Transcripts For CSPAN Women Of Color Empowerment Conference 20141026

Another chance to see our 1991 interview with ben bradlee who passed away this week. Chris the 20 15th cspan student camera competition is underway open to all middle and High School Students to create a documentary of the theme, the three branches and du, show how policies or law or action by the branches of the federal government has affected you or your community. There are 200 cash prizes or students and teachers. For a list of rules and how to get started, go to our website. A portion of this years women of color empowerment conference. You will hear from the National Superintendent of the year on immigration and education. Discussions on Net Neutrality and what is ahead for congress after the november election. As remarked by maggie anderson. And remarks by maggie anderson. Our first speaker has worked in the Technology Industry for more than 25 years. She has spent most for career at leading Market Research and fulfillment firms serve as a partner and cio with simmons Market Research for 16 years. Sold it she her partner to experience. She is currently coleading mobile Software Development teams in north america, costa rica, australia, and malaysia. Please welcome her. Thank you. 2 [applause] good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for that introduction. I had to look around to see who she was talking about. The organizers for extending the invitation to me this morning. They queue for this opportunity. I want to say i am empowered already by looking at all of you this morning and you look fabulous and especially such a saturday. Fantastic. I do want to say i am a Fort Lauderdale native born right here and reared and attended the Public Schools. In thee any titans house, went to nobles. That was a many, many years ago. Ago i wasmany pounds on the drill team. [laughter] i will take you guys off of memory lane and then we would have to sing. For a few minutes this morning what i am going to do is discuss a topic around the internet that has been trolling and getting a lot of attention especially this past week. As you know, the internet has multiple layers of content that we all access every day. Media,ss videos, social pdf files. We access all of the information which is a wealth of information every single day. However, this axis is being threatened by opponents of Net Neutrality. What is Net Neutrality . Trout he is at its most basic fort gives everyone equal access to the power of the internet. Next to travel to Net Neutrality at its most basic give everyone equal access to the power of the internet. The phone company told you we you could call or what you could say on the phone . That would not go over too well, would it . What is happening on the internet, there is legislation , it can, if it goes through sensors the content and what you do on the internet. Compaq, at t, big Telecom Companies are the companies that want these rules to go through. As they stepl do back, the Cable Companies what they have been doing isnt that the lobbying the government to destroy Net Neutrality. Underlying printables that have made the internet so awesome principles that make the internet so awesome. One offer on the topic put it very well and said this is a power grab and the corporate behemoth that wants to lock down the internet and turn it much in the way cable tv is run. If you think about cable tv and you think by direct tv and the services, somehow the Hallmark Channel and some do not. The same can happen with the internet. They would decide which content you could see him and was content your business could push out and of course, that would be or mental. How does this really affected the business . Net neutrality for Small Businesses, startups and entrepreneurs that rely on the internet for businesses, they need the open, free space to create a market, to advertise their product and services and distribute to the customers. We need this open internet across to foster job growth, competition, and innovation. Net neutrality lowers the barriers of entry for theepreneurs and ensures web is a fair and level playing field. It is because of Net Neutrality that Small Business is and entrepreneurs have been able to thrive on the internet. Internet each day to reach out to their new customers and to showcase their goods, their applications, and services. There should be no company that interferes with this open marketplace. By Internet Service provider definition are the gatekeeper of the internet. As gatekeepers, they want to create profit. Neutrality, Companies Like google and companies that started up in a garage, that would not be possible. Those companies especially in the early stages, would not be able to afford the fees that these companies would charge for usage of the internet. So, what is being done about it . I do not know if you know, but on this past wednesday, september 10, several of the more popular websites like cases, and in some reddit, what they did is they a circle that is similar when you are trying to download the video and it is taking time. What they were trying to do is bring attention to what would happen if the internet word to be in a slow would to be in a slow line. Lane, you are trying to bring down a video, you could sit there and wait and wait for your content to come down. Of course, you would be frustrated and you would want to go to the fast lane will stop can would cost you so you get that content. That is one of the things we have to stay out in front of to ensure we are fighting those ks that want to hide hinder our ability to access the internet in a free space. Or its gotd that, to the attention of millions of that werebusinesses redirected to a website and i will tell you, it was called battleforthenet. Com. It was used to flood the decisionmakers with phone calls and emails on this issue. It is one we have to stay in nt of because we can internet discrimination, a slow lane and fast lane. Content blocking and slowdowns. Of thisoppable momentum internet slowdown is a reflection of the public outcry that has been simmering since the fcc first announced his proposals to allow for a divided internet. If we think about it, it is more than about how fast your pages will mud down. History has shown that if a system can be used to censor and marginalized voices, it will be used to do just that. Traveled the business net truth Net Neutrality is the secret ingredient is where everyone has a voice. Has been said all websites are created equally and you shall reliable access for every single thing that the web has to offer. Whether you are clicking on links to your favorite news website or looking at cap video, what ever it is that you dont that you do, you should have the right to access freely. One of the Court Actions on this. And the United States, here in 2014 of this year, the u. S. Court of appeals sent a framework of Net Neutrality back to the u. S. Federal commissioner claiming that the commission had tverreached its authority a blocking content. In other words, the court was saying that in the framework that was to ensure that these on anrs treat all content equal and nondiscriminatory basis was beyond the authority of the fcc. With this ruling from an individual and business stand point, we now do not have any that protection in place will prevent of charges for access to specialized content on the internet. The good news is that for opposition of these changes and though public outcry have kept these actions at they for nearly 20 years. For nearly 20 years. This is not a new issue. There has been fighting on the issue. The Cable Companies and at t and all of those companies, as they grow and get bigger, it becomes more of a direct. We must continue to fight and retain our right to the internet as we know them today. Thank you so much for your time. [applause] thank you very much. That was very informative and we appreciate that. Our next speaker is superintendent of Broward County. Journey has been filled with hard work and perseverance. He was born in jamaica and moved to the u. S. As a young boy. He was the first member all caps family to attend college. And the college he attended what harvard. He was the founder of a management company. Upon leaving, he joined the Chicago Public schools where he served in various strategic roles including chief Information Officer and in october of 2011, he was the 20th as superintendent of the Broward County of the School System. He is leading an effort right schools to theet place where they need to be in terms of technology and the like. There is a bond referendum we are asking Broward County voters to support in november. We bring superintendent robert runcey. [applause] good morning, everyone. Thank you, bernadette. It is a real pleasure to be here. To be andlace southwest florida this morning. Members,r school board shes a great inspirational fighter for our children, social justice, Economic Opportunities for our community. [applause] the Broward County is fortunate to have her on the school board with her leadership. Year off to another great in the Broward County. Studentsbout 263,000 in the district and they continue to do very well. Our last graduating class and june, 16,000 students graduated and earned over 125 million in scholarships. There were number one in the ande of florida for awards distinctions and advanced placement. Number two in the country for africanamerican students who score past in advance placement and number two for hispanic students. Doing quite well there. [applause] we have some exciting new initiatives this year. Scholastic largest Chess Program in the nation. About 34,000 second and third graders as part of the math curriculum to enhance other analytical skills. Their analytical skills. We have the largest Debate Program in the entire country. At every single one of our high schools and roll it out to every middle school. Differenta lot of disciplines together, research, ability to write and figure out and analyze situations, present and defend your ideas, debate is it. It gives our students a bunch of great skills. Of our middle schools [applause] volleyball is a football for girls and boys. And football for girls and boys. Inhave the Largest Program Computer Science and over 1600 students in our high schools signed up for that this year. I have heard a lot since i have arrived about creating more options for our students and families. This year, we opened our first school and we k8 continue to turn around some of our struggling schools. Last year, we went through a process. Transformed a number of our schools. One of the hospitals that is first one of our schools. Its first 