What is the African American empowerment blog? The AAEB is a blog focusing on news, music, poetry, art, quotes, facts, books, movies and people that uplift, empower, and motivate African Americans.
Showing posts with label Children That Inspire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children That Inspire. Show all posts
Nationwide — Elementary entrepreneur Gabrielle Goodwin is now selling her hair accessory invention GaBBY Bows in 50 Once Upon a Child stores in 16 states across the US. With the help of her mom Rozalynn, the 10 year-old CEO solved the age-old problem of disappearing girls’ hair barrettes by inventing The Double-Face Double-Snap Barrette by GaBBY.
Gabrielle was just five years old when she started daily insisting she and her Mom create a barrette that would stay in her hair. They started the company when Gabrielle was seven years old. In just three years of operations, GaBBY Bows have saved families time, money and frustration in all 50 states and eight countries through online sales at www.gabbybows.com.
A straight-A student, Gabrielle is the self-proclaimed President and CEO, handling inventory, serving as the lead saleswoman at trade shows, speaking to community groups and schools, personally writing thank you cards to customers who order online, and helping with sales taxes. She also hosts GaBBY Play Dates to teach girls in children’s shelters about entrepreneurship.
In 2015, Gabrielle was named the youngest ever South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The following year, she and her mom were named a 2016 SCORE and Sam’s Club American Small Business Champion, and awarded as the 2016 SCORE Foundation Outstanding Diverse Business of the Year. A children’s book about Gabrielle and GaBBY Bows, “Gabby Invents the Perfect Hair Bow” will be published by Entrepreneur Kid this summer.
“It feels really good to walk in a store and see your own product on the shelves! I am grateful to have a LOT of supporters and be expanding.” says Gabrielle Goodwin.
You can support Gabrielle by locating the Once Upon a Child store near you at www.gabbybows.com.
Michaela DePrince ended up in an orphanage in Sierra Leone after her parents died. In this orphanage you were ranked from 1 - 27 depending on how much they liked you with 1 being the best and 27 being the worst. Because of her skin condition she was ranked 27 and constantly called a devil child.
One day she saw a picture of a ballerina without knowing what it was. It was that day that she decided that is what she would strive to be. Check out the video to hear her whole story.
Passaic, NJ — Youth entrepreneur Essynce Moore began her career at just 6 years old. Now, as a teenager, she is currently the owner of Essynce Couture, LLC, Essynce Couture University (ECU), Essynce Couture Publishing, and the center of growing channels of branding that includes careers in motivational speaking, acting, writing, and fashion. Essynce is also the author of the recently released 6th Grade Middle School Chronicles.
She has proven that she has the “magic touch” once again as she prepares for the exclusive November 1st grand opening of her newest business venture, Essynce Couture Spa & Boutique with her 16 year-old cousin, Kalani Gomez. The Bomb Digz are special invited guests to the grand opening event.
The spa will specialize in trendy services for both boys and girls that include, but aren’t limited to manicures, pedicures, hair styles, private birthday celebrations, and more. Also, it will host powerful workshops that teach children about entrepreneurship, self-esteem, fashion, and real life experiences.
Essynce says she “works hard and plays even harder”, but says that “balance is necessary” when you are an honor student, actress and entrepreneur. She loves to recharge at the spa, or have a mobile spa party experience with her closest friends. Therefore, it is only right that she expands her brand to include an upscale oasis just for younger ones to enjoy a fun and rejuvenating spa experience, while checking out the latest fashion trends by Essynce Couture and other designers.
The spa is located at:
Essynce Couture Spa & Boutique
71 Market Street
Passaic, NJ 07055
For more details about the spa or her other ventures, visit www.essyncecouture.com
About Essynce Moore
Teenpreneur, children, tweens and teens stylist/fashion designer, actress, motivational speaker, and author Essynce Moore has been in various fashion shows, pageants, and karate tournaments. She was showcased in NY Fashion Week, and Atlanta Kids Fashion Week, featured in several interviews in magazines, TV, news, print, conferences, and is a member of the New York Youth Chamber of Commerce.
Natalie McGriff is the 7 year old author of The Adventures of Moxie Girl. Her new comic book tells the tale of a little black girl who hates her natural hair texture. After cleansing her Afro puffs with some magical shampoo, however, her textured coils take on super powers that have the ability to save Jacksonville, Florida’s public libraries from being eaten by monsters.
