The Walt Weekly Podcast

Financial Insights From Educator and Finance Advisor- Steven Smith

Michelle and Walter interview Steven A. Smith who provides information on what we should be doing to become sucessful entrepreneurs along with possible funding opportunities. This is the first of a series of shows that we will be doing with Steven to enhance our listener's knowledge within the Finance space.

About Steven A. Smith

Steven A Smith is a 29 year Educator (Teacher, Program Facilitator, Guidance Counselor and After-School Coordinator). His career in education includes the in- home sales of supplemental products in all subject areas over that same time period. His passion for education inspired the creation of a self-esteem and abstinence campaign called “I’m Worth Waiting 4” which has had impact on countless adults and teens in 6 countries to date.

His financial education includes Series 7, 6 and 63 licensing as well as both Life and Health insurance certifications. He’s sold stocks, bonds and mutual funds for First Investors, American Capital and SME Capital Management in New York, NY and Tarrytown, NY. He was also a top producer with Primerica Financial Services in life and health insurance sales over a 3 year period.

Personal Accomplishments and Education would include an Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, B.A. English, 1986 West Virginia University and the 1974 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion for the 4th grade.

Mr. Smith was born and raised in New York, NY but has lived in Atlanta since 2007. He enjoys educating the community on the power of financial literacy and education and is proud to be a Small Business Coach with the MVET family.

 

 

 

Integration.....WTF?

This episode will talk about the need for people of color to recognize that the integration was not in the best interest of the Black American.

• We should have been focused on “silver" rights not civil rights
• How black business was devastated by integration along with our minds and futures
• Happy that 25% of Black professionals are electing to start their own businesses rather than working in corporate America
• Working for someone now should be transitory not until you retire.

Since integration, you could see a parallel in the decline of the Black family unit. It was almost simultaneous.

The teachers were black and cared about the well being of the students in their charge. What’s more the line of communication between the teacher, parent, and student was continuous.

What happened to the school spirit that we had during that time? The culture? The pride that we took in competing against rival communities? Whether that be academic, music, or sports.

For those that can remember, we had rumor mills of those that didn’t do well with their school work. You did not want to be on that list. You were teased and of course you had to face the wrath of your parents. Your response was to work as hard as hell to do better.

Even though our black school did not have all of the financial backing or equal funding, we cared about insuring that our kids would be able to compete with anyone.

Segregation in schools is still going on. Just look around. The elite schools in New York City, have gate keepers. You have to have influence, to get into these schools. And we know that the blacks are placed at a disadvantage. Believe it or not New York has some of the most segregated schools in the country.

What is missing is the funding required to identify as a black school.  The lost is the family unit and the care provided by the teacher to student to parent. This was the glue that promoted pride within the Black community. Now we are just a number. If we don’t get it, Special Ed. That was not the case at one time. Yes, you are going to have slow people but they were not stereotyped and sent to isolation. They now are used as fodder to feed the criminal justice system.

Michelle Swiney-McCombs Joins The Walt Weekly!

Michelle Swiney, a New York native ,studied at The Enid Beauty College, and New York Beauty School and achieved a diploma of the highest level. Michelle knew at the early age of 15 what she wanted to do; hair! After working in Corporate America for over 15 years and doing what she loved part time. Michelle decided to become a full-time stylist in 2001 working at various salons. This leap in faith Michelle opened her own salon in Brooklyn, NY and worked with top creative teams in the industry. In 2010 this landed her an opportunity to work as an assistant stylist under a thriving artist, Mathew Curtis owner of Stratford-Upon-Avon, Hoar Cross Hall Spa and the Rosewood Salon London, UK during New York Fashion Week whom became her mentor.

Now, Michelle takes another leap of faith, she is joining The Walt Weekly as co-host, Marketing Director, and producer.

We wish Michelle every success in this new endeavor.

