Metro Council Thanks Constituents by giving Themselves Lifetime Benefits

Reading a page out of Entitled-Are-R-Us Book of Shame, Nashville's Metro Council voted to give themselves and their family members lifetime healthcare benefits. Lifetime healthcare for eight years of service. Just in time for Thanksgiving, council members, who chose to run for office under no duress from the public, helped themselves to a whole pie that was baked without care for constituents they swore to serve. In the meantime, they cut, chopped, and diced benefits for Metro employees with less than 20 years of service.  How disappointing to realize early on that the promising new council members who were elected to be servant leaders are serving themselves first.

To counter criticism, council members are stating the healthcare benefits are needed as a perk to entice others to run for office. Statements like this are leaving many taxpayers flabbergasted. What happened to the months of non-stop campaigning where the public was bombarded with promises  from the candidates to make Nashville a better place by improving how the city government does business? There were no verbiage about getting health benefits on any of the junk mailers that were sent out for weeks? What happened to demanding fiscal responsibility and accountability of department heads and Metro employees? Are council members not held to that same standard? Why did ALL of the minority council members who were present voted for this bill? Why would part-time volunteers community leaders need such a costly perk? Council member counted the cost to run for office and the cost to serve. Were future personal insurance premiums part of the counting?

It is an honor and privilege to be elected by the people to serve in public office. But let us not be naive, many incentives come with being a  member of the council. Access to decision makers, the ability to network with global leaders while setting the tone for the future of the communities that make up Metropolitan Government of Nashville-Davidson County, and invites to events galore. Many would gladly accept having access and call it a day. The position that the council members voluntarily sought to hold is not being held for free, it pays $15,000 a year. There are no reports to date where a council member quit their job or was fired after becoming a council member. And there are no reports of a council member  becoming destitute because of their duties as an elected official. None.

There are many who serve on the council that I respect greatly. As a volunteer in the community, I have seen first hand many roll up their sleeves and dive in serving heart and soul first throughout our city. I hope and pray this self above service thinking is not going to be the new norm for our council. If so, the community needs to start organizing now to find suitable potential (and insured) candidates who are ready, willing, and able to serve our city in the next council election.

Minutes from the Tuesday, November 13, 2012 meeting can be found here.
Ordinance No. BL2012-266 can be found here.
Council Meeting Broadcast can be found here.

Observations From The Road

I am blogging from the road again. Being a guest speaker, I get to speak the truth in love while everyone smiles knowingly grins and nod sheepishly. I have gotten quite a few “preach it sister” and a very loud “shame the devil” the other day. I am sure if some of the things I have said to several organizations were told by a local member, mayhem would have ensued. What I am learning from my road trips; no matter where you go, there you are. Our stuff is the same from city to city. The clichés and the groups’ dynamics maybe different but folks are pretty predictable. Most of the audiences have been very diverse with education and economic empowerment questions dominating the Q & A time. But when I am in the front of my own people, the question that is asked at every single event is, “Why are black people becoming our own worst enemies?”


From New York to Houston, the question has been asked. In Houston, women wept openly about the savage rape of an 11 year girl by 15 or more Black men and high school boys in a trailer that was videotaped on cell phones and shown at her school. When I arrived, my driver was giving me the word on street version of the horrific event. He warned me not to be surprised because the topic was being discussed everywhere. The November incident has made national news but it was the talk of the Houston area before being picked up by mainstream media. The mug shots of the men and teen boys were all over Houston. Instead of my prepared words about Black Women Trailblazers, we had a town hall meeting of sorts to allow folks a chance to vent. I asked the group to use their anger as a wakeup call. I suggested cutting back on galas and fund counseling for the young girls that have seen the videos. (You know I am not going to leave a group of people with hearts bleeding without mentioning counseling). Anyway, I also suggested partnering with men organizations to teach men how to become protectors of women and girls and not ferocious predators. The well-heeled women were in obvious shock. The title sponsors agreed to put up money for counseling and mentoring activities for girls at the elementary school. This incredible act of generosity was met with a member giving an I-am-the president-elect speech along with the by-laws surrounding the pledged donation. Yep, she did. Pitiful.


My whirl wind month of March is becoming book material fast. The story above had a very obvious teachable moment; put the children first, your title and agenda could have waited. But how often have we seen the sugar taken out of a sweet act of kindness with sour words? I did not bother to hide my disappointment with the “president- elect” and neither did others. How do these folks get elected anyway?


Speaking of elections, Memphis was one of my stops. The state of Memphis City schools was all everyone was talking about at recent meeting. There was no shortage of stories pro and con about the aftermath of dissolving the city school charter. Criticisms were passed around like a collection plate in church. Folks were up in arms about what was going to happen. You would have thought the world was coming to an end because of the deep passion. My suggestion to that group was to put their passion into action by organizing rides to the polls to make sure folks voted. I told the group, “Getting Black folks to stop speculating about what’ they say’ and actually vote for decent leaders is the key to addressing many issues in our community. Black folks must get loud and proud again about voting!” Ninety percent of the dialogue in Memphis the day of my visit was peppered with “they say”. I suggested to several business owners to rent vans for the organization and I volunteered to contact the press to highlight their company and organization efforts. When I left, everyone was excited about getting the word out to vote.


Why was I surprised when I read only 17% of registered voters showed up to the polls? All the meetings, talk, distrust, and infighting about how the merger will help or hurt Black children, very few Black folks even bothered to vote. Memphis as a whole was heavy on emotion and sound bites but after a yearlong discussion about the school system did very little to show that education was valued by the very community that needs it the most. White kids are enrolled in excellent public schools in the suburbs or in private schools that keep their fees high and restrict admission. When you view what is happening with public school systems around the country, Black kids dominate the school rolls. Yet, we continue to complain and not vote. God help us.


After the elections, I called to check about rides to the polls. I was informed that they had an education committee meeting scheduled on Election Day and were unable to get the vans. I am still staring at my cell. Pray.

In Atlanta, I was asked about ideas to engage younger women to become more involved in historical Black organizations. The topic was a follow up to remarks about Rev. Bernice King declining the presidency of SCLC which was co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I pondered my response slowly. My grandmother (Mother) taught me that discussing Dr. King should be done respectfully, so I treaded with thoughtfulness. I leaned on an earlier conversation with Mother to explain my perspective. Mother felt strongly that Bernice King was chosen because of the history that came with her name. “She’s his daughter but she has her own mind. Folks think she is going to quote her father speeches all day”, Mother said in hushed tones. “When she gets to talking about babies having babies, babies killing babies, and babies can’t read or write, they are going to tune her out”. Hmm. Bringing older established groups current with the issues of the day while upholding the legacy of a group, is often met with blank looks or outright disdain. The Black community has used up much needed capital on protesting things that were reactionary, airing grievances in the white media that reflected badly on a group while not dealing with accountability with each other and sat on the sidelines snickering at other folks fall from grace while becoming clowns in a parade. Those actions have come back to haunt the Black community politically and economically.


“We have lost clout politically and economically because we are not using our social and professional positions to bring clarity, civility, and accountability to the table. Many of our organizations are viewed as outdated because of long winded meetings with no substance, leaders who have not always listened to their members, and very little training for younger leadership with outside the box thinking. The old teaching the young is biblical”, I said after sharing my grandmother’s words. Surprisingly, everyone clapped! This is happening in the Black communities around the country and in Nashville. Geez.

There is much to tell; with so little space. Hopefully, by sharing my encounters from the road, it will help us to be more insightful. Do our social groups actually serve the community with service above self mindset? Do we talk about the importance of public schools but are absent when it truly matters the most? Do our older brand groups teach history while embracing change? Are elders willing to teach the young folks leadership skills by more action and few words? Hmm. Our young folks are watching. And waiting!

Mary Harvey is Making Black History by Starting to Think Like a Man

This is the first week of Black folks’ holiest time of the year, Black History Month. As Civil Rights heroes’ sacrifices are remembered, Blacks and white folks are at their best and unified. The finest and brightest are trotted out for twenty eight days before mayhem resumes March 1. White folks give Blacks all the air time they are going to get for the year in February. I was going to blog about the many local unsung heroes that work tirelessly every day of the year to honor the past, deal with present day challenges, and help prepare young people for the future who often hidden in the community. My thoughts were thrown out after l heard Tom Joyner tell Mary Harvey that her ex-hubby, radio host Steve Harvey, was “doing good in the community”. The ugly history of Steve and Mary Harvey’s marriage that has spilled over to You Tube, Twitter, blogs, and now morning drive time is history of sorts that reveals much about the community of color.

I have often shared with individuals that greatest influences in my life were my grandparents. I was raised by country people who believed strongly that what is said and done in their house, stayed in their house. But living in Nashville has taught me that my grandparents thinking come with a price. Interacting with individuals with bottled emotions from yesteryear has led to a subgroup of folks who can come unglued socially because they have unresolved wounds and hurts. Black folks DONOT embrace counseling; they are told by church leaders to pray about it. So many go to church and shout. Steve and Mary Harvey’s very public feud is a byproduct of many issues that face the community that is glossed over by Essence cover stories.

Before I go any further, let me confess, Steve Harvey is an unimpressive comic to me and his wife shows a martyr’s loyalty- till-I- die mentality that I loathe. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the viral video “he said, she said” saga that has gone mainstream.

On January 31, Mary Harvey sat in Tom Joyner’s studio to tell him why she has gone public with her private family drama. Tom is Steve Harvey’s morning show competitor and friend. Tom waded into family counseling waters by declaring:

“I did not invite you on the show to continue talking about your personal business. There are more things that are of paramount importance to our community. We want to deal with this and move on."

He stressed how important Steve was to the community and the community did not need to be distracted by their public spectacle. Hmm. Aren’t you glad Tom does not have a counseling degree? Anyway, Tom said, “I just hate mess”. Never mind the fact that Tom discusses mess everyday on the show except his closes friends’ mess. “Oh, oh, oh, that is how it is on the Tom Joyner Morning Show”. I love Tom even when I do not agree with him. Mary Harvey stood her ground with Tom and replied,

“It took a long time for me to get to this point. The reason I’ve been silent this entire time was because I did take into consideration what it would do to both of our families, what it would do to the community. Keeping quiet hasn’t served me physically. It hasn’t served our son. I have suffered physically because of it. I’m not in good health right now.”

Tom offered to broker a truce with her and Steve.

Mary Harvey said her speaking out was not about receiving another settlement, “This is not about money,” she repeated several times. She wants an apology. She went on to say,

“I think the apology should be given to the women who have been deceived into buying the books and who have perceived him as being a pillar of the community.”

(I would want a refund if I bought one of his books but that’s me). She went on to say that Steve’s treatment of her was equivalent to rape. I don’t know if she has been raped but that was her comparison.

Steve and Mary were divorced in 2005. They were together for 16 years, married for ten of those years. They have a 13 year old son who lives with Steve full time and is not in contact with his mother. Steve is married to his third wife, Marjorie, who Mary said was his mistress when they were married. Mary claims she suffered mental and physical abuse from Steve. After reaching her breaking point, she left the marriage. She also states Steve’s lawyer cheated her in settlement from the divorce. They used the same family lawyer.(That was dumb). She mentioned the number of pills she was taking because of numerous health and mental issues. What was not said on the TJMS was why Mary decided to go the You Tube exposure route and posted videos that millions can’t stop viewing. Steve and his third wife posed for January Essence cover and in the article he miscalculated Mary’s silence. Here is Mary's statement about the cover story.

My name was in that article. The article said in Steve’s words that ‘I’m finally happy and that I haven’t been this happy since 2005 and I was in the company of the wrong person.’ My name mentioned in any way was offensive to me; why mention me at all? I would think that he and Marjorie have plenty to talk about, as opposed to bringing me into an article that has nothing to do with me.

Steve Harvey is a household name, makes millions from his clothing line and two bestselling books, TV and church appearances, has a pending deal with Oprah, a radio show in 60 markets and God knows what other revenue streams. Steve has a team of lawyers and staff to do his bidding but he could not resist making a dig about his ex-wife. Hell has no fury like a woman that has been belittled in Essence! Mary decided to show the world the other side of Steve Harvey. The future mogul, author, radio host, family man and relationship guru family issues did not stay in the house. Penniless and broke, Mary sat before a two dollar camera and posted three You Tube videos. That was how she came to everyone’s attention including Steve Harvey’s legal team. Because of the videos, Steve Harvey is now suing Mary to regain his Essence cover story image back. Sounds like Mary has started to think like a man. She has no lawyers advising her or agents booking her but she is making the rounds and is in high demand. When I heard her in January, I was reminded of the power of a dam’s broken levee. Rarely can someone out swim a dam overflowing it banks. The ugliness of Harveys’ union and divorce is out there. Their real life mayhem gives us a peep into Black culture issues that usually get swept under the rug. So what does all of this have to do with us? Nothing. But there is much to learn from this sad epic.

Nothing is wrong with highlighting success. But as a people, we idolize individuals quickly and will label an idiot a community leader without hesitation. We are a forgiving group that will overlook obvious character flaws for the sake of a feel good moment. Folks will shut down Black women who are traditionally the backbone of the family and the laborers in the community if one dares to challenge Black folks’ leadership identification system while Black women have been trained subconsciously to be the sacrificial lambs for the family, the community or a man’s reputation. Remember how folks turned on the women who were underage girls at the time over R. Kelly? Or the very recent Bishop Long’s scandal that started with muscle shirt texts? The cries from the saints were deafening. R. Kelly is back performing and folks are still packing the pews at New Birth. R. Kelly is supposedly writing a book. Folks ignore the fact that he has publicly admitted he is illiterate.

Maybe history can be made by looking at the criteria for what “doing good in the community” means. An honest examination of our value system is long overdue. There are ways to bring up community leaders without creating monsters. Every group has hero worshipitis but when it happens with color people, the backlash is felt by all. No one is perfect but we must quit playing crazy when it comes to dealing with real issues that we face daily. As we honor the heroes of past, let’s study more about their characters that made them the men and women that we should celebrate 365 days a year. Hopefully, next Black History Month, we can celebrate by using You tube to talk about soaring graduation rates among Black males, decrease in teen pregnancies, an increase in folks being hired in our community and more entrepreneurs living their dreams . Now that would be news worthy of being highlighted and truly honor the proud heritage of those who have broken so many barriers regarding race relations in our country throughout the year.

The Harvey's photo credit: I don't know but I couldn't find very many of her smiling

Michael Steele's Coonery Tour Has Ended

Michael Steele was elected as the first African American Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in January of 2009. He was elected shortly after President Obama became the first African American President of the United States. Many believed that Mr. Steele would be the Republican’s answers to President Obama. Mr. Steele could attack the President without it appearing racial. Mr. Steele promised that during his reign of the RNC, he would make sure the Republican Party reached out to more ethnic minorities across the country.


But Mr. Steele’s leadership seemed to cause more division among conservatives and was not inclusive of minorities. The RNC lost a chuck of its base to the Tea Party. The Tea Party organizations from around the country ran candidates against not only incumbent Democrats but Republican as well. The Tea party members called Republicans out in many races and promised that once they got to Washington they were not only going to hold the President accountable, but Democrats and Republicans to their vision of how they want the government work.

Down South, my grandparents used a term to call intelligent Black folks who played down their abilities and mocked their communities coonery. In many conservative circles, Michael Steele’s coonery was blamed for helping topple the RNC. Nothing prepared Republicans for his antics and out of control foolishness that came out of Steele’s mouth often. Not only was he an embarrassment to old school Republicans but many Black folks did not know what to make of Steele’s constant ignorant outbursts. His love of self-promotions made in him a comedy routine regular on The Daily Show. A Muppet like character was created to depict Steele using his street slang. His made up homeboy sayings had even people from the streets scratching their head questioning what he was talking about. Nothing from Steele’s background would have predicted how badly he would lead the RNC.

Steele was adopted by a Democrat leaning working class family as a baby. He lost his farther at an early age but his mother later remarried and had a second child. His half-sister, Monica Turner, later married and divorced Boxer Mike Tyson. Steele attended Catholic schools and even studied to become a priest. He graduated from John Hopkins University with a degree in International Studies and later received his law degree from Georgetown University Law School. Steele was employed as a corporate securities associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, & Hamilton. From 1991 to 1997, he specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters, working at Cleary's Tokyo, Japan office on major product liability litigation and at its London office on corporate matters. He left the law firm and founded the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm. He was active in politics.

Mr. Steele severed as Lt. Governor of Maryland and was the first African American to hold that title. He was instrumental in helping establish Minorities Business Enterprise program and made education a priority.

Several minority business owners that I know personally from the DC area have credited Steele for helping them establish their businesses. But they quickly point out did not recognize the Steele that was chair of the RNC. Steele, a bright and intelligent person prior to becoming a national political figure, became someone who played up the worst stereotypes of Black in mainstream media. He became a caricature from the hood that put on a suit and a bow tie that made white folks chuckle with glee and Blacks folks hold their breathes in dismay. Watching him tell his humorless jokes on TV would leave me baffled but hearing him in person left me wondering why I was even trying to comprehend his logic on the occasions I heard him speak. He truly reminded me of an Amos and Andy routine. He attacked the President as his paycheck required him to do but rarely did any of his attacks stick.

Steele could have used his talents from his previous careers to convert independents who became disillusioned with President Obama. But he could not even get ants to an outdoor picnic. He allowed racial rhetoric go too far too long. Steele’s justified statements that he knew were inflammatory nightly on cable news. He only countered it when RNC members started complaining about his lavish spending, questionable nightclub outings, and how he seemed to pocket money from his book tour instead of giving the money to the RNC. When he came under scrutiny, he ran to Black radio crying racism in the RNC. Hmm, how convenient.

Steele had no shame. Folks on Coonery circuits usually don’t. Being the head of the RNC, Steele showed us classic coonery. Right out the bat he tried to bring hip-hop to the RNC in order to reach the youth. Who say hip-hop anymore? Publicly feuded with Rush Limbaugh only to back track and kiss Rush’s Ring. And other parts. Didn’t know pro-choice did not mean pro-life. All Catholics know the difference. Swore that white folks were afraid of him. Really? In January 2010, predicted that the GOP would not win very many seats. They won 63 House seats. Said he wrote his book before he was Chairman of the RNC. Lied. Claim Afghanistan 'Was A War Of Obama's Choosing. Nope, President Bush took us to war. Twice.

Steele ended his gaffe filled two year coonery tour this month with a response to a question at the RNC chair debate. The candidates were asked what their favorite book was. Steele said his favorite book was War and Peace by Tolstoy, and then quoted: "It's the best of times and the worst of times," triggering laughter throughout the hall at the fact that Steele had in fact quoted A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens. Shameful. Thankfully, the tour is over!


Article first published as Michael Steele's Coonery Tour Has Ended on Blogcritics.

The Boogie Man Stalks TSU

During my early childhood years while growing up in Mississippi, I was told often by a hateful cousin that the boogie man was going to get me. He told tall tales that haunted and damaged my young psyche. His depictions of the boogie man seemed real to my impressionable imagination. I would awaken in the middle of the night shaking and believing the boogie man was in the closet or under the bed. As a way of comforting me back to sleep, my grandparents would throw open the closet doors or peer under the bed to show me no one was going to harm me. My grandmother would say to me as she was going through the room, “Van love calling you a scary cat; don’t let him whisper things to you that are not true.” After seeing no one in my room and hearing my grandparents soothing voices, I would return back to my bed realizing that I was safe. My grandparents reassured me that everything would be alright by their actions; they physically showed me that no boogie man was lurking to get me and told me the truth about my cousin words each time I had a bad dream.

Over the last two weeks, I had to similarly reassure my sons who are attending Tennessee State University that the media hype from Broadway with doomsday headlines that are misleading was nothing but the boogie man myth stalking TSU with an incomplete narrative. My eldest son returned from spring break wondering if TSU was going to lose its accreditation. Bewildered, I asked “Who’s telling those tall tales?” He said students were receiving calls from their parents from around the country asking if TSU is on the oust. My son who works with freshmen student athletes was reassuring them that everything would be okay. But he was also seeking comfort by confiding in me. Wanting to put his mind at ease, I told him I would check into the root of the students’ fears. Like days of old, I needed to show my son that there was no boogie man at TSU. Or was it? Concerned, I made a call to a friend who worked at TSU the next day.

My friend gave me an insider’s view of trying to do one’s best for students while watching the university she loves and worked for be attacked from the inside out. “TSU is having a whisper campaign being waged against it with the media carrying the whispers in the wind. Brazen headlines with false claims are causing dread in the minds of students and faculty alike,” she said in hush tones. She spoke as if we could be overheard when it was only the two of us on the phone. I found myself reassuring her that everything would be okay and the truth always prevails. Like Mother, like son. After I hung up with her, I said a prayer for my sons and the TSU community. I found myself recalling last summer’s misleading headline about TSU and wondered why does TSU receives so much negative press from one media outlet that provokes panic, alarm, and trepidation in the Nashville community about the standards of TSU. I pondered quietly about what does TSU need to do to show the good practices while correcting the bad habits without being written as a monster in the headlines? Why has the media not mentioned the awards that TSU has won for outstanding community service in the last several weeks? My mind was on my sons’ future as well. A few days later, I received a second call about TSU from my youngest son who was concerned about his status at the school.

My youngest son, known as “Cool Corn”, was showing signs of distress about his future at TSU. He asked me in a voice that reminded me he had only fifty percent of my DNA, “Ma, what’s up with the money at TSU, I heard something ‘bout TSU’s money”. What now, I thought to myself. He went on to tell me about TSU’s audit that made the news. My sons were worried. I was determined to keep them focused on their education and not on headlines and campus gossip. The insinuations made about the school they love dearly were spreading like wild fire. I would learn later, TSU’s boogie man was real but disguised as bias journalism.

Jaime Sarrio, a contributing writer for The Tennessean, covers education in Middle Tennessee was the writer of two articles that appeared in The Tennessean a week apart. The article that my younger son was discussing with me was titled “Audit finds errors at TSU”. Ms. Sarrio wrote about the “numerous inaccuracies related to scholarships, investments and retirement funds at Tennessee State University.” The article cited figures and recommendations on how TSU needs to do better with its accounting practices. As I continued to read I could not help but notice the statement towards the end of the story;

“TSU isn't the only state institution to record errors on financial statements. East Tennessee State, Austin Peay, Dyersburg State Community College and Motlow Community College were cited for similar mistakes in recent month,” Jewell said.

TSU was mentioned along with several other schools but figures only from TSU were given. In Ms. Sarrio’s bio, it states that she covers education for Middle Tennessee but only mentioned the audit of one school that was in Middle Tennessee. Clarksville and Smyrna are in Middle Tennessee, right? Interesting.

After I picked up copies of the audits for the schools that were listed in the story and audits for school not written about, I wondered what were the “similar” mistakes mentioned briefly, but not expounded upon by Ms. Sarrio. Since I try to be a fair and balance blogger, I decided to include the overviews from each school in alphabetically order. I would hate for anyone to think that I pulled one school out the hat that only had one school in the hat. When I was in grade school, I learned that the letter A came before T. Most of the schools audits were 70 plus pages long and to remain fair I will give the samplings of information from the findings and recommendation pages of the audits for each school. All Links to the complete audits pages are available at the end of the page.

In each school’s audit the objectives were the same:
1. To consider the university’s internal control over financial reporting to determine auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing opinions on the financial
statements;
2. To determine compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements;
3. To determine the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements; and
4. To recommend appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies.

The audits were conducted as a part of the checks and balances of being a public institution in the state of Tennessee, not as a witch hunt. All public universities and colleges are audited, not just TSU.

APSU audit was 72 pages long. It did not take but a few turn of the pages to concur with Ms. Sarrio’s findings that some of the other schools had similar problems. I noticed right away that APSU like TSU had “made mistakes two years in row” as well. Now let’s take a peek into the horrors of higher education accounting, hold your chest because this will be a spooky, scary, frightful read from here!

APSU
The Office of University Advancement personnel did not establish policies and procedures for monitoring pledges receivable and did not comply with established policies and procedures related to receipting, recording,and documenting contributions and pledges received from donors. The Office of University Advancement receives contributions and pledges for both the university and the foundation. While obtaining an understanding of controls over cash receipting and pledges receivable in the Office of University Advancement and while completing agreed-upon procedures on the Athletics Department’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Statement of Revenues and Expenses, we noted that
•staff recorded Athletics Department revenue amounts in the wrong account;
•management failed to establish policies or procedures to monitor pledges receivable to determine which amounts should be written off, and staff failed to follow established policies for maintaining pledges receivable documentation; and
•the Executive Director of the foundation failed to ensure adequate controls over cash receipting and recording functions.
We noted similar problems when performing our agreed upon procedures for the year ended June 30, 2008.

Dyersburg State Community College
1. The Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services did not ensure that the college’s and foundation’s financial statements and notes to the financial statements were accurately prepared, which increased the risk that amounts could have been materially misstated and that critical financial decisions could have been made based on inaccurate information.

