The Atlanta Business Journal was created to assess and supply economic projections that affect the African American consumer and business community. Our objective is to profile successful entrepreneurs and recount their struggles to become successful role models.

We have a unique president of the United States who has tried to display that he is a unifying fi gure in the White House to no avail, has not worked. He is so intelligent and presents a vision for those who do not want change. We need those healthcare reforms and more. Our students need to be able to compete globally if they are to get jobs and survive. He is on track with his education initiatives. We have to encourage our kids to stay in schools. Most kids are now staying in college to get advanced degrees because the job market is slow. Education is a priority in all other cultures except ours. Legislators are not trying to prioritize 180 days in school but 147 days during the year. Our global completion mandates that their kids stay in school 200 plus days. We are further and further behind.

Our kids are bored with the system and the outdated teaching methods. Our accountable methods of keeping the track of the system performance is not getting good results. The building blocks are not being put into place by the Georgia Lottery. For example, funds need to be placed into marketing budgets to promote new programs to make school education competitive in the African American community. A study of the education system in England and the Caribbean is a must. Those kids are 2 to 3 years ahead of ours. Why? It’s simple and it’s a priority. In Costa Rica they invested in education 100 years ago. That’s why they excel to day. Hold our school system accountable and create a study on why we are going backwards in our school systems locally and statewide.

Happy holidays to you and your family. Many of us are unemployed and the holidays may not feel the same, put God fi rst and be thankful that you are here everyday and blessed. Happy New Year!

The Atlanta Business Journal is proud to serve as a catalyst for a new generation of business owners, a valuable trend indicator for established African American businesses, particularly for the black female sector, whose very powerful populous in Atlanta can be seen everywhere as they continue to rise to the top of their professions and industeries. The name of our magazine reflects our dedication to help generate awareness about the positive changes and the collective success of the African American community, and we look forward to continuing to share that collective success for year to come.