Many were trying to recover fuel from an overturned tanker when it exploded and killed 71 people.
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Sunday, August 11, 2019
‘Hey Jason, the Podcast’ Celebrates the Lives of Black Men and Vulnerability
Where there are black men, there is excellence. An exclusive podcast interview between BE Modern Man Jason Rosario, host of the Yahoo News original series, Dear Men and founder of The Lives of Men, and Alfred Edmond Jr, S.V.P./Executive Editor-at-Large at BLACK ENTERPRISE, for a recording of the Hey Jason podcast–offered a conversation on manhood, masculinity, and vulnerability.
Rosario is a member of the 2019 Class of BE Modern Men who is cultivating a movement of healthy manhood through his work. And while his definition of manhood is ever-evolving, right now he defines healthy manhood as “the ability to be clear in the vision you want for your life and convicted in the path you’ll take to get there. It’s the ability to know when to be strong and stoic and when to be tender and vulnerable. It’s not enough to know how to be those things; the key is knowing what is required and when. To me, healthy manhood has very little to do with what you provide materially; the true measure of a man is what you provide emotionally and spiritually to those you love.”
[VIEW THE 2019 LIST OF BE MODERN MEN]
In the episode, Black Men XCEL, Edmond discusses ascending the editorial ranks of his career, pivotal moments at BLACK ENTERPRISE and his love-hate relationship with GQ. He also talks the “Black Men Xcel” awards, and the unique mission of celebrating the perpetual yet unsung advancement of black culture at large and black men specifically.
Edmond also spoke openly about the many lessons he learned from his adolescence to manhood both personally and professionally–which ultimately segued to their conversation about vulnerability.
Jason Rosario (right) and Alfred Edmond Jr.
Listen to this episode of Hey Jason for yourself and be sure to join Rosario and Edmond along with hundreds black men and women at Black Men XCEL in Miami at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa Aug 28 to Sept 1, 2019. And if it sounds like it was a celebration of black men, it’s because it is!
Get your tickets today for an all-new rate. Use the code “Miami” and get $100 off the Networking Package. And if you stack your codes with our Buy One, Get One Free offer you’ll only pay $197.50 each for you and a friend! Click here to get your tickets now.
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HBCU Students: Apply Here for Access to Free Textbooks
Textbooks are just one of the many expenses that fall on college students and their families in addition to tuition and, oftentimes, dormitories, meal plans, and more. According to a recent study, textbook costs are the second-largest stressor facing college students after paying for tuition. The study also found that 60% of African American students noted did not buy required textbooks and course materials because of the high costs.
To help ease the financial burden of higher education–an epidemic that disproportionately affects students of colors–the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Cengage have partnered to provide 1,000 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with access to textbooks. Through this new initiative, Cengage, an education and technology company, is giving select students free semester-long subscriptions to its first-of-its-kind digital subscription service for college textbooks and course materials.
Cengage Unlimited subscriptions, which is essentially like the “Netflix-for-textbooks,” offers access to more than 22,000 eBooks, online homework access codes, study guides, and tools like Chegg, Kaplan, and Quizlet. It normally costs $119.99 a semester. However, eligible students will gain access to the subscription at no charge. To apply for the program, HBCU students must be of African descent, obtain a 2.5 GPA or better, demonstrated a financial need, and submit an essay and letter of recommendation.
“Every student should have an equal opportunity to succeed, and having the right learning materials can have a critical impact on performance,” said Michael Hansen, the CEO of Cengage, in a statement. “The high cost of textbooks have prohibited this for many students. This is why we launched Cengage Unlimited – to make quality learning more affordable.
UNCF, the largest educational organization supporting and advocating for minorities, will administer the program and select the recipients on behalf of Cengage. Ultimately, the UNCF-Cengage partnership aims to combat the disparities in education and help improve college affordability by an overhaul of outdated models.