McGriff presented The Adventures of Moxie Girl at One Spark, the world’s largest crowdfunding festival designed to connect creators with the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. Her comic book was a win, as the young author took home a check for $16,423.69.
Angie Nixon, McGriff’s mother, helped to author the book upon realizing that her daughter suffered with self-esteem issues and hated reading. “‘She now realizes how powerful and awesome her hair is and that in order for her to write a cool book, she needs to read more books and learn different word,’” Nixon says.
McGriff is the winner of One Spark’s Education category. Over 530 projects reportedly competed at One Spark and 300,000 people attended.
At the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit in Atlanta, May 13-16, we will host several sessions that further explore the topics of entrepreneurship. Sessions like Finding Support for Your Business and Suppliers & Millennials Building Brands in the Digital Space may prove to be of benefit if your children have an entrepreneurial spirit like 7-year-old McGriff. The panels will discuss financing arrangements to jumpstart your business and how successful millennials landed partnerships with the world’s largest retailers, respectively.
She spends her spare time in a similar way to many other ten-year-old girls - playing with Barbie dolls and making loom bands.
But the key difference between Esther Okade and other children her age is that she has been accepted to study for a university maths degree - despite not going to school.
Esther, from Walsall, West Midlands, has enrolled on an Open University course months after she passed her A-levels - and wants to study for a PhD before running her own bank.
The girl, who gained a C grade in her maths GCSE aged six, has joined the course which started this month. Her younger brother Isiah is already studying for his A-levels - also aged six.
The siblings are both home-schooled by their mother Omonefe, who has converted the living room of their semi-detached, three-bedroom house into a makeshift classroom.
Mathematician Mrs Okade, 37, said: ‘Esther is doing so well. She took a test recently and scored 100 per cent. Applying to the university was an interesting process because of her age.
‘We even had to talk to the vice-chancellor. After they interviewed her they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning. From the age of seven Esther has wanted to go to university.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Kenwood Academy's valedictorian, Arianna Alexander, wants to go to college to learn about business. As it turns out, she has a number of options.
"It was a lot to take in. I received emails, letters. It was just like, 'Come here, come here!' They were bombarding me with all this information," Arianna said.
Arianna hails from Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. She graduated with a 5.1 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
She was accepted to 26 universities, including six Ivy League schools. Her scholarship offers total more than $3 million.
"I feel like it means I can afford college and I don't have to worry about it. I feel like that's an issue for a lot of people my age," Arianna said.
Her father encouraged her, after another Kenwood student was offered more than $1 million in scholarships a few years ago.
"I planted the seed in Arianna's mind that you can do the same thing. So when the process got started and a million was achieved, let's go for two. I said let's go for three and she did it," said Pierre Alexander, Arianna's father.
Arianna is the baby of the family. She has three older siblings.
"It was a big blessing, because I've already put three through college. Now I don't have to worry too much about her," Pierre said.
Arianna has also picked a school, thanks to Paul Brush, one of her teachers. She plans to attend University of Pennsylvania.
"He said, 'Do you know about the Wharton School of Business?' I said, 'I have no idea what you're talking about,'" Arianna said.
"As teachers, we have a big moment to play with the lives that we have in our classrooms," Brush said.
Her family has also influenced her. Arianna recounted her dad's words: "Work hard, pray on it, and don't give up. No matter what happens, you did your best."
"My wife and I have always stressed to her, if you do your best, you will be the best. So we try to make sure she upholds to that," Pierre said.
"So as long as you work hard, I feel like there is always a way for you," Arianna said.
After all, there is still more to achieve besides high school.
"When she graduates from Penn, that will be a second goal. We expect bigger and better things for her," he said.
Nigeria has come on the global scene in the information communication technology sector, as 9-year-old Jomiloju Tunde-Oladipo joined the community of achievers when he became one of the world’s youngest 2013 certified Microsoft Office specialists for Office Word 2010.
Jomiloju, a primary 6 pupil of Role Model School, owned by DayStar Christian Centre, Oregun, Ikeja Lagos, broke the record created in 2012 by 10-year-old JSS1 student, Seyi-Ojo Anjolaoluwa, who was adjudged the youngest Nigerian and one of the youngest people in the world to have become a Microsoft certified professional.
Jomiloju took the July 2013 examination while in primary 5, after passing all the preparatory stages leading to the final examinations following intense teachings in school and trainings he received from United Global Resources Ltd, an accredited ICT training firm.
