From Us, Troy Davis

Dearest,

I am Troy Davis. My life is a thought, an idea that is repeatedly weighed in on using a scale that goes from 1 to 10. And, yeah, 1 is always the least important. I am the 1. I am Troy Davis. I am the least important.

You are Troy Davis. Since the day you were born, you’ve been subject to the mercy of the countrymen around you, the people in it. Depending on what kind of day it is in America, your life is either a means to an end or a way forward. You will have no choice in the matter.

At 7:00p EST today, the Georgia Parole and Pardons Board plans on executing us. Our family, friends and thousands of strangers tried to save us by coming forward, writing letters, signing petitions, sending e-mails, scheduling rallies and convincing even the Pope that we are innocent men. We did nothing wrong. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even a few people who initially pinned the crime on us reneged. But it looks like the blame has to put on someone and we’re the only ones left to blame.

How does it feel? It feels like I’m walking alone in the quietest thunderstorm I’ve ever seen and every time I take a step forward, a tree falls in front of me.

We’ve only got less than 20 hours to live, and we’ve got know where to go. I never thought I’d actually know my own life’s countdown. The house is silent tonight, though. I feel like I can actually feel the hands and heartbeats of the people who reached out to us this year. Their stomachs are sick with shame and disgust. I can even feel Humphrey’s throat tightening around the few words he has to say to us tomorrow. But the people outside, we should really want to see them and thank them. Pope Benedict XVI, man, wouldn’t you like to shake his hand? All of the major leaders of the world that pushed 660,000 people to try to convince Georgia that we’re innocent.

Well, Glory, here we come. I don’t feel special. You shouldn’t either. We’re not that important in the grand scheme of things. However, I do feel humbled by the statistic that I’m becoming and saddened by the simple fact that I don’t feel like America has a chance in hell against racism, even in these more accepting times. I know God understands me better than anyone, and whatever he sees fit for my life is what’s destined to happen.

So as we celebrate our last night together on earth, Troy Davis, remember that clarity is not a guarantee when seeking justice. But freedom always is.

Sincerely,

Troy Davis

January 26, 2010: Things I Learned Today

How’s everyone doing? I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on investing in the global black community, and I think it’s selfish to keep all the info to myself. Actually, I should try to do this more often in this blog.

So, here are the 10 things I learned today:

1. According to the FBI’s Violence Policy Center, Pennsylvania leads the U.S. in black homicide victims with approximately 37 blacks’ murdered per 100,000 people, which is seven times the national homicide rate. Behind that are Missouri, Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin. In 2007, 485 black people were killed and 440 of them were black males. The data says 87% were killed with a gun and bbout 79% were killed by someone they knew.

The national black homicide rate is 21% (as of 2007).

2. There 500,000 new blacks residing legally in the U.S. The Census Bureau finds that 41.1 million blacks now live in the country.

3. Approximately 20% of African-Americans have a bachelors degree or higher.

4. Between 2004 and 2008, the number of black voters increased from 14 million to 16.1 million. Black voters between the ages of 18 and 24 had the highest 2008 Election turnout of all races in the same age group.

5. Black-owned companies made up 5% of all U.S. non-farming companies (2002 Census data).

6. I’ve been wondering when Black actors are going to do more than just the expected “funny, slapstick Black movie.” Up-and-coming Black actors: Anthony Mackie is number one. Kerry Washington is also a good one and fun to watch.

7. African-Americans have a risk of outliving their retirement savings, commensurate with a study done by MassMutual, a life insurance company. Black retirees have a median savings of $73,000 versus whites’ savings of $210,000.

8. The 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is working for the wind energy industry. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the industry broke a record by installing 10,000 megawatts of wind power in 2009. Direct quote from AWEA: “America’s wind power fleet will avoid an estimated 62 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 10.5 million cars off the road, and will conserve approximately 20 billion gallons of water annually, which would otherwise be withdrawn for steam or cooling in conventional power plants.”

9. Ja-Rule is heading to jail again. In 2007, Ja was pulled over by police in New York after a concert because the car was registered and had no insurance. In a search of the car, the police found a gun in Ja’s possession.