1a. In aoved from a d to an a single year. We are getting it done. Kara of what helps me get my job done and i am so luckily to have with me, the most dynamic and fabulous empowering woman i know, my wife, diane. Stand up, please. She is the rock of the family. And our three daughters. Ago, we becameks emptynesters as we send our youngest three daughters off to college. We areat princeton, fortunate for that. A second daughter at spellman. [applause] the third daughter is graduated. A proud moment for us as i reflect on that and my journey and count the blessings i have received from god and feel fortunate to be in front of you today. Workinspires me to do the that we do in Broward County is to give every single one of our children the same opportunity i had, the same opportunity as my daughters have host. To get a great education. It should not matter what your peers do for a living it should not matter what your parents do for a living or what zip code you live in. Greation is the equalizer. Every student should have the ability for success. Every student should have the ability to dream about being a doctor, lawyer, engineer, grade teacher, successful Business Owner, or state legislature. Legislator. , butust play video games be able to create them. This . What is the key 12 to all of this . Teachers. , women and control the destiny of this country. I look at some of the great things women have done and our our schools to really transform lives and i think about my situation. One close to home is my oldest daughter, she decided to join teach for america. She was working at new orleans high school. She was working at miami gardens. Was their teaching biology and they had a pretty low pass rate for the final exam. Themsingle year she moved to about 83 pass rate. [applause] a lot of it boils down to, you havee first that to foster relationships with kids. We talk about reading and writing and those are the basics , but we do Something Special beyond that. We helped to develop that human beings and Human Potential and it starts with her was shipped to have with the individual in their school. With the starts relationship you have with the individual and their school. We want our students to learn to critical thinkers and we have to invest in our teachers. Possible for the United States to compete in a Global Economy if we continue to recruit our teachers from the lower ranks of high school graduates, train them poorly, and pay them far less than our highly respected professions like lawyers and doctors and accountants. Holding teachers accountable for their performance of students is not fair and quite frankly, it is kind of foolish. We cannot test our way into excellence. We need policies to compensate, and, educate, develop retain our teachers as we do with other professions and provide them with professional working conditions. We started with changing our accountability system. The Current System in florida has many challenges and i will highlight some of them. First, student results on standardized testing make up 50 of a teachers evaluation and personnel decisions. Most states are half that number. I asked, why . The answer i get is, well, when they were putting this in place, florida look at other states and they were at 25 so they wanted to be tough and make it 50 . Most states are half so we can start by reducing to 25 which will put it in line with most of the country. Secondly, we need to have a more diverse set of measures in order to get a true picture of student teacher performance. Abouttability needs to be helping students and teachers to get better rather than punitive. We need an Evaluation System that can incorporate several te nets you. Need to take into account student achievement and administrative observation. I am a strong believer of peer evaluation. Monitor can actually and help and support and evaluate their colleagues. Finally, if you ever wanted to know what happens in the classroom, asked students. Student surveys especially in high school and middle school should be part of the equation. The consequences of very singular and myopic focus has resulted in a significant narrowing of curriculum for our students down to a handful of subjects, resulting in low Teacher Morale and dwindling applications to our schools of education. Some of the recent forecasts we have in broward, we are anticipating a large wave of retirement over the next 510 years. If you couple this with the fact that 50 of teachers leave the profession within five years, you have a perfect storm of disaster growing out there. Where are the next set of qualified teachers going to come from . Our low income and minority students will be hardest hit, so we cannot allow this to happen. What is the alternative . I will offer five ideas. Instead of placing our bets on teacher evaluations and who needs to be dismissed, lets identify the need of teacher and focus on their development. There is no alternative pipeline of Great Teachers out there. Our strategy has got to be, how do we focus on making our current teachers, average teachers in some cases, much better . Ability touild their engage students so they are excited about learning . We have to create master teachers for highly motivated to and other teachers to improve the level of confidence and competence. Third, instead of testing on preston is every year, our students should take highstakes test only at main gates in their career. Fifth grade when they leave elementary, eighthgrade and 12th grade. I believe these tests should be of Higher Quality than what we a widew and should cover range of the kind of skills that are in demand in the marketplace. We could supplement to this by introducing other test in off years but really sample of students. This is what they do in other countries like finland, which consistently ranks at the top of the world. The millions of dollars saved from doing all of this testing, you could invest in teachers salaries. [applause] and you make the profession more attractive and you bring a lot of different people to it. The important thing is you have to crate incentives for strong teachers and principals to work and low performance. They need to step up and provide funding and resources and not like they do now with the. Andates in broward, we have 31 of those schools on the list and these are schools that scored lowest interbreeding and the state. Interbreeding in the state in reading in the state. No funding came with it. We have to create conditions for amonglevel of graduation teachers where they can learn from each other to improve your competence and achievement. We have to make more time in the day so as professionals, they can collaborate and use data and information to drive the strategies and learn from each other. Bottom line, what we are doing today does not work. We see only incremental results and lets try new ideas that are working in other parts of the world. Those are just some of my initial thoughts. Where we need to go in education and if you improve, you have to focus on teachers and making it a profession, creating the conditions for success. When the teachers succeed, our students succeed. Bernadette mentioned the school bond referendum, the general obligation for 800 million. One thing i can tell you is this is something that we have in our power right now to change. The t we provide to our studentool and teacherss far too often, we see leaking roofs, classrooms with buckets between systems not working. Single point of entry projects that are not completed. And computers that are more than eight years old and too slow to run applications. We believe our students deserve better than this. We put on our general Obligation Bond referendum on november 4 for our community to invest in our students. I would like to have everyone here go out and show them you do the right thing on november 4 and give us the resources so we can invest in our kiss and provide the environment so they can be successful. And provideds environments that can be successful was the my time is up. I have to leave. I have to meet with the pta. [laughter] [applause] thank you, superintendent. That was a hot topic. [laughter] we have containment that hot topic, we have another school superintendent, who is leading one of the largest school. Ystems here in the nation actually the Fourth Largest School District and he is alb erto. And he is served as superintendent of miamidade since 2008. His a nationally recognized expert on education transformation and finance. He has elevated his miamidade School District academic profile which is widely considered one of the nations highest performing urban School Systems. He has served as the president of the association of latino administrators and superintendent and selective as floridas 2014 superintendent of the year. [applause] welcome dr. Roto dr. Alber to carbajal. Good morning. It is an honor to follow my colleague who does fantastic, transformative work right here. [applause] he is trying to pass the bond referendum and we past one and 2012 and a time where people were opposed to taxes and a community that had ousted the mayor for increasing taxes. That community rewarded us with the passing of a bond with a 70 approval rating. They did that and i will leave this conversation i am itching for the superintendent. They did that because we abovesed Graduation Rates surrounding districts and the state of florida especially for africanamerican and hispanic students, higher graduation the nobel prize in urban education, making us the highest performing urban district for never bring the achievement gap between minorities and nonminority students. [applause] and then the college barred dashboard recognize us as the highest performing district for dramatically increasing the participation of my board is doing is, africanamerican and hispanic in advanced placement courses for the College Level courses. The same time, we we put more kids in these rigorous programs and more students than ever before actually pass the college board, which means if you build it out but they will come. Build highperforming schools and highperforming programs at incentivize student participation. If you have the right principals and teachers in front of the children, they shall achieve. I was asked to come here today and speak about a topic i thought was interesting considering the group which is immigration. I will touch on that a little bit. Anytime we have a chance to speak for children, for open voice list, fragile, whether born here into property poverty or arrived here, i do not pass up that opportunity. I do so for two reasons. Tell, i speake to with an accent, i am an immigrant to this country. I