill win votes from both Democrats and Republicans.

This is the same bill I wrote about in May, when Kerry gave a stump speech for it in the Senate.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-21T16:01:00+00:00Harpo, Tiger and Jigga Top Forbes' list of rich, powerful and famoushttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/19/harpo-tiger-and-jigga-top-forbes-list-of-rich-powerful-and-fa/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/19/harpo-tiger-and-jigga-top-forbes-list-of-rich-powerful-and-fa/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/19/harpo-tiger-and-jigga-top-forbes-list-of-rich-powerful-and-fa/#commentsFiled under:

Black athletes and entertainers might be the most visible examples of ballin' on a grand scale, but only a few of 'em really do top the charts -- the money charts that is.

Only three African-Americans (ok, two and everybody's favorite Cablanasian), made the top 20 on Forbes' latest Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the top dogs in the 'the business' based on (what else?) money and power. Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods -- no surprises there -- were numbers one and two on the list power list. Oprah also ranked first in the cash category with estimated 2006 income of $260 million, while Tiger's cool hunned-mil. ranked him fourth.

Jay-Z, the rapper turned record label head, fashion label head and head pitchman for everything, came in ninth on the power list but fourth for his bankroll, an estimated $83 million last year. The next African-American on the list was L.A.'s man-to-hate of the moment, Kobe Bryant, who's clout put him at 23rd but who's cash -- $33 million in '06 -- put him three pegs lower at 26th in that category.

Dave Chappelle, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington dropped off the list this year.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-19T09:23:00+00:0050 Cent Gets Richer (Without Dying Trying)http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/15/50-cent-gets-richer-without-dying-trying/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/15/50-cent-gets-richer-without-dying-trying/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/15/50-cent-gets-richer-without-dying-trying/#commentsFiled under:

The man who made his name freestyling and dropping mixtape tracks about robbing rappers who were more famous than him is now the latest rapper to turn full-fledged mogul. Actually, 50 Cent -- Curtis Jackson to the government -- has been approaching mogul status for a while, with his own record label, clothing line and various endorsements.

But for anybody looking for confirmation that Fitty's no fluke, check out his latest deal: he's reportedly parlayed his endorsement of grape-flavored Vitaminwater into a payoff potentially worth millions. Seems 50 had a stake in the company, which Coke bought for more than $4 billion. Nobody's saying how much his stake is worth, but I for one would love to have a piece of that kinda action -- no matter how small.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-15T11:49:00+00:00Black Enterprise List: Do You Work for One of the '40 Best'?http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/14/black-enterprise-list-do-you-work-for-one-of-the-40-best/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/14/black-enterprise-list-do-you-work-for-one-of-the-40-best/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/14/black-enterprise-list-do-you-work-for-one-of-the-40-best/#commentsFiled under:

If you work for Aetna, Toyota, Kellogg or Starbucks, you should be in good shape. At least so says Black Enterprise's third-annual list of the top 40 companies for diversity.

Of course, you can never really measure which companies are best -- I'm sure many would argue owing your own business is the only way to go , and with any list, there are plenty of companies that just weren't counted. To make it easier to understand, BE came to their conclusions by "reaching out" (their words, not mine), to the CEOs and diversity executives in the top 1,000 publicly-traded companies in the US.

Their criteria: supplier diversity, senior management, board involvement, and employee base. Click here to see if your company made the list.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-14T17:12:00+00:00OneUnited: Black-Owned Bank Wants to Growhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/12/oneunited-black-owned-bank-wants-to-grow/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/12/oneunited-black-owned-bank-wants-to-grow/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/12/oneunited-black-owned-bank-wants-to-grow/#commentsFiled under:

The second-largest black-owned bank in the country wants to put a new branch in your neighborhood, or something like that. OneUnited Bank, based in Boston, cut the ribbon on its first new branch -- ever -- yesterday, and its CEO, Kevin Cohee, said he has as much as $100 million to spend on opening more branches as time goes on.

Before this year, Cohee had a different strategy: instead of building branches, he just bought other banks. In the meantime he started an online banking operation, too. It'll be interesting to see how the new strategy plays out.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-12T16:46:00+00:00Ex-CBS Anchor to Host New Black Enterprise Showhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/10/ex-cbs-anchor-to-host-new-black-enteprise-show/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/10/ex-cbs-anchor-to-host-new-black-enteprise-show/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/10/ex-cbs-anchor-to-host-new-black-enteprise-show/#commentsFiled under:

Black Enterprise magazine debuted a new half-hour syndicated show about the black movers and shakers in the business world last week.

The Black Enterprise Business Report stars former CBS News anchor Shon Gables, (who in 2005 sued her ex-husband and former Color Me Badd singer Bryan Abrams for 16 grand in back child support), and will air weekly. (check blackenterprise.com for times and channels in your area).

The show is supposed to feature black entrepreneurs and executives and have segments on wealth building and living a "luxe life".

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-10T17:28:00+00:00Chavis to run HipHopSodaShops down Wall Streethttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/08/chavis-to-run-hiphopsodashops-down-wall-street/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/08/chavis-to-run-hiphopsodashops-down-wall-street/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/08/chavis-to-run-hiphopsodashops-down-wall-street/#commentsFiled under:

The company that calls itself hip-hop's first publicly-traded firm is handing over control to lifelong activist / former political prisoner / fired former NAACP head / one-time Nation of Islam minister / Hip-Hop Action Summit Network leader Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis.

