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SASEBO, JAPAN-Capt. Jeffrey Ward, (center) commanding officer of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), and representatives of the ship’s Heritage Committee participate in a cake cutting following an African American/Black History Month celebration on the ship’s mess decks. Bonhomme Richard, forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, is serving forward to provide a rapid-response capability in the event of a regional contingency or natural disaster.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You see the Devil is a Liar! He tries to fool us into believing something is a certain way even though it’s not. I want you to know that REAL life is NOT an Illusion!  Stop allowing the Devil to prevent you from living your life to its fullest. Open your eyes and discover the source of true fulfillment. You know in the movie “The Matrix,” Neo had been living in a fake world, but Morpheus wanted to bring him into the real world. Morpheus told Neo, “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. Take the blue pill, and return to the fake world of comfort. Take the red pill and everything changes.” That’s what Jesus was telling the disciples and is telling you today: This is your last chance. If you want out, do it now, because Satan virtual reality is to imprison you; to hide the truth and to keep you in bondage and slavery without you knowing it.  The Bible says that this world is our enemy and it caters for the sinful desires of men.   We must overcome it! The Bible also says that the world and all visible things are temporary, but the truth is eternal truth. Stop being bamboozled by the Devil!

It is very dangerous to be ignorant of Satan’s strategies and methods for leading us astray. God offers wisdom and victorious solutions for all of Satan’s malicious strategies, and Paul gives that very warning when he counsels the Corinthians to take care “lest Satan take advantage….” [2Corinthians 2:11].  I want you to know that Satan has orchestrated a whole world system to perpetuate his primary lie that true life can be found apart from dependent relationship with God. Not so!  The devil is a liar! As Christians, we need to be aware of Satan’s schemes. The world we live in is a world where sin is the matrix. It controls all that we do or think; and it is pervasive in every way. The battle we face is to stay out of the matrix, which is not experiencing life at all. It is death. If you want out, take the red pill and change the game. Do it now! “Repent and believe this good news.” God is here…God is active…God is calling…God’s reign.  Choose to be a part of it.

The fact is without God, your life is just like the one Solomon described in [Ecclesiastes 1: 2]– Vanity, and emptiness. Pleasure, education, the job, and wealth– these can never give life meaning. They are just fillers, not substance. They are just the condiments but the real meat of life is Jesus [John 10:10]. Do not be deceived.  May we all be vigilant as the Bible commands in [1Peter 5:8] because our adversary the Devil roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Things are not always as they seem.

 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” [ Deuteronomy 30:19].

RIVERSIDE, CA- You and your family are cordially invited to join us at the Third Graduation of the University STEM Academy (USA). USA provides Mathematic and Science enrichment activities for predominantly African American students in Grades 6 through 9. Our scholars will be presenting at the 3rd Annual Black Health Expo, which will take place on Saturday, February 18, from 9:00am until 2:00pm, on the University of California, Riverside campus. This event will be held in Room 302 of the Highland Union Building, better known as the HUB.

The scholars will be presenting a workshop entitled: Future African American Medical Professionals: The Engineering of Bio Medical Devices from 10:00am to 11:00am. The luncheon and graduation will take place between 11:00am and 1:00pm. The Expo, the luncheon, and parking are free (Lot #1).

Besides the scholars’ presentations, the following will be available at the event: Health screening vendors, Community resources, Yoga exercise, Workshops, Food, door prizes, and a lot more.

On Saturday, October 1, 2016, the University STEM Academy (USA) registered 40 African American male and female scholars. The theme this academic year was Quality Health for All. We are training our students to be aware of the gold standard of knowledge (i.e., best practices to maintain health and cure disease). Also, scholars are being taught to understand how physical and mental trauma impact the human body. Moreover, the scholars are training to lead the charge, by sharing health values with their families, classmates, and the surrounding community, you!

Dr. Victor Rodgers (Bio-Engineer) and Dr. Prashanthi “Shanthi” Vandrangi (Bio-Engineer) are the Resident Scientists. Mr. Brandon Copeland is the Resident Mathematician, and Ms. Darling Paul-Richiez, a Registered Nurse, Researcher, and Certified Public Health Educator is the Mini-Medical School Dean and Coordinator. The Black Health Expo will spotlight various aspects of what the scholars has been learning to-date.

Your presence will let our scholars know they are supported, and what they are learning is both worthwhile and appreciated. This event is open to the public, so please share this invitation with family and friends.

For further information, please email me at carolyn.murray@ucr.edu.

