Saturday, May 30, 2015

Former MISS CALIFORNIA TEEN elected VP USC

Blog:  facebook.com/wanda.dorn     #Etiquetteinfluencer

Congratulations Jordan Fowler for being elected VP at USC

Former NATIONAL AMERICAN MISS CALIFORNIA TEEN is elected USC Vice President


Jordan Fowler is a former National American Miss winner
 Was just elected VP at USC!  Jordan ran on the first ever all female ticket! 

(Letter to Jordan)

May 15, 2015

Congratulations Jordan Fowler for being elected VP at USC

Jordan was such an outstanding young woman then at age 13, it's no surprise that she is a powerful, talented and successful woman of today.

Dynamic Ms. Fowler was a Special Guest at A'Dorn Studios Black Model of the year Pageant when she reigned as Miss California Jr. Teen.

She was celebrity interviewer for our Miss Teen and Little Miss contestants; then, elegantly crowned our those Queens.

Hear her welcoming audio greeting to pageant audience visit A'Dorn Studios Model's Page.

Congratulations,

Wanda Dorn
Owner / Founder and Director of Black Model of the Year Pageant at adornstudios.org  
Jordan interviews and crowns Queens at A'Dorn Studios'
Black Model of the Year's  Little Miss and Miss Teen Pageant
(photo courtesy of A'Dorn Studios)

Wanda Dorn - Founder/Director of the    with another Black Model of the Year pageant queen
  

 
Jordan was such an outstanding young woman then at age 13, it's no surprise that she is a powerful, talented and successful woman of today.  

Jordan was a Special Guest at A'Dorn Studios "Black Model of the year" Pageant when she reigned as "Miss California Jr. Teen".  

She elegantly crowned our Queens.

Hear her dynamic audio greeting to pageant audience visit A'Dorn Studios  Model's Page. 
(audio no longer available)

Jordan being crowned Miss Junior California Teen
(Photos from National American Miss)
 
 

NATIONAL AMERICAN MISS...365 !!!: Former Miss California Teen is Elected VP at USC!

Jordan interviews and crowns A'Dorn Studios "Black Model of the Year"  Queens" - "Miss Teen" and "Little Miss"


Congratulations Jordan Fowler for being elected VP at USC

Jordan was our Special Guest at A'Dorn Studios Black Model of the year Pageant when she was reigning as "Miss California Jr. Teen".  She interviewed our "Miss Teen" and "Little Miss" contestants, then so elegantly crowned the Queens.


She was such an outstanding young woman then at age 13, it's no surprise that she is a powerful, talented and successful woman of today.  


Hear her dynamic audio greeting to pageant audience visit A'Dorn Studios  Model's Page.

NATIONAL AMERICAN MISS...365 !!!: Former Miss California Jr. Teen is Elected VP at USC! ...click for full story
Jordan Fowler is a former National American Miss winner
 Was just elected VP at USC!  Jordan ran on the first ever all female ticket! 

Jordan being crowned "Miss Jr. California Teen"

 Photos from  National American Miss


Sunday, May 17, 2015

DO YOU BELIEVE ITS TIME FOR "OLD BLACK LEADERSHIP" TO RESIGN

Blog by +Wanda Dorn 
Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson


Its Not Time for Old Black Leadership to Resign! 

Seasoned Leaders are More Important Than Ever!


According to an AfricanGlobe article, it is time for old Black leadership to resign, calling them "media appointed Black leaders who has got to go".

The solutions offered by this article might be good ones, but have those solutions been offered to "Hannity" and "Fox News" appointees?  I think not.  Perhaps they were not accepted in the mainstream media.