10. Finally, an efficient and monthly-updated Black business web site, the National Black Programming Consortium: http://www.nbpc.tv. They have this documentary called “Africa: Open for Business” which debunks myths surrounding the lifestyles of Africans, and sheds light on the African business worlds of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, the D.R. of Congo and more. I thought it was brilliant!

The BBC named it ‘Best Documentary of the Year,’ and it was also screened at Columbia University in 2006. The documentary also reminds me of my own previous blog entry entitled the same thing.

As investors, where are we at with China?

I’m not even finished reading this WP article – it being the umpteenth I’ve read in the past two months – and I already want to invest a little over in China somewhere.

The infrastructure of China is growing rapidly. Without haste at all. I know the billion-person country just got on the ball with industrializing its historically rural landscape, but investors are about to – or should – get on the ball putting money into a fiercely growing nation.

The Post article said that a real estate bubble may occur soon in China. The Chinese government is regulating how people have to pay for their homes because of “excessively rising house prices.” They are also enforcing low-cost housing.

The next few sentences bear the exact idea I’m conveying in this blog entry:

The Chinese government …said it will monitor capital flows to “stop overseas speculative funds from jeopardizing China’s property market.” It also said that any Chinese family buying a second home must make a down payment of at least 40 percent.

I’m speculating! On the possibly – more like PROBABLY – prosperous China of the future!

They are building hundreds of thousands of miles of highway that will stretch out into places in China that have never even been driven into! That begs the question, WHAT AUTO MAKERS ARE EXPANDING INTO CHINA TO PROFIT THE LOOMING CAR-BUYING BONANZA?

The real estate market is already boiling hot as is land purchases.  China is almost the world’s largest exporter. Their exports of machinery, tech and furniture contributed to an almost 18% growth in December beating estimates of a 5% growth although exports fell 16% in comparison to December 2008. Imports grew 55% in December (economists predicted around a 30% rise).

There’s another article talking about a rich guy who warns against China, or as he calls it, “China Inc.” The New York Times reports that this rich guy, James Chanos, thinks China has “hyperstimulated” its economy, and knows it. The speculation, especially in the real estate market, is a risky boiling bubble waiting to pop – “Dubai times 1,000,” Chanos says.

Me? I’m very young and much more of an optimist. I have a stick of land in Africa and once had stock in Apple. I think China can do good for smart investors. My everlasting belief when it comes to investing: Invest in something that’ll always bring in money no matter what s*** hits the fan. In China…maybe the rice industry – 1 Everyone on earth eats rice – it’s especially a staple in the Chinese diet 2 China is an exporter of the grain and Chinese rice companies are expanding their business into Africa, Central America and South America, which are also other places you should invest in..*ahem*… growth in Brazil (next blog topic?) 3 Even though China isn’t Asia’s biggest rice exporter, China does business with Thailand and Indonesia, two of the world’s biggest rice exporters. You can expect businesses to merge and work together based off that. If two companies merge, your shares will carry over somewhere – and the automobile industry…better yet, the cement company that deals directly with downtown metropolitan reconstruction of roads and highways.

Real estate is bubbly. The financial sector is bubbly. Those aren’t things you can depend on.

Photo from www.shekouonline.com

Another investment idea to live by: live by the gold standard. Gold is always going to be worth something. According to the current market, gold is worth about $1,160 an ounce. It reached a record on December 3rd – $1,228.

Hey, I’m just saying.

A room full of Christians, the power of prayer, Chris Brown and everything I learned into 2010

That flower stands for freedom. I am a freedom fighter.

On Christmas Eve last year – yep, 2009 – I sat in a church with 600 other Christians and prayed for financial favor to be in God’s will for me.

How do I know that all 601 of us prayed for this? Call it a divine intervention in my spirit. Trust me, I felt it. The way we held each others hands when we prayed, the height of each voice singing in the choir, the passion and humbling poise in the eyes of the pastor and deacons. Everyone in that church was praying for the sake of their wallet.

