Category Archives: Editorial

Washington Was The Horse And DuBois Was The Cart – We Put The Cart Before The Horse

Posted on November 26, 2013 by | 3 comments

The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second to know that which is true. – Lactantius

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Recent events at Barney’s (and many others like it) and the outrage that followed by African Americans reminded me of a truth. We are not a self-dependent community. Asian and European America have created such ecosystems that when they choose to do business or engage outside of their ecosystem it is a choice, not a necessity. Yet, we continue to be baffled by the actions of other groups toward us. Maybe we do not comprehend that just like African American-owned businesses there are Asian and European-American owned businesses built to cater to their own community. Despite being baffled, we continue to allow ourselves to be reliant on their social, economic, and political institutions. Does it spur us to become more self-dependent? No, it spurs us to force others to allow us to be more dependent. The logic is baffling at best, but on a whole it is just sad.

Often I ponder what African America would look like if over the past sixty years we had focused on the building of our social, economic, and political institutions instead of forcing our way into others. What if we had continued the institutional building of our forebears in the early twentieth century  that eventually would be led by those classically trained at our institutions. The ideological differences between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were as different as night and day goes without saying. Booker T. Washington’s approach was that we do not agitate but focus on building our own institutions independent of other groups. To ensure that we were self-reliant prior to engaging. If one takes a more geostrategic view, Washington’s approach has been what China as a country has done the past forty plus years. Coming from the bottom of development to now the world’s number two economy. Prior to allowing any foreign companies into their country, they worked on building their own. This allowed them to export and generate revenues to continue to build up their own industries that could compete on a global scale. It also allowed them the ability to dictate terms when foreigners entered their country because they would not need or be dependent upon them. African America chose to follow the W.E.B. DuBois approach that promoted our talented tenth agitate and force our way into other communities’ institutions. This logic has led us to mis-celebrating often the achievement of the first African American to enter any institution that are not our own and thinking of it as progress.

Was DuBois wrong all together? Absolutely not. He was right. We needed classically trained citizens. The problem and we see it manifest today, is that other groups are only going to allow a certain number (quota) of other groups to breach their institutions. A number that allows them to feign inclusion all the while maintaining social, economic, and political control. But what of the rest? For every ten we train and produce there will be only one let in, but what of the other nine? This is the conundrum that we are faced with today. If we are looking for explanations of why the unemployment rate continues to be in double digits for African Americans – look no further than our overly trained population and under built institutional development.

“What Negroes are now being taught does not bring their minds into harmony with life as they must face it”, said Carter G. Woodson in The Mis-education of the Negro. He goes on to give an example of just where we are failing between vocational knowledge and classical education – and it applies to us as much today as it did when he wrote the book. “The Negro girl who goes to college hardly wants to return to her mother if she is a washerwoman, but this girl should come back with sufficient knowledge of physics and chemistry and business administration to use her mother’s work as a nucleus for a modern steam laundry.” Truer words have never been more spoken and as I said still as relevant today. Our students do not know how to own their fields. Many HBCUs spend more time promoting the access of their students into companies, graduate schools, and other organizations not controlled by us as validation of their fine work. Are they training their finance students to go off and improve the state of African American owned banks? No, a problem that continues to rear its ugly head in the amount of redlining and predatory lending that happens in our community. At this point our horse is so underweight it does not even have the strength to pull our cart.

It is time we reset our priorities. Focus on building institutions that are in our interest. We are not a self-dependent people and the things we do have are too few to support a nation of forty million. This was largely the point Washington was trying to stress. I do not believe he was against what DuBois wanted. He just had insight to know we needed to build institutions first so that those classically trained had some place to go upon completion. Instead, many of us continue to operate under the illusion of simply getting a degree or going to an HWCU will somehow grant me entrance and inclusion. Even a recent back and forth I had with Vivek Wadhwa on Twitter highlighted the problem of wanting to force entrance instead of building your own. He complained about the lack of “minorities” and women in Silicon Valley. My issue with this is the majority of African Americans are in the southeastern United States. Why would we not build our own Silicon Valley there? Again, we will get one in and call that progress, while the other nine are left in the cold. The energy to get that one in could be spent building an institution where all ten get in – one that we control and own not just there for “diversity”.