The seasoned leaders are still working, but are working where they are at in today's leadership arena.  The younger leaders must work where they are at in today's leadership arena.  They can work together with the seasoned... but, oh, yes, Black people are still like the adage says, "crabs in a barrel".  Perhaps it's because the younger leaders want the limelight and money and don't know how to get it yet.  
Jesse & other "Old Leaders"
pointing to where the
assassin's bullet rang out 

Jesse Jackson with MLK at motel
just before the assassination
The article says, "The new leadership may require sacrifice and their lives as Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers did."  These seasoned leaders did the same thing.  Jesse had given up his life and marched just as MLK did. Rev. Sharpton was there for us after Civil Rights when they demanded a new voice, a more concessionary voice, as the mainstream media is always looking for.  Fortunately for America, Rev, Sharpton did not fall into the place they wanted.  Jesse was on that balcony with MLK when he was assassinated and could have been shot.  That's as close to giving up my life as I ever want to be - yet Jesse still continues. 

I note that the author of this article is collecting donations to go out and fight for his solutions to the problem while criticizing others for the same thing - shouldn't all leaders have our financial support - not our negative opinion support?  I usually ask every Black person who complains about Black officials this question:  "When was the last time, if ever, you've donated a dime to a candidate or leader"?  This is the reason our officials and leaders can't wheel the power they need.  It costs money to give up your job to run for office, let alone the millions of dollars it takes to successfully run for office.  

I lived in a city where there were no Black Judges.  I once served as President with the "The Black Concerns Association" as we fought to get our first Judge.  We only had three Black attorneys in town and the Crab Syndrome set in.  At a recommendations to the County meeting, some objected to either of the three, saying they are no good.  I told them that I had worked for White Judges who were no good, and that even a less experienced Judge would keep the Judges aware that there is a Black presence when making certain decisions - that's better than none at all.  We shortly received an appointment of a Professor from Stanford; a female, and top notched.  If a "leader" is present, there is  awareness that there is a "Black" presence.  

The article states, "They only show up when tragedy happens".  The leaders would be remiss in their commitment if they don't show up.  They are damned by the critics if they don't --- and damned if they do by people who want to be them, and to those who don't want to hear their seasoned opinions, or deal with their seasoned abilities to strategize.  This is why seasoned leaders are still important.

So you think its time for these great know-it-all youth to step up?  First, they need to learn what it took for these leaders to make the institutionalized changes that had crippled us from slavery until the '60's.  It only took them a decade to make sufficient changes whereby youth wanna-be leaders can write defamatory articles of the people who made it possible for them to write their articles. Before these heroes and she roes fought, there were no Blacks on TV, no Black TV news, no national Black media, especially no news media that would allow Blacks to speak freely.

What these leaders did back then, they saw no hope but they created hope.  Where are the young Black leaders who are leading us from just hope to full and equal participation in today's global society?

What have our youth leaders done?  So many have listened to and joined in the rhetoric that there is no more racism, no more discrimination, no more prejudices; that it's the victim's fault and we are stupid. Of course, it's our fault that we were the only race of people in the history of man to be forcefully lifted up from one continent, brutally dropped off on another continent.  However, by the way, I thank God for being dropped off on this side of the planet.  When I travel, upon returning to the US, I literally want to "kiss the ground" as the old saying goes - that's why I fought the civil rights fight;  America will never be perfect, but improvement is worth fighting for.

When we were dropped off in the Americas, we were not from the same Country, community, or linguistics location.  Our memories, languages, and self-strength were brutally beaten from us.  We were not allowed to read or write in this new language for hundreds of years - hundreds of generations.  Even after the Brown vs the Board of Education and the Civil Rights Bill passed, we were systematically relegated to separate but not equal education.  These laws are on the books thanks to our "Old Leaders", including Harriet Tubman, who, by the way Raven-symone, belongs on a stamp, and I commend you for learning to be a "new" youth leader.

In spite of this devastating legacy, more than 60% of Blacks are middle class to rich, more Black females have college degrees per capita than White males, and more White women are on welfare per capita than any other group.  We have surpassed the number of elected officials that we had during "Reconstruction" ~~ I consider that great works by our "Old Leaders".