came here when i was 17 years old alone, from a nation of poverty. I was only want to graduate high school. I knew because of my social conditions in my country, my journey of education would have been over there. And mother had no more than a third grade education. My father was a custodian and i am proud and my mother was a seamstress and i am proud of her. Kidsthey talk about poor and when they talk about immigrant kids, i am getting sick and tired of listening to people speaking about poverty when they know nothing about it. [applause] and people who do not understand the immigrant journey speaking of it when they do not experience it will stop i am tired of people speaking about kids and Public Education, many of home, all they want to do is bring down the value of Public Education. I come here today with a measured degree of anger, but also incredibly hopeful about where we will go as a nation. I believe the cement that unites , is indeed Public Education. The only place in america today, whether we are in a church or school, i to eye, shoulder to shoulder, children should and are treated the same way with a same level of hope and opportunity built at a time where the inspiration of a teacher. Somebody who was not supposed to achieve or succeed, but i am here. And now since i am here, nobody can shut me down or shut me up. [applause] at a time when Current Company excluded, some folks in washington, d. C. Fail to [laughter] but my peers have a thirdgrade education, but they were not stupid. Thatime people make mistake. They equally formal education with wisdom. You and i know that wisdom is and the minds of people who have a Little Schooling. It is actually an insult to those who have Little School but high wisdom and for us to think otherwise. The country, an lot of people are saying a whole lot but doing very little. If you worse dominate the empty words deeds dominate the action and deeds it would refer to that as far as immigration and economic development. Said, but often little done. We should ask the question of why is that . Why does the superintendent have to have a hard time fighting for renovated building and equity in Broward County schools . Why do we have to pitch aggressively to bring a restoration of dignity and humanity to classrooms and buildings in our district when we pass a bond . Why is that . Why is it a fight . Why is it not a guarantee . It has been in my mind for a long time. We past that bond for a simple reason, from zip code to zip code in miamidade prior to 2012, i cannot guarantee that the level of access to the children had to a great ,uilding, great classroom 21stcentury technology was the same. You and i know, every single , if little gap johnny cannot read or little mary cannot compute or larry cannot write, every single achievement gap is preceded by an opportunity gap. Opportunity gaps, we know what they are. It can be poverty and does not speak the language or detachment, right . On, it isressed early achievement gaps and achievement gaps and the fact that students cannot perform academically par with her grade level. If the achievement gaps are not addressed in time, you and i know, better than the achievement gaps become economic and often generational gaps. Poverty in america and Broward County and miamidade and simply look at in and they areffects foolish not for considering the cost is far reaching gap compounded by the unaddressed achievement cap. How to turn their . The only way i know is by building what i say is hope and opportunity. It is to be recognized, but it is not an obstacle that cannot be over come. Poverty is to be recognized but not a factor that will determine origin. Me for one within our control. Every single child deserves as a child of god. I am a Public School superintendent and every time i mention god, somebody tells me i should not bring god into the conversation. That is too bad. [laughter] [applause] i think that god was with me. Child can in fact toolse if given the right and write inspired teaching. Number one, acknowledge that teachers have a tougher job. Lets start there. Lets acknowledge that poverty and disability and language and parental detachment and social plight our realities. Lets acknowledge that. Lets keep our feet to the fire of those who are supposed to address those and not blame teachers for what they receive on the first day of school, which is often a child who is opposed to perform at kindergarten level but even i know that the phonemic awareness and cultural experience and exposure data that had up to that point. Devoid ofwho often, the right for it to advice and guidance today are showing up. What do we do . Mayors,e ills that the areted officials, agencies supposed to address. Fortunately in our country these placedoo much blame is on the principal and teacher for causes that preceded them. [applause] will not let principals and teachers off the hook. You know what my take on it is . ,e acknowledge the other issues them, love them, and teaching down. No excuse. Use all of your expertise. Brink your very best every day. To not allow poverty to stand as an excuse as to why johnny or mary cannot learn. By the grace of god, i am an example that property can be overcome. Ok . Let me be very brief and detailed for you on what we should not accept. Ago, i came into a School System where we had nine schools, i will be very honest. All of them in the innercity and all with high percentages of African American students. The northwestern, the central, i will never forget because of the state of Florida Force long as there was an accountability system and i am not promoting it currently, it is flawed and broken. However, for as long as it was, the schools had never been anything other that an f. The ninth highest profiled schools in miamidade are going to be shut down by the state for performance. Will not shut down a school anymore that i shut down a church in your neighborhood. For the beacon of hope may very well rest in that school, or that church. We cannot extinguish that. But, what changes things . How about this . If a principal is not performing , lets give them the support and a second chance. But there are no firms chances. Either you make it or not. But there are no third chances. 70 of crystals over the past six years have been replaced. 6000 teachers, and i respect teachers, 6000 teacher contracts have not been renewed because if lack theskills, but will to teach my child, then i do not need you in front of my child. [applause] knowing thats, should give me the one minute warning inning any minute now. Is beinguperintendent able to predict the future. Lets leave it here. The only thing that matters in Public Education and preserving the democracy and the country we love is understanding the key factors that in fact impact and drive our nation. Number one, Public Education is as key to democracy. Second delay, Public Education is indispensable to economic development. Third, interim people are that isg of prejudice rooted in ignorance. Educated people can reject it because they are enlightened. Fromtionally and morally, a democratic perspective and lastly, from economic development, Public Education is a sec it as sacred to us as our constitution, as the fabric of our flag. That is what i fight for and work for and what i know. Sitting around your tables, what you believe in, we may all come from different journeys, but our final destination and destiny is but one equity for all of the hope for all, and opportunity for all. It begins with one child. Loved one, teach one. God bless. [applause] you can see why i have a feeling that you are going to have your position for as long as you like. I do not know about that. We will love for you to stay for the possibility of questions. The next speaker we want to move into and what we tried to do at this conference is stretch ourselves and think about issues that would normally do not think about every day. Issues of immigration and heritage. As an africanamerican woman, we can all relate to the fact that many of us may not be able to go back many generations. Generations and that is sad. Putting together, being able to put together your history and understanding who you are and building yourself from that uswledge base, it can carry a long way in terms of selfesteem and so many other issues. Someone i haveme basically fallen in love with these last few weeks. Hasis an amazing woman who an amazing story to tell not just for professional standpoint, but her journey at what she will share with us today. Williams madison. In 2011, she was hired by nbc where she was executive Vice President of diversity as well as Vice President of the General Electric company ge and was the Parent Company of nbc. During her 22 years with abc, she has had a number of successful leadership roles including president and general manager of nbc for los angeles. Original manager of the telemundo and news director of nbc for new york. Her career as a journalist led her to the 1996 peabody award for nbc for new york investigation a license to kill. Willld go on and on, but i tell you she was selected as one of the 25 most powerful africanamerican women in america. In 2013, she was on a list of ebony magazine most powerful 100 list. A very powerful woman and we are very happy to have for today in addition to our speakers at the conference. Please welcome paula madison. [applause] good morning. I was noted a while sitting there while i was born and raised in harlem and lived in l. A. , i have a familiar connection to hear. My family is jamaican so you know. My father lived here for about 15 years before he passed and my uncle and brother lived here and cousins and so many members of my family here. I feel a little like, it is a little bit homey, but i want to tell you that i was almost, what thetracted to superintendent was saying about the schools here in Broward County. Thinking i should tell my daughter to move here so my grandson could have the kind of education i would want. I want to go back a little bit up in newly, we grew york in harlem. My parents immigrated from jamaica. Story echo myy motheress story. She was born to a chinese immigrant and jamaican mother. My grandfather, for those who are jamaican dissented who know a little bit about it, he had a number of shops in jamaica which we referred to as chinese shots. He had a number of those. In 1933, he moved back to china. Most of that was all that i knew until about two years ago. When i retire from Nbc Universal i figure out what i would do is fulfill a promise id make myself because my mother was always so sad. She had an air of melancholy around here my whole life. What i knew was that this was