Black In Business

Brain Richardson is a role model, school teacher and businessman. Brain’s story is an example for one of the things I enjoy the most about authoring this blog. I get to spread good news about black achievers Brain is a 37 year old with a degree in mechanical engineering and is a ROTC graduate of Tuskegee Institute. He is the father of 2 and I have to believe a heck of a teacher.
Brain works with middle school kids in inner city Houston. His school is a title 1 school, meaning 90% of the kids receive free or discounted lunch to compensate for a low family household income. These kids would go hungry if not for the help.
Brain grew up in the “Cherry Hill!” section of Baltimore, Maryland Cherry Hill is a notorious and dangerous part of town. The tour buses that bring tourist to the inner harbor, or the conventioneers that enjoy charm city, do not take the bus to Cherry Hill. Brain cares deeply about his craft of teaching but exhibits a vision for kids that want to have them enjoy education. Brain understands it is a way out of a tough neighborhood.
Brain is marketing a DVD, called, WEB DESIGN FOR KIDS and curious grown ups! It offers fundamental DVD Instruction on learning basic HTML to creative web pages and websites. Brain put a lot of hard work into this project to include;
Write the scrip
Hire a production company
Hire 2 child actors
Supervise the shoot over two months
Coordinate distribution channels
Coordinate 1-866 number
Hire a call center to take orders
Design DVD cover
Supervise process
I had my daughter review the DVD and it received a Bplus. Salihah felt, “A very good job was done in the step by step explanation of creating a web page. It is easy to follow instruction right from their computer. It is obvious Brain has a great deal of knowledge!” Salihah felt the market would fit well for teenagers and adults. She would like to see more excitement and animation to attract young kids. This is a great concept and all schools would benefit. Visit web design for kids. I would like to encourage other black bloggers and anyone interested in education spread the word on Brain project.
Brain went back to Cherry Hill to provide his old hood a service that many of the best private schools do not offer. Brain relates that the kids benefit via, pride of ownership, self esteem, and better attention to detail. Please this story on Brain’s humanitarian efforts from the Baltimore Times and posted below.

Four Cherry Hill PS 164 students were selected to build a webpage with the help of Brian Richardson, a former Cherry Hill graduate. Richardson, who now resides in Houston, Texas, teaches computer literacy and owns a business called Click Drag Solutions. The students built the page in three days, one day ahead of schedule, with a computer learning technique Richardson calls ‘demystifying HTML. (Above) The participating Cherry Hill students were: Neko Speed, 6th grade; Ashley Jones, 7th grade; and Archie Lynch, III, 6th grade. Jamal Howard is not pictured.
Credit: Ellen Andrews

Former PS 164 student returns to help students build a web page
by Ken Morgan
Baltimore Times
Originally posted 5/4/2007

A couple of months ago, Brian Richardson a former student at PS 164 had an idea and a plan. He wanted to show that young people living and going to school where he lived and attended school were more than capable of learning to use computers and building a webpage. “I grew up in Cherry Hill. I live in Houston now. I teach computer literacy in Houston and I have a business called Click Drag Solutions,” he explained. Richardson originally approached Verna Chase, principal of Cherry Hill PS 164 to take on the project.

“It’s been wild coming back. It is almost like an out of body experience,” said the enterprising 1987 City College graduate. Chase then selected the four students to be part of the project. Neko Speed, Ashley Jones, Archie Lynch III, and Jamal Howard were selected to build a webpage. Archie Lynch III is in the sixth grade. Ashley Jones is in the seventh grade. Neko Speed is in the sixth grade. Jamal Howard a seventh grader was not available for the interview.

Brian a solid example of what the Baltimore City Public School system can produce said, “I am really trying to teach people, especially young people, that creating a webpage site is really a simple task if you do it the right way.”

He added. “I asked the principal to get well-behaved students who could pay attention for four days. Mission accomplished. It went real well. They knocked down a four day project in three days,” said Brian who trained these eager students. The young man has put his computer learning technique on DVDs. He calls it “demystifying HTML.”

“I was wondering how we were going to build our website with Notepad,” Archie said calmly and assuredly. Neko matter of factly explained the construction. “We typed in the background and used HTML language,” he said. Chiming in one after another explaining what they did, first Archie, then Ashley and Neko said, “We typed in the background. We added the color. We used HMTL language.”

All three young people bubbled with confidence that their classmates could do what they did. “I can help other people now learn how to do it,” said Lynch. Ashley agreed. Neko said “I can help other people. If I could do this, I could do anything to help people.”

They replied to how completing the website affected their confidence. “I could help people learn how to do it,” said young Lynch. Ashley said much the same thing as Lynch. “If I could do this, I know I could do anything to help people,” Neko said.

Richardson plans to develop a DVD to help youngsters like the four students at PS 164. “The World Wide Web is for everybody. It would be beautiful to close the digital divide,” Brian exclaimed. Ashley, Archie, Neko and Jamal think so. Visit their website pages at www.clickdragsolutions.com.

Now if only BCPSS can secure ample funds to get wiring, computers and training for all of its students.