higher learning inventors

Behhind the scenes is where the real action is!
I had the pleasure of taping a show this past weekend as part of the Make A Difference Day National Event in which we showed our youth who were interested in behind-the-scenes careers in radio and televsion.

I had the pleasure of being blessed with a new assistant who's interested in becoming a stylist (Who wouldn't want to get paid for shopping?) who did a wonderful job in assisting me on this project. Her name is Alisha Sistrunk, a young lady on a mission who's also working on publishing her first book! Can't wait to read it! She has an awesome story that will help parents with their children.

Working behind the scenes doesn't usually put you in the spotlight, but that doesn't mean that you're not making a difference. Several years ago I facillitated several Networking Strategy workshops for the NSBE (National Society Black Engineers) where I had the pleasure of meeting an awesome young man who is making a difference in the lives of others.

Today, I share a story with you about this inventor. "America's High Tech "Invisible Man" By Tyrone D. Taborn You may not have heard of Dr. Mark Dean. And you aren't alone. But almost everything in your life has been affected by his work. See, Dr. Mark Dean is a Ph.D. from Stanford University . He is in theNational Hall of Inventors. He has more than 30 patents pending. He is a vice president with IBM. Oh, yeah. And he is also the architect of the modern-day personal computer. Dr. Dean holds three of the original nine patents on the computer that all PCs are based upon. And, Dr. Mark Dean is an African American.

So how is! it that we can celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IBM personal computer without reading or hearing a single word about him? Given all of the pressure mass media are under about negative portrayals of African Americans on television and in print, you would think it would be a slam dunk to highlight someone like Dr. Dean. Somehow, though, we have managed to miss the shot. History is cruel when it comes to telling the stories of African Americans.

Dr. Dean isn't the first Black inventor to be overlooked Consider John Stanard, inventor of the refrigerator, George Sampson, creator of the clothes dryer, Alexander Miles and his elevator, Lewis Latimer and the electric lamp. All of these inventors share two things: One, they changed the landscape of our society; and, two, society relegated them to the footnotes of history. Hopefully, Dr. Mark Dean won't go away as quietly as they did.

He certainly shouldn't. Dr. Dean helped start a Digital Revolution that created people like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Dell Computer's Michael Dell. Millions of jobs in information technology can be traced back directly to ! Dr. Dean. More important, stories like Dr. Mark Dean's should serve as inspiration for African-American children. Already victims of the "Digital Divide" and failing school systems, young, Black kids might embrace technology with more enthusiasm! if they knew someone like Dr. Dean already was leading the way.

Although technically Dr. Dean can't be credited with creating thecomputer -- that is left to Alan Turing, a pioneering 20th-century English mathematician, widely considered to be the father of modern computer science -- Dr. Dean rightly deserves to take a bow for the machine we use today. The computer really wasn't practical for home or small business use until he came along, leading a team that developed the interior architecture (ISA systems! bus) that enables multiple devices, such as modems and printers, to be connected to personal computers. In other words, because of Dr. Dean, the PC became a part of our daily lives.


For most of us, changing the face of society would have been enough. But not for Dr. Dean.. Still in his early forties, he has! a lot of inventing left in him. He recently made history again by leading the design team responsible for creating the first 1-gigahertz processor chip.. It's just another huge step in making computers faster and smaller.

As the world congratulates itself for the new Digital Age brought on by the personal computer, we need to guarantee that the African-American story is part of the hoopla surrounding the most stunning technological advance the world has ever seen.. We cannot afford to let Dr. Mark Dean become a footnote in history. He is well worth his own history book. "


Now that you know there's someone like you who's making a difference, what can you do? What will you do? The world is waiting! Don't let your talent be wasted! You've got waaaaaaaaaay too much to give, to not use it!

higher learning for ex-offenders

Rev. Louis Flowers of the West Side Minister's Coalition facilitated the 2nd Chance Opportunity Fair for Ex-Offenders this past week on Chicago's West Side. Many leaders in the community talk about change, but this Minister walks the talk! He doesn't assign tasks and supervise, he's there in the trenches making sure the job gets done and people get the services they need!
Service Providers were on location to offer emergency housing, health services, jobs, and pretty much everything one needs to get back to being a productive member of society. I was simply there to help where I was needed.