because she had been ripped away from her father, never saw him again, wrote in a family in jamaica that devalued her for being of mixed race. I know that i am African American, jamaican american, par chineseamerican. What i can tell you, make no mistake about it, i know i am a black woman. [applause] that is not the end of the story. For many of us, its a lot more that goes into who we are and how we are then we see on the surface. I would like clip to show. When i retired in 2012, i was very fortunate that my oldest brother, heres the weird genius kid, and maybe a dozen years ago, he started trading company. Taught computers how to trade financials on Global Markets at about three years, the company was capitalized at 5 billion. What i mean about being independently wealthy. We took a portion of the money to form a family business. What i wanted to understand is i grew up on welfare in harlem. I went to school and a person who believed in us were our parents who split when we were young. Insisted that there was a reason why they came to this country and what fulfill their goals or will record to die. [laughter] this film is a tribute to my mother. Back, i retired from work. My family owned the l. A. Sparks Fastball Team and i was ceo for a couple of years and i sold earlier to magic johnson. Became losement, i Angeles Police department commissioner. [laughter] this is called retirement. [laughter] documentary,l this my family owns the channel. Having said that, i have at my disposal, people and equipment. We documented the search and i wrote a book which goes into much more detail about this entire journey and a journey not uncommon for a lot of us. I would like you to look at the film and the book will be out in april and i will explain a bit more. his is called finding samuel from harlem to china. When i finished the search i know my grandfather name was [video clip] ofwe all say we are part this and that, we have to know where we are from. The best we can do is possibly go back two or three generations and that is about as far as we can go. I am not defined by slavery. We are not. It was a moment in time of a very, very long legacy of africanist. Harlem, newote in york. Grew up in harlem, new york. It had some level of notoriety as being specifically the worst block in new york city. Dangerelt an inherited because we were looked at as other. We had a half chinese mother. Chineseandfather was and my grandmother was jamaican. She lasther told me saw her father when she was young and he left for china and never came back. I decided to put out a petition to my jamaican family, can you help me find my chinese grandfather . My cousin said, there are a lot of chinese jamaicans in canada. I told my brothers, we are going. They said, ok. North and aom the migratory tribe. [indiscernible] mind whenut of my carol said her familys history goes back to 600 bc and i thought what about my family . Adasa was taken back to china with her father. Our grandfather would have come here. This is more than i hoped for. I knew it would be emotionally, but so what . My husband said, when you finding these Chinese People in your family, what are you expecting to happen . You know youre black . I know i am black. I am their family and they are my family and we will be family. Veterans the fact that dreams come true. Loew and they a would want me as i wanted them. [applause] thank you. I have 2 parser that i think you will see particularly happily surprised by and possibly astonished. I went to the chinese conference the tribe of chinese, most of the chinese who settled the caribbean and latin america and difficult for you, california, and they are are a particular tribe. In the 1800s, the first arrived in jamaica. They were originally from northern china and were driven south by genghis khan. Gatheredhem today are in a province and one of the southern provinces of china for the essay province that is china. It is a province against hong kong. When the british abolished slavery into the empire in 1838, they cannot force the africans to work for free anymore so they started importing indentured servants. The chinese and indians came into the caribbean and into latin america and in jamaicas case, to cut sugarcane. What do many of us do not know is that the chinese came to cut sugarcane, replacing the slaves. When it happened, they were only allowing males to come in. These men performed backbreaking labor. They got to they got to jamaica and wouldnt cut and come. You know what happened. [laughter] you know what happened. My grandfather fell in love a few times. People, they are the ones who are the migratory tribe of china. The people who built the well railroads and california, in hata chinese. Until the 1980s almost all of the chinese you would encounter panama,aribbean, jamaica, they are the same tribe. A radius of 30 miles from each other. For those of those who walk around saying i had the chinese grandfather, that is about as much we know. The secret is we all for the most part held from that promise providence. And i wentthat far to this conference in toronto i stood up in front of this group, 400 Chinese People and said i am trying to find my chinese grandfathers family. For the first time they didnt laugh. Folk,y, including black ok. Laugh, lets not be seduced into i cannot be mixed with chinese and look like this. We have strong genes. These people say we are point to help you. The cochair of the conference dr. Keith lowe has the same last name as my mother and grandfather. Youre the only chinese jamaican i have known with this name. Never heard of them. To hise sent an email nephew in hong kong he sent back an email saying i asked my uncle to check with the family and see if anyone knew of samuel low. He said that is my father. Almost 100 years later from the time my mother was born in 1918, from the time my mother was separated from her father, over the course of a couple of weeks, one conference, one connection with one small group of people resulted in me finding my family. When i went to china with one of my girlfriends who was another African American woman. We would go to china and hang out, and listen to jazz. We had this trip planned. A week before we were going i got this email back my uncle wanted to meet me. So, my 84yearold uncle and my aunt came to meet me. You couldnt see it well in the video, half black, half chinese. Her father, my grandfather took her to china. She grew up in china. She is squeezing my hand telling me to bring everyone home to china. [laughter] everyone . Home . Squeezes my hand and says bring them all. I said ok. It she said when . Because she is a black woman. I say soon. Ok, ok this year. Win . When. December. My aunts birthday is december 23. I found an uncles family who they grew up in jamaica and lived in brooklyn when we were in harlem. We didnt know. 20 of us went. What you can kind of get a picture of here was my grandfathers descendents, 300 of them gathered to meet us and well, us. [laughter] [applause] important when i tell you that story, particularly for those of us defend descendents of slaves, i refuse to accept that i am defined just as before and after slavery, it is limiting to think of ourselves that way. Im not saying it didnt exist and that it wasnt heinous. Wet i am saying is that cannot have that remain as an overlay on our brains and hope to overcome. It is a reality. It is a fact. We cant keep using that as the reason why. We just heard the reasons why and what is possible in terms of overcoming. Im not saying it didnt have the worst effect possible on us as a people. There andi got learned that my familys village still existed. It is a villa in china. In 1996 the government turned it into the largest Cultural Museum in china. There is a computer the size of this table. When you wave your hand across the virtual pages turn. My family is documented history goes back to 1006 bc. 3000 years ago. As a former journalist, you know what happened. Where is my mother . Women are parenthetical to the story. Women are added as wives of other daughters. I said thats not going to work. That cant work. Presented our entire family and within two months one of my first cousins, who is a there,nt Police Official he rewrote the family legacy book to include my mother, who happens to be the oldest of my grandfathers children. These black chinese have worked their way into the legacy book in china for the first ministry. It has been changed. We came to be bonded. Become from a family of entrepreneurs. We have already started a couple of businesses. We export maine lobster. Export now the winds napa wines. The business is comprised of the 41st cousins. Nobrothers grow up with relatives in harlem and now we have 40 of us who are first cousins. A corporation that includes those of us from china unitedaica, canada, states and united kingdom. We have brought in connection ration under us to teach them how to run a multinational business. That is what we are about. So far as the other thing that may surprise you, i spoke about this. Ur family surname is lo. Depending on what language it is translated to it could be spelled different ways. Saidhip agents would have loding chow. They wrote the name as lowe. It is all a symbol. The generation name, all the women in my generation have a name, siu. It means happiness or laughter. My uncle named me. Significance is because i was mentioning we end up being devalued in so many ways. Being told by somebody people worldwide that africanamericans means beauty. My uncle named me happiness and beauty. The importance of that, particularly as were seeing the economic expansion of china not only in the caribbean but, in you will be hard to find youll be hardpressed to find a company not invested in china. This room is comprised of people who false the top of the list when you talk about entrepreneurs. People who own their own businesses, who start their own many ofes, and yet what us are not doing is looking to have relationships, Financial Relationships with china, and we should, and Financial Relationships necessarily with africa. There is a world out there. A part of my messages to save you having grown up, born and raised in these United States, a place that i love, and im telling you to live anywhere else but here, what i am saying is that we have to work on the messaging that comes to us, and the messages to our children. It is truly that right now, i would los angeles. People are talking the teaching their children to speak spanish. Very important. Im going to tell you now you want to learn mandarin. There are business relationships, cultural relationships, all kinds of opportunities that exist out there. When