The majority of the country will receive English–only materials. Households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents may receive a bilingual (English/Spanish) form. Any personal data you provide is protected under federal law.

Please take the time to fill out the Census and mail it back because the information affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives. People from many walks of life use census data to advocate for causes, rescue disaster victims, prevent diseases, research markets, locate pools of skilled workers and more. It also helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services like:

• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency services

Don’t take this lightly. For more information regarding the Census and how it affects all Americans, check out the Census blog at http://blogs.census.gov/2010census.

If you are in need of a job, the U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary, part-time census takers right in your own community. These short-term jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. For more information on the job opportunities they offer, visit http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs.

Alex Haley began his writing while in the U.S. Coast Guard.

[b.1921 - d.1992]

Born on August 11,1921 in Ithaca, New York, Alexander Murray Palmer Haley grew up in Henning, Tennessee, the first of three sons to Simon Henry Haley, a professor of agriculture, and Bertha George Palmer, a school-teacher. In 1937, he attended Hawthorne College in Mississippi, and then transferred to Elizabeth City State Teachers College in North Carolina, which he attended for two years. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939 and completed a twenty-year tour of duty, first as a messboy, and then, in 1950, as Chief Journalist. During the 1940s, Haley began writing short anecdotal sketches about the coast guard, some of which he published in Coronet magazine. In the 1950s, he continued to publish short, mostly biographical pieces in Coronet, as well as in Readers Digest, Atlantic, and Harper’s. He retired from the coast guard in 1959 to become a freelance writer.

In the early 1960s, he continued to publish short articles, among them an exposé of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam for the Saturday Evening Post. At the same time, he began a series of interviews for Playboy magazine, including ones with Miles Davis, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), Jim Brown, and Quincy Jones. His interview with Malcolm X led to their collaboration on The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). Haley’s probing questions of Malcolm X and editorial skills helped shape what has undoubtedly become the most influential twentieth-century African American autobiography.

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What is Photo Phinish?

But even if that weren’t the case, having a month to focus on heart disease is extremely important because it is the leading cause of death in the United States. All of us know one or more people who’s lives have been affected by heart disease and if not taken seriously it could kill you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put together a nice site, full of information for you to learn more about the dangers of heart disease.

While dangerous, heart disease is something that can be controlled if caught early enough. Knowing your family health history and living a healthy lifestyle are just some of the things you can do to prevent it. I’ve provided some links below for you to learn more on what you need to do to become heart healthy.

American Heart Association National Website
Go Red For Women
The Heart Truth Campaign
Men and Heart Disease
Heart Disease and Black People

Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be:

• Women
• Age 40 or over
• U.S. Citizens
• Able to demonstrate financial need
• Enrolled in an accredited school or technical program in the U.S., within 6 months of the scholarship award date

The AARP Foundation will award up to 100 scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on financial need and the cost of the education or training program.

Deadline:
March 31, 2010

How do I apply?
The program application may only be submitted on-line. The application and additional information on the scholarship program is available at http://aarpfoundationwlc.org and will be available on February 1st, 2010.

source

Scholarship Value: up to $ 5000

Classifications: College Junior, College Sophomore, Graduate Student

Minimum GPA: 2.5

For more scholarship opportunities, visit blackstudents.com

Eligible Majors: Business, International Business

Eligible Schools: Open for 4 Year Colleges Only

Application Deadline: Sunday, March 07, 2010

How to Apply : Apply Online

Scholarship Detail:

This competition opens on Jan 4, 2010.

Applicants must be sophomores or juniors at the time of application, enrolled in accredited colleges or universities majoring in Business or graduate studenst enrolled or accepted to a master’s or doctoral program within a Business school in an accredited college or university in the United States (Applicants may apply during their sophomore year).

Applicant must currently be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward and undergraduate or graduate degree.

Applicant must be in the top 20% of his/her class. Applicants do not need to demonstrate financial need.

Required Materials:

1. Three letters of recommendations (one personal, two academic references from the business school of the accredited college.) Letters of recommendations must be written on official letterheadand – must be directly uploaded to the online application by the recommenders.
2. Recent official transcript and evidence of fulltime enrollment – must be mailed to UNCF by the program deadline.
3. Essay – must be directly uploaded to the online application by the applicants.

**Please also open and read the attached document above for more instructions and information about the NAACP scholarship applications.

Members of the National NAACP Board of Directors, SCF Trustees, National Youth Work Committee, the NAACP Scholarship Selection Committee, employees and their spouses or families to the first degree of consanguinity are not eligible to apply for or receive this scholarship.

It’s hard to believe it’s already 2010. But we’re here and there are still new things in store for this blog. When I started blogging, the main goal was to share information and hopefully open up dialogue on issues that affect the black community. I think I did that in some way this year, but it wasn’t to the extent that I’d done in previous years.

The goal for this year is to continue on the track of keeping the site informative. I plan on opening it up to others who are interested in sharing their point of view with the readers of this site. There are some talented, well-written people out there and I want to showcase them and get some real discussions going.

