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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner January 11, 2017 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com Opinion Blackonomics: Black-owned ComproTax Is One of the Best H aving written many arti- cles on what takes place from January through April, each year, rela- tive to our tax payments and refunds, I understand that we need reinforcement and repetition on certain issues. Just as advertisers and mar- keters understand the power of continuous exposure to their messages, Black folks need the same thing, especial- ly when it comes to getting us to act on basic, sound, practi- cal, and collective economic and business principles. So please take a little time to read my latest repetitive mis- sive on one of this nation’s fin- est Black-owned businesses: ComproTax. The tax preparation in- dustry generates between $6 billion and $9 billion an- nually, which indicates that there are plenty of tax re- turns to go around – the IRS estimates that there will be over 250 million filed by 2018 with revenues of $11 billion! Compared to our percentage of population (13 percent), Black-owned tax preparation businesses should have rev- enues of at least $1 billion. As far as I am concerned, ComproTax alone should be a billion-dollar business, con- sidering it has some 220 affili- ates throughout the nation. One advantage that Compro- James Clingman NNPA Columnist Tax brings to its customers is year-round services. That’s because ComproTax is more than a tax preparation ser- vice. Most of the large chains only come into our neigh- borhoods for four months or so, until around April 15. ComproTax is always there, providing Tax Preparation “ many Black events across the country. In other words, they are “Conscientiously Con- scious” business owners. Mayfield stated: “When it comes to tax preparation, you have a lot of choices. So, why choose ComproTax? Compro- Tax provides complete and professional tax preparation and bookkeeping services with the personal attention that you deserve. We have over 220 offices nationwide and we are steadily growing. In addition to our convenient office locations, we have hun- dreds of mobile affiliates that will come directly to you. Our ments that affect your taxes, being reliable, and being con- fidential. That’s why our cus- tomers come back to us year after year. Don’t trust just anyone to handle your taxes and confidential books. Con- tact a ComproTax profession- al and begin a relationship with someone that you can trust.” One thing I personally love to brag about is the Compro Event Center, a full-service convention center built, owned, and operated by Com- proTax a few years ago and located in Beaumont, Tex- as. Managed by Fred Zeno, another ComproTax stalwart and long-time business associate to Mayfield and the co-founders, the Event Center is a spacious and luxuriously appoint- ment venue that can be used for weddings, various meet- ings and conventions, parties, and banquets. The One Million Conscious and Conscientious Black Con- tributors and Voters will hold our quarterly Training and Orientation gathering there January 6-8, 2017. It would be great of other Black groups would do likewise, it is one thing to talk about support- ing Black venues, but it is much better to act upon those words. Compared to our percentage of pop- ulation (13 percent), Black-owned tax preparation businesses should have revenues of at least $1 billion Training, Insurance Prod- ucts, Bookkeeping Services, Payroll Services, Business Mentoring, and Small Busi- ness Consulting. Additionally, ComproTax Founder Jackie Mayfield, and his two co-founders, Yusuf Muhammad and Craig John- son, believe in something many Black businesses only talk about: Giving back. They return some of their profits to community activities and charitable causes, and they provide sponsorships for tax preparers are committed to ongoing training to ensure that you get the best service and the best tax refund avail- able. In short, we offer a vast network of trained profes- sionals that are ready to serve you in tax season and out of season.” He continued: “At Compro- Tax we are about relation- ships. We work hard to get your business and develop a relationship of trust. We do this by being knowledgeable about new laws and require- www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2016 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds Tickets on sale The Skanner Foundation 31st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. BREAKFAST Jan. 16, 2017 www.theskanner.com/ mlk-breakfast-tickets Why Black Women Must Be Involved in the Women’s March “A in’t I A Woman,” railed Sojourner Truth, “I have ploughed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a wom- an! I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well. And ain’t I a wom- an? I’ve bourne thirteen chil- dren and seen most all sold off and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a wom- an.” The similarities and dif- ferences between Black and White women are captured in Sojourner Truth’s famous December 1851 speech. She movingly talks about the men who say women should be “helped into carriages, and moved over ditches, and have the best place everywhere,” while “nobody ever helps me into carriages or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place.” Both Black and White women cry a mother’s grief for the loss of a child, and both endure labor pains. Black women’s lives, while similar, are different and of- ten disadvantaged, because they lack the privilege that White women so easily take for granted and often fail to notice or remedy. Thus, it did not surprise me that a White woman in Hawaii Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist called for a “Million Women’s March” on Washington, D.C. on the day after the Presiden- tial inauguration. And it did not surprise me, when White women took up the call. Too “ reached out to her asking for help. She said they said they “needed to ensure that wom- en of color were involved.” Now, there are four co- chairs of the Women’s March on Washington, including African American leader Ta- mika Mallory, Latina activist and part of Harry Belafonte’s Gathering for Justice, Carmen Perez, a White woman entre- preneur whose t-shirts have been galvanizing, Bob Bland, and Palestinian activist Linda I applaud Tamika Mallory. She told me “I was not willing to let this convening come to- gether without having Black women involved.” In other words, White women can- not speak for all women. If White women had their way, the march and rally would probably focus only on equal pay and reproductive rights. Thanks to Tamika and her colleagues, a statement of principles, to be issued next week, will also address racial justice, police brutality, criminal justice reform and mass incarceration. Absent the involve- ment of young Black women like Tamika, it would be extremely easy for me to ignore this march. But because some women have drawn a line in the sand and insisted on space for Black women in this march, they deserve support. They remind me of the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorori- ty, Inc., who in 1913 elbowed their way into the Women’s Suffrage March when their involvement was unwelcome. They reminded the Women’s Suffrage Association that Black women were also wom- en, and we would not be ex- cluded. Absent the involvement of young, Black women like Tamika Mallory, it would be extremely easy to ignore the Women’s March on Washington bad these same White women did not advocate more force- fully against the man who won the Electoral College vote for the Presidency. My first inclination was to ignore this women’s march. The organizers have repeat- edly struck me as tone-deaf and indifferent to the diverse needs of women. But when I talked to Tamika Mallory, the dynamic young woman activ- ist who was once Executive Director of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, I shifted my perspective. Ta- mika shared that, just a few days after the initial call to march was issued, organizers Sarsour. I applaud the diver- sity in leadership, but wonder how many women of color will turn out on Jan. 21. Tens of thousands of women from all over the country are expect- ed, with more than 100,000 saying they plan to be there. But many African American women have looked askance, perhaps with distaste from the cultural appropriation of the initial organizing de- scriptive, “Million Women’s March”, perhaps because we recoil from the strong sup- port White women gave the President-elect, choosing race loyalty over gender, class, or personal interest. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com