“For 75 years, our motto ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in,’ has remained at the forefront of everything we do,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, the president and CEO of UNCF. “We must continue to invest our time and money in better futures for young people around the country. Partners like Cengage are vitally important to this work and we are pleased to have them as an ally in helping to educate the next generation of leaders.”
Applications are being accepted through August 29 for the fall semester. Applications for the Spring 2020 semester will open on November 4, 2019. Students can learn more and apply here.
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Saturday, August 10, 2019
Suzanne Shank’s Strategic Moves and Billion-Dollar Transactions Made Her Firm Among Wall Street’s Most Successful
Led by Suzanne Shank, multiple strategic moves are taking place at Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., one of the largest black-owned investment banks in the country. Shank’s leadership is positoning the firm as an even more powerful player in the nation’s investment banking world.
As the company’s CEO and chairwoman, Shank has refitted SCS over the past decade. With dual headquarters in New York and Oakland, California, SCS is the top-ranked women-owned and minority-owned Wall Street firm along with the No. 1 minority and women-owned business enterprise senior-managing underwriter of municipal new issuance. The company is also on this year’s “BE 100s” list of America’s largest black-owned businesses.
[VIEW THE COMPLETE 2019 LIST OF THE NATION’S LARGEST BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES]
Says Shanks: “Coming off of 2018, where we ranked second nationally among all firms as managing underwriters of negotiated municipal bonds, shows evidence of our strong sales and underwriting capabilities and the high regard the firm holds among both issuers and investors.”
Beyond public finance, SCS has expanded its footprint in corporate finance, participating in 198 debt and equity transactions since November 2015 for corporations such as Walmart, Delta, Comcast, and McDonald’s—deals valued at more than $517 billion.
SCS expects total U.S. municipal issuance to fall slightly in 2019, down 5% from last year. Shank says the elimination of advance refunding tax-exempt bonds as a result of tax reform legislation and the lack of a cohesive federal infrastructure initiative continue to suppress market volume.
Suzanne Shank
At SCS, Shank has publicly stated her firm plans to reach for even greater heights in 2019. As such, it has taken several steps recently to boost revenue and fee income by diversifying and expanding its operations. Those moves include:partnering with Henry Cisneros, the former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Bill Clinton, to help SCS fund the nation’s fast-decaying infrastructure via American Triple I Partners L.L.C. An SCS stakeholder, Cisneros is working with principals to launch the new infrastructure investment firm.
She has also brought aboard other top-flight talent like former New York City Comptroller and one-time New York City mayoral candidate William Thompson and Wall Street veteran John Rhea. And SCS Equity Partner Gary Hall last year became the first African American chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. The MSRB is the top regulator that supervises the nation’s multitrillion-dollar municipal securities market.
Over the years, SCS has had significant growth in the Lone Star state. In fact, last year the firm was ranked fifth as senior manager for negotiated Texas transactions with more than $1.8 billion in par amount.
Shank says her firm has also been buoyed through increased deal flow from major corporations accessing debt and equity markets. For instance, the firm participated in both the $8.1 billion Uber and $2.6 billion Lyft IPOs.
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Mellody Hobson: Shining A Light on Momentum Investing
Since 2013, the FAANG stocks—Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet (a.k.a. Google)—have grabbed headlines, and for good reason. In the past five years, this collection of tech behemoths has seen their stock prices shoot up anywhere from 121% to 663%. These five companies have a combined market cap of nearly $3.3 trillion. The extent to which they have reshaped the way we live is hard to overstate.But it is not just our lives that they have shaken up. Their recent stock performance can also help us understand a phenomenon called momentum investing.
John Waggoner of InvestmentNews.com best defined this strategy when he wrote, “In its simplest form, momentum simply means buying whatever is going up the most, and selling it when it loses steam.” Put another way, momentum measures how much a stock’s price has gone up or down relative to others over some time period—typically 12 months. Investors who embrace this approach operate under the premise that stocks that have performed well recently will sustain their positive trajectory, while those that have fared poorly over the same period will continue to do so.
