on the black hand side

Trial Attorney Willie Gary and Team Filed a Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit against City of Greensboro for Discrimination, Breach of Contract and Bad Faith Dealings after City Reneges on Approved Loan

 

GREENSBORO, N.C., -- PRNewswire/ -- Prominent trial attorney Willie Gary along with his legal team James Leonard Brown of Los Angeles, California and Michael Jones of Durham, North Carolina announced the filing of a multi-million dollar discrimination and breach of contract lawsuit on behalf of Michael and Ramona Woods and Black Network Television against the City of Greensboro, North Carolina. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Guilford County (case #6767).   

The lawsuit details the irreparable damage and harm that the City of Greensboro's bad business dealings caused Michael and Ramona Woods and Black Network Television.  The Woods are suing the City of Greensboro for discrimination and losses related to an economic development loan from the City that was approved on June 18, 2013, and then reneged on one month later by a City Council vote of 6 to 3.  The lawsuit outlines the claim for damages caused by the denial of the promised funds.  The loan was slated for network operations, including production of a new national comedy series titled, "Whatcha Cookin'?"

"The City of Greensboro's discriminatory acts crushed our client's dream," said Gary. "Michael and Ramona Woods discussed with various city officials what a successful minority owned Greensboro-based television network would mean to the community in terms of job creation, skills and training and economic development.  As a result, the Woods put full trust and confidence in the City's promise to grant the economic development loan, only to be misled, misguided, deceived and discriminated against," continued Gary.  "It isn't right and we will not stand for it!"

Gary is no stranger to seeking justice.  Gary and his legal team are known for taking on some of the nation's most powerful corporate giants, including the funeral industry. In 1995, a jury awarded Gary and his legal team a record-breaking, half-billion dollars against one of the world's largest funeral chains, The Loewen Group. In addition, Gary is noted for winning a $240 million jury verdict in Orange County against the Walt Disney Corporation for his clients who alleged that Disney stole their idea for a sports theme park.

For more information, visit www.blacknetworktelevision.com.

 

Tallevast, FL: Environmental Racism, Corporate Greed and Waiting for People to Die [VIDEO]

This is another instance of environmental injustice in the United States. I know all of the residents in the video. They deserve better treatment than that shown to them thus far. Where is the outrage and support from environmental and civl rights organizations? It seems as if the powers to be are waiting for the residents to die so the problem will go away. I think not.

Brainwashed: Black Inferiority/White Superiority [VIDEO]

“You’ve been misled. You been had. You been took.”  --- Malcolm X

Tom Burrell has written a powerful book, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, that exposes and explains why the black collective finds itself in a current condition of dysfunction. It was difficult to put this book down because Burrell’s perspective is different from many books on this same broad subject.

Burrell’s perspective as a marketing and public relations expert is straight forward, eye-opening and raw. Our mental conditioning must be addressed before blacks can ever realize true, substantive progress as a people.

Brainwashing is not just a victimization of blacks although blacks seem to be the most damaged by it. Whites have been brainwashed, as have women, men, Latinos, Asians, etc., etc., etc. Pick a group, any group and you have been brainwashed too.

Shout out to Roland Martin of the Tom Joyner Morning Show for interviewing Tom Burrell and turning me on to this book. I've purchased a few as gifts. We'll discuss this book in more detail. Get a copy and Stop the Brainwash!

 

Adding Up a Family's Year "Buying Black"

 

Is there a directory of black businesses in your town? If so, have you ever really used it to support black-owned businesses? Well, check out John and Maggie Anderson's chronicle of their year of "buying black": Adding up family's year buying black - chicagotribune.com. 

• Some surprises? 
• Some not? 
• What can black-owned businesses learn from this experiment? 
• What do you think about the experiment? 
• Would you try it?

Photo:  Antonio Perez

Posted using ShareThis

Ikea's heart of darkness: A tale of racism, lies and Swedish meatballs -- DailyFinance

A new book is out that purports to tell the truth about furnishings and household giant, Ikea. It is not pretty with reports of anti-semetic and racist comments by management and limitiations on growth for miniorities in the company.

Check out Ikea's heart of darkness: A tale of racism, lies and Swedish meatballs -- DailyFinance. Unfortunately, the book has not been translated into English just yet but it is sure to be a bestseller.

Is the Ebony Fashion Fair Calling It Quits?

The unbelievable but probably not unexpected news of the Johnson Publishing company Ebony Fashion Fair going on "hiatus" for the rest of its 2009 was quite shocking to me and a few of my friends. After 51 years, the historic traveling fashion show may be ending. Reason: the economy.

I've enjoyed the shows for thirty years. It was a mainstay during my college years at Florida A&M and is a fundraising event for my sorority at home.

Supposedly, the show will be re-worked, restructured and back for the 2010 season. Many civic organizations depend on proceeds from Ebony Fashion Fair to fund their philanthropic initiatives. The loss of the Fashion Fair is much more than just the loss of a fashion show.

Let's hope the Johnson Publishing Company folks will devise a business model that will be a win-win for all.