If we would have a honest moment with ourselves, we would note that we have become more educated and more dependent upon other groups. Asians and other immigrants who come to this country come to own businesses and assets and make it a point to do so whether they have education or not. Jewish Americans use to make it a point to start businesses to ensure their community had a place to work because they were discriminated against. Most likely taking their cue from African Americans coming out of slavery who built communities, hospitals, colleges, and other institutions to ensure there was a place for them. All of the things we have abandoned over the past sixty years to our own detriment. We keep crying foul, but it has been partly our own strategic behavior acting against our own interest the past sixty years and begging to have entrance into others institutions that have caused much self-inflicted harm. In the end, Washington and DuBois were both right, but just how their philosophies should have been applied was never considered to maximize benefit. We would do well to still consider the proper order and implementation of it even today.

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Grambling Football Needs A Lifeline – Call Washington D.C. And Ask For Daniel Snyder

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | 4 comments

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. – James Baldwin

If there is a heaven, then Eddie Robinson is somewhere up there raising hell. It goes without saying that since the late great coach’s passing, the most historic program in black college football has seen itself take an unexplainable and precipitous decline over the past decade. A far cry from the expected restoration of the program to its pinnacle after Doug Williams took over in 1998 and proceeded to win three consecutive SWAC championships for the university. The future looked promising and then the wheels began to fall off after Williams returned to the NFL for a stint as a personnel executive. An attempted second tour of duty was too little and too late. Looking forward though the question is how can the program be restored. My solution – call Daniel Snyder.

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Let us face facts, when Grambling State University had the opportunity to leverage its winning ways to raise funds like many HBCUs have, it arguably simply did not strike enough of the iron while it was hot. Now, its cold – ice cold. Furthermore, at this point with HBCU public university alumni giving rates at five percent according to a recent article by HBCU Digest, help is certainly not coming at this point from alumni. The football program needs an infusion of millions and they needed it yesterday to get itself to proper standards that accompany a Division 1 program – not a middle school program. Players not having access to cool water during scorching practices in Louisiana heat, is a recipe for a player death and worse still a lawsuit. While it is hard to pinpoint Grambling’s actual university endowment, it is safe to say it is well under $10 million and that might be being generous. So why should Daniel Snyder come to the rescue or even care?

The Washington Redskins, valued at $1.7 billion are the third most valuable team in the NFL and the third most profitable NFL team with 2012 profits of almost $105 million. Their owner, Daniel Snyder, has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion derived primarily from ownership of the Redskins, private equity, and a number of other enterprises. However, the team has been embroiled in a public relations that seems to never end over the team’s mascot name. Seen as offensive to many Native American groups whose primary ally tends to be African Americans, as it is often noted the only group who has suffered worse in America than African Americans are Native Americans. This often creates a great deal of sympathy for Native American causes among African Americans. Although the team technically plays its games in Maryland, do not be mistaken it is Washington D.C.’s team. A city whose population is 50 percent African American, home to two HBCUs, and two hours drive either way pushes that HBCU number swells to almost ten institutions. Beyond the geographical connection, the Washington Redskins connection to HBCUs runs directly into its own history with Doug Williams being not only an alum of Grambling State University, but the quarterback who led Washington to one of its most memorable Super Bowl victories becoming the first, and still only African American quarterback to do so.

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To say it pains me that we must look outside of our community to resolve our needs is an understatement for anyone who knows me. However, this is a dire situation and it is calling for dire solutions. Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins could use some goodwill in the public as it deals with a growing agitation over the team name and a perceived view of European American owners lack of regard for minority sensitivity. It could use its relationship with Doug Williams connection to both the Washington Redskins and Grambling State University as a way to quell some of that angst. On Grambling’s part they need the public goodwill themselves and show some proactive behavior to resolve this sinking ship. If it means that the president and AD need to go hat in hand to Doug Williams to facilitate the meeting with Daniel Snyder, then pride be damned they need to do it.

