YB&NB
JUNE/ JULY 2021
YOUNG BLACK & N' BUSINESS LIFESTYLE MANUAL AND MANUSCRIPT
A E R B
G G N KI
! D N ROU
+ CREATING A LEGACY
+ THE BLACK FASHION CYCLE + A MESSAGE FROM RONALD P. CLARK
JULY 13TH -15TH
SAVE THE DATE!
SUNDAY, 12/5/2021 YOUNG BLACK & N' BUSINESS PRESENTS:
THE PATHWAY TO LEGACY GALA
Special THANK YOU to the following for making this shoot possible! Victoria Peterson, Principal, Clairemont Canyons Academy Ken Walker, Project Management Supervisor Kurt Stolle, Project Manager
Rick Mortazavi, Construction Manager Swinerton Contractors
Platt/Whitelaw Architects
Thank You Clairemont Canyons Academy
CAREER FAIR
PATHWAY
TO
LEGACY
PROGRAM
A MESSAGE
Young is a state of Mind... We have members in our eclectic meritocracy of all ages mainly 22 - 52 The word Black is a TRIPLE ENTANDRA having three meanings: The color black encompasses all of the colors in the spectrum. We are inclusive. We provide Instructional, Educational, Entrepreneurial content to bring early emerging entrepreneurs out of the darkness. We specialize in providing business acumen to African Americans in the low moderate income community. We define business as: Providing a solution for a problem that equates into a profit.
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Call to Actions:
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Treat People with Respect – Speak to one another like brothers and sisters and we’ll all go a long way.
You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To – If you put your mind to it, and not let anyone put you down, you can do anything.
Put Money Aside – Take it from Marlon, if you’re active duty, put a little something aside for the 6 months after finishing your deployment. You never know how much it could help.
Be That Person for Someone– For Marlon, veterans job training programs supported his path to success. Visit VVSD’s website and Interfaith’s website for more information on these programs.
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On the season finale of 'Homeless in San Diego: Real People, Real Stories,' host Greg Anglea, CEO of Interfaith Community Services, welcomes Marlon Blue. Marlon is a Navy veteran from New Jersey. After serving for 20 years and being deployed to San Diego, he was able to retire in 2012. Yet, after being affected by an identity fraud scam, he was forced to come out of retirement and struggled financially. Fortunately, after connecting with someone who referred him to Interfaith, he was able to receive the right job training to put his life back on course. Today, Marlon is doing a lot for himself and his community. He is the founder and owner of his own business, Blue Sky Enterprise (BSE) Security Services. He actively employs veterans and refers them to job training opportunities; all while taking the first steps to establish his own non-profit. Named LOV (Love Our Veterans), Marlon plans on building a veterans home for young and old vets to help one another achieve success.
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YOU ARE YOUNG BLACK & N' BUSINESS
A message from Ronald P. Clark
JANUARY ABRAHAM
1,
1863.
LINCOLN
EMANCIPATION FREEING
PRESIDENT SIGNS
THE
PROCLAMATION,
ENSLAVED
AFRICANS
IN
AMERICA.
June 19, 1865. Enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas finally hear about it. Two and a half more years of bondage,
The Black Wall Street dollar didn’t leave
death, deceit, filth and free labor. Silence
the community for two years. It circulated
from a country noted for its degrading
amongst itself with ease, amenities and
practices, routinely glossing over its
utilities satisfied by kinfolk, never wanting
mistakes with the smear of whiteness, shock
for anything from the entity that wanting
is never a word to describe its behavior.
something from should never be an option.