we talk about power, which we have been talking about, the power bases, i live in california and los angeles. In terms of my metropolitan areas. There isnt a lot of us in the l. A. Area. We have to form coalitions. We have to form coalitions in order to bring about the kinds of changes that we want and to have the power, and the power base from which to operate. Having said all of that i will to my film, we are trying to sell it so that it will air on a major widely distributed network. After that on the africa channel , which you will see here in Fort Lauderdale and miami. Then the book will go into much more detail about what life was. Ike growing up i was a member of the nation of islam it one point in my life. It is a lot. [laughter] theres a lot. Simultaneously some of the things i was dealing with. I can see what my grandfather was dealing with as he was going through communism and the cultural revolution. It into getting a fascinating look. If you wonder, did she researched the africans and her family, i did. As you might already know, the majority of jamaicans are of akan or ashanti dissent. We are from the area that is hana. Ntly gonh overwhelmingly the maroons, the warrior class. They killed slaveowners. Killed every slave that would join them. I say right on. [laughter] marley, they are descended from maroons. They are a warrior people. They will bite you in a minute. Philosophically fight. The unfortunate things in terms of impact of slavery is i cannot go back and look six generations back and find all of that. I cant find beyond three generations on the african side of my family. I wish i could. Today io say that was able to find a lot of Information Online that 10 years ago i would not have been able to find. If you are looking for records or how to find people in your family, there are a couple of websites. One is ancestry. Com. It is a paid membership. Family search. Org run by the Mormon Church prayed they Research Legacy is like nobodys business. Ship records of my grandfathers transportation backandforth between hong kong and jamaica. Even hong kong and canada. , and thee searching real reason is not that it is a vanity search but it does help. Nchor us in the world help us understand where we are, where we come from. It helped us chart where we are going. When i tell you the jamaicans and canadians and the australians and chinese, we are thein business together, skype calls at 4 00 a. M. Are beyond believe. We are making sure those of us who have big ideas are getting an opportunity to exercise those big ideas. Thank you very much. [applause] that was awesome. [applause] powerfulwo congresspeople sitting up here. Quitey see Donna Edwards often all over television. Sunday morning talking head shows and bill maher, all kinds of other shows. I have a question for both of you. Youre one to speak briefly. They are congresspeople. I wanted to follow up if you interestingnk its what paula was thinking about. Probably never be reparations in this country. We can talk about it. It is going nowhere most likely. From the standpoint of what the do,rnment could possibly im wondering if there would be an opportunity for operations in the form of working with the public, private partnership to samples andtake dna allow there to be some tracking reveal toat dna might bond family members. We know it was true we were sold into slavery and families were split apart. I realize that is a heavy question. If you have any ideas about that, if youre willing to sponsor such a bill, [laughter] the woman of color empowerment conference would assist you. Thank you. I think it is an excellent idea. Participated in legislation seeking reparations. Years you have given me the privilege of being in congress have signed on to that legislation every year. I take to heart what you said that you will assist us in drafting it. If you do that, we will file it. It is a pleasure to be here with you this morning. Presenterselmed with that have preceded. I will be brief. I want donna to take the responsibility of talking about likely to see in the lameduck session. Probably answer what we have already done. That is nothing. What we may do in the lameduck is a lot. We have to get there first. That is november 1. November 4. Remarks thatng were made by first Lady Michelle 2014. On july 30, she was speaking to the summit of the Mandela Washington fellowship for Young African leaders. I will not let any of that. These are brief remarks. I sure hope you will pick up a copy of it. I thought it was a sterling example of how to talk to others about empowerment, and that is what this conferences about. How we got to the topic of how women succeed, America Succeeds. Edwards, something she doesnt know that i know, most women may not know, a lot of those books you read comment of prince georges county. There are some sisters up there that can write some stories. Ad a few of them. She also has exacting responsibilities for the democratic party. Donna is indeed the representative for recruiting candidates in this nation for the democratic party. That is a tremendous responsibility. She travels an awful lot and does a great amount of work. Madisonsth paula the humor, you know i like to tell a joke. Thatvorite joke lately is a pastor and congressperson died and went to heaven. When they got to heaven saint have told the minister, we this nice efficiency for you. It will cover all of your needs. Congressman, come on in, we have at this resortte appear for you. The minister said wait a minute, why am i getting an efficiency in this congressman is getting a sweet . Ministers are a , but thisen here is the first congressman weve ever seen. [laughter] we do get to go to heaven. We do gods work. That work that we do is not easy in these times. I go back next week will be dealing with the continuing resolution for the funding of the government that keeps us stable. It is now a part of our sponsor ability to deal with the president request for added of the under a portion law and Congress Called title x that allows for equipping and training people. I shall not get into the substance of that matter. Session have been wearing a lot of action takes place. My colleagues has five minutes to tell you where we go from here. I am delighted that she came here. It was her idea along with another colleague that we use the term when women succeed, America Succeeds. When president obama put it in his date of the union address, i was seated close to donna. Succeed,aid women America Succeeds, and donna said, yes [applause] thank you. Good morning. Im very excited to be here. Really delighted. Succeed,e that women America Succeeds. Its not a slogan. It is a fact. It is great to be here with you and bernadette. To the committee, thank you. , my morning, my friend colleague, my guiding hand gave me the challenge of presenting what it is that we might do in a lameduck session. As i thought about that last night i read an article recently wouldlitico, that this with be the lamest lame duck session. How appropriate for the lamest congresses as we have seen in generations. A Lame Congress following a do do Nothing Congress is appropriate. I thought i would start by telling you what we should do during a lameDuck Congress. That coulduld do turn this congress into a do Something Congress would be to pass an increase in the federal minimum wage. Most minimumwage workers are women. The federal minimum wage is at a level that doesnt allow people to live and work 40 hours a week at minimum wage and not reach the poverty line. We could do that in a lameduck session. That would include the tip workers. For minimumwage workers, two thirds are women. , a majority of those women vast number of those women, are black and brown women of color. A lameDuck Congress could pass and increase the federal wage. In a lameDuck Congress we could pass comprehensive immigration reform. We could do that in a way that respects families, that values our economy, that brings people out of the shadows, and in as taxpayers, and contributing trillions of dollars to our economy. We are not going to that. That is what the lameDuck Congress could do. And then Duck Congress could pass the transportation bill that was providing funding to rebuild our roads, our bridges, all of our infrastructure. Allow us to compete in the 21st century, and contribute hundreds of thousands of jobs and the economy. That is not what we are going to do. A lameDuck Congress but also i get toain that when where i am going, and i do know where im going in the afterlife, im going to be counting heads. Im not sure about these people in congress. A lameDuck Congress actually could remove the money out of politics. You have seen it around the country drank too much honey too much money being spent in politics that is dark, not transparent, and it is depressing our vote. A lameDuck Congress could do something about that. Continuings a resolution. It will get us to middecember. Because we dont know where the politics are aligned, whether the democrats, who i believe will continue to control the senate, so that we could do something in a Real Congress for the American People. [applause] we need tohing that do in this lameDuck Congress depending on what we do with what the president has outlined to us, the serious respect what is happening now in iraq and syria. With the increased threat from isis. There are many of us who want a single solitary separate vote on that. We will see in this congressman will do something in this next week when we come back into session. It may be that we do Something Else again in a lameDuck Congress. I noticed the timekeeper is very good. She held up that card. I have 30 seconds left, which is appropriate. I wanted to be able to say more about what it is what we should be doing in congress when we come back. Given that we havent really done anything for the American People over the last two years in this republicancontrolled congress, we are not point be doing that much in december. I will say lastly one other thing that a lameDuck Congress shouldnt be doing, taking another vote to repeal the Affordable Care act. Weve already had 53. [applause] we had the 53rd vote a couple of days ago. Been there, done that. We know what you feel about the Affordable Care act. Hopefully we will not be doing that in a lameDuck Congress. We look forward to the next congress that will hopefully be a do Something Congress where we work with the president of the United States to do what is right. Thank you. [applause] i failed to introduce congressman, congressman alfie hastings. I think all the people pretty much in this room know who he is. Sometimes you get comfortable. To the cspan audience, congressman alfie hastings. [applause] we are pleased with all of our speakers. You are awesome. Forant to open the floor questions. Im sure my timekeeper will keep us on track. If there are questions for any of the speakers, if you could row seat to the microphones. No questions . The next speaker is maggie that is, which is where coming from. There is an anderson. Maggie anderson, she made history and dominated headlines in the National Media covering the yearlong span and honor of black professionals, businesses, and neighborhoods. The Anderson Family lived exclusively off of black businesses and talents, and they bought black owned products for an entire year. This firstever reallife case study in selfhelp economics was called the empowerment experience. She earned a Political Science degree from emory university, an mba from the university of chicago, where president obama was her law professor, and mentor, before the experience. She was in a to congressman john lewis. And a strategy consultant. Please welcome my new sister. Youre going to be floored by the information she has to share with us today. Maggie anderson. [applause] i am so honored to be your speaker today. To celebrate four years of the women in color woman of color empowerment conference. You my new sister for making this journey and the struggle to our community and Women Empowerment little easier and a lot more worthwhile. I want to thank you for allowing me to share my empowerment story. The empowerment experience. We lived off of black people for as much as we could. 