I am proud of our young people who have taken up the gauntlet, but, I'm afraid complacency of new Black 60%'ers, who will never become real 1%'ers, may slowly allow doors to re-open to possible future blatant discrimination.  The old leaders lived it and would see it coming.  

The trick of life is growing to be old, bringing skills and wisdom with you - hope the young people who believe what this article states, live long enough to bring their skills and wisdom that they have not yet acquired to help the younger people coming behind them.

I liken the writer's article to telling one's parents, "You did all you could for me, you fought for me, you struggled and could have died for me, but I won't need any of your help or wisdom going forward".  When I was working in education, I had this fun  sign on my desk:
Now young leaders ~  to take up the gauntlet

    ~  Don't worry about what others are doing
    ~  Network with seasoned Leaders ~ a must-do
    ~  Find out what needs to be done ~  and do it

    IT ONLY TAKES ONE YOUTH TO MAKE A CHANGE!


    5/15/15



    Friday, May 15, 2015

    BLACK HERITAGE IS WORLD WIDE - EVEN IN THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS "DISCOVERED" AMERICA


    SORRY  -  This series is no longer available.  Please enjoy one of my other blogs.  

    Thanks for reading my blogs.


     

       Scholar Explains why Dominicans are in complete Denial about Being Black ...  Atlanta Blackstar.com Watch the online series via PBS.org, Louis Gates. It deals with Cuba, Mexico, Peru and all the other c...





    Blog by   +WandaDorn             #DiversityEtiquette
















     #DiversityEtiquette

    Monday, May 4, 2015

    Wanda's Ten Commandments of Forty

    Wanda's Ten Commandments
    The Ten Commandments of Forty

    Things one should do before the age of forty

    If you are already over forty - start now! 

     

                                                                   "The World was my oyster but I used the wrong fork"                                                                                                                  ...exclaimed Oscar Wilde

    Wanda Dorn
    Chief Facilitator

    When I created the "Ten Commandments" seminar, I had just turned thirty-five. The commandments were of so much help to me that, as usual, I developed and added a four hour #Diversity, Etiquette, Personal Development seminar to the A'Dorn Studios curriculum designed with young professionals in mind, and for those influential movers and shakers over forty continuing their career evolution.

     

    Highlights of Wanda's Commandments


    1. Thou Shalt Do Thy Homework

    I recommend you learn everything you can about your business or profession by taking classes, attending meetings, doing diligent research, etc.  I am so diverse in my interest, I could never get a Masters Degree in all of them.  After forty, evaluate and find additional ways to use what you already know, and establish new reasonably sensible sets of goals.


    2.  Thou Shalt Know Thy Own Style:

    Adopt a fashion style that works best for you.  Don't try to copy what styles others have adopted for themselves.   Know what your best comfort zones are - whether it's in the way you dress; the routines that work best for you, or simply focus on the small distinctive touches that sets your recognizable style in fashion, or your distinctive personality apart from other people. 


    3.  Thou Shalt Have Put Thy Sexual/Emotional Life In Order, If Possible:

    Personal problems saps your energy and diverts your attention.  Unhappiness is like a destructive disease ... it eclipses everything else.  Try and get your life in order.  Spend more time alone getting to know yourself better.   Get to know what you like and try to eliminate the things you don't like.  It is said that you should do only one of the following things per year:  get married or divorced; move, buy or sell a home, leave or change your job, enter into or end a relationship.  


    4.  Thou Shalt Know Thy Weak points:

    Know, and accept the things you don't do well, can't stand, or won't do well even if it sounds appetizing. If you don't like oysters, stop ordering them just to impress or prove yourself.   Get into the kind of work you enjoy, not the job people expect you to be in, or because it's well paid.  Join this Commandment with Commandment six.


    5.  Thou Shalt Know Thy Strengths:

    The time you spend getting to know yourself and who you are, you should concentrate on getting to know what you're really good at.  Most importantly, get to know the things you really enjoy doing. Identify for yourself the things you do better than anyone else -- and at all times do it better than anyone else.  Even if it's digging ditches, be the best ditch-digger around - you may become the owner of your own ditch-digging company.


