Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc.
HCEC
Too many people are afraid to do anything
because they don’t feel qualified…All you need
is confidence in the rightness of your cause.
The rest of it will fall into place.
Florence M. Rice
Founder and President
P.O. Box 1165 – Triboro Station
New York, NY 10035
About HCEC’s
Founder and President
Florence M. Rice was born on March 22, 1919 in Buffalo, NY. During her childhood, Ms. Rice spent several years in the Colored Orphan Asylum and in foster homes in New York. Upon completion of the eighth grade, she left school to work as a domestic seamstress where she became a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
Ms. Rice spoke out against the discriminatory practices targeted at African American and Latino workers. She participated in the late Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.’s 1962 Congressional hearing, which probed dressmaker union’s policies. After testifying, Ms. Rice was blacklisted and was never hired in a union shop again. Undefeated, this incident began the formation of the Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc.
During the 1970s Ms. Rice was appointed Special Consultant
to the Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board, taught consumer
education at Malcolm-King College and has lectured to thousands at workshops,
conferences and seminars.
In the 1990, Ms. Rice was responsible for the creation of
the Bell Atlantic Technology Center in Harlem. Dedicated in her name, the
center focused on getting the latest technology in the hands of students,
senior citizens, small businesses and other customers. In 2010 Verizon moved
the technology center to the Harlem Renaissance High School.
Ms. Rice has lectured in several countries, including South Africa where she was named a delegate in the first World Consumer Congress.
Ms. Rice continues to fight for the rights of minorities, low income consumers and is available to speak at workshops, conference and seminars.
For telephone contact information email: belriver@yahoo.com.
The Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc. (HCEC), a
private, non-profit, 501(C)(3) consumer advocacy organization, was founded in
1967 to shed light on and protect the rights of the poor, by addressing profound
poverty, neglect, exploitation and neighborhood deterioration confronting poor
and low income citizens living in New York City’s Harlem community.
HCEC has
organized numerous successful New York City boycotts and picket lines against
grocery stories, furniture stores, individuals found to be overcharging
minorities and corporations who discriminate against African Americans and other
minorities.
In addition, HCEC
hosts annual consumer education conferences and seminars to apprise the
community of various forms of exploitation and offer consumer workshops at
local schools, community based organizations and churches.
The mission of HCEC is to:
1. Fight for the rights of low income consumers.
2. Host annual Consumer Education Conferences
attended by representatives of government , agencies, religious/community organizations
and corporations from the tri-state area.
3.
Process complaints against businesses which
treat customers unfairly or attempt to cheat them through false advertising.
4.
Research advertised products and services to
determine their true quality.
5.
Transmit information to the consumer about
products via radio/television, consumer conferences, newspapers, magazines,
brochures, in surveys of consumer products.
6.
Evaluate present consumer-oriented policies and
programs to determine their effectiveness.
WILL YOU PARTNER WITH HCEC?
YES, I want to partner with HCEC to educate the Harlem community as to their roles in an economy which exploits the uninformed, the uneducated and the poor. Please enroll me as a member of HCEC.
Please select the annual membership level of your choice:
Sponsor $1,000
Benefactor $500
Partner $200
Friend $100
Seniors (65+years) $30
Please make your check/money order payable to the Harlem Consumer Educate Council, Inc.
All memberships are tax deductable.
Name:
Organization:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Home Tel:
Business Tel:
Email Address
MAIL TO:
Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc.
P.O. Box 1165 – Triboro Station
New York, NY 10035
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING…
March is Women’s History Month – a time when we honor the
contributions of women to our history, culture and society, and pay tribute to
the millions of women who paved the way for future generations. Women like Ms.
Florence M. Rice, founder of the Harlem Consumer Education Council, a civil
rights activist, and “Shero” of mine for over 20 years.
Sara Manzano-Diaz
Director of the Women’s Bureau
U.S. Department of Labor
March 30, 2012
Jim Gerace, President, New York Region, thanks Florence M. Rice and dedicates the New York Urban League’s Technology Education Center technology room in her name at the Harlem Renaissance High School on April 12, 2010.
Harlemworldmag.com/tag/Florence-m-rice/
Taking part in last Friday’s “Broadband Comes to Harlem” was a great pleasure for me. I had the honor of meeting Florence M. Rice, the host of the event and the founder of the Harlem Consumer Education Council (HCEC). At 91 years of age, Ms. Rice is just as active and committed as ever in her quest to keep Harlem’s citizens informed and empowered.
Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner
October 8, 2010
For the last five decades, Ms. Rice has been something of a one-woman consumer dynamo in Harlem, fighting utility companies, credit agencies, even furniture stores and banks on behalf of the poor. At 85, she still wears pins reading, “Economic Racism.” She is known uptown as the Ralph Nader of Harlem.
New York Times
Alan Feuer
November 7, 2004
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