BDPA Chicago - April 18 2008 Program Meeting
UBS Tower, 1. N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, Illinois
38th Floor
Roger Jungst, Managing Director, ITI-Distributed Systems and Storage will be presenting on the topic of Global IT Infrastructure Services at UBS (Storage, Grid Computing, Databases, Networking and Telecommunications)
is unique site was created by Courtney Payne. He is a full-time contractor and budding entrepreneur from Fort Washington, Maryland. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University. BlackBlogWatch.com runs on SmartCF Software that he created to run his online community/social networking package. Hopefully, this brother gets hooked up with the BDPA Washington DC chapter because he has skillz!
Walk with me down memory lane. The time: 1968. In 30 months, one million dead. The setting: a dusty camp in Biafra where survivors waited and hoped for peace. The survivors: Refugees fleeing from the “Dance of Death.” My mentor: One of the refugee camp directors, whom I called “Teacher” out of respect.
“Martin Luther King has been killed,” Teacher said, with a pained voice and vacant eyes. I looked towards Teacher, wondering: “Who is Martin Luther King?” I was a 13-year-old refugee in the west African nation of Nigeria, a land then called Biafra. Martin Luther King. What did that name mean?
Eight out of ten Biafrans were refugees exiled from their own country. Two years earlier, Christian army officers had staged a bloody coup killing Muslim leaders. The Muslims felt the coup was a tribal mutiny of Christian Igbos against their beloved leaders. The aggrieved Muslims went on a killing rampage, chanting: “Igbo, Igbo, Igbo, you are no longer part of Nigeria!” In the days that followed, 50,000 Igbos were killed in street uprisings.
Killing was not new to us in Biafra. I was 13, but I knew much of killing. Widows and orphans were most of the refugees in our camp. They had survived the Igbo “Dance of Death” – a euphemism for the mass executions. One thousand men at gunpoint forced to dance a public dance. Seven hundred were then shot and buried en masse in shallow graves. When told to hurry up and return to his regular duty, one of the murderers said: “The graves are not yet full.”
A few days later, with only the clothes on our backs, we fled from this “Dance of Death.” That was six months before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Teacher and I were eventually conscripted into the Biafran army and sent to the front, two years after our escape. After the war, Teacher – who had taught me the name of Martin Luther King – was among the one million who had died. I – a child soldier – was one of the fifteen million who survived.
Africa is committing suicide: a two-decade war in Sudan, genocidal killings in Rwanda, scorched-earth conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, and Liberia. The wars in modern Africa are the largest global-scale loss of life since the establishment of the Atlantic Slave trade, which uprooted and scattered Africa’s sons and daughters across the United States, Jamaica, and Brazil.
Africa’s wars are steering the continent toward a sea of self-destruction so deep that even the greatest horror writers are unable to fathom its depths. So, given our circumstances, Martin Luther King was a name unknown, a dead man among millions, with a message that never reached the shores of Biafra. Neither did his message reach the ears of “The Black Scorpion,” Benjamin Adekunle, a tough Nigerian army commander, whose credo of ethnic cleansing knew nothing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement: “We shoot at everything that moves, and when our forces move into Igbo territory, we even shoot things that do not move.”
As we heed Martin Luther King Jr.’s call, and march together across the world stage, let us never forget that we who have witnessed and survived the injustice of such nonsensical wars are the torchbearers of his legacy of peace for our world, our nation, and our children.
e address at their annual awards banquet. The chapter will celebrate its past and share its vision for the future while recognizing sponsors and individuals who have dedicated their time and resources to BDPA programs and services. The theme of this event is "Celebrating Our Past and Soaring into Our Future".
Are you currently a member of BDPA and you want to learn how you make the most of your membership? Or, are you not a member but looking to join and are asking yourself, "What is BDPA all about?". If you answered YES to either one of those questions, then BDPA New Jersey chapter has the program meeting for you! The special guest speaker is Mr. Wayne Hicks, BETF Executive Director and former National BDPA President.
The following topics will be discussed:
t successful African American information technology executives will join forces with Winston-Salem State University's (WSSU) Computer Science Department for a summit on the campus of WSSU at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 27 in the Elva Jones Computer Science Building.
for tomorrow's African American Information Technology executives," said Dr. Elva Jones, chair of WSSU's Computer Science Department and professor of computer science. "African American Chief Information Officers and Chief Executive Officers from Fortune 500 companies will participate in an informative panel discussion and conduct interactive breakout sessions, in conjunction with the annual WSSU Computer Science Day."
xt wave of talent among non-C-Suite African-American IT professionals and students seeking to enter the field," says Zackarie Lemelle, vice president and chief information officer, Johnson & Johnson Information Technology Corporate Systems and ITSMF chair.
Corporations that recognize and encourage the strengths that diverse teams offer will forge ahead of the competition, according to Vallerie Parrish-Porter, chief information officer of EMBARQ, an EDS client. The communications company executive shared her thoughts on diversity with a global audience on Wednesday as the employee network group, Unity in Action (UIA), observed Black History Month and presented its annual awards.
The sharing that takes place in diverse groups, from peer-to-peer, is invaluable to companies today, Parrish-Porter said. "Both of our companies are really ensuring we are the employer of choice," she told the diverse gathering.
Each February, EDS celebrates the contributions of African Americans to culture, knowledge and heritage. Parrish-Porter was the keynote speaker at EDS' ninth annual Black History Month event in Plano, Texas. This year's theme was "Cultural Diversity Empowers Competitive Advantage." Parrish-Porter leads the strategic and tactical deployment and operations of information technology (IT) development and infrastructure resources for EMBARQ. Before this role, she was vice president for enterprises services with Sprint, and vice president and group information officer with Hewlett-Packard's personal systems group.
Recently, Parrish-Porter was selected as one of the "50 Most Important Blacks in Technology" for the third consecutive year by the editors of U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine.
BDPA is very proud of the career growth of Vallerie Parrish-Porter. I tried once to get her as keynote speaker for our annual awards gala. Hopefully, she will be up there one day in the future. She is truly a remarkable person. UIA demonstrated great judgement in reaching out to her for their event last month. Is your company actively working with African American employees as we see here at EDS?
y University. Karen is interested in science and medical journalism as a career.
Last month in front of an audience of nearly 40 people, Chuck Stewart, founder and President of Computer Techies LLC, WURD 900am radio personality as co-host of "Tech Talk Philly" spoke on the topic "Empowering Yourself with Your Own Technology."
Leading off with the question "How did PlayStation 3 (PS3) make technology history?"; Chuck began lively discussion about convergence. Former HSCC student and scholarship recipient, Jon Hernandez answered the question dead on with his recount of how a cluster of PS3 consoles was used to solve a complex math equation in record time. The ensuing conversation touched on topics such as the innovation of iTunes and Apple's transition from PowerPC to Intel processors allowing Mac users to run Windows.
Chuck also spoke of how the video game Enter the Matrix revolutionized the entertainment industry by effectively blurring the line between Hollywood films and next-generation video games. This very interactive session, enjoyed by all in attendance ended with advice to our youth to set goals and write them down for reference at a later date.
Thank you to everyone that responded to our request for volunteers for our February Changing Expectations Career Tour. A special thanks to Ellen Rutledge, a Wyeth representative in BDPA and a member of Wyeth's IS Diversity Council.Ellen offered to coordinate a team of Wyeth employees to present career information to approximately 264 students at Pepper Middle School.
Eleanor Roosevelt said "Do one thing every day that scares you." I'm not sure about every day, but taking risks does take practice, and if we keep doing the same things we already know, in the same way, our willingness to dare to be different atrophies. Each day, week, month, or year that goes by without doing at least one thing we weren't sure we could do, we lose more of our ability to Just Try Stuff.
We should not take foolish risks, but we don't want to be like Hem of "Who Moved My Cheese" either. So consider this, as Eleanor Roosevelt also said: "Do something today you don't think you can do." Consider volunteering to speak at a chapter program meeting or facilitating a workshop on a technical subject of interest to you. Do you know how to use Microsoft Word, Excel or Access? If you do, you could teach MS Word during a SITES class. You could even attend a chapter meeting or the annual conference.
Are you where you want to be professionally? I challenge you to be conscious and deliberate about moving out of your "Comfort Zone" as often as possible. Live your life on purpose. Do something that scares you EVERY SINGLE DAY.
We are always an email away. Thank you for all of your support as members.
Monique F. Berry, President
BDPA Philadelphia
Vision: Partnering for Continued Growth!
I hope that someone reading this message with share some BDPA-love with Monique by using the POST A COMMENT feature below!
Chris Bomar agreed to serve as our project manager for an effort to get the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation onto Facebook. He is currently looking for any volunteers interested in helping us put our non-profit on Facebook. Are you willing to step up as a volunteer on this project?
BDPA Los Angeles Chapter Webinar
Speaker: Simon Boyce-Maynard
Topic: Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a computer systesm architectural style for creating and using business processes, packaged as services, throughout their life cycle.
This is a 'MEMBERS ONLY' event. Be sure that your membership is current as the meeting link and conference number will be sent out for the BDPA Global Database.
A couple of reminders:
The guest speaker, Simon Maynard-Boyce, is a dedicated BDPA member and has shown his commitment to Los Angeles area youth by volunteering as a HSCC Student Instructor for the past five years. Professionally he is a Systems Architect with Strategic Vision Consulting in Los Angeles, CA. Simon has 12+ years of experience in Software Development and Systems Architecture. He has extensive entertainment experience, providing expertise to major clients in the areas of Film, Music, Broadcasting, Production (including Pre & Post Production), Radio and Live Events. He has extensive operational and strategic experience in the areas of Digital Asset Management, Content Management, Digital Rights Management, Digital Media Process Automation and Piracy Protection.
What does it take to build a successful career in the IT Industry?