When it comes to the momentum approach: the value of a stock is not solely determined based on the company’s underlying fundamentals. Instead, behavioral psychology plays a significant role. Recency bias causes people to expect recent performance will continue indefinitely. As a result, investors anchor to past stock prices, rather than adjusting based on a company’s fundamentals. Overreaction then follows, as the cycle becomes self-reinforcing and herd mentality takes over. Finally, confirmation bias—our desire to favor information that confirms our own beliefs—leads us to continue to support the trend, regardless of what the full data set is telling us. Together, these behavioral biases can lead investors to stray too far from traditional performance metrics and put themselves at the mercy of the crowd.
Indeed, while momentum can do well over sustained periods of time, there are inflection points whereby its performance can reverse dramatically and wipe out entire years of gains. Because momentum investing can get swept up in mania, there are considerable downside risks. As the famed value investor Howard Marks notes in his new book, “What’s the greatest source of investment risk? . . . [I]t comes when asset prices attain excessively high levels as a result of some new intoxicating rationale that can’t be justified on the basis of fundamentals and that causes unreasonably high valuations to be assigned.” None of this a critique of FAANG companies. They are incredibly successful businesses. But their recent market success shines a light on an investing strategy that can harm investors who have a fear of missing out. Remember, momentum does not only go in one direction.
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How Social Entrepreneurs Work With Koch Industries To Achieve Scale, Greater Impact
In the spacious ballroom at the scenic Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa, roughly 20 miles outside of Palm Springs, California, retired NFL football superstar Deion Sanders puts forth his charge to the teeming audience. “Get in the game and provoke change,” he shouts. “Don’t take time for granted. The reason I liked sports because we have a clock to know how much time we have…”
Like a coach motivating players, he continued with his appeal: “When are we going to do it instead of just talking about it?… We can make a change…if we stand together.” As he closes, the room explodes with cheers.
Sanders was one of a phalanx of speakers who participated at the beginning of the year in the four-day retreat for social entrepreneurs and philanthropists which was once called the Seminar Network—rechristened in May as Stand Together—that’s organized in conjunction with The Charles Koch Foundation and The Charles Koch Institute. The objective of the semi-annual conference is to instruct nonprofit leaders on how to “grow, scale, and make a greater impact” as they meet their mission.
In fact, the former gridiron star who kicked off the meeting with Charles Koch–who runs the second largest private company in the nation–attended the event not only to deliver a pep speech but also to move forward the agenda of Dallas-based Urban Specialists, an organization that leverages the experience and credibility of ex-gang members, former offenders, and professionals to reduce gang violence and increase community opportunities through such measures as entrepreneurship. Sanders helps develop initiatives and lends his celebrity to provide exposure for the program, working closely with Founder and CEO Pastor Omar Jahwar, who joked during his fireside chat with U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and diversity specialist and comedian Karith Foster that when he was praying to gain significant support for his initiative, “I didn’t think it would be Charles Koch but here were are.” Urban Specialists is part of the Stand Together Catalyst Network, which currently has provided grants for more than 140 “high-impact” nonprofits across the country.
Officials say the organizations linked to Stand Together’s Catalyst Network have tackled some of the nation’s most pressing and relevant issues in six areas: addiction and mental health; financial empowerment and entrepreneurship; housing and homelessness; in-prison, re-entry and second chances; workforce development; and youth and education. Although all of the collaborations have not been with African American organizations, most deal with the challenges that continue to disproportionately affect multitudes of African Americans. Koch officials have been increasingly stressing partnership as a means to address these ills. Stand Together Chairman Brian Hooks told the audience: “When we unite people to solve problems, we’re able to accomplish things that were otherwise thought of as impossible. “
In fact, the Koch Foundation has developed the Courageous Collaborations Initiative, which “supports interdisciplinary research to overcome intolerance and discover new tools to empower individuals to engage across divides.” In short, not letting political and racial polarization, among other barriers, keep organizations and people from coming together to solve the nation’s most complex and urgent problems.
