Culminis Newsletter - The Voice (Nov 2007)

The November issue of The VOICE is now available online. The issue this month features an article by Linda Moore about partnering with vendors. In addition, you will find relevant information about the new Heroes Community Launch 2008.

The VOICE is a monthly publication dedicated to monitoring and reporting on the health of the IT ecosystem. Click here for the blog format of the November issue as well. Reach out to thevoice@culminis.com with any questions or comments that are not article specific.

Secure Your Wireless Network (Memphis)

Having an unsecured wireless network is an open invitation for hackers to access your computer and steal your personal information, upload malware onto your computer, and otherwise expose you to identity theft, the most prevalent Internet crime.

BDPA members and supporters in the greater Memphis area are invited to attend this month's program meeting entitled, 'How to Secure Your Wireless Network'. You will learn specific ways to prevent potential network intruders from lurking within range of your home.

BDPA Memphis chapter is proud to have this topic presented by Sandra Morgan, Coordinator for the Learning Resource Center at Southern College of Optometry. Her employment at Southern College extends over the past 11 years and she has responsibility for teaching Microsoft Office Professional software applications. She has also been working with computer security since 2002. Prior to working with computer security, she was a Data Analyst. She holds an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Visual Basic/Desktop Publishing and is currently seeking a Bachelor of Science in Management of Computer Information Systems at Park University in Millington, TN.

Attend this meeting to learn how to ensure that no one is sitting across the street from your home stealing your identity. Here are the meeting details:

FedEx World Headquarters
3630 Hacks Cross Road
Building C, Conference Room 3105

Agenda
5:30pm - 6:00pm - Meet & Greet (refreshments served)
6:00pm - 6:30 - Business meeting
6:30pm - 7:30pm - Program
Click here for online RSVP to Nancy Ford (BDPA Memphis chapter president). Be sure to bring your business cards for the door prize giveaway!

2nd Annual Awards Banquet (Philadelphia)

BETF-Blog readers, here is information about an event that you will want to make plans to attend. Our current BDPA Chapter of the Year is the BDPA Philadelphia chapter. They are hosting their 2nd Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 1, 2007. The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Valley Forge Hotel located at 260 Mall Blvd. King of Prussia.

The chapter is hosting a Silent Auction as part of fundraising activities to support their youth education training in coming weeks. As such they need our support to make the Silent Auction a success. Are you interested in donating a product, service or gift certificate for the silent auction? Consider gift certificates for items or professional services, a skill you can offer, your brother’s vacation home, wine and sailing in your boat, consulting. Your hairdresser, attorney or handy man will be happy to have the exposure of an item or gift certificate at the banquet and are happy to give. It’s easy!

All sponsors and donors will receive recognition at the Banquet and on the chapter's website. If you know of a business that may be interested in donating a product or service for the Banquet, please contact Monique Berry at mailto:vp@bdpaphilly.org?subject=2nd.

The chapter also seeks banquet volunteers! BDPA Philadelphia chapter is looking for brothers and sisters to help plan, organize and work at the event. Whether you are interested in logistics, selling tickets or finding sponsors ... your talent and effort would be very much appreciated. Anyone interested in working with the Committee should contact Monique Berry at mailto:vp@bdpaphilly.org?subject=2nd.

Finally, for those of us that simply seek to support by showing up on Saturday, December 1st to enjoy the meal, entertainment and cheer on the award winners ... tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased at the Philadelphia chapter monthly program meetings, from any Executive Board member or online at Eventbrite.

We advise you to purchase your tickets in advance, as they will cost $80.00 if purchased at the door. We expect brisk ticket sales; remember to buy them early so you won’t miss out!

Any BETF-Blog readers planning to be in Philadelphia on December 1st for this banquet?

Freedom Technology Christmas Testimonial

Shawn Williams of the AfroSpear's Dallas South blog submitted the following encouraging and heart-warming testimonial from one of his readers, C. Morgan Perry:

Hey, Shawn, thank you and AfroSpear Freedom Technology Blog for keeping us up-to-date on whats out there for our use.

