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REDLANDS, CA- Senior Pastors Anthony and Jackie Green have led the historic Second Baptist Church for 28 years and have been a pastoral team that has preserved the Church History for future generations.  2015 marks l23 years that the first historic African American Church in the Inland Empire is still “alive and well.”

Sunday, November 8 will be celebrated with an l0 a.m. morning service and 4 p.m. evening service.  The morning speaker will be Reverend Michael Smith, Jr. of Reno, Nevada, a spiritual son who grew up and was licensed and ordained by Second Baptist Church.  The afternoon speaker will be Pastor Joshua Beckley, Senior Pastor of the Ecclesia Christian Fellowship of San Bernardino. Deacon Terry and Melissa Richey are the Anniversary Chairpersons.

Second Baptist has a unique history and was incorporated in 1892.  It has been at three locations in Redlands, founded on Orange Street in 1891, then moved to State Street and now resides at the corner of 9^th and Stuart Street in Redlands since 1924.  In its early years it was well known for Gospel quartet singers, founding of the Citrus Valley District Ushers and great cooks of African American cuisine.

Second Baptist Church has brought a unique flavor of high spirited worship and Gospel preaching. It is known for its work with the University of Redlands Martin Luther King Jr. Events, and Redlands Police Department in chaplaincy and a twenty year collaboration of Pastor Anthony Green through “Midnight Basketball Hoopz” to minister to At-Risks teens monthly on the third Friday of the month from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Redlands Community Center.  Second Baptist has led several city and statewide prayer gatherings and movements under the leadership of Bishop Dr. Jackie L. Green.

The community is invited to the grand celebration and afro-centric decorations especially for this historic occasion.  The Church is located at 420 East Stuart Avenue in Redlands.  For further information on worship and events, please visit www.secondbaptistredlands.com or call (909) 793-1074.

Tomas Morales, President, California State University, San Bernardino, (center), & several community members who joined the ‘MOB’ to greet & encourage the invited students, & to connect them to an academic future with CSUSB, & beyond.

By John Coleman

On October 23, buses from the Colton Joint Unified School District,  Fontana Unified School District,  Rialto Unified School District,  San Bernardino City Unified School district and Victor Valley Joint Unified School District, brought more than 300 African American and Latino eighth-grade boys to the Inaugural Black & Brown Conference for Young Males at California State University, San Bernardino.

As the students arrived, they were surprised but excited to be greeted by a “MOB” of campus and community leaders, including CSUSB President, Dr Tomas Morales;  City of San Bernardino Mayor, R. Carey Davis; a handful of others.

The FELLAS, a group of African American men who took time from their businesses and jobs to show their support for the growth, education and advancement of our Black & Brown youth, especially the males; that they, too, could take and learn required courses,  that the work they do in high school will prepare them for success in college and careers,  and that they still will have time for fun and a good life.

They entered the CSUSB Inaugural Black & Brown Conference as ‘champions’ through a path of well-wishers giving ‘high fives’ to each visiting student. Campus and Conference officials reported that student high energy and good behavior persisted throughout the Conference Program and events.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- In appreciation for the contributions of the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces, Omnitrans is offering free bus rides to US military veterans on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11.

Veterans may simply show retired military ID when boarding any Omnitrans bus including the sbX rapid line, freeway express and local bus routes, or OmniGo community shuttles. Accepted IDs include those issued by US Departments of Defense or Veterans Affairs, and San Bernardino County Veterans Affairs.

“It’s our way of saluting those who served to protect our freedom,” said Omnitrans CEO/General Manager P. Scott Graham, himself a veteran of the US Marine Corps.  Approximately 79,000 veterans reside in the Omnitrans service area of the San Bernardino Valley, stretching from Yucaipa in the east to the Los Angeles County line in the west.

In January 2015, Omnitrans introduced a reduced fare category for veterans.  “Since then, we have tallied over 100,000 rides taken by local veterans,” said Omnitrans spokesperson Wendy Williams.  Osvaldo Maysonet, 211 Access & Mobility Coordinator for VetLink was instrumental in advocating for the discounted veteran fare.

“The introduction of a veterans fare by Omnitrans has meant the world to our veteran population of the San Bernardino Valley,” said Maysonet. “The thing I like the most is that Omnitrans sees this veteran fare not as a financial burden, but as just a small token of appreciation for their service to our country.

Dr. Spinner

LOS ANGELES, CA- Happening on Saturday, November 7, at the Chucos Youth Justice Center, in Inglewood, the Bully Awareness Network will launch its Move 2 Improve Tour, which consists of a series of events that seeks to empower the youth and encourage them to mirror and exemplify positive behavior. Dr. Spinner, the organization’s founder and president, believes that this is the first step to ending all forms of bullying is to change the behavior of individuals positively.

The Bully Awareness Network’s events have been called memorable and epic and have captured the city by storm as reported in CNN ireport, and the organization, a non-profit, has drawn rave reviews that have touted its president, Dr. Spinner, as the “Black Pope.”   Dr. Spinner has gone into schools, churches and communities, to preach his mantra, “end all forms of bullying.”  His passion stems from wanting to see all children, teenagers and young adults to be in environments that are free from bullying.

His noted book, A Systematic Approach to Ending Bullying caught the attention of Lou Gossett Jr. , who considers this book to be a must read and the methodologies discussed in the book essential to end bullying in our society.  Bullying is not only one person’s problem; it is everyone’s problem to come together as a cohesive unit to resolve this travesty.  The Bully Awareness Network’s supporters include: students, parents, community leaders, government executives, city officials, celebrities, professional athletes and others; noted individuals include: Senator Holly Mitchell, Ambassador Diane Watson, Lou Gossett Jr., John Amos,  the legendary Supremes, Jewel Diamond Taylor, Lisa Nichols, and Reverent June Diamond Taylor.

The thing the separates the movement from others is what it represents.  According to Dr. Spinner, “We strive to be a true network, like Gumbo, a lot of ingredients that forms a cohesive, savory taste. We welcome other organizations, share our resources, and bring a platform of unconditional love and unity.”  The Bully Awareness Network’s mission is to end all forms of bullying by purposefully seeking to teach and spread the core building blocks of its anti-bullying program: unity, knowledge, entrepreneurship and leadership.

The organization’s November 7 event will allow the youth to showcase his/her unique and special talents in dance, rap and signing in front of the industry’s best to encourage the youth that being gifted, talented and uniqueness should never be the basis of being bullied but the basis of the evidence of one’s greatness, which is why our creator only could make only one of me.  Some of the judges for the dance battle include Shane Sparks from America Can Dance Contest, one of the top Choreographers in the world; Ceasare Willis from the dance film Rize; and Kio from Dancing with the Stars; and Boogaloo Shrimp, one of the originators of the dance battle.   The judges for the signing portion include Kevin McCall, a Grammy award winner songwriter/singer who has written hit songs for Chris Brown; Cheryl Cooley of the fabled group Klymaxx; Dorsey Fuller, the head director for the beat and manager for the Grammy nominee Angie Fisher; and Kurupt.

The Bully Awareness Network is pleased to have Jerome Ro Brooks, an actor in Tyler Perry’s the Haves and the Have Nots, and Victor Battle, a national casting director, as presenters to speak to the youth about acting and getting casted.  In addition to the talent showcase and presentations, the youth will hear many positive messages in alignment with the organization’s mission from the best speakers, attorneys, city officials and school officials and more. There will be number of noteworthy celebrity speakers such as Gary Gary, director of the hit sensation movie Straight Out of Compton. The event will end with a comedy show, starring Wild ‘N Out very own funny woman, Aarona Lopez; Lester Barrie, a renown actor and comedian, and a host of others.

The Move 2 Improve tour will continue on December 22 with its toy give-a-way and Christmas Extravaganza at the Bradley Source Family Center. Selected contestants from the November 7 event will receive the opportunity to perform at the event in front of prominent city officials, celebrities, and elected guest.   In January 2016, the Bully Awareness Network has been selected to be a part of the Martin Luther King Parade, as a recognized non-profit organization for its service to the community.

