Local

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.

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.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The San Bernardino Public Library will host a program for Black History Month on Wednesday, February 22 at 10:30 a.m. in the Bing Wong Auditorium at the Feldheym Central Library located at 555 W. 6^th Street. Teacher, Spoken Word artist, and West African dancer Makeda Kumasi, will present “Drum Song” an adaption of an African American fable which includes drum and dance. She will also present “An Audience with Rosa Parks” immediately following “Drum Song”.

Playing Rosa Parks, Kumasi takes the audience on an historical journey that includes the significance of African American Symbols of the Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights Movement, and the day she was arrested for not giving up her seat to a Caucasian bus rider.

Makeda Kumasi is the founder of The Umoja Ensemble of the Inland Empire and Co-founder of WE 3 PRODUCTIONS. Currently she teaches West African Dance at the University of California, Riverside. She has a Masters of Education from the University of Phoenix and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California. Kumasi received numerous awards, recognitions and scholarships including the Phyllis E Williams’ Artist Grant 2006, Top Spoken Word Artist Black Business Expo Urban Idol 2004, Ida Mae Holland Playwrights Award 2001, and California Art Scholar for Dance in 1993. Kumasi is a featured Spoken Word Artist and West African Dancer who has performed across the nation including, The World Stage in Leimert Park Village, LA; the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, CA; and the Ogdensburg Theater in NY. As a poet she has also been featured on MTV’s Starting Over and BET’s Fly Poet.

The program is scheduled in the morning to accommodate elementary schools, but is also open to the general public. This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the San Bernardino Public Library.

For more information call 909.381.8238 or visit www.sbpl.org or www.facebook.com/SBPLfriends.

The Allens

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Congrats to our publisher, Wallace Allen IV, and co-publisher, Josephine Allen, on being crowned King & Queen of San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation on Friday, February 3. They are pictured with San Bernardino Unified School District Board Member, Margaret Hill.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Saturday January 21, 2017 over 140 young men converged on Wilmer Amina Carter High School campus for their first inaugural “Young Men’s Leadership Conference.” The theme was adopted as “Manhood is not a Game, Manhood is about my A – Game.”  The African American Advisory Council (AAPAC) enlisted collaboration from community-based organizations including: State Senator Connie Leyva; Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes; PAL Center; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.; Young Visionaries; and the Youth Action Project.  AAPAC mission is “To empower young men to realize their potential and leadership abilities, through positive interaction with other young men and male leadership within the community.”

The PAL Charter Academy High School accepted the invitation from Carter High School along with Kolb, Rialto, and Kucera Middle Schools in bringing students to this event. The students were very engaged with great speakers and presenters on various topics such as You Inc.- Finance my Future, Code Switching, Being the Real Boss- Entrepreneurship, and Social Activism which  left strong impressions on the young men. 

When asked what he gained from the experience student Edward Orrego replied “I already started teaching my little brother some of the things I learned about being a man. I tell him you have to look the part and do your best.” 

Student Jeremiah Cook said he learned that he is an “Anomaly – the exception” and to never give up.  One of the highlights of the day was the male involvement group the FELLAS – who “MAN MOB” on campuses across the I.E. providing encouragement, love, and support for all students. There is an old saying “iron sharpens iron and a man is sharpened by the countenance of his brother.” The Young Men’s Leadership Conference exemplifies real men stepping up to make a difference in the lives of our young men.  PAL Center Community Coordinator, Edward Brantley said “This is the first of many events to come.” 

RIVERSIDE, CA- The Eta Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. traded their customary Pink and Green for the day in support of the American Heart Association.  “Pink Goes Red” is a national focus of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., America’s oldest sorority for African American college educated women.  The “Pink Goes Red” campaign seeks to educate women about the risks of Heart Disease.  Eta Nu Omega Chapter President Nancy Ross, herself a survivor of heart disease reminded the chapter that heart disease and stroke are the number one killers of women, affecting 1 in 3 women, more than all cancers combined.  She issued a challenge last year to members to eat better, move more, and reduce sodium intake.  Chapter members met this challenge and raised funds to donate to the American Heart Association.  Eta Nu Omega is actively involved in the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside, participating in various projects to promote family strengthening, youth education and health promotion.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- PAL Center staff met with with Chief Paulino and Assistant Chief Donahue of SBCUSD Police Department to discuss collaboration on Explorers and Cadet Program for the upcoming year!  This is an exciting venture that will benefit students and parents, and create awareness of law enforcement career opportunities and services.  

PAL Center CEO, Dwaine Radden exclaims, “We’re excited to expand our partnership with the SB School Police by developing a Cadet program for our students and the community.” 

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- To celebrate Black History Month, San Bernardino Valley College is launching an impressive lineup of concerts, lectures, film screenings, and dance performances over the month of February.

Organized by the college’s Arts, Lectures & Diversity (ALD) Committee, these events have traditionally brought hundreds of community members to campus, with many visitors becoming regulars.

“This is a time-honored tradition on our campus,” said President Diana Rodriguez. “I am proud that our campus and community continue to come together to celebrate the achievements of some of the greatest men and women in our country’s history.”

The month’s events kicked off with a screening of Light Girls on February 1, a documentary film that chronicles the lives of light-skinned African-American women and the prejudices they face.

The rest of the month’s events include:

• February 8: Film Screening, Bleaching Black Culture (11:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. in the Library Viewing Room)
• February 15: Film Screening, 13th (11:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. in the Library Viewing Room)
• February 17: Music/Poetry/Dance Performance, Project 21 (6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium)
• February 22: Guest Speaker, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson: Race, Racism, and Race Relations in the United States (6:00 p.m. in the Auditorium)
• February 23: Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast (7:30 a.m. in Campus Center)
• February 24: Black History Month Concert & Civil Rights Celebration (7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium)

All events are free and open to the public, with free parking available on campus.

LOS ANGELES, CA- It’s that time of year again when high school seniors start narrowing down their college choices. On Saturday, February 11, the National College Resources will be hosting the 18^th Annual Black College Expo.

The Black College Expo is where students who are interested in attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) can receive more information on different campuses, as well as to apply and get accepted on the spot. The application fees will be waived. For those that can’t afford to go to a four year university, there will be scholarships on the spot for high school seniors.

There will also be internships and career opportunities for recent college graduates that are in need of employment. Other programs and workshops that will be held throughout the day include:  Students Think S.T.E.A.M.; The Movement Enrichment Program; Intervention, Mentoring, College & Career Planning; and Student Athlete Recruiting & Education Program.

The Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Los Angeles Convention Center located at 1201 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. For tickets and more information, please visit thecollegeexpo.org.

Photo credit/manolojolinsky.com

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Empire (BCCIE) had their 2nd annual Black History Super Expo this past Saturday, February 4 in Downtown San Bernardino at Court Street. Tammy Martin-Ryles and the BCCIE members did an outstanding job on bringing together the community.