I have office 2003 on my desktop but not my laptop. I would often have to get up and sit at my computer desk in order to view word excel or power point attachments sent to me because of this. While visiting your blog I came across AfroSpear Freedom Technology Blog and read about open office by sun system down loaded it and now can view all my microsoft office attachments. And the cost of the program was FREE.

Kudos good looking out.
C. Morgan Perry

2008-2009 National BDPA Executive Committee

• Founder: Earl Pace
• President: Denise P. Holland
• President Elect/VP-Business Management: Yvette Graham
• VP-Finance: Abraham Joseph
• VP-Member Services: Kim Davis
• VP-Membership Management: Eatonia Williams
• VP-Strategy & Planning: Edwin Sapp
• Immediate Past President: Gina Billings
• Outside Director: Wayne Applewhite
• Outside Director: Norman Fleming
• Outside Director: Betty Hutchins

Please share some love and encouragement for these brothers and sisters who have agreed to provide leadership necessary to take National BDPA to the next level over the coming months and years. Share your testimony about any of these BDPA leaders that you may have worked with in the past ... or simply congratulate them on their new volunteer assignment!

Seeking 50 Students Interested in Computer Camp Experience (Cincinnati)

BDPA Cincinnati chapter will train 50 high school students in their 2008 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. SITES program in Cincinnati is divided into four components: Computer Camp, Youth Technology Seminar Series, High School Computer Competition and Information Technology Showcase.

There are many challenges for the Black community in Cincinnati as demonstrated by the recent voting on the jail tax levy. However, BDPA provides a positive beacon of hope for our youth and high school students as they are introduced to various aspects of IT, including advance research on IT topics, web application development (Basic HTML, FrontPage, SQL, ASP, ASP.NET), web application programming, logic and advanced computer concepts (IT Showcase). The 50 young people selected will participate in weekly programs that begin on Saturday, January 5, 2008.

New students are required to take an entrance exam to determine eligibility. Interested students will need to have the following qualifications:

• Must be in 8th - 12th grade
• Interested in Information Technology
• Good attendance
• Cooperation
• Participation

A smaller subset of students my be interested in participating in the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) as Cincinnati chapter works to pull together a team that can defeat the current national champions from Rochester, MN. Qualifications for students selected for the HSCC (limited space):

• Must be in 9th - 11th grade
• Minimum 2.5 G.P.A.
• Display a strong interest in Information Technology (demonstrable programming and web development skills)
• Display natural ability
• Willing to participate in class
• Cooperative spirit (teamwork is very important here)
• Good attendance

The testing for any young people in the greater Cincinnati area interested in this world-class technology training will take place on Saturday, November 17, 2007 @ 10:00 am *or* Saturday, December 1, 2007, 10:00 am. In either case, the location for the testing is:

Cincinnati Business Incubator (CBI)
1634 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45202 (Downtown near Findlay Market)
Please register online for either the November or December testing dates (...you only need to complete #2 Local Register section). You can reach Deborah Prince, BDPA Cincinnati chapter Outreach Director, by email (mailto:outreach@bdpa-cincy.org?subject=2008) or phone (513.956-0636) if you have questions or wish to discuss further.

What do you think of this youth education program?

Enhancing Education Through Technology

BETF-Blog readers, the House of Representatives and the Senate are scheduled to take up the final version of the FY08 Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations bill, which contains $272 million for Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program the week of November 5. Please email your Senators and Representatives immediately and urge them to support passage of the FY08 Labor, HHS and Education spending bill.

---

Click Here to enter your zip code and send a letter with this important message.

---

You need to know that President Bush vowed to veto the final version of the Labor, HHS and Education spending bill because it exceeds his budget proposals by nearly $11 billion, putting EETT funding into jeopardy. The House and Senate need to pass this bill by a two-thirds majority in order to show the President that Congress will override his threatened veto – so every vote counts!

Please make your voice heard and write your congressional representative asking for his/her support of the Labor-HHS and Education bill. Let Congress know the deep impact this funding has on the day-to-day lives of our nation’s students and teachers.