Before Jason and I even walked into the church, I said to him that there would probably be a full house because it’s been a tough year for most U.S. citizens. He shrugged it off because, really and truly, who knew. But when we walked through the church doors and saw pews filled to the very back row, even I was taken back.

Pew-dwelling pilgrims, I thought…taking up all the good seats. Jason and I had to sit in the back. And, man, to sit in the back AND to have no money to tithe ON CHRISTMAS EVE is almost the worst guilt trip I’ve had in a couple of years.

The first prayer that one of the deacons spoke unto God was a prayer for the world’s leaders; President Obama and other Middle Eastern principals mainly. The doxologious prayer led many of us joined in prayer to “amen” and “Thank you, Lord.” I just nodded.

The next prayer the deacon spoke was for our communities here in America. He asked for good fortune to come upon Los Angeles, and for the community’s strength to be lifted. Something along those lines.

Photo from the South Town Star/AP

His final prayer got us all squinting our eyes and pushing the prayer high into the heavens so God could really take notice. It was about taking us through 2010 with blessed finances and families. FUN FACT (or not; take it how you want it): It’s safe to say that the recession is keeping a lot of families together, even if husband and wife were thinking about divorcing. It’s expensive to get a divorce! The divorce rate in Los Angeles is recorded at somewhere between 65% and 70% (2004 reports). According to a Yelp! article, divorce rates have gone down or stayed the same in all states between 2006 and 2008. Great article, by the way! Check it out.

BUT HONESTLY, when you get to praying, do you really think about all the things you’ve given back to God? No.

When I pray, I start with a thanks to Jesus for dying to save my soul, then start asking for blessings for my family, friends and for myself, and finally I give thanks again and tell Him I love him. It’s actually kind of informal. However, in my not telling God about all the stuff I’ve done to deserve his favor (i.e. donate money, be a listening ear, helping people, volunteering my time, giving some cash to homeless folks, etc.), He already knows I’ve done it all in good intentions anyway! I’m already halfway to FAVORLAND even before I drop to my knees!

The church service ended after about an hour or so. We left, went home, maybe played Monopoly, cleaned up and ate dinner. There was no Christmas tree or any presents. Just Jason and I doing our everyday thing.

On that day, we didn’t expect anything from anyone or give anything extra to anyone either, but it turns out that we got gifts anyway. Gift cards from a friend’s Mom (who also cooked a delicious Christmas dinner for us). I got a job. Jason got a free hard drive for his laptop.

Not such a bad Christmas after all.

Some things I’ve learned between 2009 and 2010:
1. Pray and give back – TIME and MONEY – even when you’re doing very well. To whom much is given, much is required.
2. My income must outweigh my bills.
3. Sometimes, there are more important bills to pay than rent (i.e. student loans lingering toward delinquency)
4. Budgeting really does help.
5. Invest money AND time.
6. Do good work, not just hard work.
7. Just because I’m passionate about something I believe in doesn’t make it good for me.

The number 7 is my cousin’s lucky number, I believe. I may just follow those learned items for the rest of my life.

Other things I’ve learned that are outside of my financial lifestyle:
1. Working out makes me feel better and gets the kid motivated.
2. I guess I need new(er) friends, especially since I live all the way out here in LA now.
3. Adulthood is a mix of childhood and senioritis. Or bundles of wild energy and long periods of senile lethargy, if you will.
4. I love me and I’m cute.
5. I enjoy Chris Brown’s voice despite what mistakes he’s made.

Photo from ChrisBrownWorld.com

Yeah, I said that last one.

Things I am really thankful for in 2010:
1. $1.68 romaine lettuce at Food4Less
2. Food4Less
3. Jason’s Jasonry
4. My own accountability
5. Cherise for getting me that drink at The Library
6. My entire family, from Connecticut down to Georgia
7. Joshua, for being in Senegal because it keeps my eyes on the prize – Kenya!
8. My friends
9. Law & Order SVU marathons
9.5. Knowing that I don’t need a drink to get it poppin
10. God’s financial favor, because I’ve got it.

Amen.