First Sergeant Raymond Rincon

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The 16^th Annual Veteran’s Day Parade & Car Show will be held on E. Street in San Bernardino on Saturday, November 7.  The parade will begin at 10 a.m., beginning at San Bernardino High school and end at the Inland Empire Military Museum and McDonald’s Museum at 14^th and E. Street, which is historic Route 66.  In addition, the E Street Cruizers Car Club will hold a car show on E Street.  The street will be closed to through traffic from the high school down to Baseline. The parade is sponsored by Juan Pollo and the Inland Empire Military Museum. This family event of cars, food, and music will take place from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m.

This year’s Grand Marshall is First Sergeant Raymond Rincon.   “I joined the U.S. Army in 1966. I was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and assigned to the 101^st Airborne Division, 501^st Infantry. I went to Viet Nam in November 1967 with the 2^nd and 3^rd Brigade on C-141 Jets, not knowing if we were going to land or parachute in”, said Rincon.

Rincon was awarded The Purple Heart after being injured in the war. In addition to his Purple Heart, Rincon received a Bronze Star with “V” Device; Vietnam Service Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Airborne Jump Wings; Air Assault Badge; and 18 other ribbons and badges from the U.S. Army, National Guard and the State Military Reserve. He served in the State Military Reserve for 20 years working with the National Guard. Rincon retired as a First Sergeant with 24 years of Military Service.

The day’s festivities also include special guest Richard Hanna, a World War II Marine Corps Veteran.

Participating Veteran’s organizations are Catholic War Veterans Post 762; I.E. Vietnam Veterans Chapter 47; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8737; I.E. Airborne Association; and the American legion Post 772.

For the last 4 years, muralist Phil Yeh has been painting a massive mural on the walls of the historic site of the first McDonald’s. Along with Rory Murray, Beth Winokur, Jan Windhausen, Sandy Cvar, and others, these murals show the history of San Bernardino on one side and California’s Route 66 on another wall. Now, Murray and Yeh have just about finished the front of the building. They have painted some noted cars and an image of the original 1948 McDonald’s. Sandy Cvar came out this year to do a portrait of Richard and Maurice McDonald.

The McDonald’s Museum is located at 1398 N. E. Street in San Bernardino and is open daily. The Inland Empire Military Museum is open on weekends. Admission to both museums is free.

By Dwaine Radden Jr. University of New Mexico Sports Blog

The season finale for the Semi-pro California Raiders (9-0) ended with a close battle Saturday night. The Raiders came off a two week break which included a forfeit by the So Cal Gladiators and a much needed bye week following that. They wrapped their perfect season up with a 27-20 victory over the Las Vegas Trojans who were also undefeated coming into Saturday’s big game. The Raider defense had another stout performance, while being led by veteran player Donte “Pacman” Turner’s three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. One of Turner’s interceptions was returned to the 20 yard line, which set up a California Raider touchdown and helped change the momentum of the game which was hard fought by the Vegas Trojans. The Raider’s Head Coach Antonio Marshall said,  “We didn’t perform well offensively, but the defense play well tonight.”

Offensively the Raiders were sparked by veteran quarterback Robert Fuller, who tossed two touchdown passes to veteran receiver Mikael “Melo” Bowden. Fuller finished with 150 yards passing and ran for a 15 yard touchdown, but it wasn’t only the veterans who made an impact. Newcomer Eric Marshall also had a great night rushing behind veteran lineman Kirk Fields, DeBron Jordan, Andrew Repena, and James Sears, who continued to dominate throughout the game.

Marshall had a 45 yard run which set up the go ahead touchdown for the Raiders. Owner Dwaine Radden was impressed by their effort stating, “These guys are the biggest and best offensive line in the history of the Franchise.”

Although the offense put up some points they had some costly turnovers that kept the Trojans in the game until the very end. The defense stepped up to save the day by keeping the Trojans from scoring offensively. Lamar Jones had an interception in the first quarter along with hard hitting from the Raider defense that held the Vegas Trojans to a goal line stand twice.      Coach Marshall had high praise for the visiting team stating, “They’re a great organization who came to play and played a real good solid game.” The California Raiders will have time to rest before they prepare for the playoffs. The Raiders are no strangers to this type of success having won multiple championships with playoff appearances for the last seven years.

