John Hope Bryant

Infobox musical artist
Name = John Hope Bryant


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Born = birth date and age|1966|2|6
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Origin = Los Angeles, California, USA|

John Hope Bryant (born February 6, 1966) is an American financial literacy and poverty eradication activist, founder of Operation HOPE, author, and the first African-American in history to be knighted by German nobility and the royal House of Lippe.Fact|date=September 2008

Background

Early life

John Hope Bryant was born February 6, 1966 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

John was raised primarily in Compton, and in the South Central area of Los Angeles, by parents Juanita Smith and Johnnie Will Smith. Though neither of his parents finished high school, Bryant credits them with being two of the smartest people that he ever met.

Education

Bryant graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1984. Later in life, on May 8, 2004 Mr. Bryant received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Human Letters from Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, for his work around education and poverty eradication.

Career

Operation HOPE

On May 5, 1992, John Hope Bryant founded Operation HOPE, Inc. immediately following the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, California. Operation HOPE, Inc. (OHI) is a non-profit, public benefit, investment banking organization.

The organization is composed, in part, of a national network of inner-city banking centers called HOPE Centers, serving low-wealth communities by offering hope and converting check cashing customers to banking customers. These centers also provide financial literacy education. In 2004 Bryant and Operation Hope partnered with former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation to expand access to the Earned Income Tax Credit to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and to all low wealth Americans.

In 2005 Ambassador Andrew Young joined Bryant and Operation Hope, taking on the role of HOPE national spokesperson.

On January 22, 2008, Mr. Bryant was appointed vice-chairman of the President’s Council on Financial Literacy by U.S. President George W. Bush.

Awards and Recognitions

Bryant has received more than 400 awards and citations for his work to educate, inspire and empower low-wealth communities nationwide.

Most notably:

*Three times during the 20th century TIME Magazine compiled a list of America’s future leadership. On December 5, 1994, John Hope Bryant was selected by TIME as “One of America’s 50 Most Promising Leaders of the Future,” as part of their 50 for the Future cover story.

*A special honor from Oprah Winfrey on May 7, 2001, where he was selected by Ms. Winfrey and her Oprah’s Angel Network Foundation to receive the Use Your Life Award on the Oprah Winfrey Show ;

*Named a “Community Hero” by People Magazine on April 29, 2002, as it marked the 10th anniversary of 1992 Rodney King riots ;

*Named “One of America’s 25 Most Generous Young Americans” by WORTH Magazine in December, 2002 ;

*On March 6, 2005, John Hope Bryant received the Crystal Heart Award from the USC [http://www.usc.edu/dept/socialwork/ School of Social Work] for his work in community service.

*On April 15, 2006, Mr. Bryant received the Vanguard Man of the Year Award from the Association of Black Harvard Women at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts ;

Appointments

* Formerly the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Goodwill Ambassador to the United States of America for the Partners for Development Initiative (August 25, 1998 – May 10, 1999).

*On June 13, 2004, John Hope Bryant became a Presidential appointee when U.S. President George W. Bush appointed him to a 4-year term on the non-partisan U.S. Community Development Advisory Board for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, or "CDFI Fund", at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
*On October 18, 2004, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland nominated John Hope Bryant as one of 238 young leaders selected from around the world to serve as a member of the new Forum of Young Global Leaders. Chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, the Forum is comprised of “a community of extraordinary leaders who are 40 years old or younger, clearly exceptional on a global level, and will have a visible opportunity to have significant impact on world affairs.”

Publications

*"Banking on our Future: a Program for Teaching You and your Kids about Money" by John Bryant, Beacon Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0807047170

Silver Rights Movement Book Series
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Fixing the Jericho Road: The Silver Rights Movement and the Good Samaritan
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Silver Rights Movement in Africa
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The Wealthless Power
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The Ownership Society
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Racism and the Silver Rights Movement
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Banking on Our Future: The Promise for America’s Unbanked
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The Silver Rights Movement
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Leave No Community Behind
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Further reading

*"Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World," by Bill Clinton, Knopf (September 4, 2007), ISBN 978-0307266743

*"Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age," by Julian C.R. Okwu, Chronicle Books (March 1, 1997), ISBN 978-0811816311

*"The New Color of Success: Twenty Young Black Millionaires Tell You How They're Making It," by Niki Butler Mitchell, Prima Lifestyles (December 15, 1999), ISBN 978-0761520658

*"Uncle Tom or New Negro?: African Americans Reflect on Booker T. Washington and UP FROM SLAVERY 100 Years Later," Rebecca Carroll, Harlem Moon (January 10, 2006), ISBN 978-0767919555

Trivia

* John Bryant is the namesake of the "John Bryant Scholarship in Urban Social Development", a permanent scholarship fund, established and set aside to fund the dreams of deserving minority and low-wealth young adults at the USC [http://www.usc.edu/dept/socialwork/ School of Social Work]

References

# Leave No Community Behind, by John Bryant, (2001) http://www.johnhopebryant.com/john_hope_bryant_/2005/03/nbsp_nbspleave_.html, accessed January 4, 2007
# The New Color of Success: Twenty Young Black Millionaires Tell You How They're Making It, by Niki Butler Mitchell, Prima Lifestyles (December 15, 1999), ISBN 978-0761520658
# Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age, by Julian C.R. Okwu, Chronicle Books (March 1, 1997), ISBN 978-0811816311
# Biography of John Hope Bryant, http://www.operationhope.org/smdev/slst1.php?id=150, accessed January 6, 2007

Quotes

*"There is a difference between broke and being poor. Being broke is a temporary economic condition, but being poor is a disabling frame of mind and a depressed condition of your spirit, and you must vow to never, ever be poor again."

*"Spiritual and emotional poverty lead to intellectual and economic poverty"

External links

* [http://www.operationhope.org Operation Hope]
* [http://www.johnhopebryant.com John Bryant’s blog site]
* [http://www.globaldignity.org "GlobalDignity.org" organization co-founded by Bryant]
* [http://www.blackpodcasts.com] John Hope Bryant Podcast Series]