>> "here and now," the program featuring the news and interests of the african-american community. here's your host, sandra bookman. >> coming up, shining a spotlight on some unsung veterans -- a documentary about african-american women who served the country during world war ii. also, the inspirational story behind one of the top natural hair-care companies in the country -- miss jessie's. plus, the impact of stress in our lives and what we can do to take control. we're gonna talk with the holistic expert behind the new book "the biology of beating stress." and later, exploring the political and cultural influence of malcolm x in brooklyn. but first this afternoon, we want to turn our attention to a recurring issue -- gun violence. guns are the leading cause of death among african-american youth. new yorkers against gun violence

is trying to change that through legislative advocacy and education, with a particular focus on young people in communities prone to gun violence. here today is leah gunn barrett, executive director of new yorkers against gun violence, the organization's education director, as well -- shaina harrison. thank you, all, for being with us this afternoon. we appreciate it. of course, you're doing wonderful work here, and what we really think is particularly interesting is that you have taken your program into the schools. tell us about that. >> well, we figure that it's not just enough to do the policy work, which is very important, clearly, but it's also educating young people who are living with gun violence on a day-to-day basis about the problem and to let them know that there about it. they can become advocates and activists in their community. they can't change where they live, but they can change how around them. so that's what our programs are doing, and they are

a semester long or year long, and we actually take the kids, these are mainly high school students, to albany in the spring where they advocate and they talk to their legislators and they share their stories, their personal stories about how gun violence is affecting their communities and their families. >> and, shaina, are there some things or methods that you found that are particularly effective in getting teenagers to listen? >> i think the different thing about the reaction program is that we aren't really focused on our students listening. we're focusing on listening. we look at our students as being the experts. unfortunately, they are disproportionately affected by gun violence. they know where the guns are coming -- they know where the guns are. their families, their friends, you know, are dying every single day because of gun violence, and this is one of the only opportunities that they have to be an expert on an issue that's affecting their life in such a tragic way. >> do you have difficulty getting them to open up or are they willing to talk to you about that issue?

>> mm-hmm. i think, you know, we have to give young people a lot of credit. they know when they are in a brave space. when i say a brave space and a safe space, i feel like when you're in the safe space, you're always worrying about, you know, making sure that you're saying things that aren't gonna necessarily hurt someone's feelings. when you're in a brave space, there's always intentions to do good. so once you come in, you know that this space is for you to be as honest and as raw as possible in order to live a holistic life. so they come in knowing that, and they are very brave with their thoughts. they're very brave with their actions, and they talk candidly about the things that have happened to them because they need this space, and they feel like, you know, being honest with what's happening in their community is the only way to change it. so i think they look at the reaction program as a solution to some of the things that's happening in their communities, and they understand that bringing their own

expertise and their own honesty to the program is the only way to solve some of the problem. >> and i understand from reading about the program and some of the conversations with the teenagers is that a lot of them, when they talk about guns, there's also a conversation about power, and somehow the gun is giving them -- at least that's the thought by some young people that it gives you a sense of power. how do you deal with that issue? >> yeah. one of the first things i realized when talking to young people about guns is you just can't say, "don't pick up guns. guns are bad." right? we have to really think about why young people feel the need to pick up guns, and, honestly, no matter where the students are from -- if they're from brooklyn or manhattan, no matter if they're 14 or 21, when you ask the question why people pick up guns, they always say, "power and protection," and and if they're saying that, we have to address whether or not guns give you power. you know, it's really interesting to hear people say guns don't kill people, people kill people, but in our program, we have to personify

the gun. we have to talk about the artificial power that guns give people who feel powerless. right? and i think that that's the most important thing that we work with in the reaction program is about this artificial type of power. it's kind of like, you know, watching a fight, and you don't ever see two people fighting and no one's around. you usually have a crowd around. people love fighting around crowds because it gives you that artificial energy, that boost to do something that you might not necessarily have done if that crowd wasn't around, and that's kind of what the gun does. you know, it gives kids artificial power to make different decisions -- decisions that they probably wouldn't have made if the gun wasn't in the room. >> and, leah, i want to ask you. evidence of the success of the program? >> yes, well, we've actually worked with -- this year with john jay college to come up with a better survey tool. we had always given the students a survey at the beginning and at