94,000 that year. Over 90 of spending was back into the black community. We went without, we paid more. We spent less. We were disappointed by the industry is where we suffer a lack of representation. Our hearts ache seeing up close what black people have to go through. You can get a decent piece of fish, inferior goods and services. Who wont live with us. Sometimes dont hire us but use her money to send their kids to college. It is painful hearing the stories of these entrepreneurs who do everything right and can get their own people to lift them up. It wasnt just that. It was as dramatic as we act leaders as we begged our leaders to help us take this message to the next level. They responded with nothing but a pat on the back because they thought like businesses were a waste of time. Selfhelp economics is too controversial for this community prayed every other racial group and nationality openly practices selfhelp economics. It was tormenting begging people to support one another and all they do is complain about poor goods and services. Like they never had a bad experience at a white owned or hispanic owned or middle eastern owned or asian owned business. It was hurtful and fearful being called a racist, a not seeing a nazi. Or worse. Taking cbs news hour, and cspan, trudging through the economic deprivation. Drug addicts wandering the streets, everything, watching them shake their heads as we went door to door. We are a story on black businesses. Maybe meet your owner . Beforees even miles encountering a black proprietor. Why do people have to buy food from Liquor Stores . I dont know what blitzer. What a shame, he says. Look at all of these people fit everyone is black but the Business Owner. That is my arianna huffington. [laughter] where is Jesse Jackson . I dont know, i dont know. Mortifying. You will read about them in the the grocerynks, store, a shoe store. Theyre gone. Good people who represented , iir community with love learned lots that year and i lost a lot that year. We thought before that year that we knew it all, that we were doing enough. We were just naive caused the couple. E. Cosby coupl my parents came here from cuba with nothing. I grew up not too far from here in miami. Rved as an aide to john lewis. I went on to the university of chicago for my mba and law degree. Love when we were gradually school, john and i. Not the president and nine. [laughter] we bought our home, had beautiful girls, living out our rfid American Dream story. Why would we have to do something t this extreme . It wasnt like we were doing anything . We were active in the Youth Ministry at our black church. John was a mentor with 100 black men. We were teaching their good we were teaching our girls to love their skin. We donated two black candidates. Wasnt that enough . Must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary. [applause] dr. King said that. What are those circumstances . Unwanted teach you. Circulates for 28 days before it is spent. In the jewish community, 19 days. In the wasp community, 17 days. Our hispanic brothers and sisters, a week. In the black communities, we keep our dollars for six hours. These are facts. It is our responsibility to include these facts, these disparities. The unemployment and economic problem in our country and the discussions for the need for more supplier and Business Diversity in corporate america. There is a better version of that story. It too needs to be taught and told again. This story, my empowerment story comes from industrious intelligent black women. Women like you, like marie. Stewart stood in front of an audience in boston and she exclaimed daughters of africa, awake. It is of no use of us do hang our heads. Let us make a mighty effort and a funde, let us raise for ourselves. Unite and build a store of your own. One side with dry goods and the other with grocery. Weve spent more than enough on nonsense to do what building we should want. She said this in 1832. Marie stewart was like possibly the first africanamerican male or female to call publicly on blacks to support each other in business. Firstetting offense was the death of her husband only three years after they got married, that her husbands business was stolen by white Business Associates who robbed their estate. Instead of crumbling in the aftermath she got angry and inspired. She wrote Opinion Pieces and speaking publicly, calling on blacks to lift themselves out of debt. A decade before Frederick Douglass started outcries against racial injustice. I borrow my voice from marie. Too, as about marie, woman in power. I think about how silly our ancestors must have felt, feeling desperate, miles and sun, under the hot alabama as perfectly functioning buses passed by. I think about the woman who started that activism. I know the time when our Community Came together, our country came together because a black woman decided to take a stand. I am not her. I will not compare my sacrifice to hers. I willor it dishonor it if i do not want her sacrifice. We insult her when we give up on her fight. Rose instant that instant a revolutionary, the time demanded it of her. I do this for her. Today is about all of us. Remember today, black people who died in the field and factories, working and slaving for others, building up other families riches and businesses that still exist today. Businesses that are Community Needs and is entitled to. Remember the thousands of entrepreneurs who are clenched and raped and shot out, endearing for daring to do what they did. Offer the community a quality good or service, expect to be valued and supported. Take some time to imagine they have Economic Driving thoroughfares torched to the ground, looted because Business Owners and consumers alike have to be reminded violently and a biggie was linked they did not the right entrepreneurship, to community. Sustained lets honor those torched towns, lets go tell our children about those towns. Lets think about them later this night when we consider whether it is worth it to pay a little more, or drive a little farther to support the black businesses we do still have. Tell your children, your friends , dr. King, the day before he was slain urged us to support black businesses. He was fighting for economic empowerment. Not just basic human rights. He was fighting for businesses, not just the right to support everyone elses. Black owned businesses. It is ok to say black and businesses in the same sentence. [laughter] [applause] this is what he said. This is something you wont hear on his birthday. To strengthen black institutions. I call on you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit them into tristate banks. We want to have a bank and movement. Put your money there. You have six or seven Insurance Companies in memphis, we want to have an insurance in. Take your insurance there. He said this in memphis. He died in memphis. He said this the day before he was murdered. Insuranceced companies in memphis. That was 1968. We have one now and the whole country. Not one property. Can find a couple of life Insurance Companies doling out 10,000 funeral coverage and that is its pretty are barely hanging on. Health insurance, please. That is why you did what you no longer have a [indiscernible] you have a black owned bank in miami on 79th street where i used to live. In the black community was statistically immeasurable in places like tulsa, sugar hill, jacksonville, our unemployment was lower than that of whites. All the way through 1940. I bet you did not know that. Black families circulated and recycled hundreds of millions of dollars in our hotels, banks, hospitals, Grocery Stores, dry cleaners, lawyers, hardware stores, department stores, mills,g yards, steel stock brokerages. Like it was for our jewish friends, people of color would be able to do whatever they wanted, and to find our future and community, to prosper. We could represent two social equality if we focused on our economic. Dr. King knew that. Those who opposed them knew that. Another black history fact, 90 of the lynchings of blacks that happened during reconstruction were of Business Owners, economic terrorism. Black wall street was bombed and burned. Crowds watch. Barbecue. Them negro i have to do this. I have to start our conversation this way with this violent imagery and these sad facts. I have to give you this context, i have to do this because so many believe i just woke up from a paradigm of vengeance. It is love for those slain entrepreneurs and torched towns, for the history they created, that we so easily dismissed. The Freedom Fighters from the everyday revolutionaries. Feel my passion and commitment to black businesses and neighborhoods now. Im asking you to include them in those Business Owners, and their families and communities, and terrorism and discrimination they endorsed, and the racism so many ascribed to me. Include them in our conference today. Envision them, think of them, embrace them, bring them into this day. I think of them often because every abandoned storefront or in the west side, it is an affront to them. Each time we dismissed a Business Owner because of a