Rest In Peace, Naomi Sims

Before Beverly Johnson, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Iman, there was Naomi Sims. No, she didn't just make cosmetics, wigs and hairpieces, Ms. Sims has been credited as the first black supermodel. That is why her transition from this world without the appropriate acknowledgement by the news and fashion industry, is appalling. Ms. Sims succumbed to breast cancer at 61.

As a teenager during the black pride era, I recall seeing her beautiful brown face on the cover of many magazines and in advertisements. She was elegant and seemed to glide down the runway.

The pioneering Ms. Sims, who would become an entrepreneur and author, paved the way for ethnic models. Initially, she suffered much rejection because of her dark skin but she persevered and became the toast of the fashion industry.

Thank you, Ms. Sims. You blazed a trail that many take for granted today but I thank you for giving little black girls and black women a reason to walk tall and proud. Ashe'.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Ursula Burns, CEO

July 1 was not just the beginning of the second half of 2009, it also marked an historic milestone in business. Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy passed the leadership of the company to another woman, Ursula Burns. A woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company succeeded by another woman is cause enough for celebration but passing the torch to a black woman is almost unimaginable.

On so many levels, this leadership change needs to be studied and place in its proper perspective.

As a woman, living long enough to witness the Mulcahy-Burns transition, gives me as much pride as the victorious Obama presidential campaign. While Burns was not elected to take over the reins of Xerox in the same manner Barack Obama was elected president of the United States of America, it does signal a much-needed shift in consciousness.

Women, in general, don't play ball well. It's the way we are socialized. Fortunately, times they are a-changin'. As women and girls become more accustomed to being a part of a team, gender barriers will continue to crumble; and glass ceilings will be shattered. Women suffer from much of the same psychosis that blacks and other minorities deal with but we are getting better.

Ursula Burns' ascension to lead a Fortune 500 company is the stuff movies are written about. She is the product of a single family household and did not grow up in wealth. She succeeded in spite of that and her story needs to be shared with as many children as possible. Ursula Burns is a living, breathing example of what education and hard work can accomplish.

Success is possible in the business world outside of the traditional "black" business hole that black-owned businesses are placed in. Ursula Burns has shattered the glass ceiling and opened the door. Dream. Believe. Work smart and achieve.

Thank you, Ms. Burns and thank you, Ms. Mulcahy.

Historic All-Black All Female Flight Crew

On February 12, 2009 an All-Black All Female flight crew of Atlantic Southeast Airlines operated ASA flight 5202 from Atlanta to Nashville and flight 5106 from Nashville back to Atlanta. This crew is believed to be the first of a commercial airlines,

The crew included CPT Rachelle Jones, FO Stephanie Grant, FA's Robin Rogers and Diana Galloway! Congratulations, ladies!

© 2009, on the black hand side, www.blackhandside.net

Vote for this blog for Best Pop Culture Blog and Best Blog About Stuff in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

Keep the Heat on the New York Post

Dear Friend,

The day after President Obama signed his stimulus bill into law, the NY Post ran a cartoon depicting the bill's "author" as a dead monkey, covered in blood after being shot by police. You can see the image by clicking on the link below.

In the face of intense criticism, the Post's editor is standing by the cartoon, claiming that it's not about Obama, has no racial undertones, and that it was simply referencing a recent incident when police shot a pet chimpanzee. But it's impossible to believe that any newspaper editor could be ignorant enough to not understand how this cartoon evokes a history of racist symbolism, or how frightening this image feels at a time when death threats against President Obama have been on the rise.

Please join me and other ColorOfChange.org members in demanding that the Post offer a real apology publicly and fire the editor who allowed this cartoon to go to print:

http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1802-295013

The Post would have us believe that the cartoon is not about Obama. But on the page just before the cartoon appears, there's a big picture of Obama signing the stimulus bill. A reader paging through the Post would see Obama putting pen to paper, then turn the page to see this violent cartoon. The imagery is chilling.

There is a clear history in our country of racist symbolism that depicts Black people as apes or monkeys, and it came up multiple times during the presidential campaign.

We're also in a time of increased race-based violence. In the months following President Obama's election there has been a nationwide surge in hate crimes ranging from vandalism to assaults to arson on Black churches. There has been an unprecedented number of threats against President Obama since he was elected, with hate-based groups fantasizing about the killing of the president. Just a week ago, a man drove from Louisiana to the Capitol with a rifle, telling the police who stopped him that he had a "delivery" for the president.

There is no excuse for the Post to have allowed this cartoon to be printed, and even less for Editor Col Allan's outright dismissal of legitimate concerns.

But let's be clear who's behind the Post: Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, the Post's owner, is the man behind FOX News Channel. FOX has continually attacked and denigrated Black people, politicians, institutions at every opportunity, and ColorOfChange has run several campaigns to make clear how FOX poisons public debate.

I don't expect much from Murdoch. However, with enough public pressure, we can set the stage for advertisers and subscribers to think long and hard before patronizing outlets like the Post that refuse to be held accountable.

You can help, by making clear that the Post's behavior is unacceptable, and by asking your friends and family to do the same. Please join me:

http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1802-295013

Thanks.