Top management of Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) is responsible for the fair presentation of financial position in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. However, the Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services did not ensure that the college’s and foundation’s financial statements and the accompanying notes to the financial statements were free of material misstatement. According to the Vice President, she prepared the financial statements, notes to the financial statements, and the management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A); however, no other knowledgeable person reviewed the financial statements, notes, and the MD&A for accuracy or cohesiveness. As a result, we noted several reporting errors in the financial statements, notes, and MD&A.The new staff was unfamiliar with the previous and new systems and did not have sufficient experience to extract information to prepare the financial report, and there was not adequate time permitted to provide the specific training. In Aug 2008, the Business Manager accepted another position at the college and a new Business Manager was hired.The Vice President was, as in 2007, the only staff remaining with prior experience in preparing the financial report. Also, the Vice President was on leave intermittently due to a family illness and was unable to have sufficient time to review the notes and management’s discussion and analysis as it should have been before the deadline for submission to the Tennessee Board of Regents.

ETSU
The university needs improved review procedures to prevent errors in the preparation of the university’s financial statements. The Vice President for Finance and Administration and the Associate Vice President for Financial Services worked together in preparing and reviewing East Tennessee State University’s financial statements and related notes to the financial statements. They also relied on information provided by other employees. Our audit found that this arrangement lacked adequate review procedures to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in financial statements and notes. This weakness resulted in three significant reporting errors:
• In note 8 of the financial statements, the Associate Vice President for Financial
Services reported the reserve amount for Tennessee State School Bond Authority (TSSBA)bonds as $21,941.24. The correct amount, according to a TSSBA confirmation, was $4,093,706.22. No review of this information was performed by another employee.
The note was corrected in the audited statements. The audited statement was not corrected. The entry was deemed immaterial by the university’s Vice President for Finance and Administration. These reporting errors resulted in significant misstatements in the financial statements. According to the Associate Vice President for Financial Services, these errors were not detected because she did not have sufficient review time between year-end closing and the final preparation and submission of the financial report to the Tennessee Board of Regents Central Office. The Vice President for Finance and Administration also cited the lack of sufficient resources to provide adequate review due to staff reductions from the university’s recent voluntary buyout plan. With an adequate review process, the Vice President or Associate Vice President could have detected and corrected these errors before the financial report was completed.

Motlow State Community College
The Vice President for Business Affairs and the Director of Fiscal Services made several classification errors in Motlow College Foundation’s financial statements, resulting in inaccurate financial reporting. The Vice President for Business Affairs and the Director of Fiscal Services of Motlow State Community College did not ensure the financial statements and notes of the college’s component unit foundation were accurately prepared for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2007. We found that management made several classification errors due to oversights during the preparation process. Based on our audit, we found that the Vice President for Business Affairs and the Director of Fiscal Services, who worked together in preparing Motlow College Foundation’s financial statements as presented in the college’s Annual Financial Reports, made the following classification errors:
• On the college’s statement of net assets at June 30, 2008, in the component unit column, they failed to separately report $383,551.65 of nonexpendable net assets restricted for scholarships. The amount was shown in the nonexpendable restricted net assets - other category. Inadequate review procedures led to the misclassification.
• In note 14 in the college’s 2007 financial report, they misclassified $3,262,305.47 of foundation equity mutual funds and $41,496.63 of money market mutual funds as bond mutual funds. According to the Director of Fiscal Services,the amount was simply placed in the wrong category in the note, but the statement of net assets reflected investments properly.

University of Tennessee
1. Advancement Services and Athletic Department personnel failed to address risks associated with improper accounting for pledges receivable, resulting in a $6.4 million over statement of pledges receivable on the university’s June 30, 2008 financial statements.

The University of Tennessee uses two separate systems to process and account for donor pledges made to the university. Personnel in the Advancement Services office use the Alumni and Development Information System (ANDI) to maintain the official record of all gifts and pledges made to the university. Personnel in Athletic Development at Knoxville use the ADvantage system to account for gifts and pledges made to the UT Knoxville Athletic Department. Pledges and gifts are initially entered into the ADvantage system and then are subsequently entered into the ANDI system through a multi-step data transfer process. University personnel failed to appropriately respond to data integrity issues discovered within the ANDI system, failed to establish a pledges receivable write-off policy, and failed to mitigate other internal control weaknesses involving the pledges receivable process. The Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services and his staff are responsible for reporting accurate gift and pledges receivable balances at each June 30 year-end to the Controller for proper financial statement reporting. However, the Assistant Vice President did not provide accurate pledges receivable balances at June 30, 2008, to the Controller because of uncorrected data integrity issues on the ANDI accounting system and because of the staff’s failure to establish an Advancement Services policy for the write-off of delinquent, uncollected pledges, ultimately affecting the June 30 balances. Also, based on our audit work, we identified certain other internal control weaknesses. The specific discrepancies are described as follows:
Delinquent Pledges We determined that, based on research done by Advancement Services’ staff, delinquent pledges (no payments for one year or more) totaled approximately $7,944,600 and were included on the university’s June 30, 2008, statement of net assets net of a 20 percent allowance for doubtful accounts and discounted to net present value. These pledges were deemed uncollectible and were scheduled for write-off on January 1, 2009. Since the entire amount was deemed uncollectible, the allowance account established for doubtful accounts was not sufficient to cover all uncollectible pledges. At June 30, 2008, net pledges receivable were overstated on the university’s statement of net assets by at least $5,936,319.84.

I read hundreds of pages of state audit reports for several universities and colleges in Tennessee. Many had numerous accounting errors and discrepancies.I am not trying to down play TSU’s audit or negate TSU's issues by any means but when I read the other schools’ reports, I realized that folks in Tennessee just can’t count. When I contacted Tennessee Comptroller of Treasury Director of Communications, Blake Fontenay, to find out why only TSU’s audit was discussed in the article, I was informed “There was a media inquiry specifically about TSU’s audit.” The reporter did not inquire about the other schools? Hmmm. “We told her that other schools had problems as well,” stated Mr. Fontenay. Perplexed, I asked about the release date of the audits? I was told where to find the release dates for all the schools. I was startled to read that Motlow State University was released 10/27/2009, Dyersburg State Community College was released 2/8/2010, APSU was released 2/8/2010, ETSU was released 3/11/2010, and TSU was released 3/17/2010.The reporter who covers education in Middle Tennessee had not written any prior stories about the audits of the other schools. Why focus only on TSU? I searched the Leaf Chronicles website, which has the same parent company as the Tennessean, and found no stories on APSU’s audit, a Middle Tennessee School. ETSU did make the news in East Tennessee and the story was cross posted on several websites. ETSU story ran before the Tennessean reported on TSU. News Channel 5 mentioned some of the issues at ETSU:

Among the errors the audit found - the associate vice president for financial services reported the reserve amount for Tennessee State School Bond Authority bonds as $22,000 when the correct amount was more than $4 million. Also scholarship allowances were understated by more than $2 million, which resulted in other accounting errors.

The information about ETSU’s audit was in the news but not included in the reporter’s story about TSU’s audit. As we can see, Broadway’s narrative about TSU is as dramatic sounding as the “War on Terror”. The terminology is catchy but the theory lacks sustainable measures. Reporting specific inaccuracies at one school but
not other schools you cover whose audits were released earlier has a ghoulish distortion that does not sit well with this parent. This added to the discord that my eldest son said was evoked in students the previous week when a headline by the same reporter read “TSU Runs Risk of losing its Accreditation.” My manicured mommy nails are becoming claws while I am trying to help my sons understand the politics of public mind games without poisoning them about life.

An implication from the headline was that TSU was on the short list for the accreditation guillotine. That story was read by many students before the beginning of TSU’s spring break. No wonder the students returned back to school afraid of the unknown. Can you imagine the conversations about TSU with families who were trying to sort reality from make believe? God forbid if families went to the media’s website and read the comment section that seems to bring out a type of hate that is becoming more and more mainstream and is encouraged by the headlines that are written. What about the new enrollees for the fall semester? How many read or heard about the headlines and decided this may not be the school for them in 2010-2011? Who would want to send their child to a pending non-accredited school? My eldest son bristled at the notion that students were not properly tested throughout his time at TSU. “Mom, I was number one in my graduating class and rarely slept for four years because of all the work and tests I took trying to graduate from TSU,” he told me emphatically.