the end of the program to gauge how their attitudes have changed, because it's really about changing mind-sets. so as shaina said at the beginning, a lot of the young people think that guns give them protection, give them a sense of power, and we gauge the change in that attitude from the beginning of the program to the end, and we have seen there's a radical shift in attitudes, which is really what we want to achieve because, remember, each one of these young people then feels empowered not only with knowledge, but also with this confidence. they now understand, you know, the reality of guns and gun violence, and they can go and spread that message to others in their communities, to their families and to their extended networks, which is really how it works. we like to call it a multiplier effect. >> absolutely. >> and before i let you go, 'cause they're telling me we're running out of time, i do want to touch on the issue. we talked about legislative advocacy and getting stronger gun laws -- those are all important. >> both: absolutely. >> i mean, the students will say to us all the time, "where are these guns coming from?,"

largely from states with weak gun laws -- virginia, georgia, southern states that don't have strong laws like new york does. so one thing that we're working on is trying to find the data, get the data sources -- 'cause we know the data exists -- to get the new york city mayor's office, the police department, and throughout the state to release the crime gun trace source data so we can actually trace these guns back to the stores they're coming from in virginia. some of them are coming from here in new york. so knowledge is power. so there's a lot we can do still here in new york. we have the third lowest gun death rate in the nation, but we can even do better, and we're leading the way. >> thank you both for being with us this afternoon, the important work you do. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you. >> next on "here and now," serving their country with honor and distinction -- a documentary that tells the story of black women who served in the military

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400,000 twc wifi hotspots with select plans. call now. >> as we honor those who have served in the u.s. armed forces this veterans day, we are shining a spotlight on some of the nation's unsung veterans -- african-american women who served in the military during world war ii despite segregation. "sweet georgia brown: impact, courage, sacrifice, and will" is a documentary that focuses on black women who enlisted in the women's army auxiliary corps, perhaps better known as the waacs, beginning in the 1940s. take a look.

>> you had segregation no matter where you went. >> i went to the army. >> 40,000 women served in the waac and approximately 4% to 5% of that number is african-american. >> anytime anybody wants to know anything, they want to talk about the six-triple eight. >> african-american women had two fronts of discrimination -- racism and gender. >> but they had an opportunity to show the world that they had the skills to work to standards. >> and living conditions was hard, but the women stayed and worked together. >> it's taken a long time for us to be found and remembered. >> no gal made has got a shade on sweet georgia brown >> joining us this afternoon is the director of "sweet georgia brown," lawrence walker. thank you so much for being here, mr. walker. >> good afternoon.

>> a wonderful film. >> thank you. >> i was just fascinated at how many of these women were actually captured on film. so their story was, in a sense, just waiting to be told. >> well, the story was lost. not until a historian contacted me. he found out i was working on another documentary, and he said to me, "you're working on the tuskegee airmen? hbo had just did this story. don't do that. let me give you a story you need to talk about on african-american women that served during world war ii." i was dumbfounded. i had no clue that african-american women served. so he told me the story, and before i left, he told me to pick up two books -- brenda l. moore's book "to serve my country, to serve my race," and major charity adams earley's book "one woman's army." once i read both of those books, i knew. every filmmaker wants to do something that nobody hasn't done. this was something that was buried and lost, and this is something i wanted to do. >> what's so fascinating about your story? what about their story that

you believe needs to be told? >> well, i knew as i read both of those books, i felt these women were up in age. they were retired. they were out of the military. and i knew once they go, all that history is gone. >> mm. >> so it was a journey, a 15-year journey of finding out where these women were at and sitting them down hour, two hours -- as much time as they allowed me in their house to have them talk to me about their history, the past -- the good, the bad, the ugly -- and what they experienced as being a waac during that period. so the stories were just fascinating to me. >> so, tell me what you learned about these young women at the time deciding to enlist in the armed services in the 1940s when the armed services, like much of america, was segregated. >> well, i've learned that -- you're right. you hit it right there on the nose. it was segregated. most of these women wanted an opportunity. it was tough. some had a hard time getting jobs. some were working in a factory.

women came out of the factories, the rosie the riveters, and when they say an opportunity -- when roosevelt passed a law to allow women to go in, well, the white women went in first. black women didn't go in yet until adam clayton powell, the naacp and the black press pushed, and two other important figures that their history is lost in time is eleanor roosevelt and mary mcleod bethune. once they put the pressure on congress and pushing to allow african-american women to go in, then the rest was history. >> and what kind of jobs did these women find themselves doing once they went into the service? >> well, naturally women didn't go into combat. they basically worked on the base -- clerks, cooks, mail operators, map readers. they did the same type of job that men did, but they did it on the base, and they learned military style, and when your commander was major charity adams earley, she was a no-nonsense woman. one of the girls said to me,

