Local

By Naomi K. Bonman

Grooving, singing, kicking back, and just having the moment of the their lives are just a few words describe the emotions of soul lovers during this past weekend’s first annual Los Angeles Soul Fest. From July 22 to July 24, Southern California residents enjoyed a handful of activities at the Autry Museum of American West Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

The LA Soul Fest is the baby of Mark Douglas, CEO of Airborne Tickets that has blossomed and exceeded his exceptions. For the first annual Soul Fest, the event was very well attended and was an ultimate success. It brought out people of all ages and nationalities with everyone being there for one sole purpose—to enjoy some great soul music.

“Whether its vocals, instrumental soloists or a band, it doesn’t matter as long as each artist has the ability and talent to inspire and connect with an audience,” stated Los Angeles Soul Festival Head, Mark Douglas. 

This year’s talent included Grammy, Soul Train, BET, NAACP Image, Billboard, and ASCAP award-winners and nominees, as well as international and newly discovered talent. Highlighted acts included Eric Benet, Angie Stone, Marsha Ambrosius, Lalah Hathaway Lyfe Jennings, Jazmine Sullivan, Joe (Joe Thomas), Melanie Fiona, Eric Roberson, Rahsaan Patterson, Goapele, Vivian Green, Loose Ends featuring Jane Eugene, Avery Sunshine and Conya Doss. 

Great music would not be complete without good food and refreshing drinks. Guests were able to put their taste buds to the test with a variety of delicious food from several local food trucks. There were also smoothies and slushy trucks to cool patrons down from the heat. And of course, when it you’re groovin’ you usually want to have a drink in your hand. There was a 21+ drinking area that served a variety of beer and wine from vendors which included Stella Rose, Budweiser, Budlight, Stella Artois, Shock Top and Golden Road Brewing.

To keep up with the LA Soul Fest for the next year or to view photos and videos from this year, visit lasoulmusic.com or follow them on Twitter @LASoulFest, Facebook and Instagram.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- To launch the new instrumental program at San Bernardino Valley College, a Summer Band has been formed, comprised of SBVC students and area high schoolers.

Valley College hasn’t had a band program for about 15 years, and Professor of Music Margaret Worsley was hired in January to get the instrumental music program up and running.

“This will be no easy feat, as none of our former repertoire (music) or instruments remain, and starting from scratch isn’t cheap,” she said. “But, we’ve got to begin somewhere, and a Summer Band seems as good a place as any! No audition was required to join the band, simply a humble amount of experience on an instrument. This session, we’ve welcomed current students at Valley, as well as local high school students looking to keep up their chops during the summer.”

Worsley says the Humanities Department is “very excited” to bring back the instrumental program, adding, “We are presently writing curriculum so that instrumentalist music majors will soon have a large ensemble to participate in, as fulfillment of their degree requirements. Our future dreams are big, and include outreach and involvement with local high schools and community players. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and that first baby step is Summer Band. I’m looking to start a Community Band in the fall, which will rehearse once a week.”

The Summer Band rehearses on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. This summer, they are sight-reading and focusing on American pieces. For information on future performances, please visit www.valleycollege.edu.

While an audition for participation is not required, there is an audition for seating. Any-one looking to participate in the instrumental music program or Summer Band can email Worsley at mworsley@valleycollege.edu.

RIVERSIDE, CA- Several members of the 2016 Guide Right Kappa League Mentoring Program were selected by the Riverside Alumni Chapter (RAC) of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. to attend its annual Kappa Kamp summer enrichment program in Dallas, Texas.  The program, which is for young males between the ages of 12 through 16, was held at Paul Quinn College from June 5 through June 17, 2016.  Local high school students Blake Gilmore, Timothy Bolden and Agyei Butler each received sponsorships from RAC Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc. to cover their participation, room and board.

Since 1996 Kappa Kamp has provided young males throughout the United States leadership training and experience, college readiness and motivation.  The program curriculum aims to strengthen critical thinking skills, while promoting character development, improved communication, motivation, goal setting and business planning.  This summer’s enrichment activities for campers included a visit to a local church, a tour of the Dallas Police Department’s headquarters, and sporting events at the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

For more information about RAC Kappa Alpha Psi Guide Right Kappa League Mentoring Program contact Zack Stewart at Stew2z@aol.com.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- By following her dream of becoming a law enforcement official, Evelyn Calderon hopes to serve as an inspiration to her baby daughter, Isla.