10th Annual Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR-Austin)

Web teams from more than two dozen Austin, Texas, companies converged for a voluntary day of competition October 13th to build new Web sites or improve existing ones for non-profit organizations whose clientele includes those with disabilities. The 10th Annual Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR-Austin) is part of a nationwide initiative to make the Internet accessible for those with disabilities as a tool for gaining knowledge.

Hat tip to Lorna Stewart-Booker (BDPA Austin chapter president) for letting us know how her chapter's team did in the competition. She wrote,

"WOW!!! We Won! We Won! Can you tell we're excited! BDPA Austin chapter's new website has won First Place in the Air-Austin 2007 Stock Car Division. This is exciting for the BDPA family and for the Vesper Web Design team that designed our website. This win means that BDPA is eligible for the state competition scheduled for a later date.

Knowbility, who sponsored the Air-Austin event, supports the independence of children and adults with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology. Check out their website for more information."

Share some love in the comments section for Lorna and the others from BDPA Austin chapter!

Top Ten Black Blogs (Nov 2007)

Welcome to our third month of posting the Top 10 Black Bloggers. This effort began after I noticed that none of the 50 most influential bloggers were of African descent. Instead of complaining about it ... I figured that we should simply publish our own list. We had 75 Black blogs in the Sept 2007 list. The nominees grew to over 300 when the Oct 2007 list was released. Today we have over 430 Black blogs on the list ... and it continues to grow.

The only qualification is that the blogger needs to be of African descent. The blogger does not have to be a member of The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association, although we invite all Black bloggers to join either (or both) of those organizations. We do think that these Top Ten Black Bloggers are important spheres of influence. Reach out and let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. Hopefully, they will share their village voice with us right here on the BDPA Foundation blog or over on the Electronic Village

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Bloggers for November 2007. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority indicates the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the person listed and the #1 ranked blog in the world.:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,092 / Rank: 2,325) - [Politics]The blog won the 2006 Web Log Award as the Best LGBT Blog. Pam has an opinion about most anything in the political realm.


2. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop* (Authority: 1,033 / Rank: 2,526) - [Entertainment] This is a Black celebrity entertainment blog with gossip, music, celebrity interviews, pictures and such.


3. Natasha E: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 833 / Rank: 3,269) - [Entertainment] Natasha provides you with all the hot gossip in Black Hollywood. Her blog focuses on the fabulous side of Black pop culture, trends and music ... all from a young, Black, and fabulous perspective of course. Natasha currently has two blogs. This one is actually fading down the list as it has been discontinued in favor of her new one, which is currently #47 on the list.


4. Fresh Crunkjuice: Crunk & Disorderly* (Authority: 788 / Rank: 3,331) - [Entertainment] This blog was created in August 2004, however, it didn't get serious until May 2005. This is an active entertainment blog. The motto is simple and direct, "In Fresh We Trust".


5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 734 / Rank: 4,414) - [Politics] Oliver began this blog in April 2005. His tag linke says that he is kryptonite to stupid. He posts regularly on politics.


6. Paula Mooney: Paula Mooney’s Tips (Authority: 622 / Rank: 5,746) - [SEO] Paula is a powerful source of ideas for any blogger looking to increase their visitor traffic. She is very enthusiastic about the power of blogging. She works on blogs with both her husband and her father and she was recently a featured speaker at BlogHer in Chicago, IL.


7. Sokari Ekine: Black Looks (526/ 7,797) - [Social Sciences] This blog began in June 2004. It is primarily about issues that impact our brothers and sisters in Africa. Sokari is currently in London. Her posts cover a range of issues such as gender violence, racism, sexuality, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Sokari and her guest bloggers are all progressives, Africanists and activists with a strong belief in the power of the pen to bring about change.


8. Darla Mack: Darla Mack News & Reviews (461 / 9,348) - [Technology] Darla is a sister with a technology blog that has a unique niche of Nokia devices, S60, Nseries, Eseries and Symbian. She focuses on mobile technology and nokia phone reviews.


9. Steve Spaulding: How To Split An Atom (447 / 9,757) - [Technology] How To Split An Atom is a blog about using, abusing, and surviving in the Web X.0 landscape. It's Internet culture, split open. Steve provides a sprinkling of life hacks, meta filtering, personal projects and journalism all at a break neck pace.


