DEFINING LEGACIES

Congress Woman Sheila Jackson Lee at the KCOH Legacy Gala

During the late 1960s, my family and I moved to Houston, Texas from Prairie View, Texas. I was 14. Several things stand out for me now. While born in East Texas, from the age of 3, I lived and grew up in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with a Mountain in my back yard, and lots and lots of open space. Looking back at my life in an area where both whites and blacks were in the minority, coming to Houston was foreign to me in many ways--the hustle and bustle of a big city and supposedly, opportunity. However, it was Houston where the complexities of race and culture loomed large and my education truly began.

Houston, the place where I got called Nigger for the first time. Houston, where I learned that preparing for a UIL competition could be wrenched from you simply because my friend's dad didn't want her to be musical accompaniment for a black girl. And Houston, where I saw the Temptations in concert (up close and personal), where I announced the half-time games at Jack Yates High School on KYOK, and where I had my first writing column called P. K. 's Book Corner at the Forward Times. Oh, yes. Houston, where I sometimes walked in front of a glass front radio station to wave at Skipper Lee Frazier who waved back.

Despite that first year, Houston became the nurturer and inspirer of a young black girl who got a chance to blossom as a storyteller and author. Houston, where I met successful entertainers, lawyers and doctors (many of whom I babysat for), who boosted my morale and self-confidence after that first year in coming to Houston. Houston, a place that made me proud to be Black at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and that moved me through the 70s and 80s and into the 21st Century with purpose and panache.

KCOH celebrated 60 years of broadcasting this past weekend. The event was held at the University of Houston Alumni Center in O'Quinn Great Hall. KCOH and I share years together, a few times side-by-side behind the mic. And yet the years have separated us. I've spent considerable time traveling, but it was always refreshing to drive down Almeda and know that KCOH was still there.

What defines a legacy? KCOH and I are the same age. Interesting because as a young woman, I considered KCOH a giant along with KYOK and the people who rocked the mic. Those studios hold memories for me that had a chance to waft through my mind as I sat at the Gala and watched those individuals who touched my life in ways that I am just beginning to appreciate and accept, sit at tables and walk across the stage. As Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee recalled the life of Congressman Mickey Leland (who I served as publicist in his last campaign before his untimely death), I realize that legacies are formed by the very presence of its work. I was there. And while as a 14 year old, I didn't know all the workings of those times, I do now and that is what defines legacies.

Rev. Bill Lawson and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

Watching Rev. William ("Bill") Lawson accept an award, I remember that my father made sure that he was one of the first people I met as he and my father attended college together (my Dad was the elder at the time). I also remember that Rev. Lawson, along with Rev. Douglas (who lived in my neighborhood) and others, helped bring Dr. King to Houston and that it was a brave and courageous thing they did. I also know that this very period of time continues to shape my activism today.

KCOH is not the same radio station, but that as it should be. Evolution is a natural part of any existence. I am not the same, but I'm built upon a foundation that has not wavered--a foundation that my parents, mentors, and teachers, helped me to build. And while KCOH finds its way into the light of the 21st Century (14 years in), there is much work to do because the legacy on which KCOH was built ... well, it is strong indeed. So, heres to 60 years more and counting!

The Scandal Phenomenon ...

... from a business perspective.

"If you want me ... Earn me!"

ABC's Scandal, a night time drama set in modern day Washington, DC, has a following to die for. I have watched shows that have been popular nationally before, but I have never since the Cosby Show in the 1980s, watched a show that so many of my friends are addicted to. My daughter watches it. Her friends do, too. My friends and their friends (female and male friends, mind you) watch Scandal and then we talk about it throughout the week, waiting for the next episode. Heck, we often make plans around the time it comes on. If we can't watch it with friends, we tape it and the discussion boards  light up after every show. 

What is the phenomenon that makes a show gain in popularity, bringing fans back week after week? Is it the marketing of the show, its content, its actors, that make a show successful? Is there something, we as entrepreneurs can learn and use in our efforts to bring repeat clients? I thought this as I had dinner with more than a dozen people last night where in the midst of talking about business and every day scandals, from the political to the fabulously wealthily, we turned to the Scandal, including the fact that we were missing it for the time being. I think maybe there was one, maybe two people that didn't watch Scandal, but everyone there knew about it. Some of us admitted that we were hooked to the point of obsession, taping it so that we could watch it when we got home. Everybody there had something that they particularly loved about the show, especially the Gladiators. But, there were things that they love to "hate." This week's episode sizzled with the current scandal brewing between the President, his wife, and his mistress, but all in all, that is not what makes it a phenomenon. Adultery has been done before, so has scandalous action, including murder. So, I'm back to the question. What's the phenomenon?

It is so simple that I don't know why I didn't grasp it right off. There are hooks for the show, time-proven methods that include good writing, great acting, and story lines that keep you on the edge of your seat. But, what makes it best-watched show? Simply, a commitment to excellence. It's writing gets better ... It's acting is flawless .... and the storyline beckons the watcher to come back the following week. Yes, that's simple, but what is great about the show is a line uttered by Olivia Pope to the President of the United States. "If you want me ... Earn me!" What makes Scandal worth our while is that Shonda Rhimes set out to earn us. And she does - each and every week.

Shonda Rhimes doesn't just earn us, she earns her actors' loyalty, her sponsors' support and she does it by not scrimping on marketing, or hiring the best crew, or having a willingness to evaluate her day-by-day commitment to excellence. Not good part of the time, but each and every episode. That is why she earns the big bucks. In earning us as an audience she has earned the right to reap the benefits. Now that's a phenomena I don't mind creating.

