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Profile
on Mr. Jim Greene
(Jim Greene, Head Communications)
Jim Greene is a tireless channel of business information
directed at his favorite audience -- entrepreneurs of color. He has been
at the game of business promotion and development for a while now. He
has helped to launch some of the largest and most successful Black businesses
of all time like Essence, Black Enterprise, and the largest black owned
advertising firm Uniworld. These are companies presently making hundreds
of millions of dollars, and have stood the test of time.
Recently out of retirement, I was able to get Jim to spend
a little time sharing his sage advice and answering questions about the
opportunities for minority businesses in the Internet and technology sectors.
Kamau: When did you develop your interest in technology
and business?
Greene: I'm a member
of the New York Association of Black Journalists, www.nyabj.org, and in
the spring of 1994, we held an info session about the Internet and the
information super highway at the Schomburg Library (Harlem, NY).
Kamau: Where did you grow up?
Greene: I grew up from
1947-1957 in the area that the NYC, then Board of Estimate, on December
7, 1961, voted unanimously to designate as the East Harlem Triangle (the
area from East 124th Street - East 132nd Street, Park Avenue, East River).
In 1994 I moved back into the area and still live here and will continue
until I die. In 1957 my family moved into the General Grant Housing Project
on West 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and that address became the
family address until my mother died in 1982.
Kamau: How would you characterize your pioneering
of technology and business in the Wall Street area?
Greene: I don't consider
myself a pioneer in technology, but since I was a stockbroker from 1964-1981,
I will consider myself a pioneer in entrepreneurship. My 15 minutes of
fame was from 1968-1970 when I served as the assistant manager of the
Harlem office of Shearson Hammill & Co, at the time one of the largest
Wall Street firms. In the first week of December, 1968, we held what was
the 1st seminar for blacks who wanted to start a business. Out of that
meeting, Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, and Uniworld
Advertising were created. Those 3 creations are still in business
today.
When the Shearson Hammill management sold the Harlem office
to the employees, we purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange as
First Harlem Securities Inc., the 2nd black-owned member firm of the NY
Stock Exchange. President Nixon wanted to give us $300,000 of small business
administration money towards the purchase of a seat on the NY Stock Exchange.
We turned that money down and instead had the SBA host weekly seminars
in our Harlem office for blacks who were thinking about owning, or already
owned, a small business.
All of this about the Harlem office of Shearson Hammill/First
Harlem Securities Inc. is in the recently published, Black Enterprise
series book, IN THE BLACK: A HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ON WALL STREET.
You can find book reviews at www.blackenterprise.com. I'm the Jim Greene
quoted in the book. When you read page 102 of IN THE BLACK…, you
will learn how Essence Magazine was conceived, one of the men attending
the meeting spoke about his mother complaining that there was "no
magazine catering to the interest and needs of black women". Essence
Magazine was the answer to her concern.
Kamau: Why do you have such a passion for helping
Black, Hispanic, and people of color to do well, and get a bigger share
of government and corporate contracts in the IT field?
Greene: It's the spirit of God inside
of me. Helping my people out has been a part of me for as long as I can
remember. It just comes naturally.
Kamau: What are some of the best networking organizations in the
Northeast, and nationally that Black as well as other entrepreneurs of
color, should avail themselves?
Greene: The number
one IT organization in New York City is the New York Software Industry
Association (NYSIA) www.nysia.org, the trade group for the NYC IT industry,
with over 600 member firms ranging in size from Microsoft, IBM, Verizon
to 1-2 person startups.
I'm also a founding member of Red Ibis www.RedIbis.com,
(you can read more about Red Ibis and its founder by clicking
here) an organization of Black, Hispanic, and Asian tech biz organizations.
Red Ibis includes the New York Chapter of the Black Data Processors Association
(www.bdpa.org) , Hispanics
in information Technology & Telecommunications (www.hittglobal.com)
and The New York Chapter of the Association of Chinese Computer Professions
(www.accp.org) IT professionals
who are using our technology expertise to help People Of Color (POC) owned
business use technology in their business.
I strongly urged NYC area businesses to subscribe to CRAIN'S
NEW YORK BUSINESS www.crainsny.com and attend their meetings, seminars,
and expos.
Kamau: In what ways have you worked with the Republican
Party, and your church to advance the economic opportunities of people
of color?
Greene: In 1968 I was
a founding member of the New York Volunteers and we were the first group
to hold a job fair in Harlem. President Nixon not only gave us the SBA
to hold business seminars in Harlem, he is also responsible for many of
the larger black businesses that started during his administration (1969-1975).
Former NYC Mayor John Lindsay (1966-1973) helped numerous POC businesses
get started as has current mayor Mike Bloomberg (2002-?)
Kamau: What are the greatest challenges facing Blacks
and People of Color in the future of the IT field?
Greene: Learning how
to be a successful entrepreneur.
Kamau: How can business people of color increase
their share of the contracts from the government and private enterprise?
Greene: By becoming
certified as a women/minority small business owner. (W/MBE) certification
for government is at www.sba.gov
and for Fortune 500 companies, the national minority business council
www.nmbc.org. Also attend
diversity meetings to meet officers in person, the people who have authority
to give W/MBE business.
Hope this answers your questions in a manner that can helpful to your
readers.
Kamau: Thanks Jim for you tremendous contribution
to the development of minority business. You can contact Jim Greene at:
Jim Greene
Head Communications
109 East 130th Street
New York, New York 10037
(212) 368-4147 voice
(212) 491-4340 fax
jimgreene1369@afronet.com |
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