10. Patrice Yursik: Afro Bella* (379 / 12,130) - [Fashion] Patrice is a reformed tomboy from Trinidad. Her blog is dedicated to product reviews, ruminations about style, and interviews with women all shades of beautiful. Expect honest opinions about products, advertising, and entertainment specifically targeted to African American and Caribbean women.

---

HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Republic of T, Keith Boynkin*, Entre les Lignes de Jo Ann, Sandra Rose, What About Our Daughters*, Truth & Opinion, The Angry Black Woman, Rod 2.0:Beta, Stereohyped*, BlackProf.com*, The Field Negro*, Black In Business*, Angry Black Bitch, African Path and RaceWire

---

Our rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. We figure that if your content is strong enough for others to link to ... that is a strong indicator of your influence. I am very open to hearing from you on other factors that should be considered in future monthly Top Ten Black Bloggers listings.

Those blogs with an asterisk after their name are winners in the 2007 Black Weblog Award contest held earlier this year. Post a comment below if you are a Black Blogger interested in learning what your ranking is in this month's list!


I eagerly anticipate your comments on this list.

Top 10 Strategic Technologies

Hat tip to BDPA New York chapter for sharing the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008 recently released by Gartner Group. Any of these topics would be excellent for program meetings held by any of our 48 BDPA chapters.

1. Green IT - This one is taking on a bigger role for many reasons, including an increased awareness of environmental danger; concern about power bills; regulatory requirements; government procurement rules; and a sense that corporations should embrace social responsibility.


2. Unified Communications (UC) - UC functionality is drawing from five core markets: voicemail, PBXs, e-mail and calendaring, IM, and conferencing and collaboration. The key trends are communications becoming IP-based, analog systems switching to digital, and growing integration among voice, network, storage, sensors and video technologies.


3. Business Process Management - BPM is more of a business discipline than a technology, but is necessary to make sure the technology of service-oriented architectures (SOA) deliver business value, Cearley said. It's also important for dealing with laws like Sarbanes-Oxley that require business to define processes.


4. Metadata Management - Metadata is the foundation for information infrastructure and is found throughout your IT systems: in service registries and repositories, Web semantics, configuration management databases (CMDB), business service registries and in application development.


5. Virtualization 2.0 - "Virtualization 2.0" goes beyond consolidation. It simplifies the installation and movement of applications, makes it easy to move work from one machine to another, and allows changes to be made without impacting other IT systems, which tend to be rigid and interlinked.


6. Mashups & Composite Applications - Mashups, a Web technology that combines content from multiple sources, has gone from being a virtual unknown among IT executives to being an important piece of enterprise IT systems.


7. Web Platform & WOA - Web-oriented architecture, a version of SOA geared toward Web applications, is part of a trend in which the number of IT functions being delivered as a service is greatly expanding. Beyond the well-known software-as-a-service.


8. Computing Fabrics - Today's blade server design places memory and processors into a fixed combination inside a blade, and until recently neither memory or processors from one blade could be combined with that of other blades.


9. Real World Web - Increasingly ubiquitous network access with reasonably useful bandwidth is enabling the beginnings of what analysts are calling the "real world Web".


10. Social Software - Social software like podcasts, videocasts, blogs, wikis, social bookmarks, and social networking tools, often referred to as Web 2.0, is changing the way people communicate both in social and business settings.

Well, BETF-Blog Readers ... what do you think about these 10 strategic technologies?

Freedom Technology Christmas

AfroSpear bloggers are encouraging Blacks to give "the gift of technology" to their children, parents and others, to empower them to communicate in the Internet Age, with recommended gifts of computers, digicams, broadband and open source software.

This Christmas, the same AfroSpear Black bloggers who organized the March on Jena are spearheading the "AfroSpear Freedom Technology Christmas" (FTC) campaign. AfroSpear bloggers in forty US states and five countries are mobilizing their readers to give Christmas presents that increase citizen journalism within the Black community.