This was America being itself, a bully with a
The memories of the generations lost to
violent streak soaked in a capitalistic toxin
slavery were too fresh, too obvious, too
it would never clean off.
painful, to place themselves back at the
Enslaved Africans no longer, the Negro, Black people, African-Americans, begin the journey of Reconstruction, aptly named
feet of a still frothing at the mouth oppressor. These communities prospered, developed
since white supremacy and racism forced
the first true examples of Group Economics,
numerous attempts by Black people to
or one group of people having a common
construct a life of their own to be
economic interest. This was the only option.
railroaded by white people not willing to
Attempting to go off on one’s own to
simply allow Black folks to prosper, to
attempt to navigate the violence and
grow… to exist.
racism of the time would not have been a
The destruction of prospering towns like
successful endeavor. Building together
Colfax, Louisiana and Wilmington, North
would create a community and culture
Carolina, both structurally and financially
sufficient enough to develop a powerful
self-sufficient, were examples of the
counter to a vile country that forced this
lengths this country was willing to go to
hand, these cards to be dealt.
satisfy its newest version of the status quo. Colfax, Wilmington, and the most famous example of this – Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street – fostered an environment of Black folks looking out for Black folks in every way possible.
And all that has changed is the packaging. “It’s essentially how systemic oppression doesn’t allow us to buy from our own communities, or get loans to build businesses so we can support ourselves and recycle our dollar,” said NBA player Andre Iguodala in the USA Today on Aug. 10,
The late Black scholar, W.E.B. DuBois,
2020. “That’s how you build your
believed that economic cooperatives were
community, get better funding for schools
a continuation of the previous practices
and how you invest in yourself and become
and background of Black Americans and
landowners. The system is created for us
could provide a sense of racial pride and
not to be able to do those things. So then
solidarity. Black people have been engaged
we have to depend on other people,
in cooperative systems without naming them
whether it be government or other
- churches, friend circles, sports teams, etc.
communities.”
Cooperatives focused on communities’
As the effectiveness of emboldened,
needs and the development of Black
reckless, overtly violent racism found more
people. But the trick is to remove the
places for consequences, America did what
appeal of capitalism. Excess can be what
America does best – it readjusted its
splinters the success of a cooperative.
racism. Psychological warfare against Black
When there is access to more, like
Americans was a weapon of choice. The
capitalism preaches, it feeds the selfishness
once galvanizing force that was the
of Americanized greed and the need to sit
collective oppression of Black Americans,
alone at the top, while leaving those around
morphed into a divisive community
you behind, further alienating social classes
conversation. The more mainstream success
and deepening the wealth gap capitalism
stories, the less the narrative punch of
thrives in.
oppression. The integration of schools
The Black community became serial victims
placed the education of Black youth in the
of systemic oppression. Education, judicial,
hands of oppressors and a distorted
economic and health systems, to name a
historical viewpoint was manufactured and
few, continued with the work of previous
delivered with searing accuracy.
oppressive regimes only now the privileged are more easily blinded to it. It is harder to find allies for crimes another is not willing to see.
In the end, the Black community only has itself. But it must recognize that to be so. There is a legion of activists, educators, philanthropists, non-profit organizations, mentors and families willing to put themselves on the line to bring along a brighter truth. An understanding that without Black Americans collectively executing a communal plan of survival, we will continue to have splintered communities with no common goal. The systems and the narrative surrounding these systems have done their job. They have made individualistic capitalist gains a reality for some, while continuing to prevent the same gains for the majority of others.
As Juneteenth is celebrated, continued conversations around executing ancestral plans to eradicate capitalism and devise a cooperative economic plan will need to be at the forefront. Studying the effectiveness of a Black Wall Street while simultaneously not attempting to re-enact its effectiveness defeats the purpose. Juneteenth should serve as a reminder to the past and serve as a guide to what is to come.
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RESUME TIPS PROVIDED BY: TERRANCE J. BOWENS, CPRW Let's start out with me being very honest
Position
with you: It is easier to eliminate a candidate
It takes time to make your résumé stand out, but
than to bring a candidate in for an interview.
you need to ensure you will make it to the interview
Most times, this is because of the volume of résumés some companies get. It is a way to ‘thin the herd’.
process. Your resume is supposed to get you interviewed… not hired. Your interview will get you hired so the resume needs to get you to that stage. One way to do this is to use similar language that is used in the job posting. For example, if the job
This may be shocking news to process, but it’s the
description gives examples of daily responsibilities,
cold reality of today’s workplace. Most organizations
show how you have done these same tasks in your
can receive more than 100 candidates for entry-level jobs and almost as many for higher-level positions. This means your résumé may receive less than a minute of consideration.
