Wall St. and Business Wednesdays: Black Electorate Economics University (BEEU) - Class Of 2006

When we unveiled Black Electorate Economics University, (BEEU) in 2003, we received a tremendous response. It confirmed for us, what we already knew anecdotally, that people want a forum where they can learn about economics and finance in a way that allows them to primarily do two things: 1) understand the nature of the subject and its real impact and influence in their lives and in the world and 2) enable them to obtain some benefit for themselves, their families, and community, through a proper application of what they understand. In other words, people want to know and understand economics, finance, and business, and then grow into wisdom regarding it – in pursuit of an enlightened self-interest.

Among Black people, particularly those in America, this dual desire and objective is intensified and compounded by the unique history of this country as it relates to specific forms of information and knowledge being hoarded by some groups of people and denied to others. The leader of the Nation Of Islam, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in fact, taught that among the few very specific forms of knowledge and education deliberately held back from Blacks by some of the most informed Whites, was the knowledge of the science of business. As a result of this and other forms of ignorance, he wrote, that Blacks disproportionately gave their talent, labor, brainpower and wealth to support others, rather than themselves. Much of the evidence to substantiate his position (and the implication he laid bare) is available in major libraries throughout this country. In research performed at the Library Of Congress in Washington, D.C., a few years ago, we came across newspaper articles from the 19th century that clearly state how and why Black Americans, out of all of the areas of business, were most intensely denied the knowledge of the banking profession, as late as the 1890s and early 1900s. The legacy of the lack of knowledge of the banking profession, and inadequate banking among the masses has been one of the hurdles hindering economic development among Black people. This was very recently seen in the disaster of Hurricane Katrina - among both the unbanked Black poor, and the struggling and desperate condition of Black-owned Banks in the Gulf Coast.

Now, certainly Blacks have been an enslaved people in America. No sane person would deny that. The degree and level of that experience of course can and has been debated - as have the the circumstances and avenues reversing the effects and legacy of that experience. But a fundamental question that remains to be thoroughly answered, and addressed, we think, is - what education has ever formally and on a mass level, been given to Blacks powerful enough to reverse (or overcome) the specific deficit in knowledge regarding business, economics and finance? The condition of the Black community economically bears witness to the fact that such education has either never been given, or if it has, it has not sufficiently taken root, or produced the fruit of mass prosperity, productivity, self-sufficiency and independence. And while the measurement of such fruit can be debated, the reality of the relatively impoverished and economically dependent status of Black Americans is beyond reasonable debate. The evidence is overwhelming, as is the problem of financial illiteracy among the masses of the people, and even the intellectual, professional and leadership class. Not to mention the frustration that many have with their employed status.

In 2003 as an entrepreneurial venture that is part of our contribution to solving this problem, we laid out a two semester course that placed emphasis primarily on a macro and micro view that attempted to explain the world of economics and business in order to raise the consciousness and strengthen the grasp of these subjects for the students who enrolled.

Now, in 2005, with the benefit of that experience, greater insight, and a broader network, we are pleased to announce a new year’s worth of classes, that we think organize the study of economics in a manner that promotes not only greater clarity and understanding, but, also, importantly, a mastery and greater utility for BEEU students. In addition to how the course is laid out, this upcoming year’s BEEU students will have regular access to the course facilitator, Cedric Muhammad, and a syllabus and curriculum that will have them reading, studying and discussing, on a regular basis, insigtful and influential books and publications such as the Wall St. Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Message To The Blackman, Black Enterprise, Inc., Fast Company, Money, Powernomics, Forbes, Fortune, The Way The World Works and The Force of Finance; columns like The Washington Post’s Michelle Singletary’s "The Color Of Money"; publications written by The Economic Policy Institute’s Senior Fellow, William E. Spriggs; working papers of Professor of Finance and Endowed Professor of Business and Economic Development of The University Of Washington Business School; and the model of the Matah Network. Students will even find themselves watching the hit CNBC television programs, Kudlow and Company and Mad Money, and enjoying discussions about them.

From discussing what is necessary to write a winning business plan; grasping the difference between money and wealth; how to negotiate a business deal; how a gold standard could lift Africa out of poverty; how to read The Wall St. Journal; how consumers categorize and classify products and services in their minds; what the 'five' sources of capital are; how to get involved in the import-export business; how to read Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) company filings and analyze financial statements of a publicly-traded firm; what the difference between a business, a practice, and an enterprise is; the secret of compounded returns in investing; understanding how outsourcing, globalization, and the exodus of manufacturing in inner cities has affected Black unemployment; how to establish multiple streams of income; how entrepreneurs and leaders established Black Wall St.(s) during segregation; why a dollar circulates for so long in Italian and Jewish communities and so little in the Black community; determining how tax cuts affect the demand for money in an economy; learning how the IMF, WTO, and World Bank control economic decision-making for nations; understanding the economics of the music industry; knowing whether an income tax, or consumption tax is better; understanding why Western economic models are overcome by kinship systems in Africa; learning how to measure risk and reward to build an investment portfolio; seeing why capital markets are becoming more influential than banking, and how this affects Federal Reserve monetary policy; how to determine what price your company should charge for what it offers; and understanding how the economic blueprint of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Powernomics plan of Claude Anderson and the model of the Matah network can be applied to an urban agenda in America's inner cities and distressed rural areas; BEEU addresses it all.

What makes BEEU unique is that its approach is integrated, with each semester building on the other, with the end result being that after one year, a student will know more about entrepreneurship, personal finance, private finance, public finance and international finance than from any other outlet or forum; and in a way that is most relevant to the global Black electorate and their own personal self-enlightened interests. The course marries theory and application and principle and practice.

Our mission is to help cultivate knowledgable and wise students:

- able to start and run successful businesses

- capable of managing their personal finances and making a wide variety of investments

- who understand the relationship between formal and informal capital markets and Black-owned businesses in America

- able to apply historical, theoretical, or programmatic Black empowerment and economic development models and blueprints to the current condition of Black communities and the task of rebuilding America's inner cities

- able to master the relationship between trade, fiscal and monetary policies through the paradigm of the vision of the 53 nation pan-African union, "The United States of Africa"


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* BEEU will be comprised of five six-week "semesters" divided by subject.

Semester 1: Entrepreneurship - "Doing For Self Through The Science Of Business"

Semester 2:Personal Finance - "Financial Literacy and Turning Money Into Wealth"

Semester 3: Private Finance - "Venture Capital, Private Equity and Investment Banking: Yesterday’s Black Wall Street(s) and Today’s Black Publicly Traded Firms"

Semester 4: Public Finance - "Economic Development and an Urban Agenda - Rebuilding The Wasted Cities"

Semester 5: International Finance- "Fiscal, Monetary and Trade Policy - Establishing The United States Of Africa"

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* Students Enrolled in BEEU receive:

- A Semester Curriculum Packet mailed to them, including commentary, information, analysis, interviews and reference materials

- Web and Audio Casts Of Expert "Guest Lectures"

- Selected weekly "Recommended Readings" e-mailed directly

- Regular E- Mail Access to Course Facilitator Cedric Muhammad

- BEEU "Office Hours" – Scheduled Telephone conversations with Cedric Muhammad for more in depth instruction and conversation

- "Anytime" Dispatch E-Mails From The Course Facilitator regarding the
relationship between current events and course material.

- BEEU Classroom Chat Sessions with BEEU students

- Semester Graduation Certificate Upon Successful Completion

- Audio Recording of "Semester In Review", A Recap of The Most Important Principles Taught And Discussed.

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Here Is The Lesson Plan For Semester One (Classes Start Wednesday, January 11, 2006)

Semester One: Entrepreneurship - "Doing For Self Through The Science Of Business"

Lesson 1: The Science Of Business

Lesson 2: From Idea To Vision To Decision

Lesson 3: Standardizing Your Business

Lesson 4: What Business and Market Are You Really In?

Lesson 5: Writing The Business Plan And Raising Capital

Lesson 6: The Culture Of Execution: Aligning The Six M’s: Motive, Model, Method, Measurement, Management and Money

And...

Here Is The Lesson Plan For Semester Two (Classes To Begin Wednesday, March 8, 2006)

Semester Two: Personal Finance - "Financial Literacy and Turning Money Into Wealth"

Lesson 1: The ABCs of Financial Literacy and Business Journalism.

Lesson 2: Saving, Pooling, Compounding and Multiplying

Lesson 3: The Investment Portfolio: Balancing Wants, Needs, Risks and Rewards Over Time

Lesson 4: Land, Real Estate and Collateral

Lesson 5: The Trader, The Investor, and The Speculator in Capital Markets

Lesson 6: Coins, Commodities, Currencies and African Stock Markets

***

BEEU is enrolling for its first and second semesters beginning today!

Students have the option of enrolling for Semester 1 or Semester 1 and 2 at a considerable discount. There is no enrollment for Semester 2 alone


- Semester One (Only) Enrollment Fee: $99

- Semesters One and Two Enrollment Fee: $149 (a savings of 25%)


Enroll Today And Receive Your BEEU Course Curriculum Packet Within Days!

Cedric Muhammad

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

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The views and opinions expressed herein by the author do not necessarily represent the opinions or position of BlackElectorate.com or Black Electorate Communications.