"she was tough -- she was fair, but she was tough." >> well, if you're in the armed services, that makes sense. >> yes. >> and i know that there was a real need for nurses at that time, and did you find many black women answering that call? >> part of the six-triple eight had a nurse corps, which was under the command, and when they left the states and they went to england, they came off the boat, and the nurses corps was set up just to do their duty as nurses, but when they came off the boat, who was waiting for them at the end of the boat was benjamin o. davis, one-star general. that part of history is lost, and not too many people know. his son was benjamin o. davis jr., which was the commander of the tuskegee airmen. so the nurses, their role was an important role as they spread out across the country and around the world, serving and doing their job during that period. >> you know, one of the fascinating parts of your documentary is that we actually hear from these women. you talked about how important

that is because you don't want to lose their history once they're gone. did they recognize their place in history when they sat down and talked to you about what serving in the u.s. armed forces had been like? >> i'm glad you brought that up. 'cause one of the interviews that now comes back to me -- one of the women said to me, "we didn't know we were a part of history. we didn't know we were an experiment. so the eyes of the world were watching us, and they didn't think we were important." so when they left the service and years go by, and here i come ringing their doorbell -- "i want to talk about your history" -- they didn't think it was important. but now they realize they were important. they were a part of a system that needed help, and they wanted to be a part of that. >> and if folks want to get a chance to see your documentary, there are some opportunities locally. it's going to be shown in union, new jersey, at kean university november 19th.

>> and if they go to purehistory.org, they can find out some more information about your research. go ahead. >> right. they can find out more about my research. like i indicate, i travel around the world researching, photographing, and interviewing history, and the website is not quite posted for the schedule, but there are three different locations -- kean university and a high school in pennsylvania, and at a historic society, but if they contact me, my information is on the website. i can tell them exactly where i'll be screening. and i've been screening it the whole year throughout the country, and people are shocked and people are amazed that they didn't know this history was there, and i point out to them, "well, you're like me. i didn't know, either, but i educated myself fast," and i wanted to keep that history alive. >> well, now because of you, the history. thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. still ahead on "here and now,"

"the biology of beating stress." look, i know you're a cow and all. and you may not know what i'm talking about, but, uh. the yogurt made from your milk, is delicious.

>> feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted? you're not alone. stress is one thing that all too many of us have in common, and it is literally killing us. epigenetics is the study of how our environment, living space, relationships, and diet impact our overall health and how our genes can actually be altered by stress, making us more vulnerable to serious diseases. joining us this afternoon is the former director of the holistic wellness program for city college, a certified holistic health practitioner, and the author of "the biology of beating stress," jeanne ricks. thank you so much for being with us today. >> thank you. i want you to just take a deep breath right now. just one... [ breathes deeply ] hold it. [ exhales ] now, just in doing that one thing... >> mm-hmm. >> ...you've signaled to your unconscious mind that there is no tiger chasing you, that there's absolutely no

reason to be upset or anxious because we do that shallow breathing all throughout our day. shallow-breathe, and subliminally -- think about it. when you're shallow breathing, it tells your body that there's possibly potentially some danger. so when you just do that deep breath, just two or three of them, it settles down that cortisol response. that easy? >> it is that easy. you need to do it multiple times throughout the day, but that's just one part of stress reduction, but it's an important part because, again, subliminally, your mind is racing. all day long we're doing that little shallow breathing. when was the last time you took a deep breath? [ chuckles ] >> i don't know. [ both laugh ] maybe i took a deep breath before i walked onto the news floor when i got here this morning to start the day, and then, you know, you start that you got to get it done, you got it get it done. >> exactly. even if when you're driving and you finally reach your destination, if you just took a moment to take a deep breath. you know, you come up out of the subway tunnel, just

your focus is gonna be better. your oxygen level to the brain is gonna be better. it's gonna help. >> so talk to me about the toll that stress takes on your body. i mean, when you hear something like stress -- and i read this last night -- that stress can change -- you know, change your genetics, change your genes? talk to me about that. >> the thing we don't recognize -- you know, the human genome project was amazing. they came up with some amazing data from it, and one of the things that they recognized principally, though, was that the amount of dna needed to create disease and infections and that -- 85% of that is not coming from your genes. in other words, just because grandpa had prostate cancer or grandma had type 2 diabetes does not mean you're going to get it. now, the switch is there, that genetic switch is there, but what turns that on is something in your environment, and that's not just the water you drink or the air you breathe. it's the people around you. it's how you feel about your job.