H3 Enterprises Inc. is a New York company with plans to create a worldwide chain of HipHopSodaShops, basically chill spots where you can get snacks and enjoy digital entertainment, broadband connections, video games and flat-screen TV goodness. It wants to take advantage of hip-hop's popularity worldwide to make money and lure investors. The strategy will have to be a potent one: because H3's shares are traded on the open market, anyone with enough cash can own a piece of the company and it has to also open its books to the government and the public.

Chavis, who just formed a management company with two other prominent black New Yorkers, will have the weight of all those shareholders to go along with his new job. I interviewed him today and he said he took the job because "the single most important remaining question for African Americans is economic empowerment. One of the things that I intend to do for the rest of my career is put a laser focus on that."

The rest of the interview is too long to post here, but you can read it in full on my other blog at www.blackpeoplesmoney.com as of Saturday.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-08T12:13:00+00:00Michael Roberts: One Really, Really Rich Black Guyhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/07/m/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/07/m/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/07/m/#commentsFiled under:

I love reading about people who have done extraordinary things in business, so I was thrilled when I came across this column about Michael Roberts, who, if you're like me, is one of the richest black men you've never heard of.

Unlike Bob Johnson or Oprah, Roberts is no billionaire. But his estimated $800 million empire (don't ask me where that number came from), is nothing to sneeze at. Turns out wrote a book about his experiences, so I'll be at Barnes & Noble later today.

The thing I liked most about reading about Roberts is that he seems to be able to say motivational things that don't come off motivational-speechy, like this ditty from the Post-Dispatch column: "The presumption that you should only have one job . . . is really a way to make you limit your own prospects."

Here's a link to a bunch of other articles and radio appearances about him.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-07T14:55:00+00:00Goldman Sachs gives Morehouse $2 million for MLK chairhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/06/goldman-sachs-gives-morehouse-2-million/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/06/goldman-sachs-gives-morehouse-2-million/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/06/goldman-sachs-gives-morehouse-2-million/#commentsFiled under:

Big time investment bank Goldman Sachs is giving Morehouse College $2 million to fund an endowed leadership chair in civil and human rights. Whoever gets the job will also be in charge of the $15 million to $30 million worth of Dr. Martin Luther King's papers that Morehouse got last year when a group of black businesspeople intervened to keep them from being auctioned off to the highest bidder, according to this story by the Associated Press' Errin Haines.

Morehouse and Goldman Sachs have a long history: John Hope, the school's first black president, and Walter Sachs, a son of one of Goldman Sachs' founders, were part of the crew that included W.E.B. DuBois and founded the Niagara Movement, known these days as the NAACP. Dr. King graduated from Morehouse in 1948. These days, Goldman Sachs says it recruits on the campus annually and currently has 39 Morehouse alums working in the company.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-06T14:35:00+00:00Rich shareholders want Wal-Mart to share the wealthhttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/05/w/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/05/w/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/05/w/#commentsFiled under:

Wal-Mart's annual shareholder meetings are like parties. This year they had J-Lo, American Idol Jordin Sparks (pictured) and comedian Sinbad perform, and Chris Gardner, the black man who inspired the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness", gave a speech.

But the picture you won't find on Wal-Mar's PR site is of the group of wealthy, white shareholders who showed up to ask for a report on why most of Wal-Mart's stock options go to white executives when the bulk of the company's employees are minorities and women who work for low wages.

The group, Responsible Wealth, calls itself a "a national network of affluent Americans who are concerned about deepening economic inequality and advocate widespread prosperity." They say their concerned about Wal-Mart's stock options practices because those options, which can be cashed in for valuable shares of the company's stock, represents potential wealth for employees that could be used to fund everything from college educations to homes to emergency funds.

Wal-Mart, what say you?

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-05T10:55:00+00:00Flip this fraud?http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/04/flip-this-fraud/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/04/flip-this-fraud/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/04/flip-this-fraud/#commentsFiled under:

If you're like me and watch those reality shows where people buy beat down houses, fix them up and sell them for a profit, then you've probably seen Sam Leccima's face before. He was on the A&E channel's Flip this House, one of the only black faces they showed, running a company that looked like it was doin' it real big in the ATL, making a ton of money flipping properties.

But if the latest news about him is right, the only thing Leccima was flipping was cash he got from his friend and investors, and he was flipping it straight into his own bank account. An Atlanta TV station broke the story and the Associated Press ran a piece on the alleged hoax.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-04T11:31:00+00:00Barack and Hillary to address the Urban Leaguehttp://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/01/barack-and-hilary-to-address-the-urban-league/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/01/barack-and-hilary-to-address-the-urban-league/http://blogs.blackvoices.com/2007/06/01/barack-and-hilary-to-address-the-urban-league/#commentsFiled under:

People are still discussing whether the Congressional Black Caucus' partnership with Fox News on a presidential debate is akin to sleeping with the devil, but I'm more interested in the announcement yesterday that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have both agreed to address the National Urban League's annual conference in St. Louis in July.

Why?

Because the conference's theme for this year is one of my favorite topics: "Your Money, Your Future" -- as in how black folks deal with our money directly affects how far we'll progress in America in the future. That, of course, is a no brainer, but the fact that HIllary and Barack are both addressing the conference I'm hoping means that they'll both be forced to candidly talk about specific policies they would put in place as president to deal with the Urban League's annual report, which talked about the dismal financial state of black males in America.

That's a long shot because presidential candidates are always scripted to the letter and because we black males aren't exactly a swing voting block, what with those pesky laws about losing your right to vote after a felony. But here's hoping somebody throws 'em a good question or two about how to get more black men involved in the mainstream American economy that forces them to go off-script.

 

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]]>Keith Reed2007-06-01T08:39:00+00:00