The greatest evidence that parties can cross the aisle to find solutions has been criminal justice reform. Over the past few years, liberal CNN political commentator and activist Van Jones has worked closely with Koch Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mark Holden on such issues as “Ban The Box,” the campaign to remove the question on job applications that asks if applicants have a criminal record. The two also worked with congressional Democrats and Republicans as well as the Trump administration on passage of the “FIRST STEP Act.” The legislation seeks to diminish mass incarceration through the potential reversal of seemingly pernicious, outdated mandatory minimum sentencing related to drug charges and create new avenues to promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism.
New alliances have been formed around the legislation in recent months. For example, Johnny C. Taylor Jr., CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, which represents employers of more than 60% of the U.S. workforce, announced a commitment to adjust recruiting practices to include those with criminal backgrounds. In a national initiative called “Getting Talent Back to Work,” Taylor shared at the conference details of a national pledge to give opportunities to qualified people with a criminal background and deserving of a second chance.
Taylor unveils new initiative to help ex-offenders.
In addition to SHRM and Koch Industries, organizations that signed the pledge included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, American Staffing Association, and more. “As a country, we are making improvements to the justice system,” Taylor asserts. “It’s our time as business leaders to reframe the conversation around nontraditional talent pools and embrace those with criminal backgrounds as job candidates.”
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NFL player Darius Philon arrested after incident outside strip club
Arizona Cardinals’ starting defensive end Darius Philon was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following an incident outside a strip club in Phoenix in May.
According to a report by TMZ, Philon was arrested and taken into custody at a Maricopa County Jail. The NFL player is being charged for alleged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after reportedly threatening to shoot a woman outside of a strip club. A police report obtained by the media outlet details that back on May 17, the defensive end was accused of pointing a handgun at a dancer in the parking lot of VLive strip club around 2:15 a.m.
READ MORE: After 889 Days Colin Kaepernick tweets he’s ‘still ready’ to return to the NFL
According to TMZ, the alleged victim revealed to cops that the football player requested she and another female companion accompany him out to his vehicle, a white BMW, where Philon alleged he kept his money. While at his car, the player allegedly grabbed a black handgun and pointed it at the alleged victim’s chest, while asking, “which one of you wants a bullet?”
The alleged victim told cops she soon retreated to the club, and Philon drove away. However, he returned to the club the following night and asked the victim to leave with him. She claims that when she denied the request and attempted to walk away, Philon grabbed her by the arm and prevented her from leaving.
READ MORE: NFL player Adrian Peterson owes creditors millions despite earning $100 mil fortune
Following her decline, the dancer claims that Philon followed her around the club for approximately 30 more minutes before leaving.
Back in 2015, 25-year-old Philon was a 6th round draft pick. This year, Philon signed a two year, $10 million contract with the Cardinals after four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Bleacher Report.
Philon is still currently behind bars and is set to appear before a judge on Saturday.
The post NFL player Darius Philon arrested after incident outside strip club appeared first on theGrio.
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Two Black trans women fatally shot in South Carolina in two weeks
A South Carolina transgender community is currently in a state of high alert after the murder of the second transgender woman of color in just 15 days.
On Sunday, August 4, the body of 24-year-old Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe was found inside a parked car in a driveway in Allendale County, located near the Georgia border, according to NY Daily News. Doe had been shot to death.
Allendale County law enforcement agencies have declined to provide much information about the case. A coroner’s office representative told The Post and Courier on Thursday, “All I can say is I’m not releasing anything.”
Dime Doe’s aunt, Rhonda Doe, told WJBF, “They have hurt us in the worst way, the very worst way.”
Barbara Kolberg, a cousin of Doe, also told the local station that she had “always been a friendly person to everyone. The joy of anyone’s life.”
Chase Glenn, the executive director for Charleston-based LGBTQ advocacy organization Alliance for Full Acceptance, told The Post and Courier that Doe’s death reflects the heightened threat faced by the transgender community in South Carolina.
“We are sounding the alarm,” Glenn stated. “We are in an absolute state of emergency for black transgender women.”
