'Apprentice' winner urges today's blacks to change workplace prejudices

Knoxville News Sentinel - Knoxville, TN, USA - "Apprentice" TV show winner Dr. Randal Pinkett charted his rise from selling CDs in a garage to becoming chairman of his own consulting firm in a speech Saturday to University of Tennessee students, alumni and faculty members.

Pinkett, who triumphed in season four of Donald Trump's NBC show about success in business, also said it is up to the black students of today to change prejudices toward blacks in the workplace.

"Your generation is letting the world know that (blacks) are more than New York or Flavor Flav," Pinkett said. "It's not a coincidence that Yahoo, Google and Facebook were created by kids your age. You have a perspective that no one else can see."

The UT Black Issues Committee brought Pinkett, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, to the third annual Black Issues Conference on campus in conjunction with workshops taught by business owners, undergraduate students and members of the BIC.

Between workshops and Pinkett's keynote address, Ronald Frieson, a UT alumnus and retired president of BellSouth Georgia Operations, made a $300,000 gift to the UT Black Cultural Center. Frieson said it is a donation he intends to build on in the future.

The conference focused on the concepts of money, power and respect in 20 separate workshops with themes ranging from "Young, Black and Tired of Being Broke" to "What's 'Sexy' in Love and Relationships."

"Ultimately, we want students to learn to empower themselves," said Tierney Bates, conference coordinator and chair of the BIC. "We want them to learn to engage through a critical thinking process."

The conference attracted more than 350 students, alumni and faculty to the University Center on Saturday morning.

Many of the workshops informed students of smart financial decisions.

Lee Jenkins, CEO of Jenkins Wealth Advisors, said 48 percent of blacks in the United States have bad credit compared with 27 percent of whites and 34 percent of Latinos. He suggested students begin by turning down credit card offers and retail store accounts.

"Debt is just another word for slavery. Too many students can get in over their heads, thinking they can make a minimum monthly payment while charging their cards to the limit," Jenkins said.

Other workshops focused on the mental and spiritual sides of success. One titled "The Pursuit of Happyness," after the film and book, emphasized roadblocks that may hinder students from following their dreams.

"As African-Americans, we need to hit the ground running in college," Brittany Lacy, UT senior in legal studies, said. "Sacrifice will always be a part of success, and it's important to be willing to take leaps of faith."

The conference was sponsored by the UT Chapter of the NAACP, Minority Student Affairs, Black Cultural Programming Committee, UT Black Alumni Association, Africana Studies Department, Lehman Brothers and Scripps Networks, part of The E.W. Scripps Company that includes the News Sentinel.