#1 BLACK ISSUE IN AMERICA, WHAT IS IT?

As many of you know by now, Mark S. Hampton with Black Enterprise Magazine, begins a new radio program this weekend Rebranding Black America. He posed the question in our forum on www.LinkedIN.com/ and here's what I had to say.

#1 BLACK ISSUE IN AMERICA, WHAT IS IT?

Using other people's thoughts, ideas and concepts as the litmus test. The adaptation of the slave mentality. Being in a constant crisis and a permanent welfare state. Never leading the pack...always following and not even do that well. The Koreans never reinvent the wheel. They just imitate and imitate well. 

We wear formal education like a badge of honor, but barely use it to edify our own community. We simply sell, barter & loan our talent out to build someone else's destiny, empire, conglomerate & dream. We enjoy being the HNIC all while leaving no worthwhile legacy. We accumulate material things to impress people we don't even know or like for that matter. We only "give" at church, where money is oftentimes squandered by pulpit pimps with selfish & self serving intentions. Never the hero always the victim needing rescue. We open "bitnesses", but never grow an enterprise. We lie, steal, rob & cheat each other worse than the white man ever could have imagined we'd do. We think Black Business is inferior, but when you often get inferior service along with an inferior attitude who can blame the impression(s) we leave. We raise our children to be slaves to the same rhythm. It's perpetual.

We expect the government to grant us money for every single aspect of our existence. College, Day Care, Business Start Up, Business Failure etc. We recognize and reward failure more than achievement. With many Black nonprofit organizations focusing time, energy, money & resources trying to save the so called at risk youth...while ignoring our best & brightest and pushing them right into the hands of the "man" who grants them scholarships because we squander resources on the juvenile delinquent whose daddy wasn't in the house. We major in the minor. Forgetting what's important. Everybody isn't college material and quite frankly DOESN'T deserve the chance. 

We have lost our sense of community because we collectively can't stand living amongst and around each other. We pass each other on the streets and won't even speak. We go to networking conferences & events and get the temporary high. Then the reality of not having a single source of community based support sets in. And we are back at square one with no motivation. Black owned Banks follow the same rules of their slave master white owned banks. If the criteria is the exact same with no sensitivity to the community, I could just take my rejection from the white run banks. Koreans, Chinese & people from India.....cater their services to their community. And although everyone falls under the Banking Commission Regulations, those communities do not allow the white man to set the criteria as to whom they will and will not lend money to. You will only find Koreans, Chinese & Indians working at their own banks & lending institutions...no affirmative action there. 

But no. We've got to imitate what we THINK makes success and we aren't getting anywhere as a community as a result. Immigrant Latinos & Asians are taking over our prideful Black Mecca here in Atlanta. In the last 10 years the Latino Business Community has grown 101% & the Asian Business Community 74%. All while we are flagrant with our money & buying power thus making them richer while complaining about them stepping off a boat and into a mansion. Our slave mentality is to blame. An attitude of entitlement because we won't stop sucking the titty of white people. Always crying about how we've been treated historically then trusting everything they teach us about business & community. 

We are the most creative & resourceful people on the planet. And our #1 issue is failure to use that creativity for ourselves. And setting our own standards for success. And developing our own rules of engagement. We demand nothing worthwhile, we get nothing worthwhile. We are the constant social experiment politically. And the last out the gate economically. That's no accident. That's by 

design. And merely by our choice. It's a choice we've chosen over innovation! 

Swan Simpson @FilmworksCEO is an Opinionated, Politically Incorrect, Agent, Filmmaker, TV Producer, Writer, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Spiritual Thinker, Sports Fanatic http://swandriasimpson.brand-yourself.com/

Holding Black Mega Churches Accountable for the Benjamins!

A MegaChurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance.The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000 weekly.

I am of the opinion that when you walk out of church and you are stepping over homeless people on your way to your car, something is terribly wrong with that picture. When people are meeting you with signs that ask you for spare change as you walk out the church door, something is wrong with this scene. I am also of the opinion that Black Mega Churches are more about feeding the egos & pockets of Pastors, their friends, their families, their mistresses & their boyfriends.... than feeding those in the nearby communities.

Let me give you a little background.  I use to belong to an Atlanta suburban based "mega church" lead by a Pastor who certainly lives up to his last name; as he is truly making the dollars! Let me just say, I was all for the message of prosperity and I put my money where my worship is! I still respect my old Pastor, but you have to ask, "where does all the money go?"

With all of the rumors swirling about Pastors expecting members to produce W-2 forms to make sure they are truly tithing 10%, I think it's time for the Pastor to show the church their W-2. Fair exchange, no robbery. If you are hurting in the recession and in the process of losing your home, I'm told if you seek assistance from many Mega Churches, they "background check" your membership status which includes taking a look at how much you have given since being a member. I say fair enough. We want to make sure that tithing members are properly served, sort of like an investment club (sic). However, since a church can provide such detailed statements on how much each member gives, they certainly can provide each member with the same detailed account of how your giving is being used.