This headline and the truthiness of the story were disputed by TSU and the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Apparently in the writer’s rush to keep students awake at night wondering about their future, she confused reaccreditation and reaffirmation and used them interchangeably. Reporting on a story and not knowing the correct definitions and context of words while challenging the credentials of an award winning school is laughable and shameful! Did the reporter get tested before she left college? The President of SACS, Dr. Wheelan, sent a letter to the reporter’s publisher and editor explaining the process of reaffirmation since the reporter’s fifteen minute interview with SACS and what was printed failed to show she had a grasp of the subject matter that became sensationalized in the Nashville community because of the headlines and misstatements. SACS challenged the story but there has not been a correction or an apology for the misinformation but the story was given a new title. The story was complete with a daunting photo of Dr. Johnson who was pictured looking like the grim reaper who killed my youngest son’s financial aid.

As a mom of TSU students, I am part of the TSU family. I am proud of my sons. I was concerned about the rumors and half-truths that have reached fever pitch. I researched for myself the facts on both stories about TSU. I went to the administrators of TSU and asked about my sons’ futures at TSU. I have no time to deal with mess and mayhem designed to divide, alienate, and conquer through osmosis. I have one son graduating in May with his Masters and one son who needs prayer. If I chose to send my sons to TSU, I am going to support the school when things are going great and when things are going bad. There is no perfect institution and no perfect administration. If there are issues that need addressing, by all means get them addressed. I made my list and action items this week. The TSU community should hold administrators and faculty accountable. But folks must come to the table with solutions and action plans with measurable outcomes. This is a time to course correct and used information that has been given (the good, the bad, and the ugly) to do things better. Let’s not feed into the negative atmosphere that some in Nashville wants to cloak over TSU like a creepy fog.

My granddaddy always said, “If you don’t care about what is yours, why do you think anyone else will or should.” Folks, I care about my sons and their education. The readers of the Genmaspeaks and the members of the Nashville community should think beyond one media’s narrative. At this point in history, we should leave the hate on a website’s comment section. That kind of demoralizing hate can destroy a community. Besides, there is too much good to do…young people MUST be educated and led to become productive citizens of this great country and of this wonderful city of Nashville.

(The SACS On-Site Committee arrived at TSU on Monday and will conclude its visit on Thursday March 25, 2010. Tennessee Tribune will report on their findings when it becomes available.)

Photo Credits:TSU Campus TSU
Dr. Melvin Johnson Tennessean
Children/Dr.Johnson TSU
My sons-proud mom

Links to all schools audits: http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/RA_SA/SAsub.asp?SC=CU&F=

Release dates of audits: http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/AuditsAndReportsSearch/Results1.aspx

Illiterate R. Kelly to "Pen" A Book

Illiterate R. Kelly to “Pen” A Book

Sometimes headlines are meant to be sensational to draw the reader to the story and sometimes some headlines, like the one above, should not be written. Illiterate, should be locked up for life, R. Kelly has inked a deal with Smiley Books to tell his life story. The notorious pedophile will tell his tragic pitiful tale of rags to riches and from women to girls, through Tavis Smiley, to anyone who will buy his story. If this is not a con game, then I don’t know what is.

Mr. Smiley who enlightens, encourages and empowers Black folks will help the community of color understand a high school dropout who can barely read turned child predator by publishing his book sometime in 2011. I don’t know what is worst Mr. Smiley’s press release announcing the upcoming book or R. Kelly claiming he is writing one. Are we to assume he will get a rushed copy of Hook-on- Phonics to help him understand how to spell and write the words he will speak? Mr. Smiley, the promoter of Wells Fargo, originator of bad loans to “mud” people, comes back to the very people he duped promoting flawed financial “products” to sell (I mean promote) a remorseful, suddenly educated, cleaned up, family version of R. Kelly. Please.

Once I got over the disbelief, I felt there were questions that Black folks should ask Mr. Smiley. Not R. Kelly. Why continue to peddle products, services and people who either dumb down or rob the very community you declare to love so greatly? And why do Black media continue to give a pass to Mr. Smiley? “What About Our Daughters” founder, Gina McCauley, was one of the first to address this topic last week on her blog. Mainstream and Black media have bypassed the hypocrisy of this all together. She has an entire list of questions that many should ask of the Smiley Group because inquiring minds that are enlightened, encouraged, and empowered really want to know.

Mr. Smiley’s show is broadcasted on PBS, a public station that relies heavily on donations to stay on air. Do donors want to help promote a taped child molester? The very thought should close purses with super glue to keep any money from escaping. Why R. Kelley? Why now? With the drop out rate of Black and Hispanic males at an all time high and the incarceration rate of black males representing a third of the community, why put R. Kelly back in the spotlight? This message could be misinterpreted to mean drop out and become a pedophile like me…you will be exonerated by the community even if you are guilty and get a book deal. Trifling is not even an adjective for this situation.

Mr. Smiley’s creditability continues to sink. Mr. Smiley goes from writing about holding the President accountable to publishing a book by R. Kelly. I got to give it to him for being creative when sponsorships are getting low. When all else fails, play to the lowest mindset in the community. Some stories you do not have to look for, they write themselves. But why would Mr. Smiley partner with R. Kelly? Smiley Books is part of a co-publishing venture with Hay House, Inc. According to Smiley Books website, “Smiley Books is a general trade book publisher that specializes in quality nonfiction”. Dr. Cornel West and Jeff Johnson are two authors who have written works published through Smiley Books.

R. Kelly will now get billing along side a noted college professor and a change agent who gives commentary on the community “discovering and sharing” information that will empower itself. With the swoosh of the pen a deal is cut with Smiley Books and R. Kelly is redeemed while at the same time releasing a new CD this month where song lyrics mention making love to “Baby Girl” several times. Some of the songs on his new CD are so explicit that the titles could not be read during an interview on the TJMS. From the heart the mouth sings, huh? Is part of the marketing of R. Kelly is praying that folks forget his taped criminal activities?

If this makes you sick and you want to become empowered, check out www.whataboutourdaughters.com . There are thousands who are using their collective voices to not allow this garbage to be dump into the community. If Mr. Smiley wishes to promote R. Kelly by all means do so but don’t use public airwaves to con the public. Enough with the foolishness and as Jeff Johnson would say “truth is power”. A book about R. Kelly is not about enlightening, encouraging, or empowering Black folks and people of color. He is an “opportunity” to make money. At the end of the day, the making money card seems to trump the “enlighten, encourage, and empower” card often.

By the way, why R. Kelly was not included in Mr. Smiley's book "How to make Black America Better"? There goes my inquiring mind again.

So in Style Dolls of Color are a Big Hit for Mattel

For the last several years, this time of year have me flopping around in my Ms. Santa suit and busy with nonstop gift wrapping and delivering of gifts to my little friends at Grace Eaton Child Care. It is not an official program but Grace Eaton is a long time customer of Holmes Pest Control and it is our way of having fun serving others and saying thank you to a customer who provides quality child care to low wealth families in the community. We love the families that have we have met over the years.

Shopping for the children begin several months in advance. My Ms. Santa duties have made me famous at flea markets, close out stores, and discount retailers looking for the most requested items, Black Barbie dolls and bikes. My hunt for the elusive Black Barbie doll has made me an expert with the Mattel folks. I keep up with the coming and goings of all things Barbie with my ears perked to hear any word in Toyland about the newest craze. Imagine my surprise when one of the most eccentric doll collectors I know dropped the news in my inbox at the beginning of the year that Mattel was launching a line of Barbie Dolls designed by a woman of color and that the dolls would be based on strong influences from the African American community. Shut your mouth I thought, God has heard my cry!

Enter Stacey McBride-Irby and her line of dolls called “So in Style”, SIS. McBride-Irby, a fashion designer who designed adult and children clothing before joining Mattel, inquired about a job working for the toy powerhouse twelve years ago. She was hired as an assistant to an African American designer. McBride-Irby love of her Barbie dolls from her childhood inspired her to become a fashion designer years later. She played with her dolls until she was 13 years old. After putting down her dolls, she started drawing and designing fashion for people.

What an inspirational story! The community of color should have Ms. McBride-Irby speaking at every pre-teen adolescent event in the country and every Mom should read about Ms. McBride-Irby and ignore the cell phones request from their pre teen daughters. Give them a doll is my new motto! I could not wait to get my hands on the SIS line of dolls for the young girls at Grace Eaton. Imagine my disappointment when my eccentric doll collector friend sent me an email a few months back asking my thoughts about the controversy over the SIS dolls. “What controversy”, I asked in my reply. Never asked a doll collector a question about doll news, you will regret it. I was sent several links questioning the ethnic looks of the doll. My immediately thoughts were folks are crazy. Why are folks wasting energy on a non controversial event for the sake of controversy? Don’t we have enough issues in the world than to examine the “fullness” of a doll’s lips or the texture of a doll’s hair? If I was not serious, I would be laughing.

