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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Winning the Future for Black America

I have observed two extremes for Black America recently. 

At the lowest extreme, there are indicators of poverty, high school dropout reates, single parent households headed by women, incarceration rates for Black males, unemployment at devastating levels.

At the other extreme is the growth rate of Black businesses (3 times the national rate), a record number of Black elected officals, middle class Blacks in key positions in government and industry (not in high numbers, but access to leadership, wealth and power), the very wealthiest of Black Americans doing well and thriving (i.e., Oprah, Bob Johnson, Magic Johnson, Bill Cosby, Tom Joyner, Tavis Smiley, etc.), and of course, the ultimate success of Barack Obama, President of the USA.

I want to pose a simple proposition to those who are still reading. Individual Blacks have the opportunity to affect both of these extremes in a positive way.  When your individual situation is examined in an honest light, you either need help or can offer help to both of these.  You can help the successful Black Americans by voting, supporting their causes, buying their  products, and emulating their work habits that made them successful.  You can help those at the lowest end of the spectrum by volunteering to mentor or provide meals on wheels, or offeirng a job to someone who needs and is willing to work.  Therefore, most of us are in the middle -- we can support our own advance or that of others (ahead of us or behind us), or we can conclude that what we can do as individuals will make no difference.

If you believe that we cannot make any difference, PLEASE STOP READING NOW!

For those who have even the smallest capacity to help someone, please answer one simple question.  Do you want to help?  YES OR NO.

At iZania, we are planning an initiative for those who answer YES.  This is not a get rich scheme, but it is an economic initiative to engage as many Black consumers as possible to leverage our discretionary income to --  WIN THE FUTURE FOR BLACK AMERICA.

Our most important need today is Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.  Followed by Education, Education, Education.  When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus answered with two (See Matthew 22:34-40).  The two greatest needs of the iZania Community (the descendents of Africa in America) are jobs to meet current needs, and education to prepare for future needs.  We can leverage the spending power we have today to help solve both of those needs.

Supporting Black-owned businesses = jobs for African Americans. Studies show that 76% of the employees of Black-owned businesses are Black.  So, there is a compelling reason to support Black owned businesses -- jobs, jobs, jobs -- for African Americans.  That begins to address the immediate needs within our communities.  We have enough discretionary spending power to make a difference for Black-owned businesses, and job seekers.

We win the future of education by sheer effort -- doing whatever it takes to keep our children in school getting the best education they can.  The future belongs to those who have 21st century skills.  Most Black-owned businesses that will survive into the future need skilled workers.  There is no help for dropouts.  It is simple -- "Quitters never win."

Our initiatives will begin within a few weeks.  If you want to win the future for yourself -- or for those you can help -- reply with a simple answer.  Just say YES. 

We will provide more information for those who want to Win The Future.

 Winners Never Quit!