Odion Oyakhire, the center manager in charge of the school noted that his firm, “encourages pupils to learn ICT and get certified.”
Oyakhire explained that his firm coordinates the certification examinations for several schools and was proud to associate with Jomiloju and Role Model School on this feat. He said that the certification examination is an online, real-time test.
Before setting this new record in Nigeria for the certification examination, Jomiloju led his school to glory in June 2013, when they won an ICT quiz competition with 15 participating school in Lagos. The competition was put together by United Global Resources.
The examination report showed Jomiloju scored 769 points, 69 points higher than the required 700 to be recognized as a Microsoft Office Specialist.
AN 11-year-old schoolboy has joined Mensa after scoring higher than Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and Albert Einstein in an IQ test.
Ramarni Wilfred started showing signs of genius as a toddler, when his favourite book was an encyclopedia.
He could read and write by the time he started reception at school and last year, at the age of 10 and still in primary school, wrote a philosophy paper on fairness that earned him a 2:1 and a mock Oxford graduation.
When his reception class wanted to move him up a year, mum Anthea objected, wanting him to grow up with other kids his age.
Ramarni WilfredBoy Genius: Ramarni Wilfred is a member of Mensa at the age of 11
Prof. Hawking, Microsoft founder Gates and Einstein all have 160 IQs. Ramarni scored 162, putting him in the top 1% in the UK.
Anthea, 37, said: “He’s still just a little boy doing normal childhood stuff. While he reads the New Scientist and the Sky at Night, he still plays with his dog, watches the Disney Channel and reads comics.
“Mensa allows him to talk and be with other people as clever as he is for the things that go over my head.
“He doesn’t think it’s a big deal. I love his humility and I love having my own personal walking, talking dictionary/thesaurus/calculator!”
Ramarni, who will be starting Year 8 at secondary school next month, harbours hopes of one day studying at Oxford and becoming an astrophysicist.
The modest youngster, from Romford, Essex, said: “I can’t begin to compare myself to these great men whose hard work clearly proves that they are true geniuses.
“This is a great opportunity and I think it can open a lot of doors for me. But I also believe that having a high IQ isn’t that important unless you do something really special with it.”
PA / GettyProfessor Stephen HawkingBetter than Best: And it was higher than Professor Stephen Hawking
Ramarni’s former teacher, Valerie Mulae, described him as “remarkable”, adding: “He just stood out. He shone.”
Mensa’s chief executive, John Stevenage, said: “Anyone who registers an IQ score which places them in the top two per cent of the population has done remarkably well. The score Ramarni achieved therefore is very good and shows he has great potential.”
Maya Penn is a successful 14-year-old entrepreneur who wants to change the world by using her art and her business to help the planet and getting girls involved in tech.
I spent an hour talking on the phone to Maya Penn. We giggled and chatted about pizza and sushi, Facebook, bedtimes, and sleepovers. I forgot, for a moment, that I was in the TechRepublic office and not in my childhood bedroom, curled up on the rug with my old corded purple phone in my hand.
I had made friends with a 14-year-old. But more than that, I had made a connection with a young businesswoman -- one that I truly believe has the ability to change the world for the better. When we hung up, I wanted to call her back and pick her brain some more -- to ask her about her business plans, her book deals, her sociological insights, and her hopes for the future of technology.
In short, I was completely inspired.
Penn is the CEO of Maya's Ideas, which she founded when she was eight years old. Penn is an entrepreneur, a technologist, a philanthropist, an artist, an author, an animator, and a coder. Maya's Ideas is a site where she sells eco-friendly clothing and accessories like scarves, hats, and hair clips. She started the business because she liked sewing headbands, and people started asking her to make them. She began selling them on Etsy, but quickly realized she could build a brand of her own. And, this is more than just a cute idea -- Maya's Ideas generated more than $30,000 in 2012.
Penn lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her mother and father, two dogs, and two cats. Her parents collectively homeschool her. She is currently in the ninth grade, but she is as busy as any other startup founder you'll find.
"My mom especially always really encouraged me to do what I love, and my dad has opened me up to finding things I love," she said.
One of those loves is for technology. When Penn was just four years old, her father taught her to take apart a computer and put it back together again. It was amazing, she said, because she had never seen what a technology device was made of, or what it was capable of.
Last year, she gave a TED talk for TEDWomen2013 about being a young female entrepreneur. It was her first big speaking engagement, and she admitted she was very nervous.
"That's good it doesn't show, but I was definitely nervous," she said. "That was one of the biggest stages I have ever spoken on, and it went global."
Indeed it did. The talk has almost a million views on the TED website, and Penn has been asked to travel and do many other speaking engagements since then. "I do enjoy public speaking because I get to make a lot of new friends after I speak," she said.
At the TED talk, Penn debuted her first animation short, "Malicious Dishes," an animated series about computer viruses, which she plans to turn into full-length episodes soon.
The idea stemmed several years ago, when Penn had a virus in her computer. While she was waiting for the anti-virus programs to finish scanning, she wondered, "What if viruses in my computer have personalities?" So she drew an animation about the stories of these viruses, who traveled via USB drives around a computer world that humans were unaware of. Penn also drew another series called "The Pollinators" about bees and other pollinators and their impact on the environment.
And, her animation isn't limited to the digital world. She is an author of two children's books, which she illustrated herself. Penn is currently working on another book, a memoir about her journey as a young entrepreneur and her advice for children with similar aspirations.
As if that wasn't enough, Penn is also a self-described coder. She coded her company's first website on her own by learning basic HTML. She was 10.
"My interest in coding spurred from the company. At the time I was trying to get a more professional and customized website, and I wondered how people built websites from scratch, what were all the nooks and crannies, key parts of how websites were built, the actual raw code," she said.
The process helped her see how much work went into making a simple web page. Now, she is learning Python by taking a class with her father. She doesn't necessarily want to start a business around coding (yet), but she sees the importance in understanding it as a technology and business tool. The ultimate definition of being "tech savvy," she said, is being somewhat familiar with code, and that's especially important for girls.
"The field of tech isn't very even, gender wise, and I think that that really needs to change," Penn said. "Anybody can code, no matter your gender, race, how old you are...we need girls to represent and say 'Look we like to code and program and script just as much as anyone else does. We are just as capable,' and I speak on that to my nonprofits."
Oh, did I mention she donates 10 to 20 percent of her profits to nonprofits? Environmental stewardship is one of Penn's most notable platforms, and she is very knowledgeable about climate change and sustainability. She has her own non-profit, Maya's Ideas 4 the Planet. She also volunteers regularly at local food banks and recycling events in Atlanta.
She's currently working on a project to make biodegradable sanitary pads for women in developing countries that either do have to miss school when they are on their menstrual cycles or use mud and rocks, or other things harmful to their health. Traditional sanitary pads are harmful to the environment, so Penn is trying to fix that.
Penn is incredibly eloquent when she speaks, but she also has an infectious energy, and people have noticed. She has made a splash in the business world already, and has been written about by plenty of publications, especially since her TED Talk.
One of the most amazing things about children is their ability to simplify things that adults would ordinarily see as complicated. If a problem exists, there is usually an easy solution, and all we have to do is harness it. Penn is very wise for her age, but the simplistic honesty in her answers can't help but make you smile.
"When a lot of companies grow, they become too isolated with their customers, and might kind of ignore them in a way," she said. "Customers and fans are what got their business to grow so big, so why would you ignore them?"
Running a business has helped her grow both spiritually and mentally, Penn said. "You learn stuff in business you can use in everyday life, stuff you can't learn anywhere else. You have to just love doing it it and be willing to put the hard work and commitment into it."
For now, Penn is content with staying as busy as possible, trying to get as much done during the week and learning through both school and work. She knows it will take some time because, after all, her bedtime is still 9:00 p.m., and she's not supposed to work on weekends.
"I just have to see what the future will hold because I have so many different passions focused on so many different fields. I'm not even sure where all this will take me, but whatever I want to do, I want to give back in some way," she said.
When I asked her, what, more than anything, she hopes people say about her in 20 years, her response had nothing to do with her many business ideas -- those ideas she is already afraid she doesn't have enough hours in the day to do.
"I hope people take away that no matter who you are, where you're from, what your background is, you should be able to do anything you dream of and always do something that can help other people, help the planet in some way," Penn said. "You don't have to start a nonprofit to give back. It's the little things."
In her own words...
What are some of your other hobbies?
"I hang out with my friends, have sleepovers and different things like that. I go on church trips and like tennis and playing piano. I personally like origami. I don't know why I recently got interested. And sculpting, really almost any visual art I can get my hands on."
What food do you like?
"I like a variety of things...Pizza, sushi, I also like cake. And this is not a food, it's a drink, but me and my mom make green shakes from different apples, kale, broccoli. We eat organic and natural foods too, which are really nice and taste really good."
What tech tool are you most excited for?
"I personally am excited for Oculus Rift. I'm already into gaming myself, and I've always been interested in designing one of my own games in the future."
Who are your mentors?
"I know one is Lauren Faust, an animator and writer. She has worked on a lot of shows like Powerpuff Girls, and is one of my biggest inspirations for going forward with animation and my artistic passion... Pat Mitchell, the CEO for Paley Center of Media. I met her through the TEDWomen talk, and she is a really amazing woman and very inspirational and a good friend of mine. Also, Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of Reddit. I met him on book tour for one of his new books."
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
"It's really important to live your life to the fullest and do what you love. Go for it, do it when you want to do it. And don't let [anything] set you back, if you love doing it and really want to just go ahead."
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Chad Thomas, a senior at Booker T. Washington, is a teen with many talents. So many talents, that he has received hundreds of college scholarship offers.
Thomas, 18, has received 150 scholarships for his skills on the football field, but also for his exceptional musical abilities—playing a total of nine instruments.
Of the football and music scholarships offered, Thomas has chosen to attend the University of Miami and will play football as a Hurricane, and also practice his musical talents at the University’s Frost School of Music.
Thomas helped lead the Booker T. Tornadoes to back-to-back state championships and win a national title this season. But it’s not only being on the field that he loves—Thomas says he fell in love with music at the age of three while listening to his late grandmother’s gospel CDS.
Thomas said his grandmother bought him a guitar and also signed him up for piano lessons. By the time he was five, Thomas was performing.
“My plans…I’m going to UM for music technology and I’m going to play football,” said Thomas.
So play for the NFL or a career in music production—for Thomas his focus in in both.
“So if I make it to the NFL that would be a blessing for me,” said Thomas. But his love for music remains a strong passion. “I have love for music and took it upon myself to learn and play the instruments I hear in the songs.”
Thomas plays the piano, trombone, euphonium (a small tuba), base guitar, regular guitar, snare, tuba, trumpet and drums.
CBS4’s Cynthia Demos asked Thomas, if he had to choose a career in either music or football, he paused for a moment but then finally answered.
New York (CNN) -- A New York high school student has made it to the Elite Eight in a different sort of March Madness.
Kwasi Enin of Shirley has been accepted by the eight Ivy League schools -- Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Princeton and Cornell -- and then some. He will have his choice as the decision deadline of May 1 approaches.
"I applied knowing that going to any of the Ivy League schools would be wonderful," Enin told CNN. "I thought if I applied to all eight, I figured I'd get into one ... but from the first one onwards I said, 'This can't be happening!' I was shocked seeing all these acceptances under my name."
Enin scored 2250 out of a possible 2400 on his SAT, placing him in the 98th percentile across the country, according to The College Board. He's also ranked 11th in his class at William Floyd High School, a public school on Long Island, according to his principal, Barbara Butler.
Butler said Enin is not only a model academic student but also plays three instruments for the chamber orchestra, sings in an a cappella group, throws shot put and discus for the high school's track and field team, participates in student government and has had a lead role in school plays since the ninth grade.
"Usually kids are good athletes or good musicians or good actors, but they don't have all three and then on top add student government. It's a balancing act. He somehow finds time to do it all and then volunteer at a local hospital," Butler said.
Butler has been Enin's principal for six years in both middle and high school.
"He is an incredibly modest, humble and respectable person," Butler said. "He is incredibly dedicated and he has his priorities straight. He takes advantage of whatever opportunity he is afforded."
Rachel Rubin, the founder of Spark Admissions in Massachusetts, who also previously served on admissions committees at selective universities, said the feat is extremely rare.
"It's quite atypical," Rubin said, adding that most students do not apply to all the Ivy League schools.
"Standardized test scores and good grades will get a student in the door to have their application read," Rubin said. "But it's their extracurricular activities, leadership experience, exceptional talents, recommendation letters and personal essays that will move a student from a pile of 'maybes' to a pile of 'accepted.'"
Harvard's acceptance rate, among the most selective in the country, was just 5.9% for the applicants for the class of 2017, according to its admissions site.
Enin was also accepted to Duke University and three State University of New York campuses.
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Although Enin has yet to make a decision, there seems to be a front-runner.
"I'm thinking about Yale. I really liked their sense of family, relationships between undergraduates and professors, and the residential college. They also have a strong biomedical engineering program, which is a wonderful combination of biology and creative tools that doctors and health care professionals can use."
Enin added that Yale also has a strong music program, one of his beloved hobbies that he hopes to continue when he isn't hitting the books in college.
He hopes to one day pursue medicine, a dream of his that just so happens to align with his parents' careers.
His parents, who immigrated from Ghana in the late 1980s, are both nurses and pushed Enin to receive the highest grades possible and follow his dreams.
"Health care is a prominent field that satisfies people beyond finances and edifies people and is about moral development," he said.
His advice for future applicants?
"Follow your passions in high school and not just follow suit for what you think can get you into these schools," he said. "Develop your outside interests -- not just academics."
INDIANAPOLIS - A Broad Ripple High School student is one of only 1,000 students in the country to receive the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship.
The scholarship -- funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -- covers a full ride to any college or university in the country, all the way through a doctoral degree if the recipient chooses.
At 16, Alex Dunlap is poised to graduate Broad Ripple Magnet High School a year early in May. She knew all her hard work had paid off when she got the letter announcing her scholarship.
"Oh, I was ecstatic," she said. "I started crying, my mom started crying."
Dunlap plans to pursue her passion for languages.
"I'm going to study Spanish, French and Chinese in college with a focus in Arabic, I'm going to pick that one up as well," she said. "And after undergrad, I plan on attending law school."
Dunlap hopes to fight for the rights of children in foreign countries, but while her travels might take her worldwide, she plans to stay close to home for college.
"I've just recently decided to go to DePauw because they have such a great liberal arts program," she said. "Their study abroad program is great and exactly what I need because of my languages. Their language program is great. And I'm going to be entering as a Bonner scholar, which is a community service scholarship."
Beyond being a great student, Dunlap has a passion for community service. She teaches Spanish to inner-city kids, and she plans to keep volunteering.
She has this advice to other students.
"Always work hard, study hard and make sure you find something you're passionate about in high school," she said. "For me it was languages and it was music. And I was passionate and I loved doing it, so I always worked hard doing it."
Dunlap is the first student ever from Broad Ripple High School to become a Gates Scholar.
She'll meet the other 999 winners when Bill Gates flies them all out to meet each other and network.
Follow Tanya Spencer on Twitter: @tanyaspencer6 | Facebook: Tanya Spencer
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The black community must evolve to control our own community economics. We allow our $1.1 trillion dollar annual spending power to be squandered because we don’t have enough quality businesses to support in our community. Well instead of whining about it, let’s do something about it.
Let’s take the time to encourage and nurture our children to grow and become the entrepreneurs and business owners we need in the future. They are the next generation. They have the insight, courage, and ambition to do something big. We just have to be great parents and present them with these opportunities. One way to get their juices flowing is motivation.
Take a moment to discuss this article with your children. Make them aware of kids their age taking the entrepreneurial world by storm….and not waiting until they are adults to do it. This will allow your child to see kids their age doing great things. Who knows, they might be inspired in the process.
Business: Mo’s Bows
moziah-bridgesMoziah “Mo” Bridges, Age 11
Ever since he was four-years old and dressing himself, Moziah “Mo” Bridges, now 11, insisted on wearing a suit and tie whenever he could, even to the grocery store or while riding his bike. “I love dressing up,” says Bridges who found early inspiration from his father and grandfather who typically wear three piece suits for no particular reason. “I look and feel so much better in nice clothes. It makes me feel like an important person. ”
At first his mother and grandmother helped create the merchandise which they sold to family and friends. As the business increased through Facebook, an Etsy store and word of mouth, so did the production team. Now his other granny, aunts, cousins, and friends help him make bow ties as they sit around Bridge’s and his mom’s dining room table. Sometimes he’ll walk around the table and say, “how are my workers doing?” (He is the CEO of Mo’s Bows after all.)
Mission: To provide quality literature that entertains and educates children between the ages of 7 and 12. To launch a literacy campaign that will one day change the way children think about reading. To inspire children to set goals for themselves.
When you think of an author, the term entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily come to mind; but more book writers are beginning to realize that being an author takes a certain entrepreneurial spirit if you really want to move volumes. Just ask 14-year-old Chental-Song Bembry, who sold more than 500 books last year and is aiming to double that with the release of her second book this fall.