"When you have a blog, what happens to you in a small town can become international news," said Field Negro, who won a Black Weblog Award this year. He cited the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14 year-old who was unfairly sentenced to 7 years in prison for pushing a high school hall monitor, but who was released when her Freedom Blog caught national attention.

The AfroSpear's Eddie Griffin believes word will spread. "We're going to teach our children to communicate with the world and give them the tools to do it," said Griffin, an ex-Black Panther who helps lead the group's outreach to Blacks in the criminal justice system.

Shawn Williams, of the AfroSpear's Dallas South blog, featured on MSNBC and in the Chicago Tribune for his Jena Six advocacy, says the success of the March on Jena has convinced Black bloggers that "Freedom Technology" is essential to their movement. He said, "This Christmas, our children and families need modern communication tools, like 24-hour broadband connections and digital cameras. These tools can be used to document injustices like the Jena nooses, while at the same time help to narrow the technology divide that continues to widen."

"The gift of communication technology like computers and webcams is the best gift that you can give your children and family, because it empowers them to educate and advocate for the Black community and for themselves," said the African American Political Pundit (AAPP).

AAPP added, "Black blogging encourages writing skills and critical thinking, which are precisely the skills our children need."

The statistics bear out AAPP. “Black children are going to jail at a rate 6 times higher than that of white children in America”, said Eddie Griffin.

"We are expanding the national Black media that focuses on the needs of Black people in the context of America and the world. And AfroSpear bloggers will announce the ways in which Freedom Technology Christmas presents have dramatically improved communication among AfroSpear bloggers in five countries and four continents," said Atty. Holland.

Freedom Technology Christmas recommended gifts are laptop or home computers, headphones with microphones and webcams (for computer- to-computer conversations), digital cameras and camera "memory sticks," "pen drives" for saving documents, photographs and music, foreign language software, music production software and writing skills software.

Many excellent Christmas computer software presents are available for free. Open Source alternatives are abundant. For example,

• Microsoft Vista Home Premium: $219.99
• Ubuntu Linux: $0
• Adobe Photoshop CS3: $619.99
• Gimp: $0
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007: $324.99
• Open Office: $0
• Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: 398.99
• Nvu: $0.

Many communication programs are available for free download and include:

• Skype (free computer telephone)
• ooVoo (free televideo communication)
• Yahoo
• MSN (e-mail and instant messages)

“I wholeheartedly support the Freedom Technology Christmas as a way not only to give a gift with meaning, but also to encourage Black youth to hone their computer, writing, analysis, critical thinking, photography and other skills. New talents will be unearthed and encouraged to grow”, says Adrianne George from the Black Women in Europe blog.

Well BETF-Blog readers ... What say u about the Freedom Technology Christmas idea?

Social Networks or Social Bubbles?

Dori J. Maynard is president and CEO of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, the nation's leading trainer of journalists of color. She is the co-author of "Letters to My Children", a compilation of nationally syndicated columns by her late father, Bob Maynard, the first African-American to own a major metropolitan newspaper. Maynard was a reporter at The Bakersfield Californian, The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass., and the Detroit Free Press. In 1993, she and her father became the first father-daughter duo to be appointed Nieman Fellows at Harvard University.

Anyhow, Ms. Maynard had some interesting thoughts about the afrospere that I wanted to share with you:

First, the Jena 6 story lived on the Internet. Bloggers, many of them Black, members of list serves such as the National Association of Black Journalists and members of social networks like Facebook, used the Internet to spread the story before it took off with mainstream news organizations like CNN, The Washington Post, and NPR.

The fact that the "afrosphere" has largely received credit for driving this story is important to keep in mind when we think about what is going on in cyberspace.

At a time when "the digital divide" is still code for "people-of-color-don't-have-access-or-know-how-to-use-the-Internet," Jena 6 reminds us of the fallacy of that premise. African Americans used the web and alerted the world to what was going on in a small town and in a largely overlooked state.

True, there are still some significant hurdles for entry into a fully wired world. However, they are largely socio-economic. I once asked someone how many white homes in Appalachia have Internet access. Turned out not a lot. The digital divide is real. It's class, not race, that makes the difference.