it's how you feel about your spouse. all of those things -- >> how you eat. >> exactly. absolutely. >> how you sleep or not. >> and exercise -- yes, all of that is part of your environment, and that switch gets turned on when something whack. >> and what you say in your book is that there are lots of things you can do, and they're small things incrementally that you can do to change that and keep from turning that switch on, i guess. >> absolutely. say you're on the phone with customer service. now, you know you're on this phone with customer service. you're getting a little agitated. maybe you've been switched around a few times, what have you, but your body, your brain has not evolved to the point where it knows that it's just stress. it only knows crisis or non-crisis. it doesn't have a little middle gray area for stress. crisis or non-crisis. so you're sitting on the phone with customer service, your body goes into crisis mode to give you resources to run away from that danger or to climb or whatever you're gonna have

it's collecting glucose. it's dumping triglycerides into your bloodstream to get that extra fat for extra energy. it's actually skimming your muscles to a certain extent. it's changing the flow of your airway. you're just on the phone, but it's also -- >> but all that's going on. >> exactly. it's constricting your blood vessels, raising your blood pressure. it's, as i said, raising your cholesterol level. you're just on the phone. now, when you get off the phone -- boom, you're done -- you walk away. you haven't done anything with all those resources that were just gathered. >> so your body is still having to cope with all of that. >> and store it. that's how you get belly fat. >> is that what the problem is? >> that's where the belly fat comes from -- a little bit, absolutely. just from your stress result and insulin resistance -- but that's where it's coming from 'cause now your body has to store the resources that it just collected. that's happening to you all day long -- the little "zzz," "zzz" all day long. you know, make phone calls, mail -- all day long you're responding to stress, but you're not doing anything about it. >> so what are some of the -- you talked about taking the deep

breath. what are some of the other things that you can do to really get yourself in the habit of figuring out how to turn that trigger off? habits. talk to me about some -- you do discuss a lot of these things in the book -- some of the things that you eat that don't exactly help the body's response. talk to me about what you can do that if i say it, "okay, that is doable for me"? >> remember, in my book "the biology of beating stress," i mentioned that one of the things stress does is it causes cravings for sugar and fat. >> mm-hmm. >> so you think you're just randomly having a craving for sugar and fat -- no, those -- >> it's all connected. >> exactly. those french fries were ordered up by your life, by what's happening here. aware. most of us can't take ourselves off the hook. there's so many people stressed around us, we don't actually acknowledge. so i need people to stop during the day just a few times. just look at your watch and say,

"it's 12:15. i'm gonna stop at 12:30 and just stop," and just for one minute, two minutes just actually assess how your body's feeling. actually, for two minutes, assess, "oh, my god. there's tension in my neck. let me just work it out a little bit." taking care of yourself is something we as a society have agreed not to do. it's almost like we don't give ourselves that pardon during our day. so, take a self-assessment every maybe four or five hours. have something to eat -- just a small amount. >> but what should you be eating? >> it's like 200 calories that our body needs, and that's just to keep your body from doing that insulin roller coaster. when you don't eat for long stretches of time, your body has to meet that demand, and it will actually dump in -- that's when the insulin response gets messed up. so you need to just have a small little something -- a handful of raw nuts, a little -- i know you mentioned cheese snacks. that can be a little fattening over time, so we want to watch the cheese, but do you understand the concept? we're looking for something small. if you had dinner last night and you have some chicken left

over, just have a little sliced chicken with crackers. >> protein. >> exactly. for the most part, you need just a little protein. do you know why? in your body, protein gets -- it's like the brakes. if you think of carbs as the gas pedal, protein are the brakes. so when you have a little protein, it's gonna make any carb that you have burn a little slower so you're not hungry as quickly. >> you know? give yourself that brake. >> but over time, is eating raw better in terms of fueling your body over time? that may not necessarily be easy for a lot of people, but it's not that difficult to do -- at least some of the time. >> exactly. but remember. some people's dige-- when you're under stress, another one of those things that happens while you're just sitting there on the phone -- it ruins your digestion. it also turns off your sex drive, by the way, but it ruins digestion. so raw for some people is a little hard, but it is by far the best way to get good nutrients into your system. think of it this way. any time we heat food, we change

the information that that food is giving our body. >> mm-hmm. >> when it's in its raw state, your body can use it -- it assimilates it so much more easily. >> and explain to me, if you will, 'cause we're running out of time here, why it's so important really for all of us to get a handle on how we deal or don't deal with stress. >> obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease -- all of these things, even cancer to a certain degree, is actually escalated by your level of stress. actually, those switches i was talking about, those genetic markers are getting switched on. any time you're under stress, you run that risk, but if you take care of yourself, your mental acuity is going to be sharper, because if you do those deep breathing exercises that are in my book every now and then, seriously, your body's getting more oxygen. you're absolutely going to get more serotonin, which is going to make you feel better. your serotonin level gets destroyed when your digestion is off, and that's what gets

so just taking care of yourself throughout the day in increments is going to improve your life overall. >> particularly important for african-americans. a lot of those diseases are really prevalent in that community. >> absolutely. and, again, the attitude of not being able to take care of yourself -- it is important. you are improving the life of everyone around you when you take care of yourself, but you have to give yourself permission to look inward and say, "how am i feeling? oh, wait. oh, oh, wait. you know, let me just take a deep breath here." >> and the exercise. >> oh. >> 15 minutes you say is even better than a longer period. >> high-intensity interval training will improve cardiovascular function. it will also improve overall muscle tone, but here's the thing. your body was designed to do that exercise in small bursts, and when you do that, you get rid of this belly fat quite quickly, but you also build reserve muscles. one percent per year you're losing, but when you do that,

meet. >> okay, jeanne ricks. there's so much information the book is "the biology of beating stress," and i want to send people to your website -- nuday.org. >> right -- n-u-d-a-y. >> i'm sorry. n-u-d-a-y.org and vibroacoustics new york -- ny. vibroacousticsny.com. >> yes. >> all right? you can find out this life-saving information and start controlling some of the stress in your life. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much... >> thank you. >> ...for being with us.

>> their inspirational story details how their idea went from the kitchen table to high-end hair salons and shelves in major retailers. sisters miko and titi branch created miss jessie's, a natural hair-care company. named after their grandmother, it's credited with pioneering

the curly and natural hair-care movement. joining us is the cofounder and c.e.o. of miss jessie's, miko branch. so nice to meet you. >> thanks so much for having me, >> yeah. you are one gorgeous woman. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and i'm gonna say that's because of miss jessie's, right? >> that's because of miss jessie. [ both laugh ] from? >> you know, it came from a few places, but my family, our family was such an influence on us. our grandmother was our southern matriarch. she ruled our family from the kitchen table. we saw her cooking everything from scratch, so when it came time for us to create our product line, we just tapped in to what we saw growing up, and then also our dad. he was such an entrepreneur. he wanted us to be in a position of choice, so by the time we were, you know, setting out to start our business, we had already had that ingrained in our mind. >> now, in this new book, "miss jessie's," you know, "creating a successful business from scratch...naturally,"

you pretty much tell the story of your family and this business and, really, you built it from the ground up. why did you think this was the perfect time to share this with other people? >> you know, there's so many different images, there's so many different just pictures of how we are and who we are, and i thought this was a real important time to show the diversity and the range. we're businesswomen, we're mothers, we're entrepreneurs, and i thought, you know, in this book if i spoke inspired. if we can do it, you can do it, too. >> and what is it that makes your product so special? i know you're not gonna give me any trade secrets. >> it's sincere. miss jessie's is made with 100% pure love. you know, the intention is good. the intention was to help women, primarily women, but now a little bit of everyone,

natural texture in their hair, and i think, you know, the heartbeat just coming from a sincere place really translates, and we can relate to so many people. so when it comes time for that woman or that person to want to make the switchover from maybe relaxed to natural, she knows that someone has been there, too, like my sister and i, so it's part of our success. >> and your sister, who passed away about a year ago now? >> yes. >> she was just an integral part. you started the business together. i think you're the hair guru. >> yes. >> and she was sort of the miss do everything else. >> she was. my sister titi, titi branch, she was just a jack of all trades. titi was good at -- she was a great communicator. she actually worked here >> mm-hmm. the guys talked about her. >> yes. she was an excellent communicator, but also a wonderful organizer. titi was very organized, and she was also -- she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. a wall.