 

Re-Release: Our Live Interview With NY Stylist-Michelle Swiney McCombs

• Very proud to have on the show a lady that has done it her way
• A regular at New York Fashion Week, Michelle working with the Matthew Curtis Creative Team have been heading up teams backstage since 2010, creating looks for some of the most iconic and influential designers such as Ted Baker, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Falguni & Shane Peacock, Marc Jacobs, KYE, Jad Ghandour and Alice & Olivia by Stacey Bendet to name a few
• Michelle’s collaborations with creative stylist and photographers has been featured in the World Bride Magazine, Germanys Gala Magazine, BG Magazine, EC., Alice & Olivia; E-Commerce and Lookbook, music videos with music Legend Nile Rodgers of Chic. Publications in Vimeo, Fashion 360, Noir Tribe Media, E! Channel Fashion Police, Online magazines such as: Elle Magazine, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan
• After working in Corporate America for over 15 years and doing what she loved part time, Michelle decided to become a full-time stylist in 2001 converting her garage to a salon
• In 2010 this landed her an opportunity to work as an assistant stylist under a thriving artist, Mathew Curtis owner of Stratford-Upon-Avon, Hoar Cross Hall Spa and the Rosewood Salon London, UK during New York Fashion Week whom became her mentor

Reparations : Do We Take It, Or Leave It?

What do you think about Reparations?

Planning on spending that money? Do you think that it is justified to accept? There are many takes on this settlement for work and discrimination during the 400 years of black slavery and the Jim Crow era. This degradation continues up until today.

Initially my reaction to Reparations was “I don’t need any handouts”. But further evaluation led to this thought: My ancestors contributed a concrete value to this country and that was labor. That has to be considered as unpaid salary. This salary should be passed down to their desendants. This is just logical. This is not like the Japanese or Jewish reparations and should not be compared. Black Slavery was continuous labor and discrimination. There is no comparison.

 

Don Jr Did Not Know Kamala Harris Was Not Black American! Wow!

Believe it or not there is a growing debate in this country about who is Black American. Why a movement that claims to support the American descendants of slavery is being promoted by conservatives and attacked on the left.

The American Descendants of Slavery’s inaugural conference was held in Louisville, Ky. recently. This was on their agenda along with Reparations.

The goal of ADOS’s two founders — Antonio Moore, a Los Angeles defense attorney, and Yvette Carnell, a former aide to Democratic lawmakers in Washington — is to harness frustrations among black 

Ali Alexander , black right-wing provocateur, tweeted that Kamala Harris is implying she is descended from American Black Slaves. She’s not. She comes from Jamaican Slave Owners. That’s fine. She’s not an American Black. Period.” It was retweeted by none other than Donald Trump, Jr.

Those who embrace its philosophy point to disparities between black people who immigrated to the United States voluntarily, and others whose ancestors were brought in chains.

The American descendants of slavery, they say, should have their own racial category on census forms and college applications, and not be lumped in with others with similar skin color but vastly different lived experiences.

 

The Trump DOJ Is Trying To Kill The Civil Rights Act of 1866

A case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court which will be heard on November 13, 2019, could have a tremendously negative impact on the Black community’s civil rights. as it pertains to fair play in contracting and other measures. Justice Department filed an amicus brief in regard to the lawsuit between Entertainment Studios chairman and CEO Byron Allen, Comcast ,and Charter Corp. 

Allen is suing Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications over racial discrimination after the cable giants refused to include Entertainment Studios programming on their networks. He cites a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, whose section.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, whose section 1981 prohibits racial discrimination in contracts.

Specifically:

All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other.

