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Sure, some doors were opened by my hard work (laziness always catches up to you anyway). But while I got some pretty good opportunities, I noticed that some of the things that seemed most difficult for me were a breeze for people with fewer qualifications. I learned that being disconnected from the world wouldn't help me get things done in the most efficient way. After a few years of serious frustration, I decided to change my strategy.
The National Professionals Network is an organization that helps black folks network in a way that few of us understand. The group is run by Dr. William Tedford, a guy who seems to "get it" when it comes to bringing black folks together. Tedford and NPN do, among other things, a series of cruises around the world that allow people of color to party together, learn together and work together. I went on one of the cruises and found myself educated, connected and inspired by the experience. The gatherings are also life changing because you get the chance to find out about all of the amazing things that black people are doing with their lives. An expanded business network is critical for African Americans to engage in the very important act of institution-building, which is of the utmost urgency when it comes to sustaining our community.
The person with whom I was most impressed on the trip was Susan Taylor, the global icon from Essence magazine. Susan possesses an incredibly positive spirit, one that I am consistently pushing on my kids. Additionally, she reminds us hoity-toity, money-having black people that it's important to give back to our community through charity work and mentoring. I talked to Susan and introduced her to my daughter. After giving my little girl a great big bear hug, Susan went on to emit the loving energy for which she is greatly appreciated. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Susan, and this goes far beyond her professional achievements.
Here's the bottom line: When we are connected to one another, we maximize our ability to grow and to support each other. When we are divided, we are ultimately diluted. I recommend that anyone wanting to build his or her career (which is almost everyone) spend time proactively networking: Say hello to new people, keep their contact info in a spreadsheet, e-mail and call every once in a while. If you do those things today, you'll find that opportunities will come knocking at your door, and you'll be protected and supported by a web of influence that can help shape your personal and professional life. The National Professionals Network is one of the groups that reminds us to do just that.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. 
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By: EB on 8/09/2010 2:23PM
Real Black People Who Know Themselves And The Black Community network all the time, and in my opinion, this "real" networking is what has sustained the Black Community.
First, I would like to say that in my opinion your article should be a starting point for some very good discussions and "agreeable" disagreements because this is the one topic that has not been truthfully evaluated.
In addition, I am basing my opinions on my own experiences from birth--growing up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama before I ever heard the word "integration" and subsequently progressing to have earned a degree in one of the "Learned Professions."
Back in those days, Black people didn't need to go on cruises or attend paid seminars to tell them how to network, and when we figured out that we had a "collective wealth", we also figured out how to spend our money between and among ourselves, the difference from today being that back then Black people worked hard to produce quality goods and services to sell and provide others, and the few professional people in the city were not trying to climb over the backs of others. Rather, they were extending a hand to pull all of us up.
Of course, the first place to network was and still is the Church. However, most black churches today are money making machines and "politically correct" places to be, and in those "politically correct" churches, the emphasis is more about the "me" rather than the "thee" and "us". More specifically, scratch my back and I'll scratch my own back too.
In my opinion the best example of a group of people who collectively network across the spectrum are Black College Graduates and Greek Organizations, and thank God for Black Colleges. [Oh yes, I know that it is "politically correct to say HBCU, but Black Colleges are what they are.
In my opinion, black people who attend or have attended black colleges and universities know themselves, love themselves, and don't need assurances from mainstream America to substantiate their Blackness, because when you know yourself, then you know your "people", and when you know your people, you know how to love and respect them and then the networking begins, because ultimately, you can do all the "cruise",
"seminar", and "professional networking that you want to, but in the end it is those everyday working people who make or break you.
Black people who have attended Black Colleges gain lifelong acquaintences and networking experiences such to the extent that, like in the old days, regardless of where you travel, somebody knows somebody who can help you along your way, help your business enterprises, and even look out for and act as extended family members to your children while away at school or relocating after graduation, and if those of us who hold professional degrees or own companies and businesses would stop walking around like we live in the heavens and realize instead that the only differnce between us and others is that we extended our education a few more years, then we would bring out educated foolish selves back to reality and learn how to genuinely communicate with others, and then the art of networking begins.
In addition, many of us use networking as a "convenience" for ourselves and then "forget" those who networked with and for us.
I could rattle on and on, and although I disagree with many of the things you have said, I like your topic.
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By: Tiffany on 8/09/2010 4:22PM
While the option of networking via a cruise sounds fun, it's probably more cost-efficient to network via the free social networking sites that are available. LinkedIn is viewed as the most professional outlet and Twitter has quickly gained ground as a site to meet new people as well. I encourage people to become familiar with these websites, especially job seekers who can not afford a networking cruise.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanywinbush
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By: Assafo Bruce Mensan on 8/14/2010 6:03AM
Great article.
I is true that blacks should network more in order to help one another in face of racism that affects us on a daily basis even with a black president in the White House. Black people still have to work ten times harder than white colleagues in order to survive in the work with the pay and wealth gap becoming wider than ever.
Unfortunately, not everybody will feel that black networking, is a cure to our problem because there is still a lot of envy, hatred and racism within the black community itself.
When a black person is trying to do good, it is another black person who puts a stick in the wheels of his bicycle to make the other guy fall down. So not only you have to be weary about the white man, you also need to be aware that your fellow black man could actually be lethal than the white man.
I am must add that, networking should go beyond the colour or race boundaries because you have no idea which way your life is going to turn.
My philosophy is to be open-minded, but yes we need to network more if only we believe in our own abilities and trust each other more.
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