Late in the year, when I got swamped with projects for work, I fell off the blogging scene for a couple of weeks. Blogging can be a daunting task and coming up with things to write about can be time consuming (especially when it isn’t one of my strengths). So this year, I’m going to solicit your help. If you or someone you know are interested in blogging, but don’t want to manage their own site, email me at info @ theotalks.net. I’m always in need of someone to write and it usually turns out to be a win-win situation for both parties.

This year, I also want to focus more on minority small businesses. In these turbulent economic times, a lot of people are turning to owning their own business. I think that’s great, so I decided to start a list of some of my favorite small businesses. I’ll be highlighting small business owners throughout the year, so contact me if you’re interested in participating.

Finally, here are some websites that you need to keep an eye on for 2010. I’ll be blogging a lot about them and hope to be visible on most of them as time permits. Check them out when you get the chance:

• Liberate Magazine
• Tech Relations Firm
• Dallas South News
• Barter My Biz

Have a Happy New Year and God Bless!

These three words hung on the wall of “The Mighty Eagle Band” hall at Willowridge High School in Mo. City, TX. It was a constant reminder of what it would take to be a part of one of the greatest bands in the country. The band was under the direction of  Ronald B. Thornton, whom I had the pleasure of meeting during his time as band director for The Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul.

I learned a lot from Mr. Thornton. While at TSU, he was my first private lesson teacher and taught me how to be a disciplined musician. He gave me the opportunity to be a leader, even when I didn’t think I was quite ready. He placed me in situations that were real confidence builders for my growth as a musician and young man. While I didn’t realize it, the lessons and experiences I gained during my time in band, were helpful when I needed them later in life.

There were times when he’d get on us for not playing to our potential and he made sure we were diverse in our music selections and marching style. We played everything from orchestra to popular tunes on the radio. There was one time when he took a group of us to see B.B. King in concert. He knew the trumpet player and was  able to get us backstage passes and meet B.B. to get autographed pictures. He took the band all over the country and built a legacy that will live on forever.

I have a lot of good memories that I will always cherish, but I the one I’ll remember the most was seeing the Thorntons’ at my dad’s funeral. They’d read he’d passed in the paper and decided to come show their support. It’s tough when you lose a love one and for me the whole day was a blur. But I do remember seeing them there and it meant a lot to me to know they cared.

Today, I along with a church full of students, family and friends attended Mr. Thornton’s funeral. He impacted the lives of many people and his funeral was a testament to the life he lived.  While he may not physically be with us, he will certainly live on in our hearts. His work is done, but it’s up to us who he taught, mentored and counseled to continue the work left to do.

At the end of the ceremony Mr. Thornton’s son dismissed us with the question “Who’s got the greatest band in the country?”. Those who knew the answer responded. Mr. Thornton, Prof, Big T, Ronnie, Big Thunder, we will miss you. Thank you for teaching us what honor, pride & discipline is all about. And thank you to his family for sharing him with us.

R.I.P Ronald Thornton (Facebook)
Our love for Mr. Ronald B. Thornton (Facebook)

The next phase of the “State of Emergency” campaign will be a weekend of LISTENing parties on December 12th and 13th.  The Cosby team will be working vigilantly on the organization of thousands of mini-town halls at homes, community centers, churches, and other locations around the country. A full overview on the LISTENing parties here:

http://act.billcosby.com/events

This will be done in conjunction with another Ustream town hall featuring Mr. Cosby, who will also be calling in to welcome listeners at many of the town halls. If you would like to set up a LISTENing party, a manual for what’s needed to get started can be found at http://act.billcosby.com/page/-/docs/party-manual.pdf. I’ve been asked to sponsor a meeting, so I’ll let you know what comes of that.

Social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents. They use entrepreneurial and business principles and an innovative spirit to seize opportunities others miss to improve systems, invent new approaches and create data-driven, outcomes-based solutions to overcome large social problems. Where a business entrepreneur looks for profit as the ultimate goal, a social entrepreneur’s bottom line is to solve social challenges.

The first USE program is the:
UNCF/The Walton Family Foundation Social Entrepreneurship K-12 Education Fellows Program

PAID BUSINESS INTERNSHIPS IN SOCIAL ENTREPRISE
UP TO $10,000 IN POST-GRADUATION FINANCIAL AID

The USE K-12 Education Fellows Program is aimed at building a robust pipeline of African Americans engaged in K-12 educational entrepreneurship. Fellows will learn about the inner workings of some of the nation’s leading educational organizations, including Teach for America, by working on meaningful projects in growth strategy, development, human assets, marketing, public affairs and diversity, among others. Fellows will be placed in organizations located in Boston, New York or Washington.

Apply now to become a USE Fellow!
Deadline: December 15, 2009

Space is limited
Reserve your webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/528874154

“82% of Fortune 500 CEO’s feel their organization did an effective job of strategic planning. Only 14% of the same CEO’s indicated that their organization did an effective job of implementing the strategy.“

- Fortune Magazine

The latest Conference Board CEO Challenge Survey identifies the top 3 CEO concers are:

1) Excellence in Execution
2) Consistent Execution of Strategy by Top Management
3) Speed, Flexibility, Adaptability to Change

So ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Are you executing your strategy?
2. Does your workforce understand the corporate strategy and their role in executing it?
3. Can your organization respond timely to the rapidly changing business environment, seize opportunities and mitigate threats?

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer