Friday, October 31, 2008

Black Finance Professor Speaks Out "Against D.L. Hughley Breaks the News"

Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.com
Hey peeps!
The response I received from you guys on the new CNN show, “DL Hughley Breaks the News” was overwhelming. Within 20 minutes of sending out the email statement, we had an entire inbox full of messages expressing extreme disappointment in CNN and this offensive new show. This helped me realize that we need to do something about it.
Our goal is to present an intelligent, dignified and firm response to CNN, letting them know that programming based on racial stereotypes is not acceptable. Political satire can be quite funny, but it must be intelligent, balanced and conscientious. This is not the brand of humor presented in “DL Hughley Breaks the News”, which went back to the same degrading media stereotypes and disturbing images that scholars and consumers have been upset about for decades. Senator Obama opened the door for us to see ourselves as educated, enlightened and empowered, so the last thing we need is to be readmitted to the asylum of pimps, thugs, criminals and buffoons.
A sample letter you can use to contact CNN is presented below. You can get the contact information at this link. You can also forward this link and email to anyone you believe to share your sentiments regarding how our community should respond to this painful and disappointing new show. If you wish to hear my personal comments on the topic, please click here.
Finally, don’t forget that we are going to “Get our paper straight in 2008”, so if you wish to join our group for Dr. Boyce Financial Advice, please click here.
The sample letter is below. You can get contact information for key decision-makers at CNN by clicking here. Remember: Change won’t start with Obama or McCain. Meaningful change is going to start with US.
To CNN and its key decision-makers,
As a member of the Your Black World coalition, I am writing to inform you that I found your recently released show, “DL Hughley Breaks the News” to be a tremendous disappointment. While I certainly respect CNN’s effort to develop itself as “The most trusted name in news”, I did not find the new DL Hughley show to be consistent with the degree of trust that CNN has worked to obtain with the American public.
The 2008 Presidential campaign represents an amazing landmark for change within our country by allowing an African American male to present himself to the world as a dignified and educated member of our society, an image which lies in stark contrast to media representations confining Black men to being criminals, rappers, athletes and entertainers. I found it disheartening that this progress was reversed by CNN’s decision to create a show which relied on the very same stereotypes to build a consistent stream of laughs at the expense of African Americans everywhere. The show was also degrading to those in the broader community who support the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, and who wish to see our great country move past the deep and painful wounds created by our nation’s legacy of racial inequality.
We ask that you discontinue the show, “DL Hughley Breaks the News”, and consider a brand of political humor that is respectful to all ethnicities and shows greater appreciation for the tremendous gains made in the 2008 Presidential election. Perhaps then, CNN can regain its status as “The most trusted name in news”.
Sincerely,
The Your Black World Coalition

Monday, October 13, 2008

Black Money: Credit Reports 101"


By Dr. Boyce Watkins
http://www.drboycefinance.com/


Where do Credit Scores come from?

Unlike babies, credit scores do not come from a financial stork. There are 3 major credit bureaus in the United States: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. Companies subscribe to their services to obtain information about you to decide if you are credit worthy or not. Under the old system, the credit scores ranged from 375 to 900. Under the new VantageScore system, they range from 501 to 990. The new system is more consistent among various credit bureaus, so you don’t end up with scores that go all over the place.

How can I get a copy of my report?

I personally go to a site called Myfico.com, where you can order reports from all 3 bureaus or just one. You can also go to freecreditreport.com (you know, the site with the really funny commercials). The law says that you are entitled to at least one free credit report every year. Also, if you are denied credit for any reason, you can write the bureaus, sending along a copy of the rejection letter, and request a copy of your credit report. If you choose to pay for your report, it will likely cost you about $8 dollars.


What factors go into calculating a credit score?

The factors that go into calculating a credit score are a little vague and it’s protected like the recipe for KFC chicken. While the formula is well-guarded, we do have some guidelines on what factors are theoretically used to determine whether or not someone should loan money to you.

The factors are broken into what they call “The Four C’s of Credit”: Character, collateral, capacity, capital and conditions.