I've heard many excuses as to why Black folks don't demand accountability from the churches they financially support. Every idiom from "I just give from my heart so what THEY do with the money has nothing to do with me." "It's in God's hands so I just don't worry about it."  WHY must we always leave everything up to emotion and chance?  This is one of the many reasons why our community is constantly getting bamboozled & left feeling victimized in the end.

As a member of a mega church, members should want & seek a complete accountability of ALL the "revenue" the church has coming in the door. We should expect a year end detailed financial statement showing how much was given, raised and/or earned by the Church Corporation. How was the money distributed and to whom and for what. AND in what amounts...down to the dollar details. How much is spent on salaries, perks and incomes for all Pastors, Staff, Employees including visiting Ministers & Honorariums. How much is given to each specific type of ministry outreach within the church and how much of that was specifically spent on the core focus of that specific ministry function. If you DON'T know your Pastor's salary, "housing" allowance, travel allowance, boyfriend allowance, mistress allowance and associated expenses...something is wrong!

As a Minister, I certainly agree that a Pastor should be well paid for the tireless work and good many of them do. But when you are running a multimillion dollar corporation or church conglomerate you have a responsibility to the Kingdom of God & the people of God to be ACCOUNTABLE for your good works. Be real! Church is a business. A non-profit corporation, but a Corporation yet and STILL. Pastors with Bentley's, Range Rovers & Million Dollar Estates all while the people around you are poor, needy & broke, are NOT doing the work! The mission of the Church is not being performed. And your Pastor should be FIRED!

I don't think anyone would argue that a Church's first responsibility is serving its members and the immediate community. Everything within a 25 mile radius of a Mega Church should be prospering. There should be zero homeless people and zero hungry people near that church.....IF the church is doing its job in serving the people. Mega Churches raise hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on any given Sunday, but give out food baskets once or twice a year as a token act of sentimentality. Mega Churches raise money for ministry outreach, but then ask the congregation to give used clothing so that the homeless outreach will have something to provide the community. I just wanna know what happened to the cash we gave in the weekly and sometimes 2-3 times weekly offering(s)?! I'm giving you clothes, therefore; that's no longer an expense. So, tell me where has the cash we are giving in our Missions offerings gone? And why are you asking the congregation for free clothes & can goods? You should have a budget that covers all of that.

As a community of people, we've got to stop being so dang foolish. Following and going along with nonsense & madness because we don't want to so call "question" God. You are NOT questioning God. You are "questioning" that negro in the Armani suit & gators. You are asking that same negro to "show me the money".  Checks and balances are the only way to keep a man or woman honest. It's a business. God's business. And God's business is about ORDER.   "It aint that I don't trust you darlin'. It's your private thoughts that give me pause......"

Swandria Simpson to Produce the Soul of Country Music Awards

Swandria Simpson 



Executive Producer of The Soul of Country Music Awards in Atlanta, Georgia

There have been many Black Americans who've made countless contributions to Country Music. We feel it's time to celebrate those individuals with an award show that speaks specifically to this end. So, in September 2012, the Soul of Country Music Awards is set to take center stage in Atlanta, Georgia.

This star studded, red carpet affair is being kept under wraps as the finer details and inner workings of a show of this magnitude are being mapped out. But the list of Performers & Presenters reads like a "Who's Who" of Country Music.

The Creators of the show are working feverishly to make this event amongst the most talked about of the year. They have spent over a decade making this dream a reality. "I am so pleased to be a part of this American History. It's a wonderful celebration whose time is long over due." I say.


Swandria Simpson  Contacts:
My Website

Sarah Palin; Just Another Sister Trying to Get Hers!

Regardless of politics and political parties; let's be real about Sarah Palin. Sarah is getting hers by any means necessary. Afterall, she went from being a relatively unknown Governor in a State we all forget about sometimes, to being iconic! Give the woman some credit! Palin may not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, but she certainly does shine. Women juggling and struggling everywhere can learn from her example. She is truly what we call living the "American Dream". Only in this great country can we do such a thing. One can fail at one endeavor and still make millions laughing at yourself! How brilliant is that???!! Also with Palin on the loose, the Republican Party is now having to admit they are not the perfect little white people they like to portray themselves as being. Palin is the mother of a special needs child. Has openly gay family and friends. And the grandmother of an out of wedlock baby born to a teenage mother. These are the things REAL AMERICANS experience you morons! But I digress. Yummy stuff! Go Palin! Make your money girlfriend... writing books, giving speeches & having your own reality tv show pays more and its less stressful than being in the White House.