A Great Graduation Gift

If you know a young person who is about to graduate from high school, college or university, Success Strategies for Black People makes an excellent gift. This book can help you to achieve your goals and realise your unlimited possibilities.

Plus, I am offering free jobsearch consultations. Click here for more info. If you know a young Black person who is leaving school or college and looking for work, please share this with him or her. I can help them get results.

Chocolate Naomi + N-Word Ben

I actually agreed with Anne Diamond on the Wright Stuff today. Just goes to show you anything is possible.

She strongly insisted that the Cadbury's Bliss chocolate bar ad that states "Move over Naomi, there's new diva in town" is racist as it refers to Black people as "chocolate". Anne, you have really changed. The Wright Stuff never ceases to surprise me. As a Buddhist, I believe people are capable of changing, and this just proves that it is true.

Of course, the other two white people on the panel insisted that it's not racist - and so did Hardeep Singh. I attended an event during the Bicentenary in 2007 in which a white woman on the panel said "White people are always saying we are not racist. But Black people know that everything we say and do proves that we are". Too right.

Anne Diamond about also reported on an incident at the Baftas which has been reported in the Times, in which a "leading figure" in the fashion world verbally abused the TV presenter Ben Douglas, repeated calling him the "N-word". Twitter has named this abusive person.

Ben reckons the guy was "bonding with him" by using this term. Click here to read more.

Black History: The Negro Soldier

I saw this film a few months ago at a screening at BFI London South Bank, as part of the African Odysseys series.

The Negro Soldier was commissioned by the U.S. War Department and directed by Frank Capra as a piece of wartime propaganda.

It depicts African American men and women training to go to war, and in various wartime posts on and off the battlefield.

I had really wanted to see this film because my Dad served in the Army during the war, fighting in Italy.

The Negro Soldier is very moving and stirring. As ever, Capra knew how to inform, entertain and pull the heart-strings. We can see the pride with which African Americans served their country.

Although I am sure it was an effective piece of propaganda, my Dad did not join up because of this or any other film. He joined up in 1940, before the U.S. entered the war, because he didn’t have a job.

Similarly, as Michael Moore said in Bowling for Columbine, the armed forces today recruit in poor neighbourhoods where unemployment is high. Then they send people – many of whom are Black – to places like Iraq and Afghanistan as cannon fodder.

The contribution of African people to the war effort is often overlooked. For example, African soldiers fighting in the French Army liberated Paris, but were not allowed to be filmed when the Army marched into Paris. For more about this, see Hidden Histories: Black People in WWII.

Brother T. of Black History Walks has done a lot of research about Black people in World War II. Click here for more resources, including Black Victims of the Germans and Nazis, and to read my interview with Brother T.

Solving the Crisis in the Black Community: Buy Black

See below for a great video on The Empowerment Experiment. They are buying only from Black-owned businesses for one year.

This is about economic empowerment for the Black community. We have enormous buying power, but the Black dollar and the Black pound fly out of our communities in the blinking of an eye.

Do we see our Black businesses as viable? Do Black people buy Black? If not, why not?

Click here for free advice from Black business experts.

See also: Prepare for Your Business.

Success Strategies for Black People - Learn to Attract More Money

Experiencing money problems, financial worries and stress?

My book Success Strategies for Black People can help you to achieve your goals, incuding having more money. Click here to read more, and order your copy now.

Black Talk Radio: African Networking Recap

I've recorded a short recap of our May show on What U Need to Know, which focused on African Networking. You can listen to the recap below.

Click here to listen to the full show.

Our June show will be our one-year anniversary. We will be talking about Juneteenth, so click here to join us on the second Saturday in June.

Listen to internet radio with Zhana21 on Blog Talk Radio

Black Film: Blood Ah Go Run

I saw this film when I first came to the UK, nearly 30 years ago.

I saw it again recently, with a Q & A with the director, Menelik Shabazz, when it was screened at the BFI as part of the African Odysseys programme.

Blood Ah Go Run (Blood Will Flow/Be Shed) documents events that took place in London in 1981 including the New Cross fire, the subsequent Black People’s Day of Action, and the Brixton riot.

The film records how the Metropolitan Police attacked and attempted to subvert the peaceful march on the Black People’s Day of Action, the first time Black people in the UK had demonstrated publicly in such numbers.

White British people and institutions must have been shocked when they realised the potential power of Black people in this country.

The Brixton riot followed two months later, sparked by the “Sus” laws and the police’s “Operation Swamp” in Brixton. To read more about this, click here for my blog about Mavis Best. See also my interview with Alex Wheatle.

In retrospect, I wonder what the authorities expected to happen – the actions of the police seemed calculated to provoke riot and unrest.

In the Q & A, Shabazz described what he called “guerilla filmmaking”. Film stock was expensive, so he had to beg and borrow partial reels of film on which to record this film. The footage of the riot was taken directly from TV coverage.

Shabazz also described how he went into the BBC studios after hours so that a colleague could edit the film.

Blood Ah Go Run documents a crucial point in British history and, as such, should be shown in every school.

See also: Next Black History Events.

Africa and Africans on Film.

Free Teleseminar: Raising Money Through Sponsorship

If you missed it, click here to listen to the recording of our free teleseminar on raising money through sponsorship.

People are making thousands through sponsorship - like Derrick Hayes, who has raised over $500,000 for students at the University of Tennessee.

Ever wanted to attend a conference or other event? You knew it would be good for your business, but you just didn't have the funds?

Struggling to raise the money for college or university? You want to give your kids the best possible start in life, but it's just so difficult.

Sponsorship may be a solution.

In this free teleseminar, I was interviewed by Joan Gosier, co-presenter of What U Need to Know. We talked about

- why organizations donate money
- how to find the information you need to apply for

and more.

Click here to listen now.

Click here to join us on Facebook.

Here's to your success!

Prepare for Your Business

Andrea Campbell, author of Practical Business – ABC, is one of the business experts who have contributed to More Black Success Volume 10.

She gives details of many ways we can prepare to run our businesses:

- Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally
- Prepare your resources
- Prepare for your market
- Prepare your business model
- Prepare your financial projections

And much more.

To read her article, click here to download More Black Success Volume 10.

Like all of the More Black Success free ebooks, it contains loads of practical information and advice.

See also: Free Advice from Black Business Experts.

Here’s to your success!

Working Together, Helping Each Other

Derrick Hayes already had enough money for his own university education. But when he saw that others were having to drop out because they couldn't afford the tuition, he decided to do something about it. I find this very moving.

You can read about this in my new ebook Shaking the Money Tree. Please note, the half-price offer ends Wednesday the 18th of May.

Shaking the Money Tree contains loads of practical advice on raising sponsorship funding. Click here to download it now.

Click here for our free teleseminar on Saturday the 21st of May.

Here's to your success!

How to Get 16,000+ Twitter Followers

Melinda Emerson, author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, is one of the business leaders featured in More Black Success Volume 10. Click here to download your copy now.

Melinda, known as SmallBizLady on Twitter, has over 16,500 followers and used Twitter to make her book a bestseller.

The other business experts who have contributed to MBS 10 are
- Andrea Campbell, author of Practical Business – ABC, and
- PR guru Mavis Amankwah of Rich Visions, who offers expertise in all aspects of equality and diversity.

As always, MBS 10 is full of practical advice and information. And, as always, it is totally free of charge. So click here to download your copy now.

Click here to follow me on Twitter.

Click here to follow me on Facebook.

Here's to your success!

African Networking: What U Need to Know

I hope you will join us as we continue our discussion of African Networking on What U Need to Know this Saturday the 14th of May at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. UK time. Click here to listen.

Please feel free to phone in or join us in the chatroom. If you miss the live broadcast, you can still listen to the recording.

Tweet Your Way to a Bestseller

In More Black Success Volume 10, Melinda Emerson, author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, explains how she used Twitter to make her book a bestseller.

Known as SmallBizLady on Twitter, she has over 16,500 followers. She is just one of the business gurus interviewed in MBS10. Other contributors include:

- Andrea Campbell, author of Practical Business – ABC, and
- PR guru Mavis Amankwah of Rich Visions, who offers expertise in all aspects of equality and diversity.

They speak about how they have achieved their success, and are very honest and open about the difficulties they have experienced, and how they have overcome them.

Zhana, who publishes the More Black Success series of ebooks, is the author of Success Strategies for Black People and Black Success Stories. She says,

It is so important to celebrate Black success. There are many successful Black people who are positive role models.

I find these ebooks highly inspiring, and I trust you will too.

Like all of the ebooks in the series, MBS10 contains lots of practical advice and information.

There is no charge for the More Black Success ebooks – zero, zip, nada. Click here to get your copies now.

See also: Free Advice from Black Business Experts.

Here's to your success!

Black Men Stepping Up to Fatherhood

Saw this great page today on Black fatherhood: First Date: Meeting My Daughter and Becoming a Father Figure. Thanks very much to Jessica Ann Mitchell of National Black Pages. Videos of Black men talking about taking on the responsibility of fatherhood.

