21 years ago, this day, May 5th, 2013, the bold vision of and for Operation HOPE was born in South Central Los Angeles, immediately following the Rodney King Riots of April 29th, 1992.
"Rainbows, after storms. You cannot have a rainbow without a storm first."
After the Rodney King verdict came down, so many things just went dark in the community I loved so much. The community I still love. But not all things were negative, in the days and weeks and months that followed.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters and her local leadership group, led by Brenda Shockley as I recall, stood up their vision of and for Community Build. Today, Congresswoman Waters serves on the financial services committee for Congress, continuing to push her agenda for her people.
Then City Counciman Mark Ridkey-Thomas, who today is an esteemed and accomplished lead member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. I fondly remember Supervisor Ridley-Thomas for so many reasons, but a couple stand out for me. Mark (as I respectfully call him as a friend) served on our first board of directors for Operation HOPE. I remember our parting conversation. It was our first letterhead. We were committed to "eradicating poverty across America," and Mark (Ridley-Thomas) wanted to eradicate poverty and empower people IN THE 8TH DISTRICT! We were both right, but Councilman Ridley-Thomas was more right than me. He was 100% focused on empowering and serving the people in the district he was elected to serve. This impresses me now, as much as it impressed me then. I was sad to see Ridley-Thomas leave our board back then, by I so respected "why" he did it. I also got the phrase "With HOPE," which has become my global signature sign-off statement on all correspondence, from Mr. Ridley-Thomas. Finally, back then I would say that Ridley-Thomas was the only sitting elected official who really knew and understood community development, community empowerment, and the power of financial dignity in one's life.
Continue reading "Operation HOPE 21: Telling The Story of Our Founding" »























From the Huffington Post: HOPE Business-In-A-Box, My Plan for the Re-Winning of America
This is my generational plan for everything.
Jim Clifton, the chairman and CEO of Gallup, projects in his groundbreaking book The Coming Jobs War, that global GDP will be $200 trillion by 2040. Global GDP is presently approximately $60 trillion. That means that the next 28 years is an all-out fight for who gets the remaining $140 trillion. Who gets their fair share of the remaining $140 trillion in untapped global GDP will determine everything in the world; who leads the free world; who has the biggest military budget for the purpose of protection and global democratic stability; who can afford international aid; or being charitable to nations and people in need. What nation gets to determine global priorities.
Bestselling business leadership author and philanthropic entrepreneur
Read the complete article here.
Posted at 09:53 PM in 21st Century African-American Agenda, 21st Century Latino Agenda, 21st Century Low Wealth Agenda, 21st Century Mainstream Agenda, 21st century Middle Class agenda, 21st Century Youth Agenda, 5MK (5 MILLION KIDS), Bryant and his Vision for Operation HOPE, Bryant Blogging for the People, Bryant International Agenda, Bryant on a Vision for the Future, Bryant on a World on Reset, Bryant on Bi-Partisan Public Policy, Bryant on Black Entrepreneurship, Bryant on Civil Rights, Bryant on Love Leadership, Bryant on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Bryant on Something to Think About, Bryant on Youth Economic Energy, Bryant Opinion and Commentary, HOPE 20th Anniversary, HOPE and Bryant Media, HOPE and Bryant on History Making, HOPE and the Silver Rights Movement, HOPE Business-In-A-Box, HOPE Communications, HOPE Financial Dignity, HOPE Financial Literacy, HOPE Local Impact, HOPE Los Angeles, HOPE Office of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, HOPE Results, HOPE's Banking on Our Future Program, HOPE-Gallup Index, John Hope Bryant Authored, Love Leadership Examples, Partnership with Community, Partnership with Government, Partnership with Private Sector | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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