“I definitely want to be a role model for her,” she said. “I want her to be not just where I am but even more successful. I am going to support her as my mother supported me.”

Calderon recently graduated from San Bernardino Valley College’s Police Academy and has already been hired by the Arcadia Police Department. Before heading to the academy, Calderon was a standout on the soccer team at A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, and had continued success, beginning in 2009, as part of the soccer program at Valley College.

“I had a great experience at Valley, with education as well as soccer,” she said. “We were back-to-back league champions and state champions as well. I had an injury, and I received so much support form the whole athletic staff and coaches and teachers. My coaches gave me the biggest push to get through everything, and everyone I came into contact with at Valley was so supportive.”

Calderon still holds the scoring record at Valley College, and her skills on and off the field helped her secure a full-ride scholarship to Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York.

“I was born and raised in California, so it was an adjustment, but it was fairly easy in a way because I went with my best friend, Angela Young, who also went to Valley,” Calderon said. “It made it easier to go with someone. I always liked the fast life so it was a fit for me, and definitely fun.”

She planned on majoring in criminal justice, but when the program was discontinued, she switched to political science. She always had her eye on training with the Police Academy, but put that plan on hold until after her daughter was born in 2015. Once she enrolled, Calderon spent six months in the academy, doing everything from physical endurance tests to learning how to operate emergency vehicles to writing memos, where every sentence and period was critiqued. You either make it through or you don’t, and Calderon excelled.

“It feels like a big accomplishment,” she said. “It’s something I finally accomplished, my lifetime goal and dream. To be able to provide my daughter with a better life is very fulfilling.”

Calderon is now joining the Arcadia Police Department, where she will immediately begin patrolling and is one of only a few women on the force. She is excited to begin this new chapter in her life and is thankful for the people who helped her along the way.

“Valley gave me the biggest push to where I am today,” Calderon said. “Once I started going there, with all the support I received, I knew it was going to help me achieve my lifetime goal. Without Valley, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The Sensational Social Lites of the Inland Empire will be celebrating 60 years of service on Saturday, August 20 at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino.  Earlier this year, these amazing women were awarded the Citizens of Achievement Award from the San Bernardino League of Women Voters.  They continue to raise funds for scholarships for the youth, perform community service, and engage in civic causes to help enhance the lives of others in the communities in which they live and serve. One of the well-known program under this organization is the Beautillion program which is designed to uplift young men and assist them in preparing for furthering their education beyond high school. 

Guests to gala should plan to wear formal attire and enjoy dinner and dancing to a live band. Tickets are $60 per person.  Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m.   For more information, go to www.sociallitesinc.com or contact Bettye Brewster, President at (951) 204-0022 or bettyebrewster@yahoo.com or Edna Noble at (909) 888-3788 or Helen Thomas at (909) 854-7730 or Socialites2@msn.com.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- BLU Educational Foundation (BLU) will  host its second annual Soul Sisters Leadership Academy starting Monday, July 18 at San Bernardino Valley College.  The four-day, intensive training program is designed for young Black women ages 14 to 21.  The purpose of the academy is to help young women connect with the historical legacy of Black women who have made, and are making, significant contributions throughout society and the world.  In addition, the program is designed to help young women develop a strong sense of self, cultural identity, and a connection to the importance of civic engagement and the positive impact they can make on their campus and in their community.  

Believing that service is key to civic engagement, BLU utilizes program alumni, college interns, and volunteers to help design and facilitate the trainings thereby developing valuable transferable skills and giving program participants real-world creative and project implementation experience.  Program attendees are encouraged to take their experience back to their respective centers of influence and continue to create and lead.  Last year’s academy consisted of 36 young women from 14 local cities and representing 23 high school and college campuses.

  The Soul Sisters Leadership Academy is one of the many leadership trainings BLU is conducting as part of their ongoing African-American Civic Engagement (AACE) Project. 

RIVERSIDE, CA- History and art enthusiasts from near and far will visit Riverside next month for the Association of African American Museums Conference (AAAM) taking place August 3 to August 6. The AAAM conference will take place at the Riverside Convention Center, but a host of activities including some receptions are planned in various locations throughout the Inland Region.