Her death comes 15 days after Denali Berries Stuckey, another transgender woman of color, who was shot to death in South Carolina. On July 20, the 29-year-old Stuckey was found lying by the side of a road in North Charleston around 4 a.m.
READ MORE: Robin Thede wants Black women to feel seen on ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, wrote on Twitter: “My heart aches for Pebbles LaDime Doe, Kiki Fantroy, and their loved ones. The murder of Black trans women is a crisis that we must call out—and address head-on.”
My heart aches for Pebbles LaDime Doe, Kiki Fantroy, and their loved ones. The murder of Black trans women is a crisis that we must call out—and address head-on. https://t.co/Cww2IdWBSw
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2019
The post Two Black trans women fatally shot in South Carolina in two weeks appeared first on theGrio.
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Delta Airlines’ $1 Billion Goal To Help Minority Suppliers Take Flight
Scores of diverse entrepreneurs recently assembled at The Gathering Spot, the Atlanta-based private membership club and co-working space. They have come together for a program called “Runway to Opportunity,” an event organized by Delta Air Lines to help minority suppliers gain “the unique opportunity to learn best practices for business growth, sustainability, and development to facilitate partnerships with major corporations” such as the nation’s second-largest airline.
The program marked the 20th anniversary of Delta’s supplier program. And beyond the celebratory nature of that announcement, it served as another driver related to its 1By21 initiative—a commitment to expand its base of corporate-ready, diverse suppliers and grow them to size and scale in order to become the first air carrier to make the Billion Dollar Roundtable by 2021. That means Delta would join 28 major companies like AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart in achieving $1 billion annual Tier-1 procurement spend with certified companies owned by African Americans and other ethnic minorities, women, veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ population or the disabled.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told attendees: “That goal isn’t there as a ‘check the box’ exercise, but rather as just the beginning. That goal could be reached by having just a few large diverse suppliers but supplier diversity is more than that. We also have to have a strong pipeline of smaller, growing companies to support and fuel our vision.”
“As an executive leader of the supply chain organization, I feel a calling to be a steward of all that is entrusted to us, including our resources and our experiences. That is why we are here today,” Jacobson added. “We are here to pass along to you the knowledge and relationships with key Delta buyers and business leaders to try to make it easier for you to do business with Delta, and hopefully other large companies as well.”
After hearing opening remarks, the 200 or so attendees gained a big surprise—the guest keynote speaker was none other than NBA superstar-cum-mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson, chairman and CEO of SodexoMAGIC, the 13-year-old food and facilities management partnership between Magic Johnson Enterprises and Sodexo as well as a longtime supplier of the airline. During the interactive, 40-minute session, Johnson gave entrepreneurs the opportunity to ask any business question as he stressed elements of his successful formula, which included constantly demonstrating patience, excellence, strategic focus, relationship building, and “over-delivering” for customers.
“Delta believes in supplier diversity and is directly investing in minority and women-owned companies. It starts at the top. Because it’s important to the CEO, it trickles down to everyone else,” he told the attendees. “Forums like ‘Runway to Opportunity’ are important to small business owners because it allows them the chance to get practical knowledge on how to work in and on their business, and drive value.”
Karmetria Burton, a 10-year Delta veteran who serves as its general manager, strategic programs for supply chain management, designed the program that would give suppliers practical knowledge, including how to engage in marketing, financial management, certification, and the RFP process. Moreover, Burton shared with the audience valuable measures such as the Supplier Development Academy, which was developed last year to provide coaching, mentorship, matchmaking, capital access, and a customized business curriculum for high-potential suppliers. Entrepreneurs must make a 12- to 18-month commitment to the program, which is managed by PPICW, a minority-owned consultancy led by Felicia A. Phillips and T. Renee’ Smith, who also served as speakers during BE’s FWD conference.
Burton says before you pursue contracting opportunities, “know your company’s value proposition. Make sure to evaluate the business, secure the business, and keep the business.”
-Editors’ note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 edition of Black Enterprise Magazine. Order the magazine today.
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