The kernel of the idea for Success Tips from Successful African Americans, Volume 1, sprang from a conversation I had with a friend who believed that success was virtually impossible for African Americans in particular and Blacks in general because of the racism he had encountered in his own life. In fact, by the time that conversation was over, tears were streaming down the face of my friend!

Though I could recount my own handful of challenging encounters, I was also aware that there had to be some instruments more powerful than racism to propel smart people of any race forward toward their goals.

The 40 contributors to Success Tips from Successful African Americans, Volume 1, including Architects, Broadcasters, Chancellors, Diplomats, Entrepreneurs, Financiers, Genealogists, and others, have answered the question: success is possible in spite of any real or imagined negative forces that may be arrayed against you.

In recounting their own stories, from their childhood backgrounds, through adolescent uncertainties, educational pathways, and corporate and entrepreneurial experiences, these forty men and women deliver concrete roadmaps that a new generation of young, ambitious African Americans, and indeed, anyone, can use to chart their own path forward to success.