Immediately after slavery, to combat the emerging “Black Codes,” the national government took steps to ensure that former slaves (now citizens) and their children would be able to participate in the liberties that any white citizens enjoy. This would be the origins of The Civil Rights Act of 1866, laws that continue to protect Blacks to this day in business, real estate and various other ways. (CBC, TheGrio, Congressional Record cited )

Why The Die-Hard Trump Support

The support of the Evangelicals has always puzzled me. When Trump got up and said that Joe Biden was only good at kissing President Obama’s ass, I was shocked that there was no reaction. When he cheated on his wife, paid off women, and was caught in the lie, the Evangelicals said nothing. They know what the underlying agenda is. And that my friend is White privilege. They are fighting feverishly to maintain the majority and will never allow this country to be anything other.

Ashley Jardina defines White Identity Politics, in an article in the Atlantic, as the psychological attachment to their racial group that many whites in the United States possess. Whites with a racial identity feel a sense of racial solidarity with their group and see whites as having similar interests. White identity politics refers to the way in which this sense of racial solidarity influences whites’ view of the political world. Generally, what that looks like is whites with a sense of racial identity prefer political candidates and policies that protect their group’s interests. In the U.S., protecting these interests often means attempting to preserve privileges and advantages that whites, on average, have relative to other racial and ethnic groups.

The Strategy of Divide and Conquer

Merriam Webster defines divide and conquer as: to make a group of people disagree and fight with one another so that they will not join together against one

The strategy of divide and conquer goes back to Julius Caesar even further than that. It is a tool used by those in power to maintain the status quo. This is done both militarily and socially. It fosters fights within groups. Keeps them distrusting each other.

The Walt Weekly is apolitical. Which means we look at any issues through the lens of “what is the threat or benefit to the Black American and other minorities”. This is clearly reflected in our Mission Statement.

However, the time has come for us to call out those Black conservatives that push the politics of the extreme right wing of the Republican party. You can be a democrat or republican as a Black person but it is tantamount to being a traitor. Imagine what our ancestors would say if they knew that whites had surrogates pushing an agenda detrimental to Black people.  I guess this is nothing new. Throughout history there have been these types of people. Usually, in the case of slaves, they would spy and enforce the wishes of the master to get favored treatment. We refer to them has house n****s.

How I Met Stokely Carmichael

When we arrived in Conakry, the capital and checked into one of their best hotels, the desk clerk recognizing  me as an American, informed me that Stokely Carmichael was a guest. I gave the desk clerk a tip and asked him to tell Mr. Carmichael that I wanted to meet him.

The following day, I was given the room number and time. Boy, can you imagine that I was meeting The Stokely Carmichael one of the founders of the Black Panthers. I was ecstatic and nervous.

Upon entering the dim room, I believe his wife was sleeping; I noticed he was wearing a white African outfit. we sat on the couch and proceeded to talk. He informed me that he was now known as Quamé Touré which was a name given to him by the president of the country, Pres. Sekou Touré.

We had a lively conversation talking about my gold business and what had happened to him. He asked me how I was coping in the US.

He was very clear about the following positions :

• Black Americans should have their own country
• It should be somewhere like Texas or California
• We should fight to get it

I immediately disagreed saying that we should pursue wealth. How can we fight a war with no money?  The focus should be on the accumulation of wealth and the education of our children.

He was a separatist but was willing to listen to my position. In other words, we agreed to disagree. He did not try to change my mind. He was very kind. He could have loudly blown me off.

I thanked him for meeting and praised him for what he had done. I also told him how proud I was to meet the “Man”. I then wished him well and left to go up-country to buy this high purity gold dust. It was 93% pure by the way.

After checking out of the hotel, and before going up-country, I went to stay with the Tolbert’s. The two sons, who escaped Sergeant Doe’s coup and murder of their father who was the first president of Liberia and other members of their family. This is a story for another time.

Quamé Touré aka Stokely Carmichael died on November 15, 1998.

Here are some quotes from Mr. Touré:

• There is a higher law than the law of government. That's the law of conscience
• The secret of life is to have no fear; it's the only way to function.
• Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks
• Now, then, in order to understand white supremacy we must dismiss the fallacious notion that white people can give anybody their freedom