Category: Culture

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How To Save The Black Community: According to ChatGPT

artificial intelligence how to save the black community

I enjoy testing the latest AI machines. My latest test came when I asked ChatGPT to “write a 10-point plan to build a strong, vibrant, self-sustaining black community.” What traveled across my screen was actually decent. I was surprised. ChatGPT was able to draft a cohesive plan that made sense. Noting that the outcome was not revelatory or novel, ChatGPT was still able to put together a summary of what Black leaders have been preaching for decades, if not centuries.

I was then inspired to change the word “black” to “white”. That’s it. Just the one change. What I saw travel across my screen then was just as amazing, but not surprising. Apparently, based on the verbiage used, ChatGPT thinks it’s white. A white person with A LOT of self-improvement to do in terms of inclusion. Very interesting indeed.

I’ve posted the results below for you to see the exact responses themselves.

“Write a 10-point plan for the black community to become strong, vibrant and self-sustaining

  1. Invest in education: Encourage members of the black community to prioritize education and seek out opportunities for personal and professional development.
  2. Build strong families: Promote strong family values and support systems within the black community, including parenting classes and relationship counseling.
  3. Promote entrepreneurship: Encourage and support the development of small businesses within the black community, providing access to resources such as financing, training, and networking opportunities.
  4. Foster political engagement: Encourage members of the black community to become politically active and engage with local, state, and national issues that affect the community.
  5. Promote financial literacy: Offer financial education and literacy programs to help members of the black community better understand and manage their money.
  6. Invest in health and wellness: Promote healthy lifestyles and access to healthcare within the black community, including mental health services.
  7. Support the arts: Encourage the development and celebration of black art and culture within the community, including music, dance, and the visual arts.
  8. Promote environmental sustainability: Encourage the adoption of environmentally-friendly practices within the black community, including recycling, energy conservation, and sustainable living.
  9. Foster community involvement: Encourage members of the black community to get involved and give back to their local communities through volunteering, service projects, and advocacy.
  10. Foster intergenerational connections: Promote the sharing of knowledge and resources between generations within the black community, building strong connections and a sense of community.”

“Write a 10-point plan for the white community to become strong, vibrant and self-sustaining

  1. Educate ourselves on the history of systemic racism and the ways in which it continues to impact marginalized communities.
  2. Engage in regular self-reflection and actively work to dismantle our own biases and prejudices.
  3. Use our privilege to speak out against injustices and advocate for positive change in our communities and beyond.
  4. Support businesses owned by people of color and actively seek out diverse perspectives and experiences.
  5. Participate in community service and volunteering efforts that uplift and empower marginalized communities.
  6. Donate time and resources to organizations that work towards racial justice and equality.
  7. Seek out opportunities for cross-cultural learning and exchange, such as language classes or cultural exchange programs.
  8. Prioritize inclusivity and diversity in our personal and professional relationships and networks.
  9. Amplify the voices and stories of marginalized communities by actively listening and sharing their perspectives.
  10. Stay committed to ongoing learning and growth in order to continue being active and effective allies for racial justice.”
Posted on by — Leave a comment

6 Hip Hop Album Covers According To A.I.

6 ai hip hop album covers

With the advent of artificial intelligence almost anything is possible. I’ve been experimenting with A.I. for a couple weeks at this point. From text-to-text and text-to-image, there are multiple A.I. engines to choose from. I’ve used Dall-e, Mid Journey, and, now, Stable Diffusion.

Stable Diffusion (SD) tends to be the best one so far in that I like the images it creates.

Playing around with SD one morning, I decided to create some album covers for six of some of the iconic hip-hop albums of all time. I simply input the name of each album along with some other qualifiers and A.I. did the rest. Take a look at Stable Diffusion’s interpretations below and let me know what you think or try it yourself here.

It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot -DMX

Ready To Die – Notorious BIG

The Chronic – Dr. Dre

To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

All Eyez On Me – Tupac Shakur

The Life of Pablo – Kanye West

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence Of Racism by Derrick Bell

Much has been said over recent weeks about “critical race theory” that I often heard pundits and politicians say read Derrick Bell, Kimberle Crenshaw, Richard Delgado and more. Welp, I began that journey to find out what is this critical race theory they’re talking about.

Being a black man in the United States of America, I must admit, I hadn’t heard of critical race theory (CRT) before…at least as a term. So I was interested to read some of the forethoughts directly from their authors instead of a distilled, perverted version one can find on Fox News. It wasn’t long after reading my first book in the CRT series Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence Of Racism that I realized that I already knew about this theory on race. I grew up hearing, reading about, even listening in music how critical race theory plays a part in every black life–I just had never heard the coined phrase.