previous work experience. Use specific examples to show what you achieved and how you achieved it. Use Keywords
Just so you know, here’s how the recruiting process generally works at most companies:
1. Post job description (on a website or job board, for example). 2. Receive résumés. 3. Review résumés and select top candidates. 4. Schedule interviews with top candidates. 5. Make hiring decision and extend offer to top candidate. The majority of candidates don’t make it past step two because there’s something on their résumés that disqualifies them from being selected. So, what do you do? Here are 4 tips that can improve your chances of landing an interview: Make Sure You’re Qualified for the Position Do an honest assessment of your skills and figure out the types of positions you are qualified for and apply only to those positions. Actual qualification for a role really matters at this stage of the job seeking experience. When recruiters receive résumés, they are very quick to dismiss those that don’t appear to have the required knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position. Maximize Your Qualifications for the Specific
RESUME TIPS CONTINUED By using the keywords that are included in the job description, you have a better likelihood of passing any electronic résumé screening tools a company may be using. Reread the job description and see which keywords and phrases seem to have importance in the position description. In your résumé, include these keywords and phrases and show how you have experience in these areas. Proofread and Proofread again!
Spell check can be helpful, but it doesn’t pick up everything, so do a manual check before you submit it. It may only take one typo or error to be eliminated, so take the time to do a thorough review of your résumé. It also helps to have other sets of eyes review your résumé before you send the final version to a prospective employer. So if you have the chance, showing it to someone can help identify things that you didn’t initially didn’t notice. If you follow these steps, you’re reducing a number of reasons recruiters eliminate résumés. Job seekers should think like the recruiter and hiring manager by asking themselves, “Is there anything on my résumé that would lead to being eliminated from consideration for the job.” It’s difficult to be critical of your own work, but it’s necessary if you want to be selected for an interview.
Wear a Mask to Prevent Getting and Spreading COVID-19
Masks are a critical step to help prevent people from getting and spreading COVID-19. A cloth mask offers some protection to you as well as protecting those around you. Wear a mask and take every day preventive actions in public settings and mass transportation, at events and gatherings, and anywhere you will be around other people. Wear your Mask Correctly Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before putting on your mask. Put the mask over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin. Fit the mask snugly against the sides of your face, slipping the loops over your ears or tying the strings behind your head. If you have to continually adjust your mask, it doesn’t fit properly, and you might need to find a different mask type or brand. Make sure you can breathe easily.
Dos Wear a mask over your nose and mouth to help prevent getting and spreading COVID-19. Wear a mask in public settings when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when indoors and when it may be difficult for you to stay six feet apart from people who don’t live with you. Wear a mask correctly for maximum protection. Wear your mask under your scarf, ski mask, or balaclava in cold weather Keep a spare mask to replace one that becomes wet from moisture in your breath, snow, or rain. Store wet reusable masks in a plastic bag until they can be washed Don’ts Put the mask around your neck or up on your forehead. Touch the mask, and, if you do, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer. References; Center For Disease Control and Prevention (How to Safely Wear and Take Off a C
THE PATHWAY TO LEGACY PROGRAM
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What is the Pathway to Legacy Program? Young Black & N' Business is helping you create a legacy in the construction and industry trades. By providing resources such as career fairs, online training, and professional networking opportunities we're helping our members expand into the industry, unlock lucrative opportunities, and building generational wealth.
Ready to join our team of legacy builders? Contact us now! email ybandnb@gmail.com Save the date to join Young Black & N' Business for our annual gala where will be celebrating the achievements of the Pathway to Legacy Program.
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PATHWAY SPOTLIGHT UNDERSTANDING THE JOURNEY FROM THE BEGINNING AM I A GOOD FIT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY?