HBCUs overall have done a poor job of conveying to their alumni bases just how costly and unprofitable athletic programs actually are. There is still too much confusion of just how much university money can actually be diverted into athletics at public universities which have major restrictions on such activity. It also begs a long-term question if HBCUs can not properly fund their athletic programs, then exactly what is the plan? These type of incidents leave a scar on not only the athletic programs but the universities themselves and HBCUs as a whole. Spelman’s approach was to disband its athletic program as a whole in favor of more wellness programs, which is certainly one approach. There is also the Ivy League approach where there are no athletic scholarships at all. Whatever the solution, Grambling State University needs to act quickly and make a major splash in its resolution before the ghost of Eddie Robinson returns, and if anyone remembers Coach Robinson in a bad mood – it will not be a pleasant hau – I mean return.

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Should I Be A Housewife? A Social & Economic View

Posted on August 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

By Nadja Briscoe

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Is Michelle Obama, a former lawyer and now first housewife of America, helping reintroduce and redefine the modern housewife?

There is a typical argument, usually postured by what I like to call ‘amateur feminists’ (and I count myself as one,) which follows: “With a brain like yours, why would you waste your talents cooking dinners and cleaning house?”

If by choosing to be a housewife, I were to become fixated on keeping a perfect household – think 1950s television – the argument would be compelling. However, staying home supposedly no longer means becoming a sheltered woman.

My colleagues and I have had numerous conversations on the role of women, both in society and the family. Is she forgoing her comparative advantage as the home’s primary care giver, nurturer, bearer of children, and first agent of socialization and instilling of values to the children, in order to have that for which we have fought and died – the right to have a corporate job and the right to be the career women? The right to CHOOSE!

Feminists are horrified at the very idea of a woman with an MBA making the choice to be the domestic supporter of her family – washing dishes and doing laundry – but, they also discount the fact that they can also be socially active bloggers, readers, entrepreneurs and rearers of socially aware children.

Is it possible to have it all? As housewives, can we continually exercise our minds as well as our domestic muscles? Can we prevent ourselves from any backsliding that could occur from ‘perfect household syndrome’?

Linda Hirshman, in her 2006 book “Get to Work … and Get a Life Before It’s Too Late,” disagrees vehemently. Linda Hirshman claims “the family — with its repetitious, socially invisible, physical tasks — is a necessary part of life, but allows fewer opportunities for full human flourishing than public spheres like the market or the government.” This view point is easy to run away with, especially after watching my mom be the domestic supporter of a family of 8, do the same repetitive tasks for 20 years, as my father had a social life and was never home. As much as I adore and admire my mother, this is something I never wanted for my life; and, neither is it something that she wanted for me.

But, as we examine the economics of the two income family, the fact that women earn approximately 60-80 cents for every dollar a man earns, the inability to create wealth due to the financial cost of daycare, and the social cost of not having a constant supervisor at home when a child arrives from school, maybe we need to re-define what it means to be a housewife and the importance of that role.

The opportunities of today’s world offer an essential difference between the housewife of today and the housewife of our parents’ generation.  We now have easy access to contraception, which allows us to more effectively decide how many children we would like, and when to have them. We thaw most of our family’s meals, so there is no need to prepare the night before and spend hours cooking. Sewing is limited to replacing buttons. And, while we adore gossip in all forms, it is much less over picket fences, but rather over the Internet.