Leanna founded her company Hair Inc . When she was 8 years old, and was named Inc.com Magazine’sYoungest 30 Entrepreneurs under 30 . Using a family made for hair repair, she Began her career by selling her product to fellow students. The buzz spread and soon orders Quickly Were coming from stores across the U.S. and online. Meanwhile, Leanna still have time to Develop new products, make the honor roll in middle school and have even Been Offered a scholarship from Harvard. She delivers motivational speeches Also in communication skills for parents and teens to live dreams Their Their Own and start business.
At the age of 12, Umar Brimah runs his very own anime store called Yumazu (his name in Japanese). I opened the new shop in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Turning his hobby into business, his mother put up $ 10,000 as an investment opening. Considering the Internet is one the only places you can find anime, some products can end up costing twice the price, plus shipping charges.
Yumazu offers collectors a place where anime They Will Have to pay additional money to get what They Want. Umar one day hopes to expand his business to a chain of stores.
Jaden Wheeler and Amaya Selmon are the youngest owners of a food truck in Memphis, and by a few critical years. Neither is yet a teenager.
The brother and sister team — he’s 12, she’s 11 — own and operate Kool Kidz Sno Konez, a little enterprise that started in their front yard two years ago.
“We were always asking my mom for stuff, because we wanted her to buy us toys and things, and she said ‘Why don’t y’all make your own money?’” Amaya said.
“So I said to do a lemonade stand, but Jaden said we wouldn’t make any money, and he wanted to do a yard service. But Mama said no, because he could get hurt.”
They loved Jerry’s Sno Cones, a good drive from their southeast Memphis home, and that spurred the idea.
An African American Oakland student is our good news story of the week.
Akintunde Ahmad, who calls himself a regular street dude from Oakland’s public schools, has been accepted to several Ivy League Schools thanks to his 5.0 GPA and 2100 SAT Score, according to The Fiix
Ahmad says he is deciding between Brown or Yale University.
Ahmad has seen the same troubles as other teens his age, yet, his focus is to be commended.
“People looking at me funny is so common that it doesn’t stick out for me anymore,” says Akintunde. “It’s something that I’ve gotten used to.”
Fewer than 2 percent of the 77,000 members of the United States Chess Federation are masters — and just 13 of them are under the age of 14.
ChesstestPosition after 37 … Bc6; click to replay
Among that select group of prodigies are three black players from the New York City area — Justus Williams, Joshua Colas and James Black Jr. — who each became masters before their 13th birthdays.
“Masters don’t happen every day, and African-American masters who are 12 never happen,” said Maurice Ashley, 45, the only African-American to earn the top title of grandmaster. “To have three young players do what they have done is something of an amazing curiosity. You normally wouldn’t get something like that in any city of any race.”
The chess federation, the game’s governing body, does not keep records on the ethnicity of its members. But a Web site called the Chess Drum — which chronicles the achievements of black chess players and is run by Daaim Shabazz, an associate professor of business at Florida A&M University — lists 85 African-American masters. Shabazz said many of them no longer compete regularly.
Ashley, who became a master at age 20 and a grandmaster 14 years later, said the rarity was not surprising. “Chess just isn’t that big in the African-American community,” he said.
The chess federation uses a rating system to measure ability based on the results of matches in officially sanctioned events; a player must reach a rating of 2,200 to qualify for master.
In September last year, Justus, who is now 13 and lives in the Bronx, was the first of the three boys to get to 2,200, becoming the youngest black player to obtain the master rank. Joshua, 13, of White Plains, was a few months younger than Justus when he became a master last December. James, 12, of Brooklyn, became a master in July.
(Samuel Sevian of Santa Clara, Calif., is the youngest master in United States history, earning the title last December, 20 days before his 10th birthday.)
The three New Yorkers met several years ago during competitions. Justus has an edge over James, mostly because he won many of their early games, before James caught up. Head to head, James and Joshua each have several wins against the other. Justus and Joshua have rarely competed against each other.
Although they are rivals, the boys are also friends and share a sense that they are role models.
“I think of Justus, me and Josh as pioneers for African-American kids who want to take up chess,” James said.
James’s father, James Black, said he and Justus’s and Joshua’s parents were aware of what their sons represent and “talk about it a great deal,” but tried not to pressure them too much.
Black said his son “knows that the pressure comes along with the territory. What is going to happen is going to happen. As long he plays, we’re sure that things will work out for the best.”
The three boys approach the game differently. Justus and Joshua say that James studies the most, and Joshua admits he would rather play than practice. “I like the competition,” he said. “And I like that chess is an art.”
Justus said he is the most aggressive of the three, and he and James agree that Joshua is the most unpredictable. “Joshua likes to change up his openings during tournaments,” Justus said.
Supporting the boys’ interest is not easy financially. Though there are many tournaments in the New York City area, the boys must travel to play in more prestigious competitions, sometimes overseas. This week, they are set to play in the World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil.
They study the game with professional coaches who are grandmasters. The lessons are expensive — $100 an hour is not unusual — and the boys’ families have either found sponsors or have paid for the instruction themselves.
The boys aspire to be a grandmaster by the time they graduate from high school, something that only a few dozen players in the world have done. Ashley, who has met the boys but does not know any of them well, says the obstacles are substantial.
He said several children that he had coached to the junior high school national championships in the early 1990s went on to enroll at elite colleges and then to have successful careers. Along the way, he said, playing chess became less of a priority for them. It is difficult to make a living as a player, he said, adding, “I’ve seen many talented kids go by the wayside.”
Ashley said he could not predict whether the success of Justus, Joshua and James would encourage other young African-Americans to play. Another black teenager, Jehron Bryant, 15, of Valley Stream, N.Y., became a master in September.
“Masters will never be epidemics,” Ashley said. He said the rise of the young masters was a “phenomenon” that was “ worth noting.”
“It is special,” he said, “and that we know for a fact.”
Justus, Joshua and James all played in the Marshall Chess Club Championship in Manhattan last month. Justus and Joshua finished with disappointing results — a common problem for young players, who often lack consistency. But James tied for fifth. In the last round, he beat Yefim Treger, a strong veteran master who is in his 50s.
Treger is a tough opponent because he uses unorthodox openings. James kept his head, however, patiently seizing space and building up his attack until he was able to force through a passed pawn. He wrapped up the game by cornering and checkmating Treger’s king.
It is always good to see a new book on the shelf that's worth the read. But this book is a little different because the author is only seven years of age. Yes, his name is Amare Small and he has written his first book which focuses on getting back onto the field of one of his favorite sports.
“No football this year” said dad. These words rang in Amare’s ears like bells. All Amare ever wanted to do was to become a great football player and go to the National Football League one day like his favorite player Cam the Man, and his parents were crushing his dream. He know if he was going to play football he had to convince his parents that he needed to be on that field with his teammates. He needed to come up with a plan…. Not just any plan… the best plan ever! OPERATION BACK TO THE FIELD is a go!
The homeless shelter that was formerly D.C.'s General Hospital has been making headlines for the story of a staff janitor who kidnapped 8-year-old Relisha Rudd. But one young woman's story shows a different face of the institution through her journey, not unlike the "Homeless to Harvard" success story of Khadijah Williams.
Rashema Melson, a model student -- 18-years-old and a 4.0 GPA athlete -- has been living at the D.C. General homeless shelter for the past two years with her mother and two siblings. And according to Fox 5 D.C. that the Anacostia High School senior been accepted to Georgetown University on a full ride scholarship.
Despite being on the move with her family for the past six years, Melson explained to Bob Barnard of Fox 5 D.C. how motivation is the key to her accomplishments,"It's not hard for me because I want it. When you're doing it because you have to it's a struggle. But I want to be successful... that's my goal in life."
Melson's next step is studying biology as a pre-med undergraduate, and eventually becoming a forensic pathologist -- a career aspiration inspired by the murder of her father as a child.
Visit Georgetown's website for information about the university's involvement with homeless D.C. youth.
This is an inspiring story of a few teens who got tired of constantly seeing the negative stereotypes that the media has a habit of attributing to young, black males so they decided to do something about it!
Check it out below…
Suited and Booted! Roland Martin spoke with high school student Hayden Hinton and counselor Tiffany Gholson about an inspiring video making the rounds on the Internet.
Black male students at Illinois’ Central High School put together “Suit & Tie in the 217″ to offer a counter-narrative for young black men. For Black History Month, they released a video of students dressed to the nines with the messages “we are not gangsters and thugs,” “we are employees and volunteers,” “we are scholars” and “we are athletes.”
“The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don’t tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools,” said Central High counselor Tiffany Gholson, who worked with the students on the effort. “In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps.” – Via NewsOne
Props to these teens for taking the initiative to combat all the negative images of young, black males that we are flooded with daily by replacing it with some more positive images! Keep up the good work fellas!
