B.O.S.S. NEWS

The following steps are adapted from the American Community Garden Association’s guidelines for launching a successful community garden in your neighborhood. 1. Organize a Meeting of Interested People Determine whether a garden is really needed and wanted, what kind it should be (vegetable, flower, both, organic?), whom it will involve and who benefits. Invite neighbors, tenants, community organizations, gardening and horticultural societies, building superintendents (if it is at an apartment building)—in other words, anyone who is likely to be interested. 2. Form a Planning Committee This group can be comprised of people who feel committed to the creation of the garden and have the time to devote to it, at least at this initial stage. Choose well-organized persons as garden coordinators Form committees to tackle specific tasks: funding and partnerships, youth activities, construction and communication. 3. Identify All Your Resources Do a community asset assess...

Photo Courtesy of: Black Girl Long Hair  Growing and maintaining natural hair has been a challenge for many of us. I remember when I did my first BC (big chop). I had to research my hair type...was I 4a,b, or c?  I had to research the products that would work best with my hair type, as well as educate myself on the L.O.C. (liquid, oil, and cream) method.  Throughout my journey of falling in love with my natural hair I have discovered 10 Tips for Growing Out Your Hair : Deep condition once a week Eat healthy (clean foods preferred) Take hair vitamins (prenatal vitamins work wonders also) Drink LOTS of water Massage scalp with natural oils Moisturize and seal ends Cleanse with SULFATE FREE shampoo or co-wash with conditioner Protective styles are a must! NO HEAT! Be patient. All hair is "good hair", acceptance is the key to confidence.Embrace your texture and realize patience pays off! Remember your hair is at its weakest when its dry so make...

The War on Drugs helped to promote mass incarceration and has been one of the single most destructive forces to hit the black family since slavery.   The latest statistical analysis by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows black men represent over 56% of the incarcerated males in the United States, that’s over 500,000 men.  With the leading cause of incarceration being non-violent drug offenses; experts have said poor individuals have a one (1) in three (3) chance of escaping poverty in any given year. Higher education levels improve the likelihood of leaving poverty, yet graduation levels are reduced by children’s inability to “trust” that education will help them to escape their current impoverished conditions. Often times black children (boys especially) have witnessed brothers, fathers, and uncles leave school, engage in illegal activities, and go to prison.  This trend becomes the norm and is incorporated into the thinking, feelings, and actions of these impr...

Take time to be a Dad, fun in the sun. Several years ago I believe in 2006 there was a study conducted to determine the annual tax payer cost of  father absence. Tax dollars cover a variety of public social service programs such as: EITC-Earned Income Tax Credit TANF: Temporary Assistance to needy Families Child Support Enforcement SSI-Social Security Insurance SNAP:Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamps) Free School Lunch WIC-Women Infant and Children Medicaid Head Start Child Care Public Housing  Section 8 Rental Subsidies and,  Energy Assistance In 2013 these social service programs accounted for about 12% of the federal budget which it roughly $398 billion dollars. Single mother household account for over $100 billion dollars. Outside the financial hardships, what really happens to children that come from fatherless homes? Many studies find that the following are some of the many adverse effects of children growing up i...

In a follow up to their 2011 "State of the African-American Consumer" report, a landmark survey, which projected that  black buying power will reach $1.1 trillion  by the year 2015, Nielsen and NNPA explored the factors responsible for driving that cash. Despite what the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says about the  unemployment rate among blacks , and the  U.S. Census' report on how the median income has dropped , market-research firm Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) contend that African Americans still have plenty worth taking to the bank. In short: "Dynamic influencing factors -- such as technology, social media and online connectivity -- enable the Black consumer segment to leverage its collective power and influence," the report says. That means that as a group, African Americans have a set of spending habits and brand loyalty that advertisers love. But the jury's still out on  who really benefits in the end...

1 in 4 children are growing up in homes without a father, single mother households account  for more than 80% of household with children living in poverty.  I've seen it written that there are two types of poverty that exist in America, generational and situational. Generational poverty is defined as,  having lived in poverty for (3) or more generations. It's players operate on a set of values that is passed on from parent to child...generation after generation. Situational Poverty-is defined by one (1) incident that lead to your impoverished condition:  Death Divorce Disaster Disease Each type of poverty comes down to one factor... belief! If we believe this (where we are in this moment) is all there is... then this is all we get. I once heard a man say "This (poverty) is all I know, I'm from the bottom"; there was no room for him to even believe that he could learn something more. The past is gone, the present is a gift, the future is now...