Click here to access Youtube video
Anyone interested in pursuing a long-term career in IT should attend the next BDPA Chicago Program Meeting on March 21st featuring Milt Haynes, Past BDPA President and Founder of Blacks Gone Geek, a social networking initiative dedicated to promoting Blacks in Technology.
Milt Haynes has been tracking hot jobs in the IT Industry for over 30 years and he'll be there to share important and timely research results that you won't be able to find anywhere else. Several IT recruiters and hiring managers will be there to share their perspectives too.
So if you're looking for a job or just looking to stay abreast of the changes coming down the pike, come out to the BDPA Chicago Program Meeting on March 21st. Be there or be square!!
Meeting Logistics:
Event: BDPA Chicago Program Meeting
Date: March 21, 2008
Time: 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Location: IBM Training Center, 71 S. Wacker. Chicago, IL
(312) 575-8503
Milt Haynes (Chair of the BDPA Chicago Corporate Advisory Council) is a sought after motivational speaker, coach and mentor and has helped thousands advance their careers in IT. Milt Haynes is the founder of Blacks Gone Geek, a social networking initiative dedicated to promoting Blacks in Technology. Milt uses blogs, podcasts, wikis, Facebook groups, Yahoogroups and his web site, to network with an online community of over 20,000 IT professionals.
nts must excel academically, show exceptional leadership potential, and make an impact on their communities through service to others. Eli Lilly determines the scholarship winners by review of application, essay, and letters of recommendation.
Ewell Townview Magnet Center School of Business and Management. Ranked 15th among 128 in his graduating class, he maintains a 3.5 GPA. Daniel has been a member of BDPA Dallas Chapter since the summer of 2006. He plans to compete on Dallas chapter's high school computer competition team at the 30th annual BDPA Technology Conference in Atlanta later this year. It was actually by an odd twist of fate that Daniel ended up in the program. He was in a summer technology enrichment program, Extreme Techno Camp, at El Centro College and was recruited by Letitia Andrews (El Centro College professor and past president of BDPA Dallas Chapter).
We are pleased to report that Bank of America Foundation agreed to match a $50 donation made this week by one of their associates, Shamiek Brown. Shamiek is a past board member of our BDPA Charlotte chapter.
"My name is Evan J. Hilliard. I am 23 years old and currently reside in Charlotte NC. I am a Computer Operator for Novant Health (a large health care provider here in the southeast) as well as a Lab Facilitator for Central Piedmont Community College (one of the biggest community college systems in the country). I participated in the BDPA HSCC in 2000 and 2001.
When I first learned about the BDPA, I had already been into computers and technology for quite some time. The HSCC program seemed to be right up my alley to develop new skills as well as the opportunity to network amongst my fellow I.T. peers. What I thought would initially be something cool to do for a summer quickly turned into very lengthy and life changing experience.
I cannot put into word how much I grew as an IT professional, but just as a person interacting with an organization that had a family feel to it. There are so many positives about being on a HSCC team … I do not even know where to begin. You learn how build team work skills, working with a deadline, presentation skills, leadership development, networking skills, research\creative skills, technical skills…..the list is almost endless.
The only negative the ever comes to mind is the amount of students who are unaware and do not take advantage of all the wonderful things HSCC program has to offer. After the HSCC, I went on to participate in the first IT Showcase and served as a mentor/volunteer for students in my local chapter as well as the national level.
I hope that by sharing my experiences and knowledge with rest of my peers that it will motivate everyone to get involved and come together to do some great things. I thank the BDPA for all of the wonderful people and experiences I have had throughout the years and I only expect more from the premiere IT organization in the nation.
am Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,143 / Rank: 2,136) - [Politics] This is a prolific blog averaging over 110,000 hits per month. Last month, she discovered that some things are more important than blogging. Pam took time to share tips on growing your blog. She wrote, "Are there secrets to getting eyeballs? Hmmm. I don't think so, though having religious right nutcases calling you "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy" probably helps. Seriously, there is no one suggestion to gain larger readership. It's luck, timing, and blogwhoring at other sites similar to yours to entice readers to take a peek at your stuff. Having your own "voice" that stands out as different as well as authentic and true to yourself helps a lot."
ent] This is a Black celebrity entertainment blog with gossip, music, celebrity interviews, pictures and such. Angel Laws, a 23-year-old college student in Jacksonville, NC, started this blog as a hobby. It is now one of the top-ranked Black blogs in the world. Angel recently walked the red carpet herself. Last month, Angel collaborated with Love B. Scott (BBR #24), one of the fastest growing blogs on our list.
a fan of the Washington Redskins. His blog alternates between posts on the NFL and presidential politics. Oliver has been taking flak about his views since he began his blog in April 2005. One thing I'll say about the brother ... he posts more times per day than anyone else on the list!
urgeois perspective on American politics. The 2008 election cycle provides remarkable content choices for Jack (real name: Baratunde Thurston), Jill and other guest bloggers. This blog showed up as BBR #31 in Sep 2007 rankings and rose consistently for the past six months. I strongly encourage all villagers to take a moment and check out this insightful blog!