The short answer is. Whether you are interested in being an employee or entrepreneur your skills and resources are needed in the industry. IS THERE A SPECIFIC SKILL SET THAT WILL AID IN MY SUCCESS? While the specific skill set
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Enroll in the Pathway to Legacy Program offered by Young Black & N' Business! Email us now! ybandnb@gmail.com
Now more than ever, we see how much our external reality informs how we think of ourselves and vice versa, the collective is informed by the self. Energetically and spiritually we are inherently connected and inseparable. Whatever I do to you, I am doing to myself. How I engage with myself - whatever is going on internally - is exactly how I impact the world around me.
Self Love & Healing Techniques 1. Deep Breaths: We move from activity to activity all day long, many times carrying the energy from one space into the next. This is like energetic poison. One way to ensure you are not dragging unnecessary weight is to reclaim your power through breath.
Seriously, before walking into your next meeting, making another call, going into your home after a long day, choose to PAUSE and take 3 deep breaths, preferably with your eyes closed.
It's time to break old curses and HEAL YOUR SH*!...
Inhale for 4, exhale for 8 counts. This brings your heart rate and blood pressure down, grounds you back into the present moment, and creates a feeling of anew. It may seem so small that you'll want to skip this praxis, but I promise you will notice a powerful shift when you choose to breathe. 2. Affirmations: Affirm your truth, speak life into yourself, and tune back into your greatness. Affirmations are one of the most powerful, yet simple ways to transmute stagnant energy and ignite healing. 3. I am Love: We have to remind ourselves who we are. It is normal for our energy to be depleted, to become irritable, annoyed or upset. This is how our energy speaks to us. Depletion is not to be ignored, and instead honored. Read 1st Corinthians 13: 4-8 and replace Love with your name or read it as an I am. Do this daily for 7 days and notice how you become a whole new frequency. Self-Care is a Care for the Collective: Collective pains impact the self. When we are individually pained it directly informs the collective. Our self-healing is vital to the healing of our communities, our nation, our world, and our relations to all that is and exists. Healing does not have to be a daunting process, begin with your breath, affirm yourself, and know that you are love. One love divine soul and happy healing.
Eturnul Celebrates Mr. Big Stuff's 50th Anniversary With “The Messenger” Award-winning lyricist-songwriter, Eturnul, celebrates Mr. Big Stuff's 50th Anniversary with Caraljo Music as she drops a new single titled “The Messenger” "Mr. Big Stuff" was originally recorded in 1970 at Malaco Studio in Jackson, Mississippi and was eventually released by Stax Records in 1971 on Knight’s debut album of the same title. The song became a huge crossover hit, spending five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1971 and it went double platinum and became the No. 1 Soul Single of the year. The song has remained relevant decades after its release, featuring in the 2007 mini-series The Bronx Is Burning and sampled by R&B and soul artist John Legend, for the lead single "Who Do We Think We Are. Eturnul, We 805 South, is celebrating Mr. Big Stuff's 50th Anniversary With Caraljo Music as she releases the hot new single “The Messenger.” She treats her fans and lovers of good music to her lyrical prowess and amazing vocals, features that have endeared her to millions of people in different parts of the world. Media Contact
www.instagram.com/ImEturnul
805 South Latesha Nicole (CEO),
www.youtube.com/ImEturnul
we805south@gmail.com United States
www.facebook.com/ImEturnul
https://songwhip.com/eturnul2/the-messenger
Eturnul Celebrates Mr. Big Stuff's 50th Anniversary With “The Messenger” “The Messenger” is the latest project from Eturnul, released in celebration of Mr. Big Stuff's 50th Anniversary with Caraljo Music. The young, vibrant songstress featured Angelique Jonelle and Dj Mac Cummings on the single, with the trio combining to celebrate one of the biggest hits in the history of American music as created by the legendary Jean Knight. The music and entertainment industry has evolved over the years, thanks to the emergence of several talented acts creating tunes to bless the ears of millions of listeners worldwide. While the industry has continued to grow, the contributions of early days’ singers and record labels cannot be brushed aside. One of such pioneers is the Mr. Big Stuff crooner, Jean Knight. Her popular Mr. Big Stuff single undoubtedly set the trend for upcoming acts that re-created