LIVING PROOF
Dreams Do Come True If You Work Hard & “Never Lose Faith”

Written by Mark Eric Corry

Oprah Winfrey once said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

Truer words have never been more germane to describe what author Baron Jay Littleton Jr. has assembled in the pages of his first volume of, Your Little Black Book of African American Inventions and Inventors. This book celebrates the accomplishments of African American inventors both past and present. The book chronicles over two hundred inventions that are being used today on a global scale. In addition to cataloging the inventors and their achievements, Baron Jay has sagaciously added a section entitled “Lists of First.” This segment is dedicated to the first African Americans to excel in their chosen field of endeavor.

After sitting down and speaking with Baron Jay for this piece, I realized his youthful visage and affable demeanor belies his elder statesmen like wisdom and business acumen. He is a classic renaissance man. As a precocious Detroit youth, he grew up in a city known for its high murder rate, drugs, and economically deprived. Not wanting to succumb to pressures of his environment, Mr. Littleton created his own formula for success. His entrepreneurial spirit was ignited in 7th grade when Baron Jay began selling candy between classes. This enterprise proved to be so successful; he soon came to be known as “The Candy Man.” Hard work and perseverance was a constant companion to Baron Jay. He worked three jobs simultaneously at least 200 days throughout the year; while his peers chose to pursue felonious exploits.

Baron Jay demonstrated early on that he was someone special by landing the coveted position of Detroit Tigers bat boy. To earn money during his teen years he took the humble job of caddy at the Detroit Country Club. Seeing this as an opportunity, Baron Jay took full advantage by impressing the upscale patrons with his sharp wit and mental keenness. It paid off when he was offered a full four year scholarship from the Chick Evans Western Golf Association to attend Michigan State University. While attending MSU, Baron Jay took his athletic prowess to the gridiron and impressed the team’s coaching staff by securing a walk on position with the team.

While chatting about his current endeavors, I asked him about his motivation behind writing Your Little Black Book. “I wanted to bridge the dearth of knowledge of self in our youth. My heart is with our youth to raise them above their shackles of doubt to elevate them to a higher ground and most importantly I want them to know I have walked in their same shoes and I’m living proof they can make it to a great destiny. My God given purpose in life is to never give up on the underserved youth; I will always lend a helping hand. The youth are our future and need to have a sense of who they are and what they can accomplish if they are aware of the achievements of our antecedents. My desire is to encourage others to find a dream, strive for it and reach it, all the while keeping the faith in God.”
"Never be afraid to try something new." Remember: amateurs...built the Ark - professionals...built the Titanic.-unknown

In addition to wearing the hat of author, Mr. Littleton is also the founder of the Baron Jay Family Foundation and chairs the altruistic organization. Baron Jay will allocate nine hundred thousand copies of Your Little Black to the LAUSD, which is being underwritten by a educational grant; but plans to use the book as a African American historical and educational fundraiser for the Baron Jay Family Foundation. Proceeds donated to the charitable organization, are earmarked for the establishment of two high-tech African American Invention and Inventors museum in the city of Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan.

Baron Jay’s vision is to augment this goal and establish satellite museums around the country.
With Baron Jay’s hectic schedule of book signings and personal appearances to promote Your Little Black Book, he finds time to pursue another passion in his life…acting. As an accomplished thespian, Baron Jay’s production company, where he serves as executive producer, has successfully secured senior capital for a multi-million dollar project. The production team is entertaining junior capital offers for the movie entitled
T H E D I S C I P L E film story line inspired by Baron Jay, true life chronicles of the life of a youth born to unwed teen parents, and his struggles to walk the right path in the face of despair in the dog-eat-dog neighborhoods of Detroit. The production goes to lens in the third quarter of 2008, and acclaimed film director Forest Whitaker has been selected to helm the photoplay. In addition to the heavyweight production team, Academy Award winning actor Jamie Foxx is selected as the Lead Star of THE DISCIPLE.

“Buy the book, get the book, and share the book. Looking forward includes us looking back,” Baron Jay exclaims as we wrapped up our interview. Baron Jay Littleton Jr. may not be a household name now, but with all the wonderful and provocative projects on tap for 2007…he is on his way to becoming just that…a household name.

To find out more up to the minute information on Baron Jay Littleton Jr. and Your Little Black Book, go to his website:
www.yourlittleblackbook.net.
To contact THE DISCIPLE GROUP Production team info@yourlittleblackbook.net
To contact the writer of this article,
Mark E. Corry mecorry@gmail.com

Your Little Black Book
Book Review
Written by Mark Eric Corry


Socrates’ fundamental precept, “Know Thyself,” is applicable to African Americans during Black History Time.  Having a sense of who we are, where we are from and the contributions we have made as a people is important not only during this time of year but all year long. We must never forget we are the benefactor of our ancestors.  That is why Your Little Black Book is so consequential.
First time scribe, Actor, Producer and Entrepreneur Baron Jay. Littleton Jr., has marshaled a provocative mosaic of contemporary and venerable African American inventors and their contributions to the world.
At first blush one would think “Your Little Black Book” as a typical reference guide, but as I absorbed the pages, I’m ashamed to admit how uniformed I am about my own people. Educated in the public school system, I was spoon-fed the basics like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Carver as black role models.
The list increased only minutely during Black History Month (it was only a week when I was in school) with the addition of Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
What Mr. Littleton has done is emphasize the accomplishments of African American inventors.

By and large, these inventors have gone totally unrecognized by society who benefit from their acumen and ingenuity. Each page will give you a sense of hope, inspiration and motivation.
Unlike my generation, who were not exposed to these visionaries, the younger generation will benefit from this book. It will inspire our youth to dream.  To affirm that someone that looks like them invented the telephone system (Grandville T. Woods), the disposable syringe (Phil Brooks) and the fountain pen (W.B. Purvis).
Mr. Littleton has skillfully crafted the book into two sections. The first part is devoted to inventors and their inventions. The second half is a list of the first African Americans who excel in their chosen field. Again as I turned each page I found myself saying, “I didn’t know that.”
Kudos to Mr. Baron Jay Littleton Jr., for putting together such a relevant picture of our people; our culture, and our history for the world to be thankful for.
Our ancestor’ achieved, we are all benefactors of our ancestors’ you are destined to achieve if you believe, when you achieve we as a world achieve.
To purchase, sponsor or donate you can find more information about Your Little Black Book go to http://www.yourlittleblackbook.net.   Please take the time to review the calendar for the next book signing event and non-profit organization contributions.