By Lou Coleman

Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Madam C. J. Walker, Mum Bett, Shirley Chisholm, Wangari Maathai, Tegla Laroupe, Gertrude Kabatalemwa , Barbara Jordan,  Rosa Parks, Ida B Wells, Marva Collins, Miriam Anderson, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Dorothy Height, Mary Church Terrell, Marian Wright, Dolores Huerta, Daisy Bates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Poinsette Clark, Ella Baker, Diane Nash, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Odetta, Mahalia Jackson, Angela Davis, Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, Anna Berry Smith, Yes…I Am…. Cotton Mather, Frederick Douglas, George Washington Carver, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Booker T Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Paul Roberson, James Meredith, Stokely Carmichael, A. Philip Randolph, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Olaudah Equiano, Kwame Nkrumah, Kofi Annan, Haile Selassie, Oliver Tambo, Shaka Zulu,  Nnamdi Azikiwe, E.D. Nixon, Cornet West, Benjamin Banneker; Richard Allen, John Lewis, Medgar Evers, Dick Gregory, Morris Dees, Percy Julian, Richard Loving, Mohammed Ali,  Andrew Goodman, James Cheney, Michael Schwemer, Dr. Carter G. Woodsons, Barack Obama, Richard C. Boone, Benjamin Banneker, Granville T. Woods, Louis Latimer, Garret Morgan; Charles Harrison Mason and countless others.

I don’t know from where you were stolen. I don’t know how many of you freed yourselves or died in bondage. Yet I claim you all and I honor you.  The savage ferocity of slavery has torn your names from the memories of your descendants but not your lives, your survival, your strength. Whatever it is that I am and all that I am, I am because you were. I cannot contemplate my future without reflecting on my past, our past.  As I look at the genesis of people of color and note our heroic journey traveled as a people—through enslavement, oppression, rejection and segregation—the greatest constant, on the path to the freedoms enjoyed today, was the presence of God-loving, God-fearing, and God-worshiping men and women. I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. [2 Timothy 1:3]

In your name, in your memory we work and pray and struggle, weeping and rejoicing at what has been and what will be.

Dorothy Inghram

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- In celebration of Black History Month, San Bernardino Valley College remembers Hall of Fame alumna Dorothy Ella Inghram, class of 1932: the first African-American teacher in San Bernardino County, composer of SBVC’s Alma Mater, and one of Southern California’s most iconic educators.

Dorothy was born in 1905 on 6th Street in San Bernardino. Her father, Henry, worked as a custodian in the Opera House on Court Street?—?one of the many places African Americans weren’t allowed to attend.

Dorothy began school at Mt. Vernon Elementary in 1911. She later attended Sturges Junior High School and San Bernardino High School, becoming one of 123 students. Music played an important role in Dorothy’s life. While attending San Bernardino Valley College from 1928 through 1933, Dorothy wrote the music for the hymn that was selected as the college’s Alma Mater.

Dorothy earned an elementary teaching credential in 1939 after student teaching at an East Highlands school, and in 1942, Dorothy was hired to teach second grade at Mill School?—?the first African-American teacher in San Bernardino County.

Three years later, she became a teaching principal?—?splitting her duties between the classroom and administration?—?and became a full-time principal in 1951, a job she thoroughly enjoyed.

Dorothy was promoted to District Superintendent of Mill School District in 1953?—?the first African-American in the state of California to hold that position, and somehow also found time to earn a masters degree in education from the University of Redlands in 1958.

In 1977, one of San Bernardino’s library branches (on the corner of Highland and Western Ave.) was named for her.

At the age of 97, Dorothy received an honorary doctorate degree from Cal State San Bernardino. She authored five books over the course of her lifetime: Dear Meg, Improving the Services of Substitute Teachers, Beyond All This,Incredible You and What’s on Your Mind?

In Beyond All This, Dorothy documents her family’s drive and determination to succeed during a time when blacks were not considered an integral part of the community. She recalls how her parents stressed that their children not carry any bitterness because of the racial tension around them, emphasizing the importance of education and following their own ambitions in order to become successful.

In 1989, Dorothy was inducted into San Bernardino Valley College’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

“San Bernardino Valley College provided the opportunity for me to pursue the professional career which I thoroughly enjoyed for 30 years,” Dorothy said. “For this, I shall always be grateful.”

Dorothy passed away in 2012 at the age of 106.

Sources:

• Nicholas Cataldo, City of San Bernardino:http://www.sbcity.org/about/history/pioneer_women/dorothy_inghram.asp

Garrett Augustus Morgan

TRAFFIC SIGNAL: Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 – August 27, 1963), was an African-American inventor and businessman. He was the first person to patent a traffic signal. He also developed the gas mask (and many other inventions). Morgan used his gas mask (patent No. 1,090,936, 1914) to rescue miners who were trapped underground in a noxious mine. Soon after, Morgan was asked to produce gas masks for the US Army.

