Thursday, November 5, 2009

From the school house to the courthouse!

"From the school house to the courthouse, the odds seem to be pervasively stacked against the black male. Unemployment rates, school drop-out rates, income levels and incarceration rates of black males, as compared with white males and black females, are clear indicators of the challenges they face ...

The good news is that these odds can be overcome by putting constructive strategies to work."

- Norma Joy Barnes, Priority Male Program Founder

The Community Council of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Keep your head on a Swivel!!!

Thoughts by: B. Brown

Hello World!!! What is going on when people actually have a problem with the President of the United States speaking to their children via a nationwide broadcast to encourage them to do well and to have a great school year?

I am appalled at some parents that actually did not sign the permission slip on purpose that would have allowed their children to hear the positive message from President Obama. The parents that did allow their children to listen President Obama's message, please keep your head on a swivel! We still have people that do not accept our new president and they are spreading that mentality to their children. For that reason, hate and racism is alive and well, and racism will not be disappearing anytime soon.

Here's my position on the matter. Even if you do not accept or like President Obama, he is the President of the United States and a person should at least respect the position of President of the United States. I wonder if the parents that did not give their children permission to listen to President Obama would have given their children permission to listen to President Bush? President Bush put the United States in one of the worst financial situations this country has ever been in, and when you look at his business background, he has basically failed at everything he has ever done and people have and still publicly support him. Utterly amazing! I personally find it very disturbing. Like & support who you want to, but I am suggesting that we as a people support other people that are of substance and integrity. Do your research & really be honest with yourself. That's the key!

Parents, education is the beginning of everything that we do. Continue to encourage your children to learn & improve every single day! Now, I am not saying that everyone has to go to college & get their P.H.D., but everyone needs to have a skill & some type of knowledge that will allow them to earn a living via working for someone else or their own business.

One Love!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Great Life Choices - The Book

Written by: Dr. Earl Suttle & Dr. John Hubbard

This book written by my friend & mentor Dr. Earl Suttle is an excellent resource & guide to help parents & young people alike in their quest to make better decisions to live better lives. --- B. Brown

Great Life Choices is a self-esteem and skill-building guide.

"The choices you make on a daily basis can seriously impact your self-esteem, school performance, career path and many other aspects of your life for years to come. Poor choices can lead you down a road of perpetual problems, while great choices inevitably result in great joy and unlimited success. We believe this manual will help you to make smart choices in your life, and this, in turn, will help you to reach your full potential." --- excerpt from the Preface of Great Life Choices

Thursday, June 11, 2009

U&I For Change

By: Rick Reeves (U&I For Change; 1993)

Today; We are a Country Torn, whether it be from drugs, racial hate, governmental corruption, or just a plain lack of human compassion for one another, whatever the reasons of today, tomorrow can still be saved. We all are the future, and the hope of a once peaceful nation. So have the coin toss; tee it up and let's ...


Thoughts by: B. Brown

Move forward in a positive, constructive manner to make a difference in the lives of our young people around the world. We still have too many young people that believe that sagging pants is ok, we still have too many young people that believe that being uneducated is ok. I am here to say that neither one of those things is ok!

I have FAITH in our young people and I am going to continue to be a positive and powerful influence on young people and help usher them into a successful adult life!

JOIN ME! ONE LOVE!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Children are responsible for their own behavior!

By: John Rosemond *Family Psychologist - http://www.rosemond.com
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; E2/ Sat. Feb. 28, 2009)


One of the defining features of today's parenting mindset is guilt.

Before the psychological parenting revolution of the late 1960's & 1970's, mothers were more immune to guilt.

Back then, when a child behaved badly, the mother made the child feel guilty. These days, when a child behaves badly, the child's mother is likely to experience the guilt. This has happened because today's moms - the primary consumers of parenting information and therefore its primary victims - believe that parenting produces the child.

The only conclusion upheld by common sense: Parenting does not produce the child. Parenting is an influence, and it is certainly prudent for parents to do what they can to maximize positive influence, but in the final analysis, the child produces himself. He takes your influence and he decides what to do with it.

Before, parents understood that they could do only so much. They understood that no matter how "good" their parenting was, their children were still capable on any given day of doing bad things. So when a child misbehaved, they punished him.

Too many of today's parents, in the same circumstances, punish themselves. They search themselves for the answer to "why?" Consequently, their children are not being held fully responsible.

Of late, I've been asking my audiences two questions: > Is parenting more or less stressful, do you think, than it was in the 1950's? > Are today's children more or less happy than were children in the 1950's?

Every audience's answers have been, respectively, more and less.

I propose that much of the stress is because of parents holding themselves responsible for their children's misbehavior. And I propose that much of the unhappiness is because children are not being held responsible for their own behavior.

Monday, January 26, 2009

What are you going to do in 2009?

Thoughts By: B. Brown


It’s 2009 and it’s time for your goals and aspirations to manifest into reality!!!


Barack Obama is the 44th President and the 1st African-American President of the United States! It is an exciting time to be an American! We as Americans are embarking on a new adventure and it sure feels great!

I am personally very excited about the history that has been made with Obama leading the U.S. into a new positive direction. I am truly grateful for my parents, grand parents and the rest of the generations before me that paved the way for this great moment to take place. If you go and ask any person white or black that is over fifty (50) years old, the majority of them will tell you that they did not expect to see a black man in the White House in their lifetime. Oh, what a wonderful time it is right now!

A lot of different things have been put out there in regards to Obama being President, but the fact is that he has a tremendous appeal to people all around the world and that his appeal along with his economic and political strategies have a great chance of pulling the U.S. out of one of it’s most challenging economic downturns ever! I believe we as a nation are going to be ok in the near future.

What ever you aspire to be and whatever your goals are, there is no better time than now to actually write them down, visualize them and move forth with action to achieve your goals. Action is the key! It is just like Faith. Faith without action is dead. The time is now for each and every one of us to improve ourselves and make a difference. The time is now for us to take advantage of education and use that education to parlay ourselves into new fields of business and new opportunities. Focusing on your goals everyday and actively working towards them will allow you to have a drive and desire that can be unstoppable and that day will come when you realize that your life has changed and beautiful things are happening to you! Close your eyes for a moment … isn’t that a beautiful vision?

Your goal may be to spend more time with your family --- do it!
Your goal may be to lose weight --- do it!
Your goal may be to get a better paying job --- do it!

Whatever your goals and aspirations --- there’s now better phrase to use than Nike’s awesome slogan --- just do it!!!

“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” – Bobby Knight

It’s 2009 and it is truly your time!!!

Hip-Hop Youth, Education and Parenting!