There was no formal agenda for the meeting, although, participants were asked to review "The Barber of Little Rock" a documentary film nominated for the Golden Globe and Oscar.  The film introduces a barber in Little Rock, Arkansas.  In addition to his barbershop, he has founded a barber college designed to not only train students as barbers but to ensure they are successful business owners.  The school teaches finance, business management and barbering skills.  

 

In addition to the college, the owner has started a bank to serve the community.  Little Rock is a city that is divided by a freeway.  The two sides of the city are segregated.  It was noted that the historic African American side had no bank, supermarket or drug store.  The barber who is the focus of the film is trying to rectify this.

 

Participants who viewed the documentary found it engaging and inspiring.  One participant noting that the Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Durham (North Carolina) had a similar origin story.

 

Several participants noted this is one in a series of illustrations of the institutionalized racism that still exists.  It was noted by one participant that this also creates "The pressure of limited opportunities".

Another participant noted that "The Civil War is still being fought in some places".

 

The group next moved to a discussion on limiting "Tik Tok". A participant shared the distribution by age of users:  

 

               25%      10-19.   

               20%       20-29

               20%       30+

               10%       50+

 

The platform TIMU was also discussed.

 

The participants next discussed issues related to AI and voice replication.

 

Finally, a participant recommended the book "Poverty by America".  The author is Matthew Desmond.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1:20 PM PST.  The group will next meet on April 5th at 10:00 AM PST.

 

We are exploring opportunities for future presentations. Ifyou have suggestions for something thatwouldbe appropriate for our discussions we would apprecitatethem.  For thenext meeting  April 5th at 10AM PST, we might consider the question, " what is the racial enviroment in the country  like today, and how is it changing." 

 

In the meantime there will be things happening in the news that would be intersting to discuss.

 

 We look forward to seeing you in April