A Gospel Concert will take place Thursday, August 4 at Riverside Community College Landis Auditorium, led by Gregory Thomas as well as accomplished musician, singer and song writer Tony Wilkins. A mass community choir of 100 voices under the musical direction of clinician Thomas will joyously lift up praises together at this special event. The mass community choir rehearsals will commence at a week-long gospel workshop, open to anyone who wishes to participate: Monday, July 25 through Friday July 29 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Park Avenue Baptist Church located at 1910 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Riverside. The workshop fee is $10. For more information contact (951) 807-5066.

In addition to the gospel concert, Visual Voice art exhibit co-curated by renowned artists Charles Bibbs and Bernard Hoyes with assistance by curator Lisa Henry will take place Friday, August 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Riverside Art Museum. This exhibit covers Southern California Black artists’ ascent to the mainstream, culminating with the Black art scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 90s. Works of 19 masterful artists who played an integral role in what is to become the first full African American Art Movement over the last three decades includes: Ernie Barnes, Varnette P. Honeywood, Bernard Stanley Hoyes, Charles Bibbs, Nathaniel Bustion, Synthia Saint James, Kathleen Atkins Wilson, Kenneth Gatewood, Charles Dickson, Joseph Beckles, Charles White, Samella Lewis, William Pajaud, Richard Mayhew, Artis Lane, Jacob Lawrence, Noah Purifoy, Barbara Wesson and John Outterbridge.

In conjunction with the Visual Voice art exhibition, a Block Party with a stage of live entertainment will take place Friday, August 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Mission Inn Avenue near the Riverside Art Museum. Blues, Jazz and R&B performers will give a musical tribute concert to celebrate the early century era with special guests to be announced. Both the Block Party and Visual Voice art exhibition are free and open to the public.

If you are interested in being a vendor, volunteering, or for general information about registering for the conference visit www.blackmuseums.org.

RIVERSIDE, CA-Last Thursday, after days of rallied in the Inland Empire decrying perceived police brutality in the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, protestors marched through Riverside demanding not just justice being brought to the system, but unity.

Riverside residents Jeff Luckey, 22, and Anthony Curtis, 23, said that was the goal in organizing the march, which started at noon outside City Hall, continued with a march toward Riverside Plaza about 2 1/2 miles away and ended about 3 p.m.

“Right now nobody’s together,” Luckey said. “We don’t want this to be a black thing or a white thing, we want to develop a solution.”

There were approximately 75 people that attended the protest at the plaza. Some held signs and many chanted as they walked saying, ““Hands up, don’t shoot,” a slogan that has become a rallying cry for those protesting police shootings of black men.

Hennesy Brown, of Ontario, attended the march with her 1-year-old son King and her 9-month old son Angel. Brown chose to participate in the event to raise awareness in the community so that her sons won’t share the fates of Sterling and Castile.

“I don’t want my sons to become a hashtag,” Brown said.

By 2 p.m., the crowd at the plaza had grown to about 100. People were initially standing in the street in front of the movie theater, blocking traffic and forcing cars to turn around, but they moved when requested by police. “I love the diversity, it shows that its not just black people who are affected,” Brown said.

“I’m glad to see that Riverside does care about its people,“ May said. “The city has a lot of heart.”

SACRAMENTO, CA – AB 1584 by Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee after receiving unanimous support in the Senate Human Services Committee. The bill would reinstate the cost of living adjustment for the Social Security Insurance/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) grant, and lift an estimated 1.3 million Californians out of poverty.

“I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for their advocacy on behalf on of California’s seniors,” Assemblymember Brown said. “This legislation will lift over one million seniors and adults with disabilities out of poverty.”

SSI/SSP grants assist seniors and other disabled Californians who are unable to work.  These benefits, administered by the Social Security Administration, provide income support to individuals who are over 65, blind or disabled. These grants are also available to qualified blind or disabled children.  Starting in 2008, cuts made by the Legislature and the Governor reduced grants to amounts well below the federal poverty level.

“As a society, we have a responsibility to ensure that our seniors can age with dignity,” Assemblymember Brown said.  “AB 1584 is a small step toward the full restoration of recession era cuts to the SSI/SSP program, as well as preparation for the upcoming silver tsunami.”