Neil Gilbert’s book, A Mother’s Work: How Feminism, The Market and Policy Shape Family Life, describes how women have responded to the contraceptive revolution, advances in civil rights, and the changing structure of the labor market since the 1960s. He notes that recently there has been a significant decline in childbearing, childrearing, and household production. The rate of childlessness has climbed to historic proportions for a period of relative peace and prosperity. Women are having fewer children; and, early childcare is being passed on to other women, as mothers shift their labor from the household to the marketplace. Feminists would say that women have finally been given the chance to do what they want, and rightly so. Others like myself would argue that it is out of economic necessity and desire to be independent of men, who have a history of using their financial power to oppress women, that drives women to the market place. However, Gilbert argues, and I am sure my colleague William would agree, that women are moving to the marketplace for three reasons: 1) the culture of capitalism undervalues the economic worth of childrearing activities and domestic production, 2) prevailing feminist expectations overestimate the social and emotional benefits of labor-force participation, and 3) that the family friendly policies of the welfare state create incentives that reinforce the norms and values of capitalism and feminism. So, as my dear friend William would say, despite societies needs and predilection, when women have to decide how much to invest in childrearing and paid employment, the majority of women chose to invest their time and energy in the latter despite the lack of economic and social sense to do so.

As a result, instead of critically evaluating important questions such as: Does having children make economic sense? Is sexual division of labor a rational choice? How has the time devoted to childcare by employed and non-employed mothers changed overtime? What are the educational and social outcomes of children in homes with non-employed mothers vs employed mothers? There is an emotional response to avoid these questions out of fear that the answers might result in retracting to traditional ways, which would deny the progress women have made over the past couple of decades.

The financial and social cost that society is paying, as women try to redefine their role in society, is typical of every stage of progress and evolution, which eventually runs into its own inherent limitations, creates a type of turmoil, even chaos, and causes the system either to break down (self-dissolution), or escape chaos by evolving to a higher degree of order (self-transcendence). This new and higher order escapes the limitations of its predecessor, but then introduces its own limitations and problems. As a result, old problems are solved or defused – in this case women are no longer as oppressed, and are given the right and the choice to engage in civic, political, and economic activities, but comes at the price of introducing new and more complex difficulties such as higher divorce rates, dysfunctional families, and a negative birth rate, just to name a few. Despite these complicated and difficult problems however, it is perverse to take the problems of the present, compare them with the accomplishments of the past, and thus claim everything has gone downhill. I feel this is what my friend William often does; although, maybe no worse a tactic than the opposite of comparing the problems of the past with the accomplishments of the present and saying everything is for the better, which I may be guilty of.

I agree wholeheartedly with retrogressive romantics like William, who argue passionately, and at times convincingly, that we need to honor and acknowledge the many great accomplishments of past, and attempt to retain and incorporate as much of their wisdom and accomplishment. But I also argue that no mater the problems we have now, the fact of the matter is that the train, for better or worse, is in motion. And, driving while looking in the rear view mirror is likely to cause an even worse accident.

The fact of the matter is that for most women, though not all, the labor of motherhood is undervalued; and, the personal benefits of paid work are overestimated. We all fantasize about work that uses our creativity, is self-directed, happens during the hours we choose, and occurs in an attractively lit setting with fascinating people — you know, jobs like women have on TV. Oprah’s job!

But, in this reality, it is probably more realistic to be a housewife with a supportive husband, who encourages you to start a business or work from home.

So, with all this said, as I move closer to 30 while childless, well educated, and on the verge of having the career that I have always wanted and worked so hard for, what will I decide? Will fear of the known – my mothers depiction of a housewife with repetitive menial tasks, and allowing a husband to be my provider who might use this financial power to oppress me – prevent me from having the image that my white educated women portray of the housewife: the NPR-listening, car-pooling, yoga expert, avid volunteer, foundation director? To be honest, I really don’t know. But, even more important to me is the question: if I do decide to be the career women that I am on the verge of becoming, am I doing a disservice to my community?

Ms. Briscoe is a graduate of the University of West Indies with studies in International Relations and Management Studies. She also holds a dual MBA from Brandeis University in Social Policy & Management and Marketing. Her work has seen her spend time as a consultant for major hospitals in New England and now serves as a business development analyst for a multinational healthcare company.

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Magic Johnson & Russell Simmons Join The Ranks of Predatory Financial Services To African Americans

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | 2 comments

Man, biologically considered, and whatever else he may be into the bargain, is the most formidable of all beasts of prey, and indeed, the only one who preys systematically on his own species. — William James

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It is one thing in a war when the enemy is shooting at you. This is an expected part of war. It is a whole other thing when your own fellow soldier turns towards you and starts shooting at you while yelling at you saying he is trying to help you. That scene in essence describes the behavior of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Russell Simmons prepaid card offerings and the focus of these products on the African American community.

BOOM! That sound you just heard is the prepaid card explosion according to the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association. In 2009, Americans spent roughly $18 billion on prepaid cards and just three short years later that number had doubled to $37 billion. Prepaid is booming and everyone wants a slice. That boom has been especially present in African America as the past 20 years have not been kind to African American owned banks seeing their ranks dropped by over 50 percent  and a rise of payday loans & check cashing businesses take their place in African American communities. This has led to a daunting crisis in the number of African Americans that are unbanked/underbanked. The FDIC reports the nation’s unbanked percentage is 7.7 percent, while African America is three times that average at well over 20 percent (graph below). In terms of the underbanked, the national average is 17.9 percent, while African America comes in at a staggering 31.6 percent, almost double the national average. However, the $1.1 trillion in African American buying power has to go somewhere. That somewhere appears to be a growing opportunity in the prepaid debit card space and the Dutch Shultzes of finance have taken notice.

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As a former banker myself, the biggest way that individuals were able to gain access to capital and credit was a premise long ago quoted by J.P. Morgan and it has come to define the modern era of banking, “A man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom.” Today, we would call it relationship banking. Great credit is wonderful, lots of money in the bank never hurts, but character and relationship is what most often defines when bankers will give that extra push to someone to ensure they have enough access to capital and credit to make their venture worthwhile. Relationship building requires just what it implies. A longstanding healthy relationship between the client and bank. Unfortunately, shadow banking (i.e. prepaid debit cards, payday loans, etc.) has actually undermined real relationship banking and thus created a lot of the Ike & Tina relationship banking African Americans have with financial services.

The estimated net worth of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Simmons is a combined $840 million dollars. By no means even close to the transformative upper echelon of wealth but certainly not peanuts either. These two could have easily joined together and formed a small bank or credit union that offered no fee debit cards in exchange for direct deposit banking. They could have strengthened the 21 African American owned banks we have left. In either case, it would have allowed them to generate a profit, which is clearly what they are in it for despite their “altruistic” preachings about their cards, and allowed African Americans to keep more of their money while building a relationship with a financial institution. That is what they could have done. Instead, they chose to shuck and jive as front men for companies whose predatory practices leave them looking like the Uncle Ruckuses of financial services to anyone who understands the purpose of financial institutions purpose for assisting in economic progress for communities.

So who are the people and companies really profiting from the Magic and Rush prepaid cards? In Mr. Johnson’s case, OneWest Bank of Pasadena, California. OneWest Bank is formerly the very controversial IndyMac bank that collapsed during the financial crisis in 2008 where thousands of everyday savers were at risk of losing much of their lifetime savings. OneWest Bank is owned primarily by three hedge fund managers, two of whom are the legendary in financial circles. There is George Soros, the man who famously broke the British Pound on Black Wednesday. The other legend is John Paulson, who made $4 billion in 2007 by shorting subprime debt and then followed up an even more impressive performance in 2010 earning $5 billion. Yes, those figures are for one year of earnings. Lastly, the man who brought them all together was Steven Mnunchin, a former Goldman Sachs VP and hedge fund manger himself. The former IndyMac now OneWest bank made thousands of people lose much of their life savings along with predatory short sales and foreclosures now has reopened under another name, new management, and the smiling face of Earvin Johnson to help it generate predatory fees from financially illiterate African Americans. Poof,  consumer money is being drained by hidden fees just like magic. As for the RushCard fronted by Russell Simmons, it is actually owned by The Bancorp Inc. which is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company is publicly traded but it is controlled by its founder Betsy Cohen. Apparently, Mr. Simmons has a thing for going into businesses with Cohens.