LOS ANGELES, CA- On Monday, October 26, The Paley Center for Media hosted its Hollywood Tribute to African-American Achievements in Television, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co., at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

With locations in LA and NY, The Paley Center for Media is the leading non-profit cultural institution that showcases the importance and impact of media’s role in our society. On this evening, the Paley Center highlighted the deserving accomplishments and illustrated the enormous impact of African-Americans across every genre of television, from news/talk and music to sports, drama, and comedy. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Paley Center’s programs and its ongoing efforts to expand and preserve the Paley Archive that includes an African-American collection chronicling seven decades of television content. Tonight’s event showcased critically acclaimed programs of historical importance, featured iconic Hollywood talent across generations, and paid homage to creative visionaries from the entertainment community.

The evening included a salute to Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) 35^th anniversary and also commemorates the 50^th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and television’s role as a pivotal platform for addressing important issues, breaking down barriers, and creating social change.

The Paley Center for Media’s President & CEO, Maureen J. Reidy, & Frank Bennack, Chairman of the Board of the Paley Center and CEO of the Hearst Corporation were on hand for the celebration. Presenters included: Anthony Anderson, Ava DuVernay, Brandy Norwood, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Debra Martin Chase, Diahann Carroll, Don Cheadle, Jerrod Carmichael, Keegan-Michael Key, Quincy Jones, ReginaKing, Rick Fox, S. Epatha Merkerson, Terrence Howard, Tyler Perry, and Tyra Banks.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves as the Tribute’s Presenting Sponsor and event co-chairs include: 21st Century Fox / Fox Audience Strategy, Hearst Corporation, The Loreen Arbus Foundation, Starz, and Viacom / BET Networks. Patron supporters of this program include: AT&T; Carl Beverly, Timberman / Beverly Productions;CBS Corporation; Comcast NBCUniversal; Creative Artists Agency; Disney | ABC Television Group; Facebook; FTI Consulting, Inc.; HBO; Hulu, LLC; Lionsgate; Sony Pictures Television; true[X] / Fox Advanced Ad Products; Turner Broadcasting; and Warner Bros. Television Group. The Paley Center’s Tribute Committee members include: Chris Albrecht, Kevin Beggs, Peter Benedek, Carl Beverly, Steve Burke, Philippe Dauman, Stephen J. Davis, Clifford W. Gilbert-Lurie, Robert Greenblatt, Doug Herzog, Mike Hopkins, Steve Lafferty, Debra L. Lee, Paul Lee, Dick Lippin, Michael Lombardo, Leslie Moonves, Steve Mosko, James Murdoch, David Nevins, Gary Newman, Rick Rosen, Peter Roth, Philip Schuman, Ben Sherwood, and Nina Tassler.

RIVERSIDE, CA- The Black Student Union of J.W. North High School under the direction of BSU Advisor, Tamara Frazier, and principal Dr. Sheffield, welcomed over 200 middle and high school student from all over the Inland Empire to its inaugural Youth Uplift Leadership Conference on Saturday, October 17.  The purpose of the event was to provide inspiration and empowerment to students.  The conference’s theme was “the eyes are useless if the mind is blind.”

Students were treated to several workshops geared towards building character and integrity, developing self worth and a purpose in life.  The conference was sponsored by members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Eta Nu Omega Chapter as a part of its ASCEND program and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.  Parents were invited to attend as well.  Both students and parents were pleased with the content of the program and are looking forward to next year.  The event was attended by several community leaders and was a demonstration that the Inland Empire is invested in its young people.   For more information about the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ASCEND program, please contact Linda Gaines Brooks at (909) 874- 7206

RIVERSIDE, CA- The Riverside Alumni Chapter (RAC) of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity launched its Kappa League youth mentoring program on Saturday, September 26.  The leadership development program, although new for the Riverside Chapter, was originally founded in 1969 at Locke High School by the Los Angeles Alumni Chapter.

“This program is an important part of our fraternity’s mission,” says Martez Nix, Director of the RAC Kappa League.  “Young men need guidance and direction as they face the challenges of adolescence.”

During the orientation, Polemarch Demarius Carmichael and retired Navy Admiral Ed Moore provided an overview of the program curriculum and upcoming events, while tