Business

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Feb 28 2009

Ex-TV judge takes care of business in South Africa

As Judge Mablean Ephriam has developed her business in South Africa, she has reaped much more than financial benefits.

“There was a connection; a kindred spirit,” said the Los Angeles-based lawyer about her first visit to the Southern African nation. “Now I understand why I don’t like shoes, and now I understand my wide hips . . . they look like me.”

Ephriam has made these discoveries as co-owner of a bed and breakfast she opened in 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the Houghton Estate.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 31 2009

Local artist opens studio for business

Graffiti does not normally lead to creation of an arts-related business, but in Patrick Johnson’s case it did. But it was not the type of business one would expect such as a tagger-turned-fine artist.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 17 2009

Pro-line co-founder shares his life and business philosophy

In economic terms, the best way to describe an $80 million return on an investment of less than $1,000 is: Good business.

Looking at his life, it is easy to see that “good business” is a mantle Alabama-born Comer Cottrell can wear quite comfortably. It is also an integral part of the way he built his company, Pro-Line, into one of the largest ethnic hair care products firms in the world.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 17 2009

Ten years later black investors still behind

Nearly 10 years after conducting its first survey of African American investors, Ariel Capital Management has found that not much has changed.

In fact, the 2007 Ariel-Schwab 2007 Black Investor Survey found that despite climbing to a high of 74 percent in 2002 black participation in the stock market has dropped back down to where it was in 1998—57 percent.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 8 2009

Help to grow your company

MWD
The Metropolitan Water District has created a new online vendor bidding and certification system called NETConnect, and any company that was registered on the site must log on (http://vendors.planetbids.com/NETConnect/NetConnectHome.cfm) and create a new user name and password.
Businesses registered on the site receive bid notices from four departments with MWD that participate in the system—business outreach, construction, professional services and purchasing.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.