Also, check out: Black Fatherhood: Reconnecting with Our Legacy. With all the media images of crime, violence, imprisonment and the disintegration of our families, it's important to remember that there are plenty of Black fathers doing what they need to do. A lot of the time, we just don't get to see images of them. So it's up to us.

See also: Positive Images of Black Families.

Next Black History Events

BlackHistoryWalks, Nu-Beyond, Positive Mental Attitude Community College & Lewisham Black Staff Forum present Black British Civil Rights Heroes: Mavis Best and the Women of the Scrap Sus Campaign 1981, Friday 13 May 7-9.30pm Lewisham Civic Centre, Catford SE6 4RU

Free entry: first come, first served.

In the late 70s and early 80's police officers would routinely stop, search, strip, assault and jail males and females aged 11 and up using the notorious 'Sus' law. This law meant that if an officer suspected you were about to commit a crime they could arrest you and, if they were in the mood, beat you and plant evidence. It was normal to be arrested for sus while wating at a bus stop.

This meant thousands of young Black people would leave home and not come back. Mavis Best led a group of courageous Black women who went into police stations to rescue the children. When that wasn't enough she organised a campaign to repeal the law itslef. Join us to celebrate the achievement and learn from Mavis Best what tactics were used to win equality.

Special guest appearance from Mia Morris

See video of Mavis Best here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi1mXdgoLyI

Click here for my interview with Brother T. of Black History walks.

Click here for more Black history events, including free film screenings at London Metropolitan University, and films commemorating the death of Bob Marley.

For more great stuff like this, click here to join Nurture Success.

Warm and Sexy Blog

Click here to read my interview with Max of the Max-Logic blog.

This blog is for grownups, not for kids.

See also: Being a Black Blogger.

African American Football Leader Says Pro Football Is a Form of Slavery

Wow. This audio interview really opened my eyes.

Abner Haynes is a graduate of North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) where he and his then teammate Leon King integrated college football in the state of Texas in 1956. In 1960 he chose to play for the American Football League's Dallas Texans and led the league in rushing attempts, yards, and TDs in its first year.

His organization, Heroes Of Football, works for the local community.

In this interview, he talks about the exploitation of football players and how more money is spent on stadiums than on schools.

Click here to listen.

Want to raise funds for a sporting event? Click here for my new ebook, Shaking the Money Tree.

Homeless Mom Arrested for Sending Son to Better School

A homeless woman has been charged with first-degree larceny for sending her child to a better school. The authorities claim she lied about her address in order to get him into the school.

For many people, education is seen as the passport to a better future. This mother is doing what she can to get her son the best possible start in life - and she's been arrested for it. I would argue it would have been a crime if she HADN'T done this.

She used her friend's address and the friend has now been evicted from public housing as a result.

This is so outrageous. She faces the prospect of 20 years in prison. Because there are not enough Black people in prison already, right?

Click here to read the story.

See also: Are Black Parents to Blame for Their Children's Educational Under-Achievment?

Uh-Oh, Now He's Said It

African American Pundit (formerly AAPP) asks:

I am wondering out loud, if Corporate black blogs like The Root and The Grio are working to control black political thought in America?

That's right, he said it, y'all.

He continues:

It gets under my black skin, that so-called black bloggers at (white controlled) corporate black blogs like The Root, owned by the Washington Post, and the The Grio, owned by NBC, are nothing more than a group of organized Obama loyalist who seem to never report on how blacks will lose $194 billion in wealth through 2012, or how the housing crisis continues to hits blacks the hardest and how President Obama (as Russell Simmons recently pointed out in his Open Letter To President Barack Obama) has all but ignored the plight of black America.

Click here to read the rest of his blog.

My sources tell me that a lot of President Obama's policies have directly benefited the Black community, including, but not limited to, the healthcare reform bill.

What do you think? Please post below.

See also: Being a Black Blogger.

The Truth about Black Writers (3)

In More Black Success Volumes 7 and 9, Black writers spill the beans. They are very real about their writing and their writing process.

Nahisha McCoy’s novel Sweetest Revenge serves as a warning to young women not to let a man or a relationship dominate your life.

She says:

I began writing when I was in public school. I use to tell a lot of lies when I was younger and my Aunt Barbara (R.I.P) told me that I should be able to write stories because I have a huge imagination.

I wrote this book because I was a young woman who was going through a bad relationship. I didn’t have anyone that I could trust, or to talk to about what was going on and I felt like I was dying a slow and unloved death. I had to get what I was feeling out so I put it on paper.

To read more, click here to download your free copies of MBS 7 and 9.

See also: The Truth about Black Writers (2).