WI Web Staff
FraserNet, The Empowerment Experiment and Black Business Advocates Unite to Promote "Cash Mobs" in 7 Major Cities
NEW YORK CITY-Nationally recognized entrepreneur George Fraser, CEO of FraserNet and Maggie Anderson, CEO of The Empowerment Experiment, and Black business advocates launch their first Cash Mob (Noir), an event that will demonstrate the economic value and benefit of supporting local, quality, Black-owned businesses.
The Cash Mob (Noir) operates the same way as a flash mob, but with one major difference: instead of "flashing" the mob will be "spending cash" at a Black-owned business.
Participants in the Cash Mob (Noir) will spend at least $20 at local Black businesses in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC/Prince George's County, MD between 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Saturday, May 19 to demonstrate the great buying power of Black consumers.
When Black consumers consistently spend more money with Black-owned businesses, the community will see improvement, by way of recycled dollars and job creation. Supporting Black businesses will change lives. Additionally there will be a Mob-Mixer afterwards at a Black-owned lounge from 7-9 p.m. to celebrate and network.
WHEN: Saturday, May 19 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Visit: http://www.frasernet.com%20or http://www.eefortomorrow.com%20for details.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network (NAN), along with Julian Bond, NAACP chairman emeritus, and other civil rights leaders has released this open letter in support of President Barack Obama's stance on same-sex marriage:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As leaders in today's Civil Rights Movement, we stand behind the President Obama's belief that same sex couples should be allowed to join in civil marriages. We also affirm that individuals may hold different views on this issue but still work together towards our common goals: fair housing and equitable education, affordable health care and eradicating poverty, all issues of deep and abiding concern for our communities. President Obama stated his view that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
This is a view that we concur with, because as civil rights leaders we cannot fight to gain rights for some and not for all. At the same time, we acknowledge that the President stated his personal opinion, which everyone is entitled to – both those who agree with him, like us, and those who disagree. The President made clear that his support is for civil marriage for same-sex couples, and he is fully committed to protecting the ability of religious institutions to make their own decisions about their own sacraments.
There will be those who seek to use this issue to divide our community. As a people, we cannot afford such division. It is our hope that conversations on strengthening African American families continue in a civil and respectful way, on all sides, both with those who support the ability of same-sex couples to marry, and those who do not.
We are glad that President Obama has joined Dr. Joseph Lowery, Dr. Julian Bond and so many others in full embrace of equality for gay and lesbian individuals in our country. We also welcome the civil debate on this issue that will surely spring. And we encourage all individuals to keep all issues of import to our communities in mind in the days ahead, and we seek to secure equal justice, opportunity and dignity for all God's children.
People use water every day to meet their domestic, industrial, agricultural, medical, and recreational needs. Access to public water sources that are safe and reliable is crucial for the health and prosperity of a society.
Making Tap Water Safe and Healthy
Tap water not only provides Americans with water for daily activities (like drinking, bathing, and cooking), but also is used to deliver fluoride (to reduce the potential for tooth decay).
With the implementation of disinfection methods for drinking water, there has been a drastic decline in cases of typhoid fever in the United States. Image Credit: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Click to view larger chart.During the past century, many improvements in the health, prosperity, and longevity of the U.S. population can be attributed to improvements in water quality. Water treatment and disinfection have made U.S. tap water one of the safest and healthiest drinking water supplies in the world (2).
In 1908, Jersey City, New Jersey, was the first city in the United States to begin routine disinfection of a municipal drinking water supply (3). Over the next decade, thousands of cities and towns across the United States began disinfecting their drinking water. This disinfection led to a dramatic decrease in cases of waterborne illness (diseases spread through water) and death (4).
For example, in 1900 there were approximately 100 cases of typhoid fever for every 100,000 persons living in the United States (5). In 2006, the rate had declined to 0.1 cases for every 100,000 persons (only 353 cases of illness in total) and approximately 75% —or 265 cases—occurred among international travelers (6). Adding fluoride to our tap water has also helped reduce the amount of tooth decay experienced by the public. Both the disinfection and fluoridation of public water systems are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century (7, 8).