During my presentation, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a young man by the name of Lee, who owns a trucking company. He offered words of wisdom to keep the faith, because he was once an ex-offender and now ears a six figure salary. This is not something you hear everyday on the street. No one will tell you that you can overcome. People have a tendency to tell you that it can't be done.


I am simply thrilled to be a positive change in the lives of those who want to improve their lives. I met upcoming film/script writers, authors, beauticians, barbers, chefs, resturaunt owners, truckers, artists, singers, entertainers, and the whole nine yards. It thrilled my heart to see the thousands of people who showed up and have not given up!

That's my message to you today. It doesn't matter what you're going through, remember, it is just that, going through. The situtation did not come to stay. It only showed up in your life to see what you are made of, and how you will handle it.

If someone who has made a bad choice in their life and now has an EX on their back, it's really just the beginning! If they can do it, so can you! Question is, what will you do now?
Where will you begin?
Network! Network! Network! Be out and about!
Don't shut yourself in. Remember, closed mouths don't get fed!
Speak up! Speak out! And Get Going!
Stay on purpose, no matter what!
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higher learning on the media

How does the media affect your life?
If you think it doesn't, think again.
You're programmed from the time you get up in the morning, until what time you go to bed at night! Don't be embarrassed or ashamed about it, because the world is. It's not just you alone.
Wonder why we don't do certain things, a certain time of the year?
Wonder why we don't wear certain colors (White!) after labor day? That's because we allow the FASHION INDUSTRY to dictate what's in our closets. How often do you wear a BLACK TOP with your jeans, as opposed to any other color?
How often do you make it your business to be the FIRST IN LINE, or the FIRST IN YOUR BLOCK, JOB OR GROUP to get the latest in technology? (Crackberries, IPODS, ZUNES, CD's, DVD's, etc.)
Do you trade your car in every few years or so?
Do you take vacations at where the experts say you should go?
If you recognized yourself in any of these situations, then you've been simply branded, or as they say in the movies, YOU'RE IN THE MATRIX! NOT A BAD PLACE TO BE, OPPOSITE DEATH!
This is not to make you ashamed, simply to make you aware.
If you haven't seen how media controls America, then be sure and log on to www.cantv.org and watch the media marathon, Sunday Oct. 14th, 9am - 5pm on Ch. 21. If you missed it, log on to the site to see when it will air again.
And you wondered why radio stations play the same 12 songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over.........

higher learning on the backs of our youth

I know this is supposed to be an inspirational column, but sometimes you just need to vent. Today, I am venting, hopefully you'll get something inspirational from it. Hopefully, you won't make the same mistake.

I recently attended a gala where a local representatives were supposed to award some college students scholarships for school. About halfway through the program it appeared to me that this function was more about the WHO'S WHO in Chicago, and had little to do with awarding funding for school.

How so? After I thought about all the money that was frivously spent for hosts and emcees, bringing in top name entertainment, $500 a plate dinners, and not to mention the $5,000 tables that sponsors bought (Where NO ONE from that organization showed up!)

I was really ticked off! How could we in good conscious support such an event in a community that doesn't provide economic security for the people who this organization is supposed to represent? How can we spend thousand of dollars in a downtown hotel that cares less about us as a people, but will take our dollars. We could have taken those same dollars and invested them in our own community with people who live in our community, and look like us.


I guess the fact that we can afford to rent these fabulous rooms, drive our luxury cars and wear our designer gowns and tuxes, is a sign that we've arrived. But have we really?

The only thing I could see from this event that we arrived at is the fact that we still don't know how to invest in ourselves. Now I wonder which corporate sponsor they can get who can provide a scholarship to do that?