bad experience we had with one or two folks, we dishonor them. Brave men who were hanged for trying to keep a store. We keep our dollar. Being a farseeing and practical man, he said train your heart, your head, and your hands. Your face is here and not a far right let down your bucket where you are. That was brother langston hughes. Your face is here and not far. Let down your bucket where you are. Six hours a that is how much we invest in ourselves. How much is in your bucket . That is how you impress me. Six hours. And where we are after the struggle with terrorism and prosperity. No. I think of our mighty marie. I think of our sister who is here today. She came to this conference for the First Time Ever just to support me. Lists he knows of my story and is a proud woman of color. Although shes the executive director of the National Black mcdonalds owners association, and their convention is in two weeks, she is the owner of 11 Mcdonalds Stores herself, she couldnt find a better place to be than today with us at the w ocec. [applause] marie, of brenda and of and i think about what i need to do to make sure there are 10,000 more brendas and maries. When brenda and bernadette succeed, America Succeeds pretty i set my bucket down. I poured into my bucket. I brush my teeth with Sunrise National toothpaste. Stewart has a chance to shine. I waive my girls up and have stivers coffee, local in chicago. Himself, heeans makes custom blends for me. My favorite is jamaican rum, and sentiment praline. He puts on a witness cant to help kids learn about health. I dont know how mr. Folgers stylisbut they are not coffee. Uprefer to pick mine personally. [laughter] see strongren can Business Owners. Off, his Alarm Company does the same thing that adt does. You pay for monitoring and services. 40 a month. And they are going to build up our missing, a music store, my bucket is full but this is how i live my life. I am not a depressed activist because i have to look for black owned businesses. It is set my bucket down not as hard as you may think. I dont spend all my money. I spent a lot. I spent what i can with local businesses and the mainstream businesses, please dont live this out pretty mainstream businesses that do their part to enable my supplier, my franchises, my Media Outlets like mcdonalds does with brenda , and here is the kicker. Are you ready . Fly . Still my makeup is on point. On the southside of chicago. She gives the girls a business to dream of an believe in while so many think all they have in chicago are bullets to dodge. And thosepower kiley girls who look at her because big girl cosmetics is available at macys. Succeeds when highly russell succeeds. Im a revolutionary, im setting my bucket down. I am still fly. That is the message braid my hair looks all right today. Youre killing me with this humidity. One of the largest black women own natural hair care products, she is an atlantabased business. Can get her Products Online or in walmart. My money is still safe at the ike insured. Some of my money is in a black bank, some of it isnt. Bit in a put a little black owned bank. The hard part for me is not finding these businesses. It is getting my other smart, fly, successful black women to make sure they put a little money in a black owned bank to make sure some of your money goes back into the community on a regular basis. That is the hard part. Getting leaders to discuss this issue, to openly proclaim supporting why businesses is right, necessary to our community survival. That is the hard part. Men. Not today, ae wocec, and we are going to set our buckets down for these children who need to see marie, who need to see brenda, who need to see bernadette. They are right now omitted by confining circumstances that has relegated girls to an imperial bash to an inferior education. I do it over and over again and bring that here, especially for the little growth and economicly deprived place that she comes from the tells her she is not aod enough to be congresswoman, own a successful law firm. Because she is black and destined to generational poverty. No one she knows is a Business Owner. That is problematic and tells her she is not good enough. That her people are not good enough to build and maintain businesses and neighborhoods that will support her. If she didnt want to create an insurance agency, or own a restaurant franchise, or produce a hit television show. You can do it. You know what im talking about. You can do it. That is our private joke. We have to do this for these little girls. I did it for jordan. Have this girl, i will gone near where she lived had it not been for our famous pledge. The the south said south side, dilapidated. It is a Childrens Clothing store. She did it with her mother, grandmother, and grandfathers life savings. Jordans closet. Closethes, they selection, the most the most amazing close. Clothes. Wouldturday jordans mom rent the space out and have tea parties and book clubs for little girls. Her grandmother would host a charm school and teach etiquette for free. What a gem, what a Perfect Place for me to spend my money. Jordans closet is gone. The hope, the revenue, the value, allincreased of that is gone. A destroyed dream. We can tell our princess jordan all day long to believe in herself and work hard, and she can get whatever she wants. She looks outside and everything tells her different. Businesses like jordans closet, and go all the time because we are not supporting them. We have got to show jordan not just tell us. My own want to just tell daughters that used to be able to go to the corner for ice cream or candy and see someone who looked like them. I dont want to tell them what we used to happen what we used to be able to do. Why would i tell my daughters they can have a Childrens Clothing store when the one i took them to close down with less than a year . Why would i do that . Should i do it because of harriet . Kidsn keep telling our to read a book for inspiration. They should come from the same inspiration place that mine did. Watching courageous people stand in line to vote him a sharp and dignified, during people to defy us. Want to see those lines again. Not just election time. Lines them to see those for those businesses again. Solidarity kind of in my community. Youre not as excited about that. I know. We are so ready to soak up our economic power, our jobs, homes, college education, give it away on a silver platter. We have to show our youth in the world are Business Owners are just important as any political leader, even the president. We cant keep the pending on figureheads to restore our greatness. He is great, i love him, dont get me wrong. I have known him since 1995. Elitist law school. I worked with him, i was an officer in our tiny law student association. I sat sidebyside with him. Helpedrted him when he people off the street with the police profiling and predatory lenders. I helped him run for Illinois State office. I lost when he tried to be a u. S. Congressman the first time. I was with him when he decided to run for senate. I helped him win. I passed out flyers. I got all the stickers and signs. Ill be sleeping in my obama pajamas tonight. Our greatness is not in him. It is in our making sure as a community he can depend on a unified community for an essential victory. [applause] in the early 1930s, Grocery Stores were the largest category of blackowned enterprises. We had 1600 Grocery Stores in the United States of america grid in the 21st Grocery Store 21st century, there are only 19. Now, we can only find evidence of three to nine. Who is shopping at the hispanic owned stores . Stocks thect shelves . It was getting sent to college off that money . Hispanics like me, asthmatic employees, hispanic children. And nothing is wrong with that. That is great for them. My only point is that we can do the same thing. We also proved with our landmark year, and this study, please do not leave me now. Have close to 1 trillion in buying power, 3 goes back to the black community. Extra regression analysis, they have proof that families like proved that families like ours, that if that part of the black community what it shifted that spending from 3 to 10 , we would solve all between the problems, everything would be done, everything would change. If we were to do that, that spending directly within a locally owned businesses the local drycleaner, the local , and restaurants. Either way, if he were to get to 10 , we could create one million jobs. One million jobs in america. [applause] all of them created with money we already have and spend a businesses that already exist at businesses that already exist. If you will not do it for the Freedom Fighters, you do not think it is worth it to recreate the greatest we already have, you will not do it for me because you are inspired by my family, you will not do it for jordan was lost hope, if you are not inspired by the opportunities that it would create, do it to prove all of those that disrespect doesnt y us and this us disrespect us and deny us and diss us. Black haircare industry, he said that in the next years, like businesses will disappear. All of the black haircare businesses will be sold to white companies, and he was right. Carefree curls, dark and lovely, dark and natural, all of our brands, the brands that why people buy every day, are owned by loreal, it can be based out of friends. The money is going there to read i can so you where it is not at. It is not in liberty city, not baltimore, not oakland. Loreal has making a lot of great commercials with our people in them, but loreal is not doing business with black as mrs. Like businesses. Ey just added survival supplier diversity to that Mission Statement. All those billions and no black inputs on the supply chain. Have one new supplier working with them, he used work with loreal incorporate any is in france. So we do have a french brother representing the community at loreal. I used to buy dark and lovely, but then i learned this information and i switched. That is how i am a revolutionary. I used to buy dark and lovely and now i buy luster. It so that i can fight for luster, so that we still have them in the community. So lets unite for luster. Ets do that lets do that so that we can make mr. Botner wrong. Lets unite to make him rue the day that he said that black businesses cannot last, that bike people do not care about their community, that black people do not understand economic empowerment. Can you do that, or is he right . Statistics are telling the truth about black people, are they that youn they tell me can preach until your face turns blue i get the story on the front page of every newspaper in the