Protecting Tap Water from Contaminants
As a result of environmental regulations, such as the Clean Water Act (passed in 1972), many sources of water pollution—particularly sewage—have been reduced over the years. However, treating water to remove or kill disease-causing contaminants is still critical. Contamination of drinking water sources can occur at multiple points, including in the source water, through inadequate water treatment, in storage tanks, and in drinking water distribution systems (the pipes that carry water to homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets maximum concentration levels for many water pollutants and regulates drinking water quality in public water systems. Every community water system is required to provide its customers with an annual consumer confidence report.
This report gives information on local drinking water quality, including the water's source, the levels of contaminants found in the water, problems with the water treatment system which may have occurred, and how customers can get involved in protecting their drinking water.
Fifty Shades of Grey, E. L. James
Sunrise Point, Robyn Carr
The Witness, Nora Roberts
Fifty Shades Darker, E.L. James
The Innocent, David Baldacci
Guilty Wives, James Patterson
What Doesn't Kill You, Iris Johansen
Imagine: How Creativy Works, Karen Gravano
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
The President's Club, Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has presented Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed with its highest honor, the Louis E. Martin Great American Award, for his innovative and effective leadership in guiding his city through difficult economic challenges in the wake of the recent recession.
Mayor Reed received the award at the Joint Center's Annual Gala Dinner Tuesday night in Washington before an audience of more than 500 elected and appointed government officials and business, civic and community leaders from across the country.
Mayor Reed was honored for improving the delivery of public services in Atlanta and strengthening the city's financial position while working to improve the quality of life for its most vulnerable residents.
Joint Center President Ralph B. Everett said that Mayor Reed is a forceful, forward-looking leader. "His record of success, his efforts to bring everyone in his community together to solve problems, his innovative spirit in finding solutions that work, and his determination to ensure that no one is left behind – these are the qualities that make Mayor Reed one of the most compelling leaders of his generation," said Everett.
"He has earned a reputation as an unflinching advocate for our nation's urban centers who recognizes that sustaining support for them is a necessity, even in tough economic times," said Cynthia G. Marshall, chair of the Joint Center's Board of Governors and President of AT&T North Carolina.
The Joint Center is a Washington research and policy institution that has supported African American leadership and encouraged broad political participation for more than 40 years.
The Louis E. Martin Great American Award is named for the legendary journalist and presidential advisor who was a co-founder of the Joint Center. Previous award recipients include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and William J. Clinton, Congressmen James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Muhammad Ali, lawyer and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the late civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Last year's recipient was Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), who is also from Atlanta.
Mayor Reed demonstrated his leadership traits when, as an undergraduate at Howard University more than 20 years ago, he created a fundraising program that has contributed more than $10 million over the years to the school's endowment. He was appointed as the University's youngest General Trustee in June 2002 and remains a member of that body.
"Kasim Reed, a beloved son of Howard University, represents our core values of leadership, excellence, truth and service," said University President Sidney A. Ribeau. "Mayor Reed's accomplishments in Atlanta have established him as one of the leading mayors in the nation. We congratulate him on this extraordinary Joint Center award. Well done!"
The Annual Gala Dinner is the organization's major fundraising event. This year's theme was Continuing our Commitment for the Next Generation.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation's leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. To learn more, please visit www.jointcenter.org.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry.
"I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and I sensed that for a lot of people, " Obama said in an interview with Robin Roberts, host of ABC's "Good Morning America," where he added that some of his daughters' friends have parents who are same-sex couples.
"Over the course of several years, as I talked to friends, family and neighbors and when I think about members of my own staff or incredibly committed monogamous relationships . . . or those marines or sailors out there fighting on my behalf . . for me personally, it is important to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said.
His comments make Obama the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support gay marriage.
Meanwhile, the president had been under intense pressure lately to lay out a clear stance on same-sex marriage after Vice President Joe Biden and other top advisers endorsed the issue.
