Have you ever given consideration to why of all the people you know, you were afforded the opportunity to be able to attend college or find success through some other means? Have you considered the old proverb "to whom much is given, much is required"? What motivated you as you made your way from the freshman year to graduation? What motivated you as you started your new business venture that helped you experience "success"? Did it have anything to do with making life better for those who look like you or share a common heritage? In all your getting.............have you gotten to the point where your relationships are built on integrity? Do people respect your word? Again I ask you what motivates you. After reflecting, has it changed at all or is it as it always was? Look at the list below and respond based on your heart. How will you help others do what you have done? Will you make the time to help others achieve?

1. Money
2. Sex
3. Cars
4. Your Community
5. Fame
6. Religion
7. Giving Back
8. Family Obligations

2006 will shape up to be an exciting year for African American candidates. There are two African Americans, one democrat and one republican running in Maryland. Republicans especially are playing some peculiar political games. Check out the Michigan race where they drafted a candidate to run in the primary against Keith Butler. These will be hot races that are likely to change America forever.

United States Senate

Harold Ford, Jr. (Democrat) – Tennessee
http://forwardwithford.blogspot.com/2006/07/

Keith Butler (Republican) – Michigan
http://www.butlerforsenate.com/

Kwesi Mfume (Democrat) – Maryland
http://www.mfumeforsenate.com/index.php

Michael Steele (Republican) – Maryland
http://www.steeleformaryland.com/

Govenors Races

Kenneth Blackwell (Republican) - Ohio
http://www.kenblackwell.com/

Lynn Swann (Republican) - Pennsylvania
http://www.swannforgovernor.com/

1. Gardner Taylor - Emeritus, Concorde Baptist, Brooklyn, NY
2. Noel Jones - City of Refuge, Gardena, California
3. Gilbert Patterson - Temple of Deliverance, Memphis, Tennessee
4. H. Beecher Hicks - Metropolitan Baptist, Washington, D.C.
5. T.D. Jakes - Potters House, Dallas, Texas
6. Walter Scott Thomas - New Psalmist Church, Baltimore, MD
7. Jeffrey Johnson - Eastern Star Baptist, Indianapolis, IN
8. Charles Booth - Mt. Olivet Baptist, Columbus, OH
9. William Houston Curtis - Mt. Ararat Baptist, Pittsburgh, PA
10. Charles Adams - Hartford Memorial Baptist, Detroit, MI
11. Calvin Butts - Abyssinian Baptist, Harlem, NY
12. Frederick Douglass Haynes - Friendship West Baptist, Dallas, TX
13. Vashti McKenzie - Payne Memorial AME, Baltimore, MD
14. Floyd Flake - Allen AME, Queens, NY
15. James Woodson - St. James Church, Greensboro, NC
16. Paul Morton - Greater St. Stephen's, New Orleans, LA
17. Jamaal Bryant - Empowerment Temple AME, Baltimore, MD
18. Jackie McCullough - The Gathering at Beth Rapha, Pomona, NY
19. Eddie Long - New Birth Baptist, Lithonia, GA
20. Carolyn Showell, Evangelist, MD

1. Manning Marable - Columbia
2. Henry Louis Gates - Harvard
3. Cornell West - Princeton
4. Bell Hooks - Berea College
5. Mary Francis Berry - Penn
6. Charles Ogletree - Harvard
7. Michael Eric Dyson - Penn
8. Ben Carson - Johns Hopkins
9. Na'im Akbar - Florida State
10. William Julius Wilson - Harvard

1. My mother Carrie - she is the most loving and supportive mom anyone could ever have. She constantly challenges me to think beyong my sight.

2. Sojourner Truth - a woman who was willing to sacrifice her life for the freedom of her people. She is the epitome of a stong sister.

3. Coretta Scott King - she exhibited poise in the face of extreme hardship and humiliation. She symbolized the goodness and strength that all persons, both men and women should have within them.

4. Rev. Dr. Vashti McKenzi - first woman bishop in the AME church. One of the most dynamic and uncompromising preachers that I have ever heard. Its not an easy feat to be a woman bishop in the AME church.

5. Dr. Mary Ann Williams - the woman who recruited me in North Carolina to come to Ohio State University. She change my life with one conversation.

6. Dr. Janice Kennedy Sloan - easily one the brightest, politically savvy minds to ever cross my path. She grabbed me as a young unpolished educator and molded me into real professional able to withstand the pitfalls of higher education administration.

7. Dr. Johnetta Cole - the greatest female (probably male too) educator of contemporary times. She understands education and its role in liberation of the mind, body, and soul.

8. Ida B. Wells Barnett - daughter of a slave and slave master who raised 5 kids when both parents died. She became an opponent of lynching and an outspoken critic of the treatment of African Americans. Was instrumental in the founding of the NAACP but was dismissed from the organization because her views were too radical. Go figure!

9. Sylvia Pope - my sister, for her undying love for her son Jon, who is autistic. She has dedicated her life to helping him cope with society. She is an unbelievable woman.

10. Halle Berry - I admire her a lot. Don't all brothers. Hey, I am human!