MLH Workout Chronicles, Day 22: Cheat Days
Tag Archives: Matt L. Houston
Lessons From the State of Black Business Event Last Week
The Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce (www.dallasblackchamber.org) had our 2nd annual State Of Black Business (SOBB) Forum last week. A lot of people are confused, or apathetic to the mission of the organization I love, both inside and out. There are a lot of misperceptions and ill-truths that have evolved during the 89 year history of this organization.I would like to show the Chambers “true mission” in this blog; it’s about education, support, and advocacy.
Most people ask me, “What does the Dallas Black Chamber offer to me?” or “Why do y’all exist?” or “Why does it have to be called the ‘Black’ Chamber?” or event still, “Why do you isolate yourselves and only accept black members?”. This can easily frustrate any human being that exerts their personal and professional time to do volunteer work for an advocacy group, but I gladly entertain the questions. Why? Because, where there are questions, there’s curiosity, and where there’s curiosity, there’s an opportunity for me to share the lessons I’ve learned from my father and his colleagues, and contribute to the improvement of the American Economy (no, not Black economy solely, but American economy).
Some clarification, the Dallas Black Chamber is not just an organization where we can provide free marketing to your organization. Our mission is to advocate and support entrepreneurs, business owners, and corporations that want to support the African-American community, therefore, you don’t have to be black in order to be a part of this organization, you just need to be a cheerleader or stakeholder for improving the situation (with blacks contributing $1 Trillion to the US Economy, there needs to be an organization(s) that can assist with the education and distribution of black wealth).
I can go on and on about this… This is not the purpose of this post (for more info, go to our website or reach out to me). I’m posting this to show how the Black Chamber helps a community; by being an objective organization that helps all businesses tread the waters of capitalism.
In this clip (that’s difficult to hear) I am interviewing Hiawatha Williams, Founder and CEO of Williams Chicken. Though inaudible, he thanks the Dallas Black Chamber for providing:
- Events like SOBB to provide entrepreneurs/professionals the opportunity to network and build relationships with larger businesses.
- To provide advice and strategy for building and growing your business, and
- To defend the smaller businesses, encouraging big entities to use smaller businesses to stimulate our micro-economies.
After talking to Mr. Williams, my spirit was renewed about the aims of the organization; as Chair, it’s easy to get bogged down in the politics of the organization, or the status you receive once you participate in outside programs, representing the organization. Hearing him thank my father (who was ED of the Chamber in the 1980’s) for giving him sound advice when he was an employee at Church’s Chicken illuminated the importance in having a third-party advocate strategize to assist all people to build wealth; someone whose intent is to help all who ask for help.
This was a wake-up call; we, as an organization, need to do a better job at marketing to the masses what we do at the chamber. I know A NUMBER of businesses who benefited from advice from our organization or ones like it (other ethnic/cultural/geographic chambers), so those business owners need to speak up as well. Without an advocate organization, we will not be able to defend the small business, killing what we know as the American Dream.
MLH Workout Chronicles, Day 5
My Gates Millennium Scholar Experience; APPLY TODAY!
My cousin, Deidra, asked me to say a few words about the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship for her students at church. I thought I’d share it with the rest of the world how the Gates Scholarship changed my tragetory in life.
I will make other comments in other posts; they will be posted as I recall and remember my experiences in college and beyond. The most important take away, is to apply for the scholarship! There’s no excuse for anyone not to get a good education in America. The resources are here, it just takes work, effort, and energy to get it! Go to www.gmsp.org for more information.
MLH Workout Chronicles, Day 1
I’m starting to write/vlog my workout experience… Please pray for me, lol
It’s Important to Process, but don’t miss the moment of impact (That’s B.S…. I’m Talking About Privilege)
I started doing it again… Sitting/thinking/processing…. entering “Paralysis by Analysis” stages in certain aspects of my life.
I was reminded last week that I shouldn’t do that because too much analysis will bring in a culture of “political correctness” and uninteresting commentary, but later on there was an incident that reinforced my character-flaw:
That evening, I was enjoying time after a long day of work with my friends (of different races, profession, and relationship statues) at North Park before going to AMC to watch Marvels Ant-Man. Our last conversation was concerning race and the table next to us (two white young women) told us to “Shut the fuck up”… Maybe it was the saki bomb I just had, but I noticed most tables on the patio were monolithic- blacks were with blacks, whites with whites, and so on… As I looked at them, both my friend I was arguing with (who is white) and I were in sock; he was pissed, I was scarred (not of what they said, or what I wanted to tell them, but the effects/ramifications of my actions in Preston Hollow) that after all of the subjects we’ve talked about in 2 hours, they decide to comment (destructively) on race in America; this has another blog post that I’m working on… don’t want to go too far on this road for this post.
I have to continually think about my thoughts and actions: As an African-American man in America, 6 feet tall, larger than an average white person (as this is relevant to this discussion because our society is still controlled by white males and their influences), voicetrous, and can (and will) state my opinion on matters, so I can have an OPPORTUNITY to accomplish what I want. In this society, if I falter, I can easily be oust from the main population as a convict, trouble-maker, or even die. I’m sorry, but all of this goes through my head every time I make an opinion of something in public, or when I accidentally bump into someone I don’t know, or write a post that can ruffle feathers. In effect, this can cause me (and others like me) to error on the side of caution, or not even acknowledge it-which both are detrimental not only to my ego, but the healing of America. Do you have to go through these thoughts? If not, then you are privileged.
Back to the “topic” of this blog: Before you judge anyone, please be sure to walk in their shoes first. We all have things to improve on, meaning no one is perfect, and EVERYONE is flawed… So friends, If you don’t see anything new on my website, please feel free to reach out to me; it’s not because I don’t have anything to write, I may be processing things so much that I won’t express my thoughts. Shake me out of that, please? That’s how we all improve in this society.
TCU Commercial of EMBA Program
A special thanks to the Neely School of Business Executive MBA Program for highlighting me on one of their promotional commercials!
I really learned A LOT from the program and suggest any Transformational Leader to participate!
News clip: WFAA Daybreak: 4-20-12
My Little, Da’Lon Reynolds, and I were on WFAA TV (Channel 8 in Dallas) for a news segment promoting Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). BBBS is a great organization to join!
He Needs More Seasoning…
As I watch the race for the Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustee seat in District 9, I am enthralled (and disappointed) at the race between incumbent Bernadette Nuttal and her opponent, Damarcus Offord.
I’m drawn to this race in particular because Mr. Offord is taking a stance for what he believes in (something that I love to see in Young African American men). Damarcus is a man (not a boy) who wants to make an impact in his community and make a name for him. He has a goal, a mission, direction to do something positive in South Dallas and does not mind illuminating that to the mainstream; something that needs to be done to show that not all black men are negative contributors to society. This excites me because these are the precursors to a great leader, not just in his South Dallas community, but potentially in America.
His energy and enthusiasm, however, is over shattered by his naiveté. He lacks preparation in debates, knowledge in district matters (inside and out of District 9), and the ability to clearly articulate his ideas (an area where I feel WE failed him). It’s one thing to be a voice of an unheard population, but once you have the microphone, you need to be able to say something. That’s when prior proper studying, preparation, review, and counsel from mentors are very important.
I remember times in high school and college when my parents would either attend a performance or hear me speak at a function, my father (greatest critic) would say, “Matt, you need more seasoning.” This would frustrate me and irritate me until I realized of what he meant years later. He didn’t tell me to quit because I was no good, he just noticed I wasn’t at a point of proficiency and instructed me to increase my ceiling of learning so I can study more, refine, and improve on a product so it can be the best.
I like Damarcus Offord’s energy and enthusiasm to make an impact in his community. Those are characteristics that are needed to serve people. However, I feel that he needs more time to sharpen some skills in order to be a more effective leader. He needs people in his camp to push him academically as well as politically and civically. Like me after a performance in high school or college, Damarcus is doing the right things, he just needs to get better, and be willing to work on those skills. I’m willing to assist him with what he needs.
Mr. Matt Houston 