    6.  Thou Shalt Have Started Putting Away Your "I Quit" Money:

    Put enough money away to live on for a year or two.  This has always been the hardest for me personally, because I'm a shop-alcoholic -- no excuses, find a way.  If you don't, there may come a time when the only appropriate response to your boss is, "People - I quit!"


    7.  Thou Shalt Have Successfully Learned to Networked:


    Work with people with the idea in mind that it's great to establish a network of people who owe you. Which means you could do favors for others, support them in their projects so hopefully they'll do the same for you.  Do it as though it is your own projects.  In business and in politics, it's a good idea to establish a lot of people who owe you, creating the network because it is beneficial for your eventual need to know a lot of people in the right places that you can rely on.


    8.  Thou Shalt Have Learned How To Delegate:


    Even if you have nobody to delegate to at the moment, start thinking about it by experimenting with some of the people around you.  A person who cannot delegate effectively, they will find themselves at a disadvantage if they are, or happened to have already evolved into a higher position.  If you can't command the art of delegation, you may find yourself condemned to remain in subordinate positions.


    9.  Thou Shalt Have Learned When To Keep Thy Mouth Shut:


    This is one of my most dogmatic principles.Don't gossip or talk about your plans or other people.  More careers are aborted by careless running-your-mouth talk than by anything else.  A reputation for keeping secrets far outweigh the quick and easy popularity gossiping wins you.  Believe me, people around you watch you too.  My Mother always would use the adage a dog that will bring a bone will carry a bone.  In summation, everyone knows a gossiper will be a gossiper.  Keep in mind, if they will bring someone gossip, they will take someone gossip.  In politics and upper management, secrecy can be gold.



    10.  Thou Shalt Not Worship False Leaders:

    Remain loyal to the person or company you work for!  In modern business, the way to the top is by establishing a reputation as a stand-up, trust-worthy person.  A reputation for disloyalty ultimately is bound to make you unwelcome anywhere in business.  And you can rest assured, that reputation will follow you as your work and life-evolution move forward with you wherever you go.

     

    4/13/15

    THE EBONIC SPEAKER ... OR WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? EBONICS OR BLACK ENGLISH

    Blog based on Wanda's Social & Business Protocol and Etiquette Seminars
    Motto: "The World was my oyster but I used the wrong fork" ... exclaimed Oscar Wilde   
    Blog by  +Wanda Dorn          #DiversityEtiquette            #wandascafe


    The Ebonic Speaker ...

    Or What Do We Have Here?

    Ebonics ... or Black English 

    Wanda Dorn
    Chief Facilitator



    Since entering Modeling School in Chicago at sixteen, nothing has impacted my self-esteem more than attending an Ebonics  lecture by my surrogate sister Brenda Ray at San Jose State.  The class changed the way I looked at myself as a Black person, and the "Black language".  What I write here is mostly taken from the chapter in my book on Ebonics  published in 1991, now out of print.

    I was a guest speak at a National Black Speech and Language Association convention before Ebonics became popular, and was impressed by their study of the Black language. I later spoke with Black teachers in Oakland  where Ebonics media coverage began, and interviewed experts on my cable television shows, as well as with students in my classes.


    This is how the experts define Ebonics 
    Ebony = Black   &  Phonics = Sound

    As the experts took up the debate of Black English, they began by referring to it as the "Black sound", "ebony phonics", "Black phonics", or "the Black phonetical speech pattern", etc.   The term "Ebonics", became a natural evolution -- that's how Ebonics was born.

    Now, before you say, as I have often hear, "I don't speak Ebonics".  As the experts define Ebonics, the Black sound is not that one doesn't speak English correctly, because most of us do, it is more the level in which you speak.  Compare a newscaster with a less educated person, both speak with the ebony sound, but one may use incorrect English. 