she had a heart of gold. she was also very creative. >> mm-hmm. >> and all that mixed together, our partnership was such a wonderful partnership. she's always been my big sister. so that partnership that we had really helped miss jessie's to be a success. >> and how easy or difficult is it to keep moving forward without her? you still hear her voice in your head? >> it's so funny you say that, sandra. my sister is with me. titi -- i am titi, titi is me. i hear her voice in practically everything that i do. the beauty of our business is that we built the business together, so there's no one part of the business that neither one of us didn't know, so that's the beauty of the business, but in terms of the loss, it's still tough. >> i can imagine. i mean, losing a loved one is hard enough, losing a sister... >> oh, but titi was everything to me. she was my sister, she was my partner, she was also my co-parent, she was my best friend, so it's -- you know, it's gonna take some time.

the pioneers of natural hair care and also, really, brooklyn, quite frankly. you know, you're a very brooklyn-centric product. >> we are. >> how do you deal with the competition now? i mean, you were out ahead of a lot of other people, but now, you know, everybody thinks they're doing a natural hair-care line. >> i think the key is staying authentic and staying true to what we do, not being distracted by what our competitors are doing, and that has always led us in the right direction. something as simple as naming curly pudding, you know, for curls, kinks & waves -- that came from our beloved grandmother. so just really staying true to what's important to us and what we feel is best, that seems to always be a success story for miss jessie's. >> now, reading in the book, i know how target -- it was a big deal getting into target. you know, what do you see as the next big deal for miss jessie's that you can share with us? >> [ sighs ] wow. you know, so the good news is

that while titi was alive, we created so many wonderful products together, so there's certainly more product to come, but, you know, sandra, i've discovered after this book that we have a new product, and the product is called knowledge, and sharing knowledge is probably gonna be the next area that we explore a bit more. we have so much wisdom to share, and working on my next book now to just, you know, extend our story. i think it's gonna be even more helpful to people. >> all right. what a pleasure to meet you. congratulations on all your success. >> thank you. >> earned and well-deserved. >> thank you. >> the book -- "miss jessie's: creating a successful business from scratch...naturally" in bookstores now. >> thank you. >> miko branch. >> thanks, sandra. >> sandra bookman and

>> thinking about starting a business in nassau or suffolk county or even brooklyn or queens? well, the long island african american chamber of commerce may be the best one-stop shop to help you get that business off the ground. joining us today is phil andrews, president of the long island african american chamber of commerce, along with the chamber's vice president, sharon davis. thank you both for being with us this afternoon. >> thank you.

established in 2010, right? >> yes, that's correct. >> and what is your mission? >> well, our mission is to bring quality services to small business owners in the region and to bring those regions together to begin to build up the economy in those regions in the african-american community. >> now, miss davis, are there things that you feel like the chamber, the african american chamber of commerce, is uniquely qualified to do that perhaps the small business owners might not get somewhere else? >> well, some of the things we try to do is educate them about how to run the business. that's first and foremost -- profit and loss statements, all of those financials that are required, but we've also been focusing on the mwbe, which is minority and women business enterprises. there are certain grants and contracts that can be awarded to them. in fact, the governor has mandated that 30% of certain grants be awarded to them. so we're trying to focus on that, get them certified so that they can compete

>> and do you find, mr. andrews, that some smaller minority women-owned businesses, they lack that knowledge that not only for maybe knowing how to go after some of the contracts that are out there for the taking, but also that maybe they don't have the paperwork together? they have the know-how, but they don't really even know how to shop themselves or present themselves in the best light? >> that's correct. that's one of the reasons why i love leading this organization is we need access to information, and sometimes we -- and that maybe my mentor was a pioneer in the area of economic development, so i heard all the stories about how this whole economic movement was started, and i believe god was preparing me all my life to be in this position to help give back what was given to me in knowledge in the area of economic empowerment, and i'm just excited that we have -- it's like anything else.

when we're in a community involved in something, then it gets more into our community, more people know about these services 'cause we're leading and advocating that more people bring access to these services to our community. >> now, miss davis, you focused, you said, on getting people ready to be certified. what have you done in that direction -- classes? talk to me about some of the things you've done. last year. it was three days. and the first day was just to explain how the process works and get them set up on the system. the next day, which would be a week later, was to come in, go back on the system and get their paperwork together, as you said, so that they can get certified. >> mm-hmm. class. and the third day was just to make sure they were in the position to send their paperwork out to whatever agency they were applying for, and that's what we did. we did it for free. we offered it for free. >> and you're also even -- sorry to cut you off. >> that's okay. >> you know, you're teaching them some valuable things -- bookkeeping, i guess, how to

