Saturday, February 20, 2010

TheGrio Speaks – 2/20/10

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Fresh from Syracuse - Dr. Boyce on MSNBC’s TheGrio.com – 2/11/10

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Black People Aren’t Getting Married: Dr. Towanna Freeman Has Something to Say

Dr. Towanna Freeman has a lot to say about why Black People aren’t getting married.  In an interview with AOL Black Voices, the leading black news website in America, she was quoted as saying this:

 

“According to the U.S. Census, 42% of African-Americans are getting married, in comparison to 61% of Caucasians. 

There are four contributing factors for this current gap:  the evolution of the black professional woman in the workplace; the increased numbers of incarcerated black males; decreased numbers of black males in college compared to black women; and the increased number of single mothers as head of household.

For example, black women are more likely to marry men of equal or greater education and money earning potential.  Finding a prospective groom can be a challenge if the black male to black female ratio is 1 in 6 like in many major cities.  The workplace and academia are the most probable location to make a dating connection.  These are places you spend most of your day and you interact with the prospective and get to know them in a much better way.  However, if the number of black males in those environments is too low, the odds are slim for the black love connection.  This is one explanation for the increased number of interracial marriages in the U.S.”

Friday, November 27, 2009

Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks with ABC News about Tiger Woods

Word that Tiger Woods was involved in an early morning car accident likely rattled not just fans, but also the broad swath of major corporations that rely on Woods' star power to sell everything from sports drinks, T-shirts and razors to golf tournament tickets.

Reports say the golf star hit a fire hydrant and a tree near his home.

"I can imagine that the world stopped for Tiger Woods advertisers when they first heard the news and that, literally, their hearts missed a beat," said ABC News sports consultant and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan.

Woods has earned more than $100 million annually and, according to Forbes, more than $1 billion during his career thus far, thanks, in part, through endorsement deals with companies such as Nike, Gatorade, Electronic Arts, TAG Heuer and Gillette. The companies declined requests for comment from ABC News.

Nike, in particular, has been especially dependent on Woods, said advertising expert Larry Woodard, an ABC News columnist and the CEO of the advertising agency Vigilante.

"Nike wasn't really into golf before Tiger Woods came," he said. "He helped them take a pre-eminent role in golf."

The PGA Tour also has a lot riding on Woods -- he drives ratings for PGA Tour broadcasts like no one else before him, allowing the tour to rake in greater advertising revenues and higher TV ratings.

"Tiger brought a lot of color to the sport both on his skin and his style of play and that's something that the PGA sorely needs," said Boyce Watkins, a finance professor at Syracuse University.

In the short term, companies tied to Woods likely wouldn't lose too much cash if Woods couldn't fulfill his immediate endorsement obligations; corporations take out insurance policies to cover themselves in case of such events.

"I bet you any intelligent corporation that deals with Tiger Woods has conditions in place to protect them in the event that something like this were to happen," Watkins said. "You have to confront the fact that a human being is perishable commodity. It is a commodity that does not come without risk."

 

Click to read.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Dr. Elaina George: The Problems with Obama’s Health Care Plan

By

Dr. Elaina George, MD

The health care reform bill (HR 3962) that just passed the House of Representatives is bad on so many levels it is difficult explain. As it stands, it will destroy both the doctor patient relationship and change the practice of medicine as we know it.

We have one of the finest health care systems in the world. It has been built on a foundation of choice. Doctors were free to choose the care that they deemed necessary to treat their patients, and patients were free to seek the medical care of their choice. Initially, the foundation was shaken by the rise of the managed care system with capitation. However, over the past 10 years, capitated plans which limit access to specialists have given way to the rise in power of insurance companies. They have used their anti-trust exemption to craft a system that has used monopoly to increase profits on the backs of both doctors and patients.

Click to read.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Your Black Health: Don’t Eat the Whites in Your Food

Deborah Stroman

by Dr. Deborah Stroman, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Your Black World 

Do you need a simple rule to begin a smart nutrition routine? Try to make a change in your diet by “avoiding the whites” – those additives that supposedly will make your food taste just right or have the right consistency. To live well and be healthy, we need to make changes that may feel uncomfortable at first and possibly illogical to friends and family.

Salt, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, accounts for nearly 150,000 premature deaths every year primarily due to complications from high blood pressure. We do need ~ 6g of salt per day to live. Sadly, the average intake of salt is between 9g and 10g a day! Salt is a commonly occurring mineral, the technical name of which is sodium chloride. It is the sodium part of salt that is important. Sodium helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at correct levels. It also plays a central role in the transmission of electrical impulses in the nerves, and helps cells process nutrients.