A woman of color works in a field that very few are highlighted for their creativity or contributions to the marketplace, designs a line of dolls that represent positive aspirations for young girls of any color and we judge them. We find fault in a woman achieving her dreams in life the old fashion way…working hard and using her God given talents to encourage other women to do the same. Please give me a break. I refuse to participate in the self-made oki doke.

For years, I have searched for the dolls of color. Trust me they are hard to come by. Hermitage area retailers know me by sight. My dolls search starts in August looking for the upcoming Holiday Barbie. I have gone into the stores late at night and helped workers check the back docks looking for dolls for Grace Eaton children. I would wait patiently as they searched through boxes of Mattel packages and hand me four dolls out of forty.

The idea that Mattel has addressed the ethnic heritage of one culture means they are listening to their customers and will soon have lines that represent other ethnic groups of people as well. The variety creates more interest and more interest in Mattel products means more dollar spent. The more money means more profit for the company. A profitable company reinvests in its people and new product lines. There are many young designers taking note of Ms. McBride-Irby success and will start to work harder and smarter to imitate her work ethics. These are all good things no matter what color you are. And people of color are not the only ones buying the SIS line of dolls. Hallelujah for that!

As for the beautiful dolls, I bought several dolls in the past from Mattel that were inspired and designed by Ms. McBride-Irby. When the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority celebrated their 100th Anniversary, I gave several retired AKAs in the community a Mattel doll designed by Ms. McBride-Irby. All the women were leaders who served the community faithfully for years but do not spend as much time in the spotlight in their latter years. They continue to help me raise money for non-profits without the pressure. They use their checkbooks and influence to get things done behind the scenes. None have ever asked for recognition and I believed the dolls were the perfect gifts instead of the traditional trophy organizations give to say thank you to volunteers. The dolls were a big hit. I had each doll put in a doll case with their name engraved on the case. The response to this small gesture left me speeches when one recipient of the dolls sent me a check for $5,000 to “help” me out! I love those women who wear their pearls and “help” me out! (Note to self…send Ms. Mack another doll this year, I need “help” for my toy drive.)

Everything about the “So in Style”(SIS) dolls show love and dedication of ones craft, an appreciation of culture and an attention to details that fashion divas like me adore. When I picked up several dolls last week, each were accompanied by a little sister. I knew right away that the designer was showing the importance of mentoring in our community. Each box comes with the description of the dolls’ personalities, the fashion style, and what subjects they liked in school. Wow, nothing left to chance including making sure young girls of color understand the value of getting an education and not just playing with your doll that looks similar to you. Ms. McBride-Irby is someone I am proud of; a woman, an entrepreneur, a designer, and a role model. And she loves Twitter. She tweets too! You can follow her online at www.twitter.com/StaceyMcirby. You can also check out Stacey McBride-Irby on the web at http://www.barbie.com/activities/friends/soinstyle/. As you can see, there is no controversy here; just pure talent, inspiration, and a love of community that cannot be disputed.

Now that you know more about Black Barbie dolls and the “So in Style” line designed by Ms. McBride-Irby, please stop by the toy department this Friday and load you basket with toys and extra dolls for me. I am going to need all the help I can get making sure that the children at Grace Eaton have a wonderful Christmas! Be safe and have a great week.

Photo credits: Stacey McBride-Irby and Alpha Kappa Alpha dolls Mattel
Photo of me in my Ms. Santa suit with bad lighting...my son, Franz.

Nashville's Blogosphere bad case of Diarrhea

The Nashville blogosphere had a bad case of diarrhea last week. An incendiary title of a blog post on a political website left many speechless or scratching their heads about the message the title conveyed. The blog regarding the political campaign of Steve Turner who is challenging Rep. Mary Pruitt of District 58 went from a posting to a full page “what was I thinking” recant. The original blog was not a commentary but an intentional headline with a video of Mr. Turner asking for voters’ support. Some readers on twitter mentioned they were having a ‘discussion’ about race because they were leaving comments. Hmm…the last time I checked a discussion was not comments left on a website. Those are comments.

My twitter account was flooded with DM and my cell was blazing from followers of my blog who knew of my gastrointestinal infection I received from a website a few months back. My family and friends were suffering from clinical worry because of the backlash from a story I wrote in the Tennessee Tribune. Lil old innocent me saying something crazy…never! My folks said it was equivalent to a colonoscopy without anesthesia. Ouch.

I clicked on the links I was sent and I immediately burst into an off key version of Brittany Spear’s “Oops… I did again!” Reading the comment section, I drew the conclusions that folks had a number of pent up issues that were being “voiced”. By the end of the day, a big guy weighed in and gave his commentary on the love of all people that only added fuel to the inferno by many accounts.

I have learned from my years of ‘diversity’ training; never tell folks your list of accomplishments viewed through rose colored lenses. Now days, folks pull out that calculator and start adding. In the days of yesteryear, putting a few blacks on a few “boards”, with no power or authority, was how Nashville showed diversity. A few pictures on society pages and filling those two slots in “Nashville Leaders Now” was the pat on the back that Nashville community gave itself, as it shouted, “We have come a long way”. With a younger generation, who care less about being invited to special balls, being in special issues, and special meetings in special places, folks look at what you do and not what you say you thought you did. I will forever and ever ask companies, corporations and organizations; how many people of color you have employed this year? None. How many in the last five years? Three…geez. How many vendors of color your company hired in the last year? What is the makeup of your management? Are you window dressing or what? The comments were asking the same questions. The fruit of your efforts to diversify and embrace other cultures will actually yield diversity of thought, race and gender in your company, corporation, or organization if that is REALLY a goal. Nashville is alive with diversity; Kurds, Hispanics, Latinos, Asians. Nashville has become a melting pot of ethnics groups from around the globe.

(In my world of diversity, women are usually at the forefront of my conversations. Tennessee ranks 46th in pay equity and 50th in political participation with women.)
Working with people from all backgrounds is what makes the marketplace a wonderful place. I don’t know the hearts of individuals and I am not a mind reader. But we are seeing a national trend that race baiting is proving to draw more viewers or readers. It is in the air like a bad case of flu and it is spreading rapidly. It was a condition often attributed to the blogs that were written without journalistic standards but we are seeing more and more of it in all media forms now.

I do not write to spew hate or marginalize a group or a person. That was not my grandfather’s teaching and he is my inspiration for writing. My posts about Tavis Smiley sent him into a tizzy but I wrote commentary that was backed up with facts. I did not insinuate or send subliminal messages. You didn’t have to guess my thoughts, I told you exactly what I wanted you to know. I was not on a witch hunt with Mr. Smiley nor do I have any ill will directed at him. But I believe strongly the media, especially black media, gave him a pass and did not ask questions of his relationship with Wells Fargo. Mr. Smiley has done a lot of good but I did not hesitate to call him out.

As for the diarrhea in our blogosphere last week, I hope everyone has recovered. If Mr. Turner’s campaign is following the national trend, usually the kind of attention he got last week should have netted him extra funds for his campaign. I know I am paying closer attention to the Turner vs. Pruitt race than I was a week prior to the blog post. Good luck and stay away from blogs that are known to have regular bouts of mad men diarrhea.

Churchfolks and Roaches

When we started Holmes Pest Control, my kids were practically babies and a handful. Now that they are older, nothing has changed. This time of year reminds me of all the big goals I had for the company initially. I believed starting a company and being patronized by all the people I knew would be a walk in the park. Pick a person and I can do three degrees of separation. The pest control business has been very good to my family. I thank God everyday for every critter he created for HPC to kill and I am thankful for every customer that has been given to us. A customer is more than a customer, they are family and friends. However, it has not been a walk in the park but I am grateful for choosing the road less traveled.

Many moons ago, I naturally assumed the customers on the Goodlettsville - Tennessee State University route we serviced while working for another company would naturally want to become our customers once we started our own business. As the foundation was being laid to start HPC, I volunteered to set appointments for the national known company that employed my husband. Everything about the commercial pest control was at our finger tips, but we had no clue about the residential side of the industry. Calling customers nightly and talking about everything to everybody helped me to understand, firsthand, the likes and dislikes of homeowners. Several large churches were on the 400-plus monthly customer route. After a year of learning names and numbers, I began to share my dream of business ownership with others.

Each time I would express my desire to become a business owner, I was always reassured that when the time was right they would want to be our customer as well. “We would never leave you guys”, we heard over and over. Since the pastors on the route had the most influence, we met with many to discuss our plans. The ministers gave us hugs and reassurances to fight the good fight and to do well. After two years of working for someone, we struck out on our own. Holmes Pest Control was in business and we were officially a “minority-owned" pest control service ready to do business in Nashville! With the excitement of a kindergartner starting school, I went door to door selling Holmes Pest Control.

On a crisp fall day, armed with 400 names, freshly printed pamphlets in hand, and a good pair of shoes; determined and driven, I knocked on doors from morning to night. But there was a slight problem, the customers were firmly planted. My business plan was surmised around customers who were brand loyal to another company not the service that was given to them by us while working for that brand. I did not have a plan B when they did not become customer with Holmes Pest Control. A route that we had serviced for two years, predominantly minority and middle income were not feeling the love for a young start up company with three hollering kids. Out of 400 plus customers, only four came with us. A future vice-mayor, a future councilman, a pediatrician, and character I lovingly called Mr. Slick. All of them are still with us today and considered close friends. Each of them has stayed with us through the good and bad times, personally and professionally. Of our four customers, Mr. Slick’s persona was peculiar and his referrals were unique like him.

He called at odd times with to do lists that were endless. He had rental properties all over town which we did not have keys too; therefore he accompanied us on every trip. No matter how far the drive or how long the job took, he remained with us as we worked. He passed the timed complaining, criticizing, and dissecting us while we worked silently. We never responded to his tirades no matter how his words hurt. After a year of working with Mr. Slick, he called two days before Christmas to get his properties treated. We had packed the vehicle to visit my parents but we unpacked and reloaded it with chemicals for Mr. Slick. After following him around town for an entire day, he told us he wanted us to meet him back as his place. Dog-tired and thoroughly confused, we followed him home without speaking a word about our special customer with his eccentric demands. He came out with an envelope stuffed with cash. He always paid in cash but the envelope was much thicker than usual. “Get something for them babies,” he said in a gruff voice. He also told us his church needed pest control. I was floored. Not about the extra thousand dollars but that he mentioned church. “God provides,” was my comment for my ugly thoughts. Churches were a hard sell. Church folks love pest control service but if you are not on first names with a Bishop, a Reverend Doctor, and Saint Peter…keep walking. Christmas arrived two days earlier for the Holmes family.

After the holidays, we attended service with Mr. Slick. He wanted to introduce us to the pastor and church board. In my Sunday's best, I came prepared with brochures and a contract. Being raised in a multi-denominational family and a graduate of Catholic high school, visiting churches was always an adventure. His church took me back to the old days of fanning and fainting, long and lively, and pious preaching. As I was visually checking out the church folks, I could not miss the bugs. Yep, this church was open to everyone, including roaches. As the minister started delivering his message, I could see smaller roaches starting to scurry. About fifteen minutes into his sermon, the roaches were coming for an alter call. The more he banged on the podium, the more the roaches appeared. I knew this where I needed be. Since the roaches were coming into the light, I felt moved to be thankful. Kicking Roger, I pointed to the roaches and he started clapping as well. The more we clapped the more bugs we saw. Needless to say, we cut a shine right down the aisle. I was praying this church became our customer. Mr. Slick, Deacon Slick on Sundays, was sitting in corner wishing he never invited us. I could read his body language. He knew we saw the roaches and I knew he was going to have to explain his visitors’ “happiness” at the next board meeting.

We got the contract but it was not given right away. We sat out in the hallway while churchfolks with roaches looked for every reason under God’s blue sky not to do business with us. They hid nothing and every suspicion about dealing with a young company was discussed openly with us listening. Humility has many levels and remembering I had three kids to feed kept me from walking out the door. I refused to allow pride to hinder a blessing in disguise.

Years later, Mr. Slick is still a customer. His health has deteriorated over time and he does not call as often but he still gives his commentary. I send highlights of “them babies” often. He gave me the “skinny boy's” gift for graduation this year; cash in an envelope as usual. He finds it hard to believe they are young adults. For Father’s Day this summer, I took him a pie, sweet potato of course, and a card with their signatures on it. He smiled quietly and I could see the humility that comes with aging. As I was leaving his home that we have served over the last decade, I reminded him of our church visit and the lessons we learned that fateful day.

I told Mr. Slick he taught us to be faithful, we learned that four customers that believe in your mission is better than 400 who do not, drop the label minority-owned and just be Holmes Pest Control and don’t be afraid to shout when you are happy. Giving him a big hug as I said good-bye, I was reminded how many interesting churchfolks one meets on the road less traveled.

BIA2: The Continuing Mis-Education of America

I watched Black in America 2 with great trepidation. I honestly sent up a prayer begging God to have mercy on black folks, all America would be watching this show. My prayers got stuck somewhere over Nashville’s skyline because what I saw was a diversity project gone astray.

I applaud CNN for wanting to show that they are committed to diverse subject matter. After all, they are the “most trusted name in the news.” What I find perplexing is the need to script news segments and promote the result as a documentary about life in Black America. Based on the promos, BIA2 would bring forth new ideas or solutions to old problems within the black community. Part 1, which I watched three times, gave us the same extremes that are usually spotlighted by the media and left many wondering why repeat the predictable caricatures that appear on cable news every day.

CNN’s narratives exploited the most vulnerable segment of the community and highlighted bourgeois attitudes at their worst. There is no denying that the two groups – the very affluent and the poor - are parts of the black community. But the affluent and poor are in any group of people. For millions of black folks who work hard every day, who are not making six figure incomes, who pay their bills and taxes, and who have trials and struggles like everyone else, what CNN profiled is not a total of our sums. CNN continued the perpetuation of the same stereotypical genres of black life which are the focus of the media the majority of the time. Blacks are viewed as thugs in jail, unwed teens, and absentee fathers/mothers. While true facets of the black experience, they are not reflect of all of our lives. Just like poverty stricken trailer parks and welfare mothers are not reflective of any other group. In a veiled attempt to show balance, mainstream media who most often portray the negative aspects of the black experience will occasionally show an elitist intellectual who is out of touch with his/her people and reality. Good, wholesome and normal people in the black community are rarely shown on television. BIA2 should have been renamed the “Continued Mis-education of White America” (and the rest of the world). Where is the balance between the two extremes?

In part one, CNN showed three segments. The first segment focused on thirty youth at a community center who traveled to Africa to learn more about themselves by having experiences with other youth whose circumstances were as cruel as their own. Taking young people from the inner city for two weeks to serve the world’s poorest is noble. Mrs. Compton-Rock is to be commended for her dedication to her organization, Journey for Change, and to young people. But to assume that upon their return, the magic dust of the Soweto ghetto will have a lasting effect on youth as they negotiate inner city life is implausible. The travel cost of $12,000 per child could have been used for tutors, speech therapists, and maybe even parenting classes. Traveling is one of our greatest educators. Teaching children to give and serve others should be part of life lessons no matter what zip code they live in. But often times, we miss some of our greatest treasures by not taking children to libraries and across town. Touring our national parks, national monuments will bring life to lessons taught in the classrooms. No greater gift could have been given to one of the young men profiled than a book, but did anyone follow up to see if he even read it? Throwing money at poverty without a deliberate evaluative plan is often a waste of resources and time.


Visiting the slums of another country is a good mission trip. But as we saw, the value of the trip was short lived when we are looking for long term solutions for systemic problems that a foreign trip was not able to cure. My questions to the staff of the Salvation Army: Why were these three profiled? Are they a sampling of the thirty kids or are they the exception? How did the letters of young man end up in the hands of the Mrs. Compton-Rock? Why read letters from an incarcerated father to his son on national TV if he wasn’t reading them at home? After some probing, CNN selected the kids to profile and the kids fit a premade storyline that we see over and over-poor fatherless black child saved by the altruism by some outside benevolence force. Several children in the group had two parents. Yet we saw what is typically presented.

After leaving us lost in thought with Malakk Rock vowing to not give up on her special kids, CNN gives us an uplift with the no nonsense school principal with fire in his belly for his students and his belief that his students can and will attend college. With 100% graduation rate and college attendance, Mr. Perry shares his story of being the troubled youth who got out and stayed out of the projects. A positive role model by any standards, his students love and respect for him was obvious. He also shared with America his greatest frustration - getting parents involved with his program. The two parents shown came from predictable, handpicked, scripted backgrounds, perfect for the exploitation of an otherwise uplifting story. The young lady profiled from Capital school had an abusive father and a crack addictive mother. Thankfully, both parents were shown alcohol and drug free. In this segment, we heard clear solutions with proven results, such as longer school days, six day a week school, and allowing junior and seniors to take college classes. Having a high school within a college prepares students for college transition and helps position them in college even if they do not test well on college exams. One of most profound statements made by Principal Perry and not included in this interview was thus:

“I think that the bigger issue when we have a discussion around race is not the interracial discussions but the intra-racial discussions. We don't have a conversation as African-Americans about what we actually value and within our community where those cleavages are. For instance, we don't have a conversation about why it is that so many schools run by African-Americans are so badly under-performing within communities that have always elected black politicians.”