the hit and made it even more popular. In celebration of the Grammy-nominated single and its relevance after 50 years of its release, Eturnul has collaborated with other talented artists to release “The Messenger.” The multifaceted entertainer and entrepreneur has already started to garner reviews for the song, which has continued to do well, amassing massive streams across different digital platforms. “The Messenger” is distributed by TB Production and The Orchard/Sony Music. For more information about “The Messenger” and other works from Eturnul, visit - www.we805south.com/ImEturnul. She is also available across several social media platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. ### Media Contact 805 South Latesha Nicole (CEO) we805south@gmail.com United States www.instagram.com/ImEturnul www.youtube.com/ImEturnul www.facebook.com/ImEturnul https://songwhip.com/eturnul2/the-messenger
WHAT WOULD FASHION LOOK LIKE IF WE HAD THE WHOLE PIE? By Tanita Gray http://last-report.com/the-black-fashion-cycle
The Covid Effect Prior to COVID-19, post George Floyd and the trend to support black-owned businesses of 2020, only 15 of the 495 CFDA members were black, and only ten black designers have ever won a CFDA or CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. One of the most popular and financially successful black designers, Tracy Reese, has never received a single nod. Less than 10 percent of the 146 fashion designers who showed at the major fall 2018 shows for New York Fashion Week were black (the Cut). COVID exposed the scarcity of viable resources in the fashion industry for African American, Black and IBPOC to participate in the economic powerhouse of personal expression. Personal expression is the cultural foundation. Adornment and dress help define our identity. Fashion is the prime component of our lifestyles. However, there is a void in the dynamic industry of fashion that goes beyond “black dollars”.
THE BLACK FASHION CYCLE Continued... The Black Fashion Cycle is what quantifies the lifespan of fashion, consumer behavior and the overall effect and distribution of fashion apparel, accessories and footwear purchased and displayed on a daily basis within black culture. Typically there is the trickle down effect that starts with the designer and its manufacturer delivering product to the retail level. Once the fashion cycle has gone through its lifespan – it has accumulated billions of dollars back into its non-Black, non-African American or non-IBPOC owned ecosystem. This dissolves the trending “black dollars” and removes our contribution from the ecosystem altogether. Although we participate as creative visionaries and we have trend-setting spending power that is coveted by the industry – our inclusion stops there. Besides being a designer, the spending power of African Americans, Blacks, IBPOC stops at the register, making our contribution to the cycle at only 20%. A full healthy cycle represents designer/brands, manufactures, distributors, retail and the management of the life cycle of products, complete with profit margin and business structure intact. Once the products reach their end of life, something new and exciting comes along the next season and we start all over again. A beautiful cadence of ebb and flow in an industry.
AURORA JAMES FOUNDED THE 15 PERCENT PLEDGE, A NEW NONPROFIT CALLING ON RETAILERS TO MATCH THEIR REPRESENTATION OF BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS TO THE BLACK POPULATION OF AMERICA A seemingly knee-jerk reaction to jump on the bandwagon of Sephora and Target, a hand-full of retailers agreeing to bet on black does not have long-term effect for the brands and designers looking for shelf space to showcase their wears. According to the 15 Percent Pledge, the American retail industry has 8,753 Black-owned businesses, with 50,539 employees. There are over 1 million retail stores from independent mom and pops to multi store legends in the United States. Black owned retail makes up less than 1% of the multi-trillion dollar business. However, Nielsen says, Black consumers command $1.3 trillion in annual buying power from clothing to streaming downloads. The numbers seem crazy but close to the truth. So where is all that money going? Luxury shops at Duomo di Milano Italy. Black dollars help fuel the European luxury market in the US among the wealthy and poor. By any means necessary, we will raise the capital needed for a luxury brand item. We then travel to areas unfamiliar or areas we are oftentimes not even wanted, making our shopping experience uncomfortable for some. But still the purchase goes through as an affirmation for our hardearned money going into the hands of the cashier of the high-end brand. The cycle still continues, but that is where it ends for us.
That brand will then turn our dollars over to the often European market, where it gets distributed to their supply chain. Our dollars do not get circulated back into our communities or companies in the same way or magnitude non-black dollars do. Our black dollar spending power ends up in the hands of non-blacks. Period. There is no circulation. There is no ecosystem. And therefore we cannot hold on the movement for more than a moment. The Black Fashion Cycle and the parts of the pie. Black contribution to fashion at 20% consist of being the creative and the consumer. We lack the faculties of being the manufacturer, distributor and end of life=circulation facilitator. And beyond the design studio, there remains a lack of Black representation in the senior executive suite of major fashion and beauty companies worldwide. (TONYA BLAZIO-LICORISH AND OBI ANYANWU FOR WWD) My husband usually says we’ve got the cart in front of the horse. The African American/Black experience in fashion starts out in the usual way as a creative. And then as a consumer. But in between those phases, there is structure and segments that drive the business that we are not apart of. And it is as simple as OWNERSHIP. Because ownership in fashion is scarce, we cannot really find solid ground to stand on. We will continue to ask others for help instead of navigating through the very industry that leverages our culture as “cool” validation today.
When we do not own our operation within the business, there is only but so far we can go. In the beginning, we are getting fashion education from non-black institutes. We are being taught to design for a non-black audience and aspire to work for a non-black company. It is not until the student becomes “disruptive” enough to create with their likeminded brethren, do we break from those lessons. Once we graduate from fashion school – we showcase our portfolios to the plethora of white fashion houses. We then discover that the garments, shoes and accessories are more than likely made in China or some European artisan country. The distribution companies that ship and insure these brands are also non-black. Making it impossible for any further participation outside of a designer, retailer (maybe) and consumer. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to participate in the whole entirety of the fashion cycle? We lack ownership in the true backbone to the fashion industry (MDF): Manufacturing Distribution Fiscal insurance Without the MDF, we are only spinning our wheels. Selfmade independent seamstresses and clobbers are aware of the complexity of this cycle and why it is so important for them to keep that circle tight. There are profit margins to consider and keeping the lights on forever to ensure longevity of the craft. No one wants their business to fail after two short years of trying. There have been countless black-owned footwear brands that have fallen to the wayside because of the lack of ownership in MDF. A Nielsen’s report states advertising dollars designed to reach Black consumers declined by $1 billion between 2017 and 2018, according to the report. (Photo: NPPA Newswire)
There are thousands of black owned fashion businesses that can be discovered across instagram with phenomenal followers and amazing reelz. Press coverage and celebrity styling gain fame potential because in 2021, if you have not purchased fashion from a black owned business, you are out of style. But the reality of these businesses happens offline and only time will tell if Jame’s 15% or constant sustainable support will keep these businesses around. Have you seen the movie The Banker? Well – imagine what downtown Los Angeles would look like if Garrett and Morris were able to continue their plans. Black owned banks loaning money to black businesses, home owners and retail giants, creating big commerce and industry. Changing the narrative means changing the way the game is played. What we need is a real effective board, organization and fiscal institutions that will carry the initiative of African American, Black and IBPOC fashion businesses and see it through fruition. We would not depend on the PPP, minority grants and options that are designed to take you to 20% of the pie. We will not succeed with only a piece; we need the whole pie. AND, from A-Z the pie needs to be made by us – ingredients, plate, stove and all. There are a handful of black owned manufacturers and possibly distributors but the percentage is so low – they are only known by word of mouth. With solid ownership in education, factory facilities, marketing, logistics and grounds to conduct commerce, our dollars will recycle back into our ecosystem and scale up-andcoming businesses with room to flourish while establishing long-lasting footholds in the fashion. Formulating The Black Fashion Cycle is pivotal to absolute success in this industry. We’d have a horse that can carry that cart to the moon and back.
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