Click to read.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Corporate Climb: What Matters Beyond Your resume?

by Fenorris Pearson, CEO – Global Consumer Innovation, Inc. 

Education is critical for success, but when everyone has the same education from the same Ivy League schools with the same GPA… how do you stand out? Other factors beyond education – business etiquette, dress, playing well with others, teamwork and dedication are easy to measure and log. But what of those immeasurable traits that count for just as much in the corner office: passion, drive, commitment and stamina?

How can we measure the immeasurable?

When it comes to playing at the top, it’s often the intense, burning desire of the candidate that makes the difference between success and failure. At the end of the day, performance and results are two of the most important traits a top performer can possess. Work harder than your competition, and you’ll win the battle every time.

Another thing that people can’t measure with grades, paychecks, promotions or time cards is what’s inside your heart.

Click to read.

 

Visit Your Black World for the latest in Black News!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Dr. Wilmer Leon Speaks on the Murder of Derrion Albert

By

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Howard University, Your Black World 

On this past Saturday, October 3, 2009 a 16 year old African American honor student, Derrion Albert was laid to rest in Chicago. This young man was beaten to death in the street while walking from school to the bus stop. Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, Eric Carson, 16, and Eugene Bailey, 18, have all been charged with first-degree murder in Derrion’s death.

As I watched the video of this young man being beaten to death with a railroad tie I asked myself what could compel four young African American men to engage in such a wanton and willful murderous act? How could these young men have such disregard for another human being’s life that they would beat him to his death, in the street, in broad day light? What is the basis of their rage, their anger?

I then asked myself, where are their fathers? I made an assumption and came to the conclusion that their fathers must be absent, not active or engaged in their lives. This antisocial rage, this anger is probably in part a response to their being raised without the benefit of knowing the love of their fathers. If these young men were asked to explain what drove them to this act; they most likely would not be able to articulate a clear response. They probably do not know. If they do know, they would be too ashamed to say.

As a man who was blessed to be raised by two loving parents; I clearly understand the power of love. At the age of 50, I am still blessed to be able to talk with my almost 90 year old father every day (I lost my mother last March); hear his voice, seek his counsel; feel his love. As far as I have been able to come based upon knowing my father’s love, I can’t begin to imagine how dysfunctional I would be without it.

Click to read.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

No Property Insurance Can Bankrupt You

Christopher Chestnut (pictured above)

Your Black World, AOL Black Voices 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Most of us know very little about the ins and outs of property insurance. Christopher Chestnut is not in that category. As a prominent attorney out of Florida, Mr. Chestnut has taken on multi-million dollar cases and handled some of the most complex lawsuits imaginable. As one of the leading young black attorneys in America, Chestnut has been recognized by President Obama for his outstanding accomplishments.

I spoke to Chris this week about Property Insurance and what it can do to make your life a little simpler. Here is what he had to say:

1) If you rent, make sure you have renter's insurance. Also, make sure your landlord has homeowner's insurance, since renter's insurance only includes the contents that are INSIDE the house

2) Check your landlord's insurance regarding injuries on your rented property. Most people are unaware of the fact that the homeowner is liable in the event that someone is injured on their property. Even if the children across the street climb the fence to get into your yard, you are liable if one of them gets hurt. Find out how your landlord's homeowner's insurance would cover you if someone has an accident.

Click to read more.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

What are the Politics Behind Healthcare Reform?

Dr. Wilmer Leon, Host of “On with Leon” – Sirius/XM Channel 169

Your Black World , Howard University

Listen up as Dr. Wilmer Leon speaks with Dr. Pearl Ford about President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Plan.  Click here to listen to the latest exciting episode!

Both are graduates of Howard University’s Political Science Program

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Serena Williams, Kanye West, Public Outbursts and Race

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World 

From AOL Black Voices and TheGrio.com 

Were there any racial implications to the recent outbursts by Serena Williams and Kanye West? Yes, there were. In my latest conversation with Rev. Al Sharpton, we break down these interesting events, all of which occurred during the past week. We can agree, however, that there are certainly things more important than worrying about Serena Williams and Kanye West. But these situations, in light of the backdrop of Obama's comments about Kanye, might provide true teachable moments regarding America's tattered racial history.As I've written before, Serena and Kanye have a lot in common, but nothing in common, all at the same time. Serena's actions were justifiable, given the intensity of the situation and the fact that the line judge made the wrong call. At the same time, most of us can agree that Serena went over the line by threatening to "shove the ball down the f**ing throat" of the line judge because of her mistake. Yes, Serena, you are from the hood. But you don't need to take it back to the hood to make your point to a U.S. Open line judge.

Click to read.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Dr Boyce Watkins on AOL – 9/13/09