The Love that Grew from the COVID

What happens to The Love That Grew from the COVID? 

Does it continue to thrive as people walk around it and nurture it with continued acts of kindness? 

Does it get trampled on when people go back to their normal routines?

Bear with me for a moment as I attempt to compare COVID-19 to Concrete before I dissect 2Pac’s words and Nikki’s beautiful interpretation of them.

During this required social distancing phase of the fight against COVID-19, we have had unprecedented opportunities to grow deeper in love with our spouses, children, parents, and extended family. We have witnessed heroic efforts from health care professionals and first responders. We have also witnessed the ugly face of racism here in the states and around the world against people of African descent. African immigrants are being mistreated in China where officials have warned citizens to be fearful of foreigners. Sons of African descendants have been hunted by “Black fearing” citizens or over-aggressive law enforcement officers. We have also witnessed the disparity of a blind disease that attacks the venerable elderly or people with pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. COVID-19 represents the challenge that we all must face, but like concrete, it can either provide a pathway to a new destination or a barrier that is designed to prevent overgrowth.

The Rose that grew out of the COVID represents “Love”. Love, like the Rose, is a thing of beauty and can be both delicate and dangerous. The thorns are there to protect roses from animals that are attracted to their fragrant smells. The Rose has always served as a symbol of one’s love for another person. 

The Love that grew out of the COVID. 

You try to plan something during COVID.

Know what I mean?

If it goes through, and the plans get changed and the original plans had to change and did not achieve the same effect, you’re not going to say. “Damn look at how our plans got f..cked up.” 

You going to be like. “Damn, we still had fun despite the COVID.”.

Know what I mean?

I have grown from the experience of being isolated with my family and forced to reframe from embracing friends or shaking my neighbor’s hand. 

Instead of saying, “Damn, COVID killed these many blacks and these many whites.” We will look back and say, “Damn, we came through all of that longing for human touch.”

Know what I mean?

All the trouble to survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty COVID pandemic, we are just trying to make it through.

What will happen to The Love that Grows Out of COVID?

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Prominent Atlanta Restaurateurs Pinky Cole of Slutty Vegan ATL and D. Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesecakes Team Up To Provide Life Insurance For 25,000 Black Men

Two of Atlanta’s fastest-growing restaurateurs, Pinky Cole, CEO and Founder of Slutty Vegan ATL, and D. Hayes, President, and CEO of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, are merging their philanthropic endeavors yet again. The Pinky Cole Foundation and The David & Derrick Hayes Foundation are spearheading Square 1: The Life Experience, a program with an initiative to provide life insurance policies by December 2023 to 25,000 Black men. Eligible participants must be individuals who are between the ages 15-45, earn $30,000 or less annually, and do not use tobacco. 

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Tai chi can mirror healthy benefits of conventional exercise

A new study shows that tai chi mirrors the beneficial effects of conventional exercise by reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity.

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2017 Mississippi Startup Ecosystem

Click here to view the Mississippi Startup Ecosystem Map

Jackson Mississippi is located at the center of the state of Mississippi. The 2015 poverty rate for Jackson was 11.6% higher than the state of Mississippi for that same year according to City-Data.com (“Jackson, Mississippi (MS) poverty rate data,” 2017). Image result for city scape of jackson, ms

Mississippi boasts one of the highest rates of poverty as any state and ranks 51st at 22 percent (“Mississippi Report – 2016 – Talk Poverty,” 2017). 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 4.5 percent unemployment rate as late as May of 2017(“Mississippi Entrepreneur Resource Networks,” 2017).

The startup ecosystem reaches throughout the state in various forms including technical resources, investment groups, entrepreneurship groups, and incubators.

Technical Resources provide each current and aspiring entrepreneur with assistance developing infrastructure to support growth. 

Entrepreneurship Groups provide a support system for entrepreneurs that allows them to share best practices and develop partnerships and mentoring opportunities. Investment Groups provide much-needed capital in the form of angel investors and venture capitalists. Incubators provide a working environment for startups that may include share administrative services, office space, and meeting rooms for small businesses. 

Please see the chart below for an overview of the process based on Innovate Mississippi’s model. 

