May 2017 | 3
Publisher’s Message
MR. D-MARS
d-mars.com will continue to uplift and promote the small business community. We are a stronger community when we are united. Support the businesses in our community and the events promoting the businesses in our community. Small businesses are a vital component for Houston’s economic growth and prosperity. This month highlights the Texas Black Expo (TBE). Since the first TBE “Summer Celebration” in May of 2004, the non-profit has created an impressive path of empowering the local and state business
Behind the Journal
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ACCOUNTING MANAGER Eugenie Doualla
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES C.T. Foster Tiffany Black
16 Finance 16 Using A Self-Directed IRA to Invest in Private Placements
DISTRIBUTION Booker T. Davis, Jr. Rockie Hayden CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Texas Black Expo Texas Southern University Comerica 2 Girls Who Travel Kim Floyd Valerie Jones Charlotte Jackson Linda Lindsay Victor Walker, Esq. Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Noel Pinnock Shelondria Peavy d-mars.com News Provider
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18-19 Cover Story 18-19 The Legacy of the Largest Black Consumer Expo and Festival in Texas
MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Andrea Hennekes
Project Coordinator Taelor Smith
08 Education and Career 08 Job Prospects Flat for Black Workers 10 A Lesson for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos 12 & Gray Affair Raises Over $800,000 for Scholarships
14 Entrepreneur 14 "Hello Alice"...Meet The World's First AI-Based V irtual Advisor for Women Entrepreneurs
PHOTOGRAPHY L.C. Poullard Grady Carter
LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Angel Rosa
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04 Business 04 5 Steps to Creating Happiness in your Workplace 04 9 Tips to Boost Productivity in the Workplace 06 Blackonomics: Time for Black Fraternities and Sororities to Step Up
Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Floyd
Vice President, Marketing Anita Bates
—Oprah Winfrey
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Publisher & CEO Keith J. Davis, Sr.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dawn Paul
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
community, educating entrepreneurs and youth, providing health & wellness information to the masses, all while entertaining people from Houston, across Texas, and neighboring states. Under the leadership of the founder and president Jerome D. Love, the TBE is the largest minority-owned expo in Texas. As always, thank you for your continued support of d-mars. com. When you support us, you are supporting more than just our company; you are supporting the communities in which we live and work. Working together, we can succeed in making positive things happen.
20 Insurance 20 Life Insurance Is One of the Keys to Black Wealth 18-19
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22 Real Estate 22 Survey" African-Americans Passionate About Home-ownership, but Fewer Own Homes
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24 Technology 24 Digital Course Solutions & eCommerce Shift Strategies in College Market 26 Stage With Style 26 Relationships Matter
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