world, guess that is done by harvard, by howard, and prove what will happen if people were to practice more selfsufficient economics, but you know what they are going to do . Theyre going to come, eat some food, take some cards, clap and cry and go home and do nothing. Are they right . They cant be right. Are they right . Saying black america versus what america or anybody else, i am just saying that we are america, too. Rosa said we are america, too. Now, you say it. It feels good, say it again. Brothers and sisters, our jewish friends, our asian friends, they say that we are america, too. Our ancestors and elders said that we are america, too. And every time they did, america was made better. Inc. About black history this is one of the things that barack obama taught me. Every major tenet of our democracy tell me if im wrong. Of ourajor tenet democracy, the right with fair trial, the right to vote, the agenciesfree speech, like the eeoc, came out of the africanamerican struggle. My President Hamid that. Taught me that. We created so much but now we are the bottom, we give that all the way. You know what that is like, you can help me with this to. That is like when you course of money for weeks. Do remember what that was like. Court somebody for weeks do you remember what that was like . The big day comes and you take her to the dance and it is everything that you dreamed of. You get her some into drink and then she goes and dances with someone else and leaves you hanging. Actually, that reminds me of this brother named chad. I need to find and apologize because i think i did the exact same thing to him. [laughter] let me get back to the point. Lets not get that far and demonstrate your greatness and let that go. Nothing will change because of the past. The change happens because you do something after the event, like chad should have. If he would have stepped up a bill, maybe he would abandon that video with me. [laughter] and he was sweet and cute, too, and a smart brother. He had everything but he did not step up. Now you, too, can step up, or go home saturday and bad alike for chad did said and mad like for chad did. Did. R chgad [laughter] much timeding so trying to build a parchment did we do not have the time to fight like we used to, but you do have the time to look for my friend is smoking joe hot sauce, available in winndixie. University of chicago grad, he has eight plant in flint that employs 20 people that would not have jobs otherwise. How can i complain about the Economic Situation and not have the hot sauce on my shelf . And do not act like people in here do not eat hot sauce. Am i not the only one that blindly bought frank hot sauce, without asking, who is frank . And what has he ever done for black people . Same as tennessee the question that i did, and they will not tell, not even wall street, how much money they make off the africanamerican community. But i did my own research and i learned that over 60 of tennessees u. S. Spend comes from the black community. Over 60 . Let me back up, because i know i am here with a bunch of procedures, churchgoing folks. Im in the bible belt of the United States of america, i am sure you do not even know where tennessee is. [laughter] im trying to give you more data and reference points. Im an academic and im trying to make her that i did use of numbers to back up my premise. I give youe that some numbers to back up my premise. Of tennessees u. S. Spend comes from the black market. This data was verified by the wall street journal. With them wholly dependent on our market to survive, they do not even have a supplier diversity program. They do not have a Mission Statement on the website, much less a corporate practice to use black suppliers, distributors, and vendors. They donate to some black groups , like the urban league, but they do not do business with us. They are partying with us. And those parties do not do anything for our community. Money, thered of should be tennessee hot dogs in harlem. They should have funded the new florida memorial. I should be teaching at it. [applause] seriously, though. 68 of the revenues . There should be dozens of hennessy black distributors and significant advertising in blackowned media. And i crazy saying that . Unreasonable, am i a radical racist now, because that is what they call me. I am asking too much. Is that a waste of time on saturday morning . I hope not. Tennessees nonminority owners , living lies our children cannot conceive of while the black community, their consumers, are hurting, but no one asks about that you did because we do not ask, because we do not talk, because we do not take the time to look for hair brands i will give you one more story. A blackowned wine. Linked Heritage Brands when they learned that 3th africa maintains a billion wine industry, but only 2 of that comes from black companies. Now they are the Largest Company in the wind company to trade and market africas black produced wines. Seven sisters wine is one of those brands. Guess of apartheid, the family was forced to leave because of apartheid, the family was forced to leave south africa. They returned and fulfilled their dreams of making wonderful wines. We would never have been able to taste them had it not been for selena and her dream. Line,orite Seven Sisters i given that jules, my grocery storage a cargo chicago, and a drink as much as i can. I am doing this to help, you know, selena and the sisters. [laughter] four apartheid, i do it for selena. Stay with me. I lecture at prestigious universities all the time, trust fund kids who have never been to a black neighborhood. They come out to protest me. After they hear the truth, they hear the data, and they hear our stories, they come to me with tears in her eyes, begging for forgiveness and a list of black as mrs. They are ready to do more good for the first time, they see a direct correlation between high unemployment and the plight of black businesses. Last year, job numbers came out and cnn started pointing out that black on employment was three times that of whites and was ready to close the conversation there. Show to had me on their give their reaction to high black unemployment. I was revved and ready to go off say, i know i black why black and up limit is so high, because no one supports black as mrs. Did and they are the highest employer lack businesses. And they are the highest employers a black people. Before she even introduced me, she said this to me. Maggie, thank you for teaching americans a profound lesson about where our money goes and where what i can do. And i said, thank you for having me on the show today. Fortunately for me and heres the point of the story. Right after i did not go off, they did have a cnn economist there with one of those graphs cnn has the best graphs. And it said that blackowned businesses get the least support of all american businesses, only 6 of black buying power goes back to black businesses. And they close the segment by saying that this is why all americans need to do more to support blackowned businesses. Even fox news admitted that black businesses are not treated fairly and said that it is right to fight for equality. Mobile Publishers Weekly set up my book that it is dynamite and finally someone talked about the subject. Cspan did a great story on our experiment. It talked about a great Paper Company, a black Paper Company that you can be supporting a set of officemax and staples. The next day, cspan and officemax reported that their phone numbers were flooded by people looking for that Paper Company. Most of them were not black. They ran the segment over and , at the same time the Republican National convention, people were looking at me instead of congressman ryans acceptance speech. [laughter] just buy the, they day with the west side of chicago to ask me to clarify facts. They spent the day with me on the west side of chicago to ask me to clarify facts. They called this the anderson effect. I am anderson, by the way. Im not telling you this to brag, im telling this to show you that america is ready for this. I think america is ready to see our community empowered, proactively, supporting our businesses. So that the country can benefit. I really do think that america is ready for this. The person youre asked me when we have today is how do we do this . How do we stay informed and speak out . How do we act on this . Are you ready . Maggies list. Were going to do maggies list. Where you can find great corporations, great local businesses, great products on the shelves that you do not know about and have been dying to support. [applause] we can create that million jobs. America is ready for my diesel is, but i will not do a must you are ready. Now i am ready to close. Because i know my time is short. At the marches, our elders and ancestors had killer dogs at their heels and death threats, thugs raping our men and women in terrorizing our kids. For 385 bay street, over a year, using their economic might days straight, over a year, using their economic might. Need to know, are you marching . With me, with bernadette, with brenda . Are you marching with us, or are you still writing, comfortable , comfortable, but sitting in the back. I have to pay tribute to my mother here. The me tell you why this is so serious to me. I had a moment when i was considering shutting down the empowerment experiment. I was going to do it because i found that my mother had pancreatic cancer. She got diagnosed one month before we were going to launch our excrement. The only reason i am standing here today is because she told experiment. Our the only reason i am sending here today is because she told me not to stop or did i said, nina, are you crazy . How can this be the most important thing that i will do . They had a war named after me at named after me at the Junior High School that they gave out to the best allaround best and every year. They named an award after me. I was the first editor of the awardwinning newspaper at the high school. I was the first black prom queen at the high school. Nina, are you satisfied . I got me a harvard brother from detroit, i got accolades, i worked for all of these wonderful people, are you satisfied yet . And my mother said to me, are mark all of me russian right, you got me there. She said this to me, an awesome one minor and she said this to me. I am going to go out fighting. Are you . So im asking you the same thing. I am going to go out fighting. Are you . , she was a cuban fireman, she never graduated from high school. But she was the most important woman i would ever know, because she taught me that are speaking spanish and being cuban did not make us any less black. She