>> right. all the fundamentals. that's what we try to focus on for them. >> are you surprised sometimes by how many people -- you know, maybe they have a good idea and they're ready to work, but they really lack the knowledge about what to do, how to go about this business, how to work towards profitability? >> absolutely. >> and why do you think that is that the knowledge isn't as deep as it should be? >> well, one of the things i think that -- it's like when you go into business, it's just like being a doctor. you aren't going to being a doctor without knowing the best language of being a doctor. so a lot of times people go into business, they got this idea that it's something they want to do, but they never got the background information that they need -- like we were saying, technical advice, how to apply for loans, how to keep your credit well. so what we do, you got to have a fundamental of anything that you're in -- whether you're in -- if you're in tv, you need

the fundamental of tv. >> you need the basics. you need to know how to write, how to speak to people. >> so we believe that training and education empowers a businessperson to be a better businessperson. >> and how receptive have people been? do you find that some folks come in, and they're really excited to be there, and the others, well, they're excited, but they kind of think, you know, "i know how to sell my product." they don't yet realize what they're missing -- the things that they don't have yet? >> i think most people are excited because i think we're in a time where it's our season, and i think we're pulling together and we're encouraging each other. important. so when they come in, we try to mentor them with our successful businesses and say, "these are the things you need to do." you look at someone who's successful, and you would model. so that's one of the things that's happening, and then the training works very well. >> and to that end, i should have mentioned earlier, both of you are successful business owners. now, you, miss davis, you run sort of a financial services benefits.

i started out over 30 years ago in the financial services industry, but i've expanded my business to employee benefits and insurance benefits, as well, in addition to wealth management. >> and you had too many jobs for me to list myself. [ laughter ] >> yes. >> but you've got your fingers in quite a few pies. >> yes. what i did, i started out -- my claim to fame is in my 20s, i built a franchise with 100 employees and 10 stores. >> mm-hmm. >> and then i became a leader in the community, and then many years later, i began to look at the ability to communicate, and i have communication skills in the area of public relations. >> if he says so himself. >> and network -- and i'm a networking expert. so sometimes god gives us more talent -- some of us can work in multiple areas very well. >> mm-hmm. incredible. we want to send folks to your website -- liaacc.org, and on that website, they can

find out more information about future classes or networking events that you guys are >> yes. when they go on the website, a drop box will come in and say if you want more details to get on our list. it will come right down. and people sign up every day. >> thank you both for being with us this afternoon. the long island african american chamber of commerce. >> thank you. >> we appreciate the good work that you guys are doing. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> when we talk about the legacy of malcolm x, his story is often most identified with harlem. but now, 50 years after his death, the civil rights leader's influence in brooklyn is getting some attention.

explore the cultural and political influence of malcolm x in brooklyn, zaheer ali, oral historian at the brooklyn historical society. so nice to meet you. >> thank you for having me. >> the minute i read this, it immediately captured my attention because i think this is something about malcolm x many of us didn't know, but he lived in new york, so not surprising, huh? >> right. so he lived in queens, but most of his work was in harlem, and, of course, the late ossie davis, who eulogized malcolm, you know, in his eulogy said malcolm was, you know, our gallant champion. he was harlem's -- one of its brightest hopes. so, you know, he was kind of eulogized as harlem's son, and that was fitting because malcolm had spent time there as detroit red, and he certainly spent most of his time there as an organizer, both in the nation of islam and after he left the nation of islam. but what is not so well-known is that part of that organizing

took place throughout the city, and included brooklyn, and malcolm in brooklyn helped to establish a temple or a mosque, and he encouraged the members of those mosques to establish businesses. they had two grocery stores, barbershops, fish market. you know, this was just part of the nation of islam's economic program, and, you know, so what really struck me was i was walking down -- it's now malcolm x boulevard. it used to be reid avenue in bed-stuy, and i was just like, "oh. i didn't realize there was a malcolm x boulevard in brooklyn," because the malcolm x boulevard i knew was harlem. right? >> mm-hmm. >> which was formerly lenox avenue, and, you know, did some research and came to find out that actually before harlem had its malcolm x boulevard, brooklyn had its malcolm x boulevard. in 1985, reid avenue was renamed malcolm x boulevard, and it was

by an activist in brooklyn named sonny carson... >> yes. >> ...who a longstanding activist in brooklyn and who had encountered malcolm while malcolm was in brooklyn, and so there's this whole story of malcolm coming to brooklyn and meeting activists, including people from the congress of racial equality of brooklyn -- core -- so i wanted to kind of explore this. you know, at brooklyn historical society, we are an urban history center. we focus on the history of brooklyn going 400 years back, and we also have a kind of diverse programming that draws on that history and also on its collections, and so we actually have some collections in our oral history and even in our archival collections that kind of speak to malcolm x's experience in brooklyn. >> and he was active in brooklyn, as well. >> yes. >> it wasn't just, you know, people watching harlem and saying, "oh." he was there working with