So what is critical race theory? To me, critical race theory is the acceptance that racism is not only built into the fabric of this country, but it is a necessary evil in order for this country to function at its “best.” With that, in the United States as well as elsewhere: racism against blacks is here to stay.

Some take this to mean that we can’t do anything about racism so why strive toward a non-racist society. Contrarily, I find CRT empowering. I liken it to building a road from point A to point B with a mountain in the way. You can try to treat the mountain as a small boulder and lift it, or shift it from side to side and move it. You can pass laws that ask the boulder to move. No matter the case you won’t be successful until you call the boulder what it is: a mountain. It cannot be moved. It is here to stay. With that perspective you can find other ways to build your road. You can go around the mountain. You can tunnel through the mountain. You can also blow the muthafucka up! The point being is that successful action depends on recognition of the fundamental facts. Critical race theory challenges existing “facts” and suggests new ones so we can find other solutions to move toward a non-racist society or at least one where black people can function independently along side it.

In introducing CRT, Derrick Bell’s allegorical Faces At The Bottom Of The Well reads like an Aesop’s Fables of sorts. With its short stories designed to help the reader extract the message AND give thought to “what could be….” I found myself often having to stop and ponder the words expressed on the Manila pages. And I think that is what Mr. Bell was aiming for. Not projecting solutions or promulgating prescriptions, but forcing us to think about the problem of racism as a whole different problem altogether. In that way, perhaps we can find different, better, more efficient solutions.

I will say the book reads a little different at first. I wasn’t expecting such fiction in a work so deeply revered and quoted. Once I got past the unfamiliarity and dove into the text, I found my mind racing with imagination. The stories he tells are packed with such relevant detail and provoking concepts–not so much flowery adjectives and scene setting–that I could only consume his stories in bursts rather than read all the way through. (Especially, for me, books like this deserve slow, deliberate thought and discussion so I take my time).

Beginning with Geneva Crenshaw, the law professor’s supernatural conscience or thought or friend? See what I mean? In any case, Bell uses Geneva as devil’s advocate in most cases throughout the book. She imparts wisdom and an objectivity that adds validity to the author’s thesis.  Keep that in mind as you start the book. For me, it helped me to picture a law professor up late at night typing or reading and falling asleep to only dream their next story.

Stories like “The Racial Preference Licensing Act,” in which society deemed it legal for businesses and institutions to discriminate based on race so long as those same entities paid an annual tax and placed a public sign at their entry saying that they discriminate based on race. This is my favorite story by far. It conjures up all types of thoughts, fears, reactions. What would happen if discrimination were absolutely legal AGAIN and we all knew who the perpetrators are? Would society truly reject a company, school or religion if they openly practiced discrimination? Or, would those practicing entities become accepted and thrive? What would happen to black people? What would happen to me? How would I react? How would I be? We’ve all imagined at one point, if I were alive back then I would …But would you? This story prompts you to ask and, maybe not know, but think about the answers.

I could go on about the other chapters and stories, but I won’t. Instead, I encourage you to read the book for yourself. Distillation won’t do it justice.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if my favorite rap group read this book, heard of critical race theory, or simply grew up with the understanding like I did when they postulated on their 1996 intro to Stakes Is High, “De La Soul is here to stay like racism.”

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Basic Wealth Creation For The Black Community #1

In this series I introduce you to the basic steps of wealth creation. When I say basic, I mean basic. We’re not talking about stocks and bonds (yet).

Get Rid Of Your Payroll Card

Many folks in the Black Community, especially those in low-wage jobs, receive payment from their employer in the form of pre-paid employee payroll cards.

These cards are often made by major payment processors, like Visa or Mastercard, allowing workers to use them anywhere electronic payments are accepted. They may seem like a great alternative to having a bank account or receiving paper checks, but the true devil here is in the details.

Payroll Cards Have Super-High Fees

Payroll cards are marketed in different tiers: annual payment plans, monthly payment plans and pay-as-you-go plans.

Take Netspend for instance. They have two tiers in which they market their “products” to you. First they have a monthly plan where you pay $9.95  per month and don’t get charged for some other fees. What are those other fees? Let’s take a look at a side-by-side comparison with the pay-as-you-go plan so you can see for yourself:

Type of FeePay-As-You-Go PlanMonthly Plan
Plan fee$0$9.95 per mo.
Per purchase$1.50$0
ATM withdrawal$2.50$2.50
Cash reload$3.95*$3.95*
ATM balance inquiry$0.50$0.50
Live customer service (per call)$0$0
Inactivity (after 90 days w/ no trans.)$5.95 per mo.$5.95 per mo.

What you don’t see listed above is what they have hidden far below where most people scroll right past, anxious to click the “agree” button. That is where they really ding you for having an account with them.