2013 is the Year for Economic Justice

Stop Taking Advantage of Freelancers

Just because you’re a non-profit, doesn’t mean that you should take advantage of freelancers who might work for less than a large company charges, but in the end, if you’re about fairness and justice, it behooves you to pay people what they are worth.

When I look at my days, I find that I work 8-12 hours days excepting Sunday (I try not to work on Sunday anymore). I also try to take off one day a week once or twice a month where I turn off my computer and take time for myself. But the last 3 years I’ve felt like I'm hustling rather working--that to sustain myself, I was accepting less than what I'm worth to keep the proverbial balls of survival in the air. Enough!

The idea of hustling is not exactly foreign to me. I have, in the past, never lacked for work because I have a wide range of skills that I continue to polish. I remember starting as a typist and telephone operator (always, always, have worked more than one job). I type more than 100 words per minute and I had (still do) a good voice. I went from a Remington to the IBM Selectric, to memory typewriters, to computers. Never have I shied away from learning. My first real job was at the telephone company while I was in college. All that means is that I paid taxes for the first time. While living on a college campus (my father was a professor), I typed papers for Ph.D. candidates. I was 11 years old. Great money. I charged 50 cents a page, but I gained so much more than money. Boy, did I ever learn. My mother use to tease me after working with a candidate for 2-3 months, “Well, I see you just got another Ph.D.”

Freelancing has afforded me much in life. I have gotten to travel and pursue my love of peacemaking because I freelance. The Internet gave most freelancers real freedom because we can send our work instantly for review and acceptance. As I said, I’ve never lacked for work, but what I have lacked in these last few years is fair payment. In the ‘80s, I made about $10-20 an hour. Like I said earlier, I have honed my skills, going from a simple typist to editor, designer, and consultant. I’m college educated and experienced.

In the ‘90s, I made more, but I admit that money never has driven me. Perhaps that is part of my current problem, but I don’t think so. If I made an agreement with someone, expectations were that delivered work would be paid for. Period. The last few years, however, I have dealt with more individuals and non-profits that expect me to work for less than my education and experience require.

I have worked for less and less because the economy sucked. A job that I once received $4-500 for, I’m doing for $150. Truly. Then I have to chase down money or waste my time negotiating an agreement that the bottom-line for the potential client is that they want it cheap. Cheap? I needed the money, so I have accepted less than what I was worth to get the job. Then I have to ask myself, “Why should I?” In fact, why should any of us give away our gifts and talents for cheap? The last straw last year provoked me to change the way I do business as a freelancer. I had worked for an older, established non-profit as a favor to someone I’d known since I was 16 years old.  The weeks of working for this individual and his organization made me realize that what I had agreed to, and what I ended up doing (not agreed to), was no one’s fault but my own. My camera was stolen at an event ($300 down the drain), I dropped my IPhone in the commode ($175 to replace), and I worked longer hours (because, personally, my name was on the material and I wanted to make sure it was exemplary). In the end, when I added up what I made with what I lost, I made $100! That ended up being roughly five cents an hour.

It took me a couple of months of trying to negotiate a better deal with my former mentor who kept reminding me: Remember, I’m a non-profit. In other words, as a non-profit, you expect a discount? You expect to have people GIVE away their work for free? Well, I guess some do. But, as I looked at it, especially knowing that I believed in the cause of my non-profits that I have worked for, I knew I had to change tack. This isn’t working and in the end, I start resenting the organization and that sucks big time.

By the way, this organization ended up owing me a lot of money because I’d yet to change tack, but the lesson can be yours. I was hurt more than anything because I trusted where trust had not been earned. I was thinking with a 16-year old mind of awe. I gave more credit to the individual than he deserved, and fell prey to a kind of worship that wasn’t smart. In the end, I walked away feeling betrayed and angry. As freelancers, it is our job to educate our clients on the worth of the product or service they are receiving. Secondly, having someone tell you that they can’t afford you is your first clue that this should NOT be your client. You can sympathize with their plight and commiserate with them, but you cannot work for them. Sorry. Sorry?

Don’t be.

Seriously, I prefer to do work for projects and causes that mean something to me. That won’t change. But, I have to be aware of what I can or cannot volunteer for. My job, my little company, sustains me so that I can volunteer every once in a while. I will sweep floors, wash dishes, (wo)man a booth, but I will not give away my services for free. Discounts? Maybe, but that comes from building a relationship with the company along with a signed agreement.

Yes, if it’s my products or services you want, you must sign an agreement. Agreements protect us both, but it also makes it easier to know whether or not you should be working together in the first place.

Whomever you work for, if they seek you out, you must take your business serious. Find out what they want. I do a 15-minute free telephone consultation. I can offer them options of setting up a longer consultation in person (at an hourly rate), which I can apply to the job we agree to (sign the agreement). Be clear and if they don’t want to sign an agreement (I’ve had that happen), walk away.

As I started this out blog as a statement to those who take advantage of freelancers (or more aptly, who freelancers let take advantage of them), please don’t start with wanting a discount unless you’ve built a relationship prior. Instead, find out what it will cost and then go to your funders and get it paid for. That’s not only respect, but it is economic justice. As a freelancer with premium skills, I use other freelancers. I’m not going to them and asking them to work for less than they are worth because I know value. I’m certainly not going to do it knowing what the ultimate cost is for accepting less than you’re worth. The economy will grow when we pay each other fairly. 2013 has got to be different.

Lastly, think about this as well. Think about what you do pay for. The light company, the phone bill; companies that will turn you off before they negotiate the price. The truth is that you don’t even ask. But, you will ask us—the freelancers—the fill in the blanks people who make you look or sound good. Well, times are changing. Want the best? Take out your checkbook and then make sure the check is good.