The Jena 6 story also reminds us that while the Web may be a place where anyone with access and an idea can voice his or her opinion, it does not mean that every opinion gets the same amount of attention. Think of how quickly word spread about "Memo Gate" and how long it took the outside world to pay attention to Jena 6.

So, that leaves us with the question of whether this new technology is opening up our world or allowing us more time to hibernate in the comfortable corner of the world that reminds us of ourselves.

That is something I look forward to exploring as I look at diversity in an online world. I hope you'll help me so that together we can think this through.

I don't think that Ms. Maynard give enough credit to organizations such as The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association. However, I appreciate her acknowledgement of the growing influence of Black Bloggers ... some of whom will be on the November 2007 list of the Top Ten Black Bloggers shared by the Electronic Village on November 1st.

Personally, I hope that more BDPA members become bloggers in the coming weeks and months.

Disney Minnie Grants for Global Youth Service Day 2008

The next round of Disney Minnie grants ($500) will be available in November 2007 for projects to take place on GYSD 2008, April 25-27. The Disney grants are to support youth-led projects (led by younger youth, ages 5-14). Individual youth as well as organizations that engage youth (hint, hint!) are eligible to apply. Last year's winners were worthy!

Deadline for 2008 grants will be in January 2008.

HSCC Testimonial: Keon Hercules (2003)

Keon Hercules is a 2003 HSCC Alumni from our BDPA New York chapter. We were able to get him away from his Amazon reviews to share his thoughts on the experience that he had with BDPA's youth education programs.

I was honored to take part in this celebration. Senior BDPA members seem to hold the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) students in high honor and view us as the best of the best. Our job was to live up to their high expectations; I think we were successful in doing so back in 2003.

I am blessed to be a member of a great team. They were wonderful teammates, and more important, good friends. I was the Captain of the Team. We worked extremely well together, and were able to cogitate in unison when challenging times approached us during the competition. The actual competition challenge was quite demanding and arduous, but as a team we pulled together and tried our best to complete the task as stated. Some of the important values that BDPA taught me are teamwork and how to work well with other people. I can use values such as these the rest of my life.

Apart from the HSCC, the conference was one of the most fun and informative times I have experienced. I met many people in positions and professions I would like to pursue in the future. Some of the people included Network Administrators for enterprises, and entrepreneurs who started their own IT businesses. I talked with them to gather knowledge, which can help me achieve the same status in the future.

The 25th annual National BDPA Conference is definitely a time to remember for the rest of my life. I hope to attend future Conferences and to have the same mental awakening that this conference has provided me. I established new friendships that I will never forget. So, I thank BDPA for providing me with this experience.

Somebody go let Keon know that we need his electronic photo!

Delivering Success for Black Businesses

BDPA wants to have a greater positive impact on our entrepreneurs and business owners. As such, I encourage you to check out the Black in Business blog whenever you have the opportunity.


In addition, we've learned that the SBA provides an online library of video interviews that chronicle the experiences of successful entrepreneurs from around the country. These video interviews are the ideal start-up tool for budding entrepreneurs and business owners including completion of a business plan. Other highlights include a business reality check, techniques to take a business to the next level and the top 10 tips to get a business started and keep it going.

Any BDPA entrepreneurs out there interested in a shameless self-promotion opportunity? Here it is ... just POST A COMMENT about your business and point us to your blog or webiste.

100 Best Communities for Young People Competition

America's Promise Alliance is looking for the 100 Best Communities for Young People. The 2008 competition will recognize outstanding community-wide efforts to improve the well-being of youth, while providing a great place for young people to live. Deadline: November 2, 2007

A Capital Time in the Nation's Capitol

Diversity/Careers magazine wrote a great article on the recently held BDPA national conference. The article was entitled, 'A capital time in the nation’s capitol' and it included information on our youth education programs, ITSMF and our incoming national officers. The article starts off as follows:

The 2007 national technology conference of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) in Washington, DC had something for everyone: youth activities and competitions, high-powered technical seminars, career-building panel discussions and wonderful networking opportunities. Corporate sponsors were recognized at several events, and the conference wound up with a well-attended two-day career fair and a gala banquet.