RILLIEUX, NORBERT: Norbert Rillieux (March 17, 1806-October 8, 1894) was an African-American inventor and engineer who invented a device that revolutionized sugar processing. Rillieux’s multiple effect vacuum sugar evaporator (patented in 1864) made the processing of sugar more efficient, faster, and much safer. The resulting sugar was also superior. His apparatus was eventually adopted by sugar processing plants all around the world.

POTATO CHIPS: The potato chip was invented in 1853 by George Crum. Crum was a Native American/African American chef at the Moon Lake Lodge resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. French fries were popular at the restaurant and one day a diner complained that the fries were too thick. Although Crum made a thinner batch, the customer was still unsatisfied. Crum finally made fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer. The customer, surprisingly enough, was happy – and potato chips were invented!

Harris, a member of the NWPAC, is using the GORequest app to report a pot hole

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- San Bernardino Westside residents are campaigning against pot holes. The membership of San Bernardino’s NWPAC organization is encouraging residents to use their smart phones to report pot holes. There is a smart phone app that allows you to photograph a pot hole and automatically report the location and photo  to the city so that repair of the pot hole can be scheduled. The Government Request App is available for free by requesting the GORequest app access via Google.

Charlene Dixon, president of the NWPAC, is asking Westside residents to help the City identify pot holes by using the telephone reporting system.

 She says, “It is easy, just download this app to your smartphone: GORequest app and 1. Install the app, 2. Open app, 3. Add issue (select potholes), 4. Add a photo from camera, 5. Take the picture of the pothole, 6. Verify that the location is correct, and 7. Submit.”

What happens next? The information is received downtown to the proper department and you are issued a number for that complaint.  You may follow-up and track the response of your submission through this app or via a phone call.

For more information about the NWPAC, call Charlene Dixon, (909) 913-0831.

By Lue Dowdy

B.S.M. and B.B.W. is What It Do! Big sexy males and big beautiful woman wanted; because you asked for it we felt that we should deliver!

LUE PRODUCTIONS First Big Model Competition is brewing! We are calling all you sexy big men to strut on the runway. This will be epic! The winner will take the $500.00 cash prize, crown fit for a king, and photo shoot. The competition scheduled for the month of June directly after Father’s Day. A $50.00 registration will be required for those interested.

We’re in search of B.B.W. Models to be in our fashion show during the event. We all know the sexiness comes in all sizes. It’s about the confidence that shines from within a person. LUE PRODUCTIONS is big on bringing unique and entertaining events to the inland empire. Please support us. Until next week l’z!

For more information contact us via text at (909) 567-1000 or at (909) 556-7637. You can also email us at lue.info@yahoo.com.

RIVERSIDE, CA- Vintage cars, high school drill teams and others took part in the 38th annual Riverside Black History Parade, Expo and Car Show on Saturday, February 10 in Downtown Riverside.

In keeping with the theme “It Takes a Village: Honoring Our Youth,” parade organizers named Whitney Ashley the grand marshal. The graduate of North High School in Riverside and discuss star went to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The event, which started at Riverside City College and ended in front of the Riverside County Historic Courthouse on Main Street, also included a stage with live music and a children’s area with horses and train rides.

The Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation presented the festivities.

LOS ANGELES, CA- Last Sunday, The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) ended the 25^th year first weekend of red carpets and character-driven screenings and gatherings in the lobby of the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles.

Alfre Woodfrad was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as hosted a panel discussion. That same night, Nick Cannon premiered his film, “The King of Dancehall” where several big names such as Danny Glover, Ja’net DuBois, Jean Louis, and others came out to support.

Established in 1992, The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit 501(c)(b) corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding among peoples of African descent. Every year, PAFF showcases hundreds of quality new films, fine artists and unique craft persons from Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. The festival features red carpet screenings and a variety of special events headed by industry professionals. PAFF has premiered a host of black films including Think Like a Man, Love & Basketball, Miles Ahead and many more. 

Ayuko Babu and Nick Cannon (Photo credit: Kristina Dixon/11:OneVisuals)

Nick Cannon (Photo credit: Kristina Dixon/11:OneVisuals)

Ja’Net Du’Bois and Louis (Photo credit: Kristina Dixon/11:OneVisuals)

Imani Hakim (Photo credit: Kristina Dixon/11:OneVisuals)