While direct deposit is free, if you want to add funds through a mobile check deposit be prepared to fork over 5% of the check amount. That means if your employer’s payroll system isn’t working one day and they give you say a $1,000 check instead, it will cost you $50 to deposit that check to your card so you can actually use funds.

What’s worse though are those nasty per-transaction fees. If your breath stank and you go to buy a $0.50 pack of gum, using your card, it will cost you $2 ($0.50 + $1.50 per transaction). Do you use your payroll card to pay your cellphone or utility bill electronically? That’s right $1.50 each time.

Those little buck fifties start adding up after a while. If you average 10 transactions per week, that’s $15. Over a month’s time, that swells to $60. So for a given year, you could easily be spending over $700 just for you to use YOUR money. That’s only for 10 transactions per week–you could be making more than that.

I would guess that if you have a payroll card, you are spending well over $1,000 per year to use your money. Doesn’t that sound silly? If you want to make a change and save that money, you must open a bank account or, better yet, become a member of a credit union.

Save Bank By Banking

Banks and credit unions offer many of the same benefits, but since I believe credit unions offer friendlier terms in many cases, my reference to “account” or “bank account” will be in regards to credit unions.

Credit unions offer great terms to its members. And it’s not hard to become one either. Some credit unions let you become a member if you live in the county or state they operate in. Easy qualification right?

Not only can you get better rates than banks and other lenders on things like auto loans, but even on mortgage (home) loans or loans for RVs. They even have great rates on credit cards (we’ll save credit cards for another discussion).

Aside from the rates though, many credit unions offer no-fee checking accounts. That means unlike your payroll card you won’t be charged for things like buying gum, depositing checks, or in other words, using and accessing your money.

Having a bank account also means you get to save big money! Remember the easy $700 in annual payroll card fees we calculated above? That’s enough for rent in many places. That’s a new Chromebook or school supplies. That’s a class or two at a junior college to finally earn your Associates’ Degree. The point is that the money you are giving away to your payroll card company is money you can easily invest in yourself and your family’s future.

They Won’t Let Me Open An Account

If you’re concerned that your banking history will prevent you from opening an account, you may be right. However, I ask you, “When was the last time you tried to open a bank account?”

The system banks use to track your history is called ChexSystems. Most histories in ChexSystems are cleared and removed after five years. If it’s been less than five years, you may be eligible for a “second-chance” account which is designed for folks with poor credit and banking histories. Make sure you inquire wherever you plan to do business.

No matter your financial history, you owe it to yourself to open a bank account and keep trying until you do. The difference in real dollars makes sense to me.

What Do I Need To Open A Bank Account?

The process nowadays is really simple. Most often you need these few things to open an account and that’s it:

  • Name
  • Address and phone number
  • Date of birth
  • Social Security Number
  • Some form of ID

What Are The Fees On My Payroll Card?

Check out different fee plans for different cards and programs here. Just find the card you have and the fees you pay to use your money will be before your very eyes. That way you can see exactly how you’ve been screwing yourself.

Lyndon is a former commercial business banker. He underwrote and managed multi-million-dollar commercial lines of credit for large tech companies like Pandora and Westinghouse Solar. Lyndon is now a serial entrepreneur and is passionate about helping black people build a strong economic foundation in our community.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

SpaceX

spacex at vandenberg air force base

One of the most exciting things about growing up in Lompoc–aside from the Flower Festival–was watching real rockets launch into space. Sometimes a friend’s parent worked out on the slicks or for the contractors in charge of the launch and we would get a little heads up beforehand.

If we were in class at the time of the launch, we could hear the windows begin to rattle. The floor would shake as if an earthquake was on its way. Our faces would turn toward the slicks to the west of us. We would rush to the windows and press our faces against it. Scanning the sky to try to be the first to spot the rocket, fingers began to point and we would finally hone in on the bright blaze in the sky….

For about a minute, our teacher finally had us quiet as we watched with amazement. Some of us dreamed of leaving town on the rocket, anxious to explore, wanting something bigger than this little city had to offer. For others it was a welcome respite from the day’s rigorous coloring and algebra lessons. Those respites allowed us to dream and begin shaping our own futures. They challenged us to be creative. They prompted us to be different.

Not knowing the significance of the moment or science behind the launches, we grew up in the shadow of some of the greatest achievements of mankind: space travel. Recognizing it now, there’s no doubt I benefited from watching those launches. However, I wish I was around to see the next level of what’s going…SpaceX.

Whenever I see highlights of SpaceX launches on TV, I get transported back to being a kid in class gazing up at the rockets in the sky and wonder how kids are reacting nowadays. Watching rocket launches is something most people will never get a chance to do. We were (and are) lucky to have grown up in Lompoc.