>> absolutely. absolutely. so one of the interesting things is one of the first events malcolm helped to organize with the muslims while he was in the nation of islam took place in january of 1959. it was called "muslim dinner and surprise program," i think, was the title, and that's not really remarkable, but what is remarkable is that it took place at siloam presbyterian church, which is a church in bed-stuy. i think it's one of the largest presbyterian churches in the country at the time, and the pastor of that church was a reverend named milton galamison, who was also the chair of the brooklyn chapter of the naacp. >> mm-hmm. >> so you have, you know, this convergence of religious diversity -- christians and muslims -- and also political diversity. >> mm-hmm. >> because when people think about the nation of islam in terms of its history, they often don't think of them doing anything with the naacp because the nation of islam was a more nationalist organization, and,

of course, the naacp was more integrationist, but on the ground where people actually experienced the effects of racism, people were much more flexible in the kind of tactics and strategies and the kind of alliances that they made, and these differences were often bridged because of the shared right? >> and they wanted to make headway in their movement, so by whatever means necessary, they were actually living that. it wasn't just a slogan. >> absolutely. >> you know, there are people that will listen to this conversation, and they will say, "well, that was just a little thing, and i think that now over there in brooklyn, they want everything." they're trying to co-op, you know, what may have been formerly thought of as sort >> right. >> explain to me as an oral historian why this part of malcolm x's legacy is important to inform people about, and, i guess, in a way, broaden his influence.

>> well, i think it broadens malcolm's influence and also deepens his influence in terms of how we understand what was happening in new york. you know, as the black population kind of peaked in harlem in the '50s and '60s, brooklyn began to grow, and there wasn't a kind of competitiveness. it's funny. i used to live in harlem, and i would never go to brooklyn. now i live in brooklyn. i still come to harlem sometimes, but the -- >> you are such a new yorker. [ both laugh ] >> but this -- you know, when the harlem uprising took place in 1964 in response to the killing of a young black child, there was a solidarity demonstration in bed-stuy. right? the harlem chapter of the congress of racial equality, which was harlem core, worked oftentimes in close relations with the brooklyn chapter of core, and the brooklyn chapter of core was the one that invited

malcolm to come down when they were protesting the building of suny downstate, which was kind of based on a similar protest that took place in harlem for the building of harlem hospital to make sure that the building trades were desegregated, and so there's this continuum of people, of movement of activists from one place to the next, and it's important for us to understand that when we think of the civil rights movement or the activism of the civil rights movement, it wasn't just a southern thing. it was also happening in the north, and in the north, it wasn't just in harlem. it was in harlem, it was in queens, it was in brooklyn, it was in the bronx, and the story of malcolm in brooklyn helps tell that story. >> and it wasn't just the big events. it was a whole lot of small events, as well. >> absolutely. >> now, you are going to be sharing some of this oral history. >> yes. >> tell me. november 16th? >> november 16th at brooklyn historical society at 6:30 p.m., and i'll also be playing some -- we have some oral histories of people who were influenced by malcolm,

including one who met malcolm. her name was dr. josephine english. she was one of the few black ob-gyns, and she delivered all of malcolm's children, and she was very close with betty, malcolm's wife, who had her own history in brooklyn. she became an administrator at medgar evers college in the mid '70s, and so malcolm's story is new york's story as much as it is harlem and brooklyn's. >> and there's so much more to know about him and his legacy. we don't know it all. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much for being with us this afternoon and sharing this with us. >> thank you for having me.

who coined the term "side bread?" because there's nothing "side" about this bread. it may look like the moon.

unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. it's always worth remembering... that icing the cinnamon rolls is a privilege not a right. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. >> thanks for joining us on "here and now." if you missed any portion of today's show, you can watch at abc7ny, and if you'd like

to comment or share your story, e-mail us at abc7ny, or follow us on facebook and twitter. i'm sandra bookman.