The Philadelphia, PA chapter took away honors as chapter of the year. The Cincinnati chapter was first runner-up.

Click here to read the full article
Diversity/Careers magazine is a bi-monthly magazine for IT professionals. One of the great benefits of membership is that we get a complimentary subscription to this magazine. Are you getting your copy? More important ... what do you remember about the conference in Washington DC?

Untold Story: Johnathan Holifield

There are 8 million stories in the naked city. I'm not sure where I heard that line ... but, it has a ring of truth to it.

There are many untold stories in our BDPA history. One of them occurred in Cincinnati in the early part of this decade. I was the chapter president in 1999-2001. During that period I received a call from the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce requesting my attendance at a meeting to discuss a technology initiative. That meeting gave much needed credibility to our BDPA chapter in the Cincinnati area. We met a number of people that later provided us with corporate sponsorships and corporate memberships. The chapter still has a seat on the advisory group for that initiative ... now known as CincyTech USA.

The brother that gave me the call was a lawyer and former Cincinnati Bengals running back ... Johnathan Holifield. As such, I was proud to see that Jonathan Holifield has been picked to lead the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a civil rights agency and community development organization.

Holifield, who most recently ran the parks department in Buffalo, N.Y., will replace Myron Robinson as chief executive officer, who announced his retirement last September after 16 years.

"He’s a great choice. He’s been a fighter for a long time," said Robinson, who helped choose his successor for the 90-year-old Cleveland institution, which is known for its focus on job training in the black community.

In a prepared statement, Holifield said he was humbled to join a flagship affiliate of the Urban League movement. Holifield, 43, was chosen after a nationwide search and will begin as CEO on Dec. 1. He will help oversee the Urban League’s annual $3 million budget.

The one-time NFL running back was a 1987 draft choice of the Bengals. He played in the league for two years and went on to earn a master’s degree in education and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati. Holifield also served as vice president of the Cincinnati NAACP and the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

I hope that BDPA Cleveland chapter reaches out quickly to Bro. Holifield. That is a strategic alliance that should be cultivated with quickness!

Anyhow, BETF-Blog readers, do you have an untold story in our BDPA history that you would like to share?

Observations from an HSCC Parent (Twin Cities)

Logan LeCompte is a member of the BDPA Twin Cities chapter High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team that competed earlier this year. His father, John, attended the chapter's annual education banquet earlier this month. He shares the following observations on his blog:

On Wednesday eve, 10/17 I attended the BDPA Twin Cities Fall Banquet. My son was being recognized for his participation in their High School Computer Competition this summer. Some interesting information was shared. The number of students going to college and majoring in computer science is actually decreasing, especially among young women. While the demand for persons with computer science and IT skills is increasing.

After the conference we went to Winona State University and University of Wisconsin LaCrosse for college tours for my son and we were there specially checking out their computer science programs.

Both colleges are totally wired, but at Winona there is a fee included in your cost and you get a lap top as a freshman, and then it is replaced with a new one in your junior year, and for a minimal 50 bucks you get to keep it when you graduate. Every student is expected to use the lap top through out their time in school there. My son is really interested in computer security and information security.

We discovered that the government has identified schools that they now call centers for academic excellence in information assurance and security. Seems like a post 9/11 thing.

BDPA has been great for my son. If you know of any young African American men or women interested in computers and web page development, let me know and I will get them in contact with the BDPA program.

BETF-Blog readers, what say u?

'Father of African telecoms' dies

Perhaps it is time for BDPA to learn more about our counterparts in other parts of the world ... especially Africa. For example, how many of you realized that Miko Alexis Rwayitare is known as the father of African telecommunications and credited with making the first mobile call on the continent 20 years ago? Having made the first mobile call in Africa, back in 1987, Rwayitare went on to build a number of successful mobile networks on the continent.

Unfortunately, I didn't know of the 65-year-old Rwayitare until he succumbed to complications following routine surgery on September 25 in a Brussels hospital. He died on that day. He is survived by his wife Consolatta and seven children.