    The experts I spoke with define Ebonics as our "first language" making us basically bi-lingual ...  something I  take pride in.  Doctors, lawyers, and professionals  who speak grammatically correct King's English with  the highest levels of education have the ebony-phonics sound.  Black newscaster, if you are not looking at the television set, you immediately recognize the "sound" and the "intonations" put on words. They speak two languages, a public language (if you will), and enjoy their "get down bro/sis" Ebonics first language in social circles.  It's comfortable to speak in our first language and as most professionals do, use a universal language in public.  

    Another defining characteristic of the Ebonic speaker, I have observed, they leave off the "th", the "ed", the final "d", and the final "t" on words like "Hyde park" would be "hi park".  They call that "slang", but when the immigrants from other countries do not speak perfect English, its exotic ... they get the movie roles today.

    A society determines the perceptions and attitudes of the language spoken within that society.  The claim has been that cultural deprivation and low class status is the basis for the Ebonic speaker's linguistic and cognitive deficiencies; that the language is sub-standard.  Some believe Ebonic speakers must learn "correct" and/or "acceptable" language, or "standard English", or "White people's English"; a terrible stigma often shared by Black people as well.  

    We are ashamed of our language which makes us regard ourselves as "inferior" speakers.  Often, Black children, and even some adults won't talk in  public, especially to a White person, afraid they would speak incorrectly, which put our children at a disadvantage.


    Roger D. Abrahams, author of Talking Black, says a person's image of themselves is intimately bound up with the ways in which one talks.  To criticize a way of speaking or to designate it in any way, is to attack the image a person has of themselves.  That is exactly what is perpetrated on the Ebonic speaker, and what I referred to in my opening comment.


    Some experts expressed that Black English or the Black "accent"  is influenced by the geographical areas slaves and their descendants were located, and the way in which the Africans were taught to speak English, and by whom in pre slavery trading days, supporting  the argument that Black language is indeed a separate language here in America.  


    African traders spoke a pidgin English, a trade language or an assimilation of English along with several West African languages.  The Black English and the West African languages have strong similarities in areas as syntax, semantics, phonology, ideophonics, and other nonverbal systems, which further supports the theory that Ebonics is a language in itself.
    African


    In the Oakland schools, the teachers were trying to get extra school funding so that their students could get extra help in English because as we know, as one speaks, is the way one writes.  Also, the old "English 101" classes are no longer offered in college or they are being filled by "English as a Second Language" (ESL) learners.  Blacks who need special attention, especially those who live in institutionalized segregated communities are not allowed in those classes.  They have conveniently been redefined, I believe, as English Language Development/Proficiency(ELD/ELP).

    Bob Ross of Prince George's NAACP says current test scores show African-American students in Prince George’s County Public Schools are performing poorly when it comes to the fundamentals of English reading and writing. He says he believes it’s not just African-American students who have yet to master the English language, but all students in the school system.  He wants money to be spent countywide on the problem.  This is what the Oakland teachers were asking for way back then.  Perhaps now that is is labeled "all students" who have difficulty in English, the money the Oakland teachers wanted will be forthcoming.

    Among Blacks, there are two schools of thought:  one, that we should not allow anyone to dictate to us how to talk and no changes should be made.  The other side believes bi-lingual is best.  We can speak our first language socially and professionally...  "when in Rome" - speak the way Romans do? 

    Which side do you fall on? 

    Friday, May 1, 2015

    BILL COSBY ... IS ... DR. HUXTABLE

    Blog by  +Wanda Dorn      #wandascafe


    BILL COSBY... IS ... DR. HUXTABLE

    Today, I read yet another article about Mr. Cosby and three other women covered by Naturally Moi Magazine, a good magazine, but I hope it's the last I see anywhere of such articles.

    My concern is the effect this media circus has and will have on women and men who are true victims of the quid pro quo power crime of " Sexual Harassment".