Character is their way of trying to decide if you are a good person or not. I don’t agree with this, since having bad credit does not make you a bad person. It just makes you a person who does not have a good track record when it comes to borrowing money.

Capacity is represented mostly by your income level and how much money you’re expected to earn in the future.

Capital is noted by the amount of cash you have in reserves and other liquid assets at your disposal. If you have capital, that means you can withstand a short-term decline in income and still make payments.

Conditions are reflected by the environment in which you live. It might include the state of the economy, your line of work and other external factors that might impact your credit report. For example, during the liquidity crisis in America, conditions for lending are very, very bad.

Now you know where credit scores come from. You probably have more questions, since there is a lot of ground to cover. To get more information, please feel free to learn along with me and my students by visiting http://www.drboycefinance.com/.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University. He does regular commentary in national media, including CNN, ESPN, BET and CBS. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com

Black Speaker Dr Boyce Watkins: Managing Your Credit

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Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Black Wealth: Bill Collectors

Black Money advice: Bill Collect

One of the groups that was not bailed out during the recent financial crisis has been the American consumer. Congress took care of the firms on Wall Street, but they didn’t take care of the millions of Americans forced to confront the realities of bankruptcy, foreclosure and uncomfortable confrontations with menacing bill collectors. It appears, sadly, that every man and woman must find their own way through this financial tragedy.
Bill Collectors really want their money, like the rest of us. Some of them seem to feel that it’s O.K. to resort to flat out thuggish intimidation to get their money back. That might work on The Sopranos, but it shouldn't work in real life.
Part of the reason abusive bill collectors can have their way with the public is because many citizens do not know their rights. Bill collectors prey on the uninformed in a terrible way: They may threaten to have you arrested, harass your relatives, call all hours of the night, and engage in other types of atrocious behavior to get their money out of your hide.
One woman successfully sued a rogue bill collector after he called her repeatedly with threatening language. The woman, a senior citizen, was told by the man to "Stop with the sob stories and pay your god d*m bill!" This kind of behavior is not acceptable, and bill collector harassment doesn’t have to keep you up at night.
The Federal Trade Commission states that complaints against bill collectors are rising, reaching the highest level they've seen in the past 3 years. Most of the complaints focus on vulgar language, trying to collect more than the amount of the true debt, and extra fees, such as court costs.
You have rights that can protect you from bad and malicious bill collectors. You want to keep these in mind as you work yourself out of debt:
1) There is something called "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act". If you are not familiar with this document, get familiar with it. You can read it by clicking here.
2) A bill collector cannot contact you at work if your employer does not approve of the contact. Let the bill collector know that this is the case and they must legally stop contacting you at your job.
3) Bill collectors cannot call you before 8 am or after 9 pm. The only exception is if you give them permission to do so.
4) A bill collector can only contact your friends and family if they are trying to find a way to get in touch with you. However, some of them may do this in order to harass or embarrass you. If that is the case, you may want to tell your friends to tell the bill collector, "She does not live here and I do not know how to get in touch with her. Please don't call here anymore." Then, get the bill collector's information from your friend and reach out to them when you can.
5) You can get bill collectors to stop contacting you altogether by sending them a letter telling them to stop. You still must pay the debt, but they won't be calling you during dinner.

6) The bill collector cannot curse at you or use foul language and they must tell the truth about how much you owe. They cannot threaten to sue unless they are serious about it, and they can't touch your 401k or IRA.
7) If the bill collectors call you, you can demand that they send you a written notice of the amount you owe and who you owe the money to. If you do not believe that the debt is yours, you can write a letter to them stating that this is not your debt. They must then send you proof that the debt is actually yours.
If you feel that a debt collector has violated any of these rules, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. Remember that you are not powerless in this situation.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Asset with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good. He does regular commentary in national media, including CNN, CBS, NBC and BET. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com. This information does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice, please consult your attorney.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Dr Boyce Watkins Speaks on OJ Simpson

by Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.com

I sat in the airport early this morning, waiting for a flight to NYC. Besides a surprisingly fun trip away for the weekend, I also get a chance to appear on my favorite network, Al Jazeera International. This is no disrespect to CNN, but I have to be honest. Al Jazeera has a great global audience, and the news is actually intelligent. We Americans have become allergic to truly educational news, and have fallen in love with the worthless sound bite. On Al Jazeera they actually ENJOY hearing me as a scholar, and my being a Black Financial expert is not some kind of oxymoron. On CNN and Fox, on the other hand, you are as likely to see a Black Financial expert as you are to see Sarah Palin getting a PhD at an HBCU.