During his 2008 campaign, Obama had been opposed to same-sex marriage. But I explaining his previous reluctance on May 9, he said he'd had hesitated on gay marriage, in part because, " I thought civil unions would be sufficient... And I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that invokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth."
The District of Columbia Branch NAACP has launched its "This Is My Vote" campaign, which is an area-wide initiative to register more than 5,000 new African-American, Latino and minority voters prior to the November presidential election.
The campaign is a non-partisan initiative designed to increase civic participation, education and turn out among minority, young and elderly voters. The NAACP D.C. branch has already begun training and mobilizing volunteers to register and educate new voters in churches, schools, grocery stores and recreation centers across the D.C. area. The campaign will use door-to-door canvassing, registration booths at public events and on-site voter registration stations to help attract, register and turn out new voters.
Conducting a voter registration is easy, according to the District organization, and individuals, churches, sororities and fraternities, interest groups and civic organizations of all sizes are invited to partner in the effort. The Disrict branch will provide training, planning assistance and resources to partner organizations.
"This is our time! We demand our civil rights through exercising our voting rights," said Akosua Tyus, NAACP branch president. District branch Political Action Chair, Brandon Andrews added that, "We must empower our communities to advocate for solutions that best fit the problems they face. Holding elected officials accountable at the ballot is a powerful tool in this process. Join us in our effort."
For more information or to inquire about partnering or holding a registration event please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
For the NAACP, April is a historic month. On April 4, 1968, civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated while advocating against economic injustice, a fundamental tenet of his Poor People's Campaign.
The Campaign called on the federal government to provide a stronger safety net for the poor because Dr. King recognized economic justice as intractably linked to racial justice. He famously stated, "Depressed living standards for Negroes are not simply the consequences of neglect. Nor can they be explained by the myth of the Negro's innate incapacities, or by the more sophisticated rationalization of his acquired infirmities. They are a structural part of the economic system in the United States."
Continuing this call for economic justice, the NAACP re-affirmed economic issues as central to advancing equality, and on April 4, 2011, the orginization opened the Financial Freedom Center (FFC), headquarters for the NAACP Economic Department.
The FFC was birthed out of an agreement between Wells Fargo and the NAACP to work constructively to improve fair credit access, sustainable homeownership and to provide financial education resources to communities of color and other historically disadvantaged communities.
The NAACP Economic Department's work is informed by its three advocacy pillars 1). Empowering local communities with the necessary education, resources and partnerships to develop sustainable economic models that advance diversity and equity; 2.) Ensuring that government and industry are knowledgeable, and committed to bridging racial inequality particularly as it relates to employment, wealth, lending practices, and business ownership; and 3.) Growing a movement of concerned citizens and organizations who work together to produce an inclusive and strong middle class for the 21st century economy. Over the past year, the NAACP Economic Department staff has grown to include nine full time staff members, several interns and four program areas 1) Economic Education; 2) Fair Lending; 3) Diversity and Inclusion and 4) Community and Economic Development.
The NAACP's Economic Department has successfully trained 21 NAACP units nationwide to provide yearlong financial education workshops in their communities. The Department will be inaugurating a new group of units (including youth and college chapters) this spring. The NAACP Economic Department participates in the NAACP national, regional and state conferences presenting on issues such as racial economic inequality and financial education, as well as facilitating brainstorming sessions around economic issues to mobilize communities into action. The Department has participated in external conferences including the Bennett College Invisible Woman Conference, the Color of Wealth Policy Summit and the White House Youth Jobs + Summit. The NAACP Economic Department has also helped organize events like the We Are One Conference and the Gulf Financial Counseling Fairs.
Most recently, the Department launched the Financial Advocacy and Community Tour (F.A.C.T.) at regional conferences throughout the country. F.A.C.T. provided local residents with access to hands-on expertise through financial planners, HUD certified counselors, representatives from financial institutions and non-profit economic advocacy organizations. F.A.C.T. is a continuation of our work to help families and individuals know the facts about racial economic inequality, today's structural economic challenges, repairing credit, increasing and maintaining homeownership and building wealth.
