FORWARDEVER MEDIA CENTER
Writer Alex
Haley writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Brother Malcolm.
"The
media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make
the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power.
Because they control the minds of the masses."
- Malcolm X
Mission
The Forwardever Media Center is 100% committed to providing unconventional writing workshops and media literacy training to "at-risk" Black youth, particularly males, ages 14 through 24. Working in partnership with The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA., the Center's writing workshops, website internship, and film forums, help students develop critical thinking skills and discover their creative talents. We recruit youth for our programs from the California Youth Authority (the state's largest prison for youth) as well as from universities and high schools. This cross-pollination of young minds creates dynamic shared experiences.
Programs
Whatchusay Cinema–A monthly film forum hosted at schools or community centers in Northern California that explores issues such as race, class, gender, and society. Students are joined by a panel of activists, educators, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. to rate the films and convene roundtable discussions about corresponding relevant issues in society. For info about film screenings and schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Writing Workshops–We offer intensive seminars in journalism, creative writing, cultural criticism, new media, film production, etc. These seminars are taught at the center, located at 1224 Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, 94612. They are also available on location, at schools, community and detention centers, churches, etc. For info about class schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Internships–Whatchusay.com offers competitive internships to young writers who have clearly demonstrated a passion for the craft of writing or media production. The 3-month internship covers news writing and reporting, feature writing, creative writing, media literacy and new media. Working in partnership with community based organizations, universities and international and national media outlets, we produce a pipeline of informed journalists of color who will go on to create their own independent media organizations or work for major media organizations.
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Financial Fitness
By Don K. Taylor
For most people, understanding finances, economics, the stock market, and how to invest their money seems too complex and over-powering. The entire field of "finance" speaks in a purposeful "foreign language." The stock market of Wall Street, insurance, with policies and risk-management strategies, sometimes are so arcane as to tax the comprehension of even some experienced Life Insurance Agents. Macro-Economics, forget it! So what is one to do? First and foremost, you should strive to become your own Financial Planner. Nobody's going to look out for your financial welfare better than you. But that, of course, is more easily said than done. I believe most of us are emotionally ill-prepared to help ourselves; even sometimes with financial knowledge.
Let me explain: The psychology of money and what it means to us is rarely analyzed, let alone understood. Most people, for example, are afraid of success, although they'll vehemently disagree. Most people work 9 to 5 "jobs". Who's going to get rich working for someone else? Even those who work for themselves find hidden ways to sabotage their own success.
So unlike most financial advisors who tell you "how", I strongly advise you to do the hard work on "working on yourself"! Who are you, really? What do you really want? What price are you willing to pay to become financially successful? If you say "hard work", you're wrong. A ditch digger works hard but rarely get rich. The answer is to work smart, not hard.
I've been a "Financial Advisor" of sorts for over forty years, and still I'm not really comfortable with the term "Financial Advisor" or "Financial Planner." I personally don't feel comfortable with those terms because as much as I know, it's only a drop in the bucket of what there is to know. Even after 40 years, every day I'm still learning. So the beginning of "Financial Fitness" starts with yourself. Take classes at a community college, attend financial seminars, without buying anything. Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, and/or watch CNBC finance programs.
Mr. Taylor is a licensed Life Insurance Agent, a stock broker, and a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a degree in Financial Planning. Most recently, he retired from Conseco Insurance Company as a Regional VP. Currently, he's in private practice specializing in Wealth Accumulation and Wealth Preservation Strategies. He enjoys working with motivated people…..people who are smart enough to want to really help themselves.
Posted on August 1, 2005 7:12 AM
