I often get asked to recommend books so here are three gems that I highly suggest. [Click for full post.]
Forty Million Dollar Slaves by William C. Rhoden
Due to recent news in the sports world, this is a great read that would provide some much needed insight.
From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.
Provocative and controversial, Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes’ “evolution” has merely been a journey from literal plantations—where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings—to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the “conveyor belt” that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they’re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.
The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today’s shackles are often the athletes’ own making.
Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis Graham
The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks by Randall Robinson
If you get a chance to read one or all three, let me know your thoughts!
Forty Million Dollar Slaves by William C. Rhoden
Due to recent news in the sports world, this is a great read that would provide some much needed insight.
From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.
Provocative and controversial, Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes’ “evolution” has merely been a journey from literal plantations—where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings—to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the “conveyor belt” that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they’re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.
The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today’s shackles are often the athletes’ own making.
Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis Graham
Debutante cotillions. Million-dollar homes. Summers in Martha's Vineyard. Membership in the Links, Jack & Jill, Deltas, Boule, and AKAs. An obsession with the right schools, families, social clubs, and skin complexion. This is the world of the black upper class and the focus of the first book written about the black elite by a member of this hard-to-penetrate group.
Author and TV commentator Lawrence Otis Graham, one of the nation's most prominent spokesmen on race and class, spent six years interviewing the wealthiest black families in America. He includes historical photos of a people that made their first millions in the 1870s. Graham tells who's in and who's not in the group today with separate chapters on the elite in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nashville, and New Orleans. A new Introduction explains the controversy that the book elicited from both the black and white communities.
The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks by Randall Robinson
In this powerful and controversial book, distinguished African-American political leader and thinker Randall Robinson argues for the restoration of the rich history that slavery and segregation severed. Drawing from research and personal experience, he shows that only by reclaiming their lost past and proud heritage can blacks lay the foundation for their future. And white Americans can make reparations for slavery and the century of racial discrimination that followed with monetary restitution, educational programs, and the kinds of equal opportunities that will ensure the social and economic success of all its citizens.
In a book that is both an unflinching indictment of past wrongs and an impassioned call to our nation to educate all Americans about the history of Africa and its people, Robinson makes a persuasive case for the debt white America owes blacks, and the debt blacks owe themselves.
If you get a chance to read one or all three, let me know your thoughts!
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Since the inception of our website, I have made a habit of keeping up to date various resources that may be useful to the #100BusinessGirls community. I just added a Business Loan Guide produced by ConsumerAffairs.com that I thought would be useful.
Consumer Affairs is one of the leading expert resources when it comes to making smarter buying decisions, and their guide provides a variety of options that may help finance your vision. If you are considering applying for a business loan, now or in the future, this would be a good place to start your research and just become aware of the options available.
One of the biggest obstacles women in business encounter is funding. Please know that you can start a business without a loan. I repeat you don't need a loan to start a business. But depending on what type of business you operate, you may be interested in seeking one to grow your business.
If you never visited our Resources Suite click here to go there now. Not only do we have things about startups, but you can find links to information on other organizations for women in business, agencies that assist small business owners, and a listing of recommended books. We also have a fully curated Amazon bookstore where you can browse and shop from our bookshelf.
Consumer Affairs is one of the leading expert resources when it comes to making smarter buying decisions, and their guide provides a variety of options that may help finance your vision. If you are considering applying for a business loan, now or in the future, this would be a good place to start your research and just become aware of the options available.
One of the biggest obstacles women in business encounter is funding. Please know that you can start a business without a loan. I repeat you don't need a loan to start a business. But depending on what type of business you operate, you may be interested in seeking one to grow your business.
If you never visited our Resources Suite click here to go there now. Not only do we have things about startups, but you can find links to information on other organizations for women in business, agencies that assist small business owners, and a listing of recommended books. We also have a fully curated Amazon bookstore where you can browse and shop from our bookshelf.
As the new year approaches or is already upon us (depending on when you read this), I wanted to take this time to go over a very important topic that we sometimes need to be reminded of: and that is Measuring Your Success.
Every year we all set goals and declare that which ever year is our year. I see a lot of people are planning SLAY 2017. Well do you, boo. I ain't mad at ya. But for those of us who don't want to be relegated to certain years, but a for life, here a few tips I share in my book, 70 Tips of Women in Business: A Compilation to Get Unstuck (Literary Candy Books, 2013). I think it can be applied to your own personal slay plan.
1. Set Resolutions throughout the year, not just for the new year. Every day, hour, and minute is an opportunity to set a goal and to start fresh.
2. If you slack off, start over. There's nothing wrong with picking up where you left off. Just remember to keep moving forward.
3. Be patient. Depending on what is required to reach your goal, it may not happen overnight or in a year.
4. Take time out to measure your progress and see how far you've come.
5. Measure YOUR success against YOUR OWN success. Don't look at what other people doing and question why you aren't where they are. You don't know what they put into their work or what connections they have. You will get to where you want to be in your own time and in your way.
Bonus Tip: Write down your goals in a notebook so you are able to map everything as you see it in your head. This is a great way to flush out your ideas and to sort your short and long terms goals. Plus every idea you have may not be doable, but the ones that are, you don't want to forget them.
Bonus Tip #2: If one of your goals is to write a book, don't put it off any longer. I wrote and self-published my first book eight years ago. I've published seven titles and completed a screenplay since then. Get it out of your head, If you keep saying you "want to write a book", you'll never write a book. You should be "writing your book". Just changing the wording in your mind is a great way to be self-motivated.
I wish you a very healthy + prosperous New Year and I want to personally thank you for visiting and taking the time out to read.
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