Also, the NAACP Economic Department has strengthened and enhanced its communications tools. The Department's official website, (www.Naacp.org/Econ) is live and highlights our work as well as provides economic resources including reports, PowerPoint presentations, recommended economic websites and much more. We are on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Also, we release our economic update, "The Angle," the 15th of every month and regularly contribute to the Crisis, NAACP's quarterly publication.
Lamelll Mc Morris, CEO of Perennial Strategy Group, a Washington, D.C, based family of businesses, has launched the 2012 Perennial Youth Business Competition which will award 10 District residents enrolled in high school or a high school equivalency program with $1,000 each to start or expand their own businesses.
Later this month, 20 semi-finalists will be selected to compete with their own "elevator pitches" before a panel of local and national business leaders. In June, 10 winners will be announced, culminating in a banquet on June 23,where they will be recognized and awarded their prizes.
McMorris explained his motivations for launching this innovative program: "Ten years ago I moved to Washington, D.C., with little more than an idea, a Rolodex, a lot of determination, and a high school intern as my only employee. Today, I'm fortunate to be the CEO of Perennial Strategy Group, a thriving government and public relations firm; Perennial Law Group, which focuses on the entertainment, sports and media industries, and Perennial Sports and Entertainment, a full service operation with agents representing some of the nation's top athletes." McMorris continued: "As an entrepreneur, I'm pleased to encourage young people to think big and act on their ideas, and with the 2012 Perennial Youth Business Competition, I hope to give 10 D.C. youth a chance to do just that."
To be considered for the prize, contestants must complete an online application detailing their business proposal, financial projections and marketing strategies. For competition details and deadlines, visit: www.perennialsg.com/youthcompetition.
Customers Have Had Fewer Outages
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With fewer outages, and those occurring being shorter in duration, Pepco customers are starting to see benefits from ongoing efforts to improve reliability.
"Providing safe and reliable electricity to our customers is our utmost priority," Thomas H. Graham, President, Pepco Region, said Monday. "We are investing more than a half-billion dollars in reliability enhancements to make sure we can meet our customers' expectations. This is an ongoing effort, but it is starting to pay off."
Customers served by upgraded power lines experienced a 39 percent reduction in the average number of power outages of normal day-to-day service during 2011 as compared to 2010. When outages did occur, they didn't last nearly as long, declining by 56 percent compared to 2010.
Pepco began a strategic initiative in September 2010 to improve reliability including trimming trees and replacing cable along power lines that span thousands of miles. Since then, Pepco has:
· Trimmed more than 3,239 miles of trees along power lines in Maryland and 556 miles in the District of Columbia. Pepco plans to trim another 750 miles in Maryland between now and the end of the year and 242 miles in the District. Pepco increased the number of tree trimmers on its system from 150 in September 2010 to 315 currently. The company also has award-winning arborists on staff who help ensure that the trees that are being trimmed stay healthy. · In 2011 Pepco inspected 63 of its electric lines that provide power to its substations and found that tree trimming was necessary for all of them and improvements were needed for all of them. The improvements should be completed by this summer. The trimming should be completed in 2013 · Renewed or replaced more than 439 miles of neighborhood underground electric cable in Maryland since September 2010 and plans to do the same for another 199 miles between now and the end of 2012.
Beyond trimming trees and replacing or renewing cable, Pepco is also improving the service of feeder lines that bring power into neighborhoods with the poorest reliability and on enhancing the responsiveness of its customer service center.
In Customer Care, the number of representatives who take customer calls has doubled – from 40 to 80, the number of phone lines has more than doubled – from 300 to 644, and the company has made arrangements to tap into more outside customer service help during major outages. All Customer Care representatives have been retrained, and Pepco also provided training for the 275 employees who will provide additional help when needed.
"We have worked hard to identify areas where we can improve our system and our performance, and we are working hard and making the investments necessary to get those improvements made," Graham said. "We are making progress, and we will continue this work to better meet our own expectations and those of our customers."
For more information and updates, visit www.pepco.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PepcoConnect and Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/PepcoConnect
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