Intergenerational Transfer of Wealth

More than 25 years ago, I was one of 8 or 9 other professionals engaged in a discussion with a civil engineer and a civil rights attorney in Washington, DC on the topic of "intergenerational transfer" of wealth. It was the unanimously determined that the concept of intergenerational transfer was rare or did not exist in Black America. I will concede that the word rare is the best choice since my family is in possession of land (currently in the fight of our lives to preserve the majority of the original property) passed to us by a patriarch who purchased the asset in 1870. The "transfer" is income generating in nature so, there have been several attempts to "relieve" us of this precious gift from our ancestors.

In an article Race, Wealth, and Intergenerational Poverty, written by Darrick Hamilton and William Darity Jr. in the September 16, 2009 (http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=race_wealth_and_intergenerational_poverty), a "wealth gap" exists largely due to the lack of assets transferred from generation to generation for African (Black) Americans. Consider the following excerpt:

"Apart from the national failure to endow ex-slaves with the promised 40 acres and a mule after the Civil War, blacks were deprived systematically of property, especially land, accumulated between 1880 and 1910 by government complicity and fraud as well as seizures by white terrorists. During the first three decades of the 20th century, white rioters destroyed prosperous black communities from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Restrictive covenants, redlining, and general housing and lending discrimination also inhibited blacks from accumulating wealth.

Given the importance of intergenerational transfers of wealth and past and present barriers preventing black wealth accumulation, private action and market forces alone cannot close an unjust racial wealth gap -- public-sector intervention is necessary."

Twenty-five years later, today, the discussion of too little intergenerational transfer of wealth/assets is just as relevant. I encourage my friends and family to engage in the discussion and start a project to help eliminate this "wealth gap". We have a responsibility to our children and also to future generations. Or maybe we should justify or interpret I Timothy, 5: 8 to fit our needs: "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." KJV

RE: Generations Nat Cole

Well, its Black History Month and here's my pick in the Entertainment Category:

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known by his fans as Nat "King" Cole. Nat was the first African American Male to host a televison variety show.

For my friends who enjoy "big dogs on the porch", there has not been one better than Nat "King" Cole. We just lost our smooth jazz station (again) in Atlanta last week, so I discovered a better alternative in WCLK 91.9 FM. The station, a service of Clark Atlanta University, offers a mix of old and new, including a healthy dose of smooth jazz for die-hards like me.

This morning, my ears were pleasantly stimulated to the island sounds of "Day In - Day Out", a remix production by Cut Chemist. It was not pure Nat for the "purest", but WOW! The new arrangement captivated me and kidnapped my imagination to 1963 on a Brazilian excursion.

This is a must for my download buddies, along with "Straighten Up and Fly Right", featuring Will i. am and Natalie Cole, "Brazilian Love Song", produced by Michaelangelo L'Acqua, "Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere, produced by Amp Fiddler and "Lush Life", produced by Cee-Lo Green.

I voted: Nat Cole is still the big dog in the world of entertainment!

Big Luke is Coming to Town

Today, just a little after taking the oath of office, the 44th President of the United States of America, Barak H. Obama spoke to the world. He reminded me immediately of ‘Big Luke’.

At the end of the road, in a one-horse, dusty, western town near Denver Colorado at about the year 1844, lies Jackson’s Saloon. At noon on this day, the saloon only has three regulars downing beers and exaggerating about the steer branding from the morning work when the doors are flung open and a muscular man almost six-feet four inches tall steps briskly in and strode to the bar. The man, with a shadow beard and thick moustache gruffly demands “whiskey, and leave the bottle!” He turns up the shot glass, swallows then fills it again and turns up a second and third. Slamming the glass down he shouts, “Big Luke is coming to town!” Then the man scurried out, filing the swinging doors. The three men that were at the table follow him out only to see him ride towards the west, out of town.

The men went back into the saloon, but the last cowboy sees a peculiar sight approaching the town from the east. There in the distance, amidst a cloud of dust is what appears to be someone riding a “beast of burden”. As the rider became a little more visible, it was observed that the rider was on a bucking Brahma/cross bull. Further the man was whipping the bull with a rattlesnake, which he held by its tail. The observer scuttled into the saloon and the rider dismounted the bull and tied him to the post loosely. Then he punched the bull in the face yelling to it saying, “You’d better not move!” He picked up the spittoon by the door and flung open the saloon doors, stepped to the bar and demanded a full bottle of the best whiskey. He poured the full bottle in the spittoon and turned it up, gulping five times before consuming all its contents.

He slammed the spittoon and then the empty bottle down on the bar, when the bartender, shaking with fear quickly inquired, “Would you like another bottle?” The man looked at the bartender and replied, “Naw man, no time to waste, ain’t you heard, Big Luke’s coming to town!”

One CNN commentator suggested that President Obama’s reference to the biblical verse "...the time has come to set aside childish things..." meant that “someone” should put their “big boy pants on”. See and hear the speech.