As I sat working on my laptop, I noticed that good ol OJ is back in the news. It appears that White America is going to get what it's been praying for since that fateful day in 1995: That "horrendous negro" is finally going to prison. I noticed the chuckles from the other people in the lounge as the verdict was announced. I listened to my cab driver tell me that "it's about damn time they got that guy."

I clearly remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the first major OJ verdict was announced 13 years ago. I was walking across campus, and I ran into a buddy of mine, who happened to be a White male. He was FURIOUS, as were the rest of the students on my campus, The University of Kentucky. If you don't know much about The University of Kentucky, just picture a campus created and run by borderline Klansmen for over 100 years that is just now figuring out that Black students can do more than play basketball.

I remember the outrage being expressed that this "monster" had gotten away with "killing that lovely and beautiful woman." Give me a damn break. Here are my thoughts on OJ:

1) I've never liked OJ. I didn't like him before the first trial and I don't like him now. He has, throughout his career, shown very little respect for the Black community, and I found it disturbing that he and Rodney King became symbols for Black civil rights in the early 1990s.

2) OJ and his wife were, based on the evidence and for lack of a better word, "coke heads". Neither of them were the pure and perfect human-beings some of us believed them to be. Those people who think there is no chance that OJ killed his wife need to think twice about that conclusion.

3) I believe OJ knows what happened to his wife, but I don't think he killed them. If you stab someone, you're not just going to have microscopic blood samples on your shoes. You're going to have blood on your face, in your hair, up your nose, and all over the place. I don't think he did it, but I think he was right there when it happened. Whether he was complicit or framed, we will never know.

4) It is not out of the question that this was a drug kill. Again, when people are so deeply involved in drugs, you don't know what you're going to get. Washed up actors work as drug mules all the time, and I always wondered how a man receiving just a few thousand dollars here and there for endorsement deals and cameos could afford to maintain expensive homes and an expensive drug habit.

5) Mark Furman's perjury and the fact that the murder glove didn't fit show clearly that there was reasonable doubt. If you believe in the American justice system, you HAD to let OJ go. It's not about what you THINK happened, it's about what the evidence SHOWS BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. The concept of reasonable doubt is fundamental to our justice system. Mark Furman alone created reasonable doubt that he and the LAPD could be trusted.

6) The lynch mob mentality shown by America after the OJ trial is nothing new. All throughout history, most Black men believed to have committed a crime were not given fair access to justice. If the alleged crime was atrocious enough, people would hunt him down in the middle of the night and kill him. The remnants of this mob mentality showed itself clearly during the mob mentality exhibited after the OJ trial.

7) If OJ had killed a Black woman, the trial would have not have been the global sensation it was. There is something that lies deep within the psyche of many Americans that becomes frightened and angry over the idea of a big, evil, dirty Black man killing a pure, sweet and innocent White woman. That's just a fact. But here's another fact: Black men are not evil and dirty, and not all White women are as pure as the driven snow. Neither OJ nor his wife were angelic in their behavior, and it appears that there is a reason they chose to be together in the first place.

At the end of the day, the punishment must fit the crime. OJ is not a man I respect. But there is a strong correlation between the treatment of OJ Simpson and other prominent Black male athletes: Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Terrell Owens, Ron Artest, Barry Bonds and Michael Vick. The "Black Males are Monsters" mentality shows itself all over America, which is why the prisons are full of Black men, why Black boys are 5 times more likely to be placed in special education and why my university treats my Black Public Scholarship as if I am some kind of menace to society. It's all part of the same package, and nothing new in America.