    Until Gloria Allred and the women who have accused him prove otherwise, Bill Cosby "will" remain innocent, and on my list as one of several entertainers whom Blacks should applaud around the world, especially those in the entertainment industry.  If it were not for the Huxtables and A Different World, we would still be maids, cooks and sprinkled-in color on the screen.  His work paved the way for Scandal, Murder 101, Blackish, and so many others.

    When the Cosby show began, a White friend, like a best friend, had been to my home, and had visited my Black friends whose homes were even larger than my newly constructed large home was - some hanging off cliffs; Black friends with university degrees, medical degrees, etc., yet she said "The Cosby show, that's a White show".  Among other - "let me educate you" - things I said to her, "Do my friends act any different that the Huxtables"?  That's why his work is so important ... he changed the face of television as well as the image of the Black family and the Black community at large.

    I stole this photo from Mr. Cosby's
    Wikipedia page - hope he doesn't mind
    because it's a beautiful masterpiece
    There was a time the media shielded Hollywood and government insiders; fortunately that time has passed.  However, since many media and public members are acting as judge and jury, and treating this as a Salem Witch trial akin to mass hysteria at first,  I simply ask that we hold ourselves to the same standards a Judge would require of jurors in a court of law.  

    Having spent many years as an officer of the court, I believe I can say with certainty that the court operates on facts, not opinions nor emotions.  Witnesses have to be sworn in under penalty of perjury.  Perhaps that's why the women are speaking to the media and not in a court of law under oath to tell the truth ... unless you just want to believe unsubstantiated claims.  

    The women state they didn't file charges for fear of their careers.  From where I can see, none had careers of any great substance back then, and none has one now, so what did they have to loose? It is difficult for me to believe not one of these women had the backbone to go to the police?

    Statute of limitations has passed?  Why not file a civil suit?  Gloria Allred, where are the civil cases so the women can have their day in court?  Almost anything can constitute a Cause of Action for a civil suit.  It's a no-brainer. 

    I have been in and around entertainment, the legal system, education, and trained models for many years. We've all heard of the casting couch, or "let me get next to him so he can help me with my career" game.  Why would a teenager allegedly be alone with him without parents at Playboy?  I worked at Playboy in Chicago, and teenagers were not allowed without their parents, but I wasn't there ... Why would a woman go to his hotel room, his dressing room, or visit a married man's wife's home alone with him ...  these are not the places where auditions are held.  

    "Has anyone checked the bank accounts of the women lately", paraphrasing someone in an article I read somewhere? One of the women allegedly owes ten thousand dollars in back taxes. 

    I hold in high regard those of his colleagues who have the professional etiquette to refrain from playing judge and jury, and as one aptly said that he won't "Kick a man when he's down".  Some, like comedian Kenan Thompson, has no problem jumping on the negativity bandwagon.  Samuel Jackson said, "Where there's smoke, there's fire".  In court, a defendant is not tried based on smoke, fire, nor prior guilty conduct.  Its based on sworn-in witnesses and substantive evidence pertaining to that, and only that case currently before the court.  Mr. Thompson and Mr. Jackson may find themselves in the same or similar predicament one day. 

    How many times have Black men in particular, in positions of power, been slandered or falsely accused where many have rushed to judgment, to be proven wrong later. 

    Those with opinions, what you say could cause you to be subpoenaed, as a witness should one of the cases be brought to trial.   If the women have witnesses to their accusations, and those witnesses have not reported "the crime", are they are guilty of aiding and abetting before and/or after the fact, and could they be prosecuted?

    Wanda on dais with Dr. Alvin Poussaint
     consultant to the Bill Cosby Show

    Judge Steve Stevens standing
    I appeared as a guest on Mr. Cosby's show You Bet Your Life, and visited his home for a political event, I'm so honored to have been in the presence of someone who has done so much for so many.

    I cannot say whether or not any of the women's accusations are valid, but until I hear sworn testimony, I will hold myself to court and legal standards, which are... "Not guilty until proven guilty". 

    Until then, and no matter how it turns out, Bill Cosby is still 
    the Black screen-image-preception-changer Dr. Huxtable!
    3/20/15