Then, I popped to the White House website and, WOW! It’s Already updated for “CHANGE”! Remember Ishmael Reed’s poem “I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra?” “…look out Set…to unseat Set…”

Then I watched him walk away from that departing helicopter, as he strode with that dip swagger that is his genuine trademark, I was overcome with pride.

God Bless the President and the First Family of the United States of America!

The Burris Dogfight

Minutes ago, I overheard a young businessman make the comment: "He's seventy-one years old and they should go ahead and let him finish the two years left. It's not all that serious anyway." As to whether we have a dog in that fight arises from the current (and hopefully very temporary) battle by Burris' inability to capture President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat yesterday in Washington. Secretary of the Senate, Nancy Erickson rejected his certification, as he knew she would, saying it lacked Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature and the state seal. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid had said, "Mr. Burris is not in possession of the necessary credentials from the state of Illinois." I contend that we do have a dog in that fight. In summary, cost to the taxpayers and race relations are at the root of our concern. What is the cost to the public to have our political machine gummed up with egotistical individuals impeding the state appointment process. Are our politicians practicing the political conduct we are to experience during the Obama administration already? I hope not. California Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators, rejected the reasoning that all of the chamber's Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week — that corruption charges against Burris' patron, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tainted his appointment, saying "If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America." With respect to race relations...there should be some concerns. By the way, the only African-American (black) Senators to serve in the United States are as follows: Hiram Rhodes Revels - Serving from February 23, 1870 – March 3, 1871 Blanche Kelso Bruce - Serving from March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1881 Edward William Brooke, III - Serving from January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1979 Carol Moseley Braun - Serving from January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1999 Barak Hussein Obama II - Serving from January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008 Incidentally, all the aforementioned (black) Senators that have served were Republicans, except for Senators Braun and Obama (and they are both from the State of Illinois). Mr. Burris has an impressive background, as we would expect, if he is to fill the position of (Junior) Senator from State of Illinois. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had some of his most frustrating civil rights battles in Illinois (Abernathy later wrote that they received a worse reception (in Chicago) than they had in the South). To: Mr. Roderick P. Miles, CEO of RPM Group, Inc. Thanks for your valuable input and insight. Yes, we have a dog in that fight!

Happy Holidays

To All:

Here's a holiday message from the President-elect and his family:

click on this link:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid353515028?bctid=1349141721

We all "have a dog in that fight!"

The 'Bar' just got raised!

The 'Bar' just got raised!


MG,III, this one's for you!

Thank you for introducing more genius back in December 2007 and helping us to see this historic event unfold.

Down in the Tremé of New Orleans, just a block away from Congo Square, where I first remember meeting your father and my uncle was where I was taught to have respect for the "office" of the President of the United States. In the backyard of that little duplex at Ursulines and Villerie is Joseph A. Craig Elementery School where we first learned of the Chief Executive that offered so much hope and solidified our respect for the top political office in the "free world" of that time. I also watched the news, reported on that fateful day in November 1963, when Walter Cronkite spoke saying: "Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting." Decades of wondering who would bring about the kind of hope left empty by the death of the President I was taught to honor and respect by those wonderful teachers at Craig Elementery.

Truly, since November 22, 1963, most of the people I know and love (including those who are not here, except in spirit), haven't had "a dog in that fight" until November 4, 2008. Well, as you said, "the 'Bar' just got raised". The excuses were never valid in the first place. You know, the one that said: "My daddy was'nt around, so...", or "My mamma died when I was little, so...", or ' "Black folks can't ...",blah, blah, blah. I Samuel 4:9 states: "Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight". All translations suggest that we stand up!

Thank you MG,III and President-Elect, Barak Obama for reminding me that I am "the dog in that fight". Yes we can!

Our 2008 President has been chosen!

Genesis of a high-tech defense: How it got it's name ...A Dog In That Fight

In the 1980s and 1990s, President George Bush and Secretary of State James Baker used “I don’t have a dog in that fight”. It means “I don’t have an interest in this matter.” It is not known where or when the saying originated.

In an article written April 8, 1995, Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram, pg. C8?:
Haley Barbour, says: “I am not as dumb as I look .. I ain’t got a dog in that fight.”

An October 23, 1996, New York Times article, pg. A25 writes:
"...How do New Yorkers pick a dog in this fight?"

Well, you get the picture.

A slightly altered use of this comment comes from a well respected, supplier diversity manager for the leading supplier of networking equipment and network management for the Internet, who said "We have a dog in that fight", referring to a recent legal (malpractice) action brought against an attorney, alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, malpractice and fraud by a group of heirs to property belonging to their family since the end of the 19th century.

Thus, the name of this site.

These days we are bombarded with pit bulls with lipstick, pigs with lipstick, dog-fighting and so on. So to get your attention, we'll "get on the bandwagon" of slogans and universal themes. hopefully we don't loose sight of the simple message that these days you and I may have to fight for not only our rights to pursue, but the right to keep that which you already have or own.

This message is to encourage those family members (both vested and not yet vested) facing this legal battle that promises to be shaping up to be long, contentious and expensive, We have a dog in that fight.