His statement would have changed the tone of the segment and demonstrated that blacks are also holding blacks accountable for the communities they live in.


After hearing the zealous Mr. Perry, CNN does not allow us to stay excited for too long. They bring us shattering back to earth by profiling the founder of the Tuxedo Ball, Dr. Carlotta Miles, and an elite black family. The story focuses on Bertram Lee Jr., a rugby-playing freshman at the elite Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a prominent state judge, his late father a businessman and co-owner of the Denver Nuggets. He said his mother, a top lobbyist in Washington, D.C., instilled in him a love for his race. He was frankly honest about his life and does not apologize for not being poor. Good for him. He shares lessons learned early in life that despite his family’s successful background and affluent lifestyle, wealthy black people still very much feel the sting of racism.

Lee said he was called the N-word at his well-heeled private school and is often questioned by security when he and his black friends play basketball in the school’s gym. Lee sounded grounded and confident and has awareness that his privileged life will not shield him from racist rhetoric. A part of Lee’s affluent life is attending the Annual Tuxedo Ball.

Dr. Carlotta Miles, a psychiatrist and DC area socialite has hosted the Tuxedo Ball for 23 years. Dr. Miles shares the history of the Tuxedo Ball. It is a weekend of socializing and networking that she said grew from a need to keep privileged black children connected after integration. Prominent black families from across the country attend the weekend of events that also includes workshops, motivational seminars, and networking-opportunities. Dr. Miles shares that for generations wealthy blacks have been invisible people, noting

“We are the invisible people because we don’t match the stereotype. The stereotype for black Americans is failure, poverty, failure, victimization and mediocrity.”

When asked how to be a part of this elite group, Dr. Miles insists that in order for your kid to be invited you must be part of the group. This group is only known to members of the group. How can group of supposedly invisible people see each other? Do they wear special glasses that are available to people in the group or CNN?

Dr. Miles's snobbishness came full circle when Soledad asked “How come you don't do a similar thing for kids who are not privileged?” She explained,

“Well, because it's not our mission. There are tons of things that are done for children who are not advantaged. There was nothing for the privileged black child because to be black in America is a challenge for many people whether you're privileged or not."

This statement was from the same interview but shown in an earlier program but. In a perfect world, I would send Dr. Miles and crew to South Africa to get a tutorial in humility.
BIA2 was filmed over a period of several months. After review the transcripts of several shows shown in January around the time of President Obama’s inauguration and February, Black History Month, CNN took segments of the interviews with Dr. Miles, Mr. Perry and Mrs. Compton-Rock to fit the message they wanted conveyed for that particular month. Breaking barriers and the first this and that was shown in January; historical perspectives of blacks in America were shown in February; piss poor and uneducated and socialites with impaired vision in July. One interview sliced to fit the script.

CNN does a hatchet job on black life and handpicked the theme for BIA2. This was not a documentation about black life but an experimentation on how many ways a network can mislead America, especially white American, with one interview.

BIA2 managed to show America blacks flunking out of school and only wanting to shoot basketball, while giving us a glimpse of the life of Blacks who are trying like hell not to be Black in America or see reality. If this is going to be continuing theme with CNN’s Black Folks Series, I will pass on BIA3 and BIA4.

A Media drive-by hits TSU

Definitions of drive-by:
“Done or made in a quick or cursory manner”. Webster’s Dictionary

“A drive-by shooting (or drive-by or "D.B." for short) is a form of hit-and-run tactic, an attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target. The objective is to overwhelm the target by a sudden, massive amount of firepower without attention to accuracy”. Wikipedia

According to Urban Dictionary, a “drive-by” media attack implies to shallow, sensationalist, sound-byte-heavy news coverage á la Fox News. Such coverage focus on the scandalous, relies on a reader’s short attention-span, and offers controversial "news" that is mostly cover-up, and/or spin for political purposes.

TSU was on the wrong page at the wrong time and suffered wounds inflicted by our city’s oldest newspaper. An attention grabbing headline on the front page of Saturday’s Tennessean screamed, “TN grad rate is third worst”. Underneath the bold font a large photo depicted students walking on campus, one wearing a shirt that read, “I love TSU”. My youngest son handed me the paper, commenting in a depressed voice, “Mom, TSU has been hit again.”

After seeing the headlines, I put it away to read later. I confess, when I see article after article speaking ill of TSU, I don’t rush to read a negative story. Many of my friends, black and white, often tell me they do not bother to read any TSU story because it is rare any good is reported. “A picture is worth a thousand words”, is an old wise saying. The picture and headline together was a drive-by that left future and current students injured.

For the rest of the story, you have to turn to page 11A where half a page is devoted to the copy. A second photo of TSU records department is prominently placed at the top of the article. The caption underneath the photo in smaller font reads “TSU fairs better than most Tennessee colleges in graduation rates”. I read the article whose headlines seemed to imply that the story was about TSU’s graduation rates. I read the article three times and pondered why the newspaper used TSU’s pics on page 1 and 11 to accompany the sensational headline when the story referenced Belmont, MTSU, and Vanderbilt, and, presumably, all state colleges and universities, public and private. The story gives facts and quotes from the Southern Regional Education Board’s spokesman, Alan Richard and quotes from professors Franklin (MTSU), Gonzalez (Belmont), and Flores (Vanderbilt). A Vanderbilt student is quoted as well. The article discussed in detail issues surrounding Hispanics and Blacks finishing high school and college. College challenges that can be unique to ethnics groups and solutions to close educational gaps were vetted in the article.

On my second reading of the article, I realized no TSU professor or personnel is cited in the story. The article ends by focusing on Ashley Hernandez, 21, a first generation student at Vanderbilt University. But she is taking summer classes at the TSU. In summary, she compares Vanderbilt and TSU. (Duck, here comes the bullets).

At Vanderbilt, Hernandez said, it's unusual if she e-mails a professor and does not hear back from him within a few hours. At TSU, a response can take days.

Wow. Can someone call the corner’s office; folks, I believe we have a fatality. I contacted the reporter to ask why the headline with a picture of TSU was run, when professors from other universities were quoted. Or why not a picture of Miss Hernandez, a Vanderbilt student, with a “I love Commodores” t-shirt on?
Since I am “fair and balanced” like Fox news, I gave her my thoughts on the story. After hearing the reporter’s responses to my questions, I asked if I could quote her. She stated she was not aware she was being interviewed. I was not interviewing her but our conversation was interesting. Our dialogue gave insight to a two prong devil’s fork. The story was not about TSU. But when the paper ran the headlines with TSU’s students in the first photo, used a second photo of TSU’s admission personnel and ended the article with the statements from a part-time student complaining about the university; TSU became its sole target. The reporter was stating facts I was told and it is not the job of a reporter to be concerned about the reputation of TSU. Ouch. My point to her was the photos conveyed a message about TSU which did not connect with the story to me. Her story had an odd smelling odor.

I realized after several push backs, a tiger’s stripes are permanent. My take away from our conversation is that TSU needs to be concerned about the school’s reputation and be proactive in showcasing the schools most precious assets, the students and its outstanding programs. Profiling students and the numerous contributions that are made to society through the university, while marketing to national media outlets are crucial to the school’s long term health. Focusing on a return call back from a newspaper for a positive story is ludicrous at this point. Basic networking teaches us; your message and image are yours to craft and control. How TSU is viewed, is critical to the overall funding, fundraising, recruitment, and retention of students. To roll over and not call out perceived or actual media bias feeds the negative messages that photos under glaring headlines can leave. Public relations have evolved into personal relationship management. The PR of old does not exist anymore in the age of social media.

I strongly suggest to TSU’s leadership to look through their roster of incredibly talented PR graduates who would understand that PR does not mean faxing a press release and invest in a firm that will work night and day to bring all the hidden gems of TSU to the forefront. As part of a long term strategy to build and strengthen community relationships, I would provide interns to local and national media outlets. Allowing the media to work directly with TSU’s talented student body would limit the number of media casualties. Locally, positive stories are usually buried on page 9 of the auto section. In the meantime, I called 911 and asked the diversity police to keep under surveillance the media on Broadway. I believe a crime took place on its front page Saturday, July 11.