A survey of a few entrepreneurs yielded some areas where the city and the state might improve on creating opportunities for more diverse business development. Survey respondents reported that having 4 universities and 2 community colleges in the area represented a significant opportunity for startups. The low cost of living was also listed as a fact that makes Jackson an ideal place for startups. Examples of successful Jackson area startups included Smartsync and Bomgar which resulted in healthy returns for its investors. The survey also listed Jim Barksdale, former Netscape executive, as one of the leading venture capitalists in the central Mississippi area. Survey respondents did point out a need for more technical resources including programmers and engineers. Coalesce was unanimously listed as one of the top incubators in the area. The respondents did show a level of optimism about the future of the Startup Ecosystem.  The Mississippi Development Authority is also actively developing the ecosystem and has some major initiatives planned for 2017. Those initiatives include the development of regional centers of excellence for manufacturing, bioengineering, and computer science. The Mississippi Development Authority is also developing local venture capital funds that will help future entrepreneurs secure angel and venture capital easier.

Startup Ecosystem Survey

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CPR for the Sole

“Choices, Priorities, and Resources for the sole” is a catch phrase that I coined recently to encapsulate my philosophy as move forward in my spiritual journey. I think that one of my greatest talents is my ability to see patterns and assess how things can be connected. God sometimes bestows me with the wisdom to articulate my vision effectively. I think that this is a skill that my grandparents and great grandparents nurtured and eventually led me to obtain my doctorate.

Mississippi Just Be Healthy

“Nevertheless, we must keep swinging and moving at God’s Speed with patient persistence exemplifying perseverance and passion by choosing to use HIS resources as a priority” – Dr. C. Fitzgerald Wicks

My great grandmother on my father’s side, Ellen Everson aka Mammy, always reminded me to be aware of my surroundings and to pay attention to what other kids were doing. She advised me to remove myself from situations that did not feel right. She planted the seeds that led me to study martial arts including Wing Chun, Jiu-Jitsu, and boxing. The arts teach the student to always be prepared and to sense changes and to always be aware of other’s actions. Although I never persisted to the level of black belt in any of the arts, Mammy taught me the importance of persistence.

I was blessed to have a great grandmother, two living grandmothers, and a grandfather that spent endless hours showing and teaching me how to be responsible, resourceful, and persist in my daily behavior.
My grandmother on my father’s side, Grandmamma Louise Wicks, taught me the art of patience as she would work in the garden, feed the chickens and Guinea hens, and prepare her famous chicken and dumplings. I vaguely remember her overseeing the curing of meat in the old smokehouse. Learning to be self-sufficient and having the patience to allow nature to take its course results in a healthy garden.
My grandfather on my father’s side, Granddaddy Eluster Wicks, taught me to be passionate about learning. Every interaction with him presented a learning opportunity whether it was cutting hair, building a chicken coop, or weed eating the lawn. One of my last memories of him is him showing me how to use a weed eater and seeing how amazed he was at his mulching lawn mower. He taught me to be passionate about details. He would make puzzles and challenged us with brain teasers that forced us to think analytical.
My grandmother on my mother’s side, Lucinda Amos aka Mommul, taught me the art of perseverance and having faith that getting results is what matters most. It did not matter necessarily how you obtained the results. I called her Ms. Botch because of her unique ability to find a purpose for everything. She would turn old tires into planters or chicken feeders. She could turn hot dogs or sausage into the best sandwich a young boy to eat to fuel up for intensive play. She would challenge us to watermelon spitting contests. She would always share the stories of her experiences teaching and influence young folk to do the right thing. She shared stories of the Grandfather Adam and Uncle G, whom I never met, but grew to admire and love through her stories.
Choices represent the small decisions you make every day that moves you towards or away from you God given mission. Priorities represent the things you do first with your best energy. They represent the way you communicate to others in terms of volume and tenor. Resources represent the God given talents in the form of physical and fiscal assets at your disposal. Sole represents your journey and the steps you take daily. You can choose what you allow to affect you and how you react to it. You are created in God’s image but no one else can execute your mission better than you.
Pursue your goals with passion, persistence, patience, and perseverance.
Passion represents the energy that you expend in pursuing your goals.
Persistence is the single-mindedness of the individual towards the achievement of a particular goal.
Patience is the ability to wait for your success while putting in the work.
Perseverance is the ability to continue a course of action in spite of the lack of success.
Stephen Covey states in his Seven Habits of Successful People to “Begin with the end in mind.”
Thank you so much for being a part of my journey, my developing story, and part of my circle of influence. Assalamualaikum

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Key White in the Junior Olympics

Some pictures of Key White The GHOST at the USA Boxing Junior Olympics.
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