The sad thing is prepaid cards have their place. They are actually great for traveling abroad to limit your financial risk and some forms of budgeting. Realistically, the underbanked/unbanked are not the demographic traveling abroad. That these cards are being presented as a primary form of banking is what is most disturbing. A very costly primary way of primary banking at that. Some even believe that they are building their credit by using these cards. Further speaking to the lack of financial aptitude about financial services. They are doing more to undermine financial growth in our community than help it grow and progress.

It is very unfortunate that these two men who are so idolized in the African American community are doing so much harm to it. Pimping out a celebrity idol culture to drain an already poor and struggling African America of its pennies. Predatory financial services continues to leave African America vulnerable to a disproportionate amount of subprime lending, gentrification of our neighborhoods, and the ability to generate wealth. In large part this occurs because we refuse to recognize that ownership of our own financial institutions and services within our communities greatly reduces the risk of predatory behavior and raises insitutional accountability. It is highly unlikely that either of these gentleman use prepaid cards or would recommend anyone they care about to use it. If actions speak louder than words, then their actions indicate to me that they simply do not care at all.

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HBCU Presidential Opening? Hire Neil deGrasse Tyson

Posted on June 13, 2013 by | 2 comments

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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I will admit that while I respect a great many of the new and rising leadership at HBCUs I still feel as if there is a secret sauce missing. We often still mentally box what we view leadership must be like to lead our colleges and universities. They are often from traditional African American disciplines or professions. That is not meant to be a slight at them because they are what they are. Those disciplines are needed but sometimes you need different. That difference could be the missing sauce to make this new hamburger we are building or re-building standout (depending on how one looks at it). To make it dynamic.

After watching Dr. Tyson speak before the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee it became clear to me that this is someone who could lead the STEM and research revolution amongst HBCUs. There is currently no more prominent of an African American face associated with STEM. Would it cost to get him? Yes. Is he interested in an HBCU? As often the case we will not know unless we ask. The real question is what board or alumni would be creative and aggressive enough to pursue someone like Dr. Tyson. If we want to improve our place in STEM then we need someone who understands it intimately on a structural level and on a public relations level.

Currently, HBCUs as a whole do about $600 million combined annually in research expenditures. On the surface while that sounds like a lot, it would not make the list of top 30 list of  research budgets at colleges and universities across the nation. Yes, there are 30 plus institutions that do over $600 million individually annually in research. Florida A&M, who led HBCUs in research in 2012, is doing only $53.5 million. The top of the heap continues to be John Hopkins University who conducts $2.1 billion annually in research by itself. It also would potentially create avenues that could allow HBCUs to become more competitive among the minefield that is the National Science Foundation and its questionable grant disbursements. Historically, HBCUs have received inadequate research funding from even the NSF and while President Obama has promised HBCUs $850 million over 10 years it would be much nicer if HBCUs were in position to receive the over $1 billion annually that the NSF hands out to the top tier research institutions.

If we need a reminder of why research is important then we just need to look at the economic state of our communities and our institutions. My favorite example of just what research on college campuses can produce is Google. It was developed at Stanford University while the two founders were PhD graduate students. An issue of HBCUs further developing their graduate programs and keeping their most talented within HBCU institutions is another article itself. The search engine that is now a verb currently employs 50 000 people. That is equivalent to 1/6th of the entire current HBCU student population. That is just ONE company whose co-founders have a combined net worth of $52 billion. There are thousands of other companies who have emerged as a result of STEM research on college campuses. The impact is so profound that the Kauffman Foundation’s study shows that MIT created companies alone would be the 17th largest economy in the world if they were their own nation. Unfortunately, due to a number of different reasons – a scientific vision not least among them – HBCUs have been slow to re-embrace its strong research heritage of the late 19th and early 20th century when men like George Washington Carver and others were transforming the American way of life through scientific research on HBCU campuses.

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson could provide a necessary spark to bring attention and resources to an HBCU willing to make the commitment. His presence would certainly make many gifted African Americans interested in STEM potentially pause and consider an HBCU. A school like Morris Brown, St. Paul’s, or Lewis College of Business who want to transform themselves could become the HBCU Institute of Technology. If we want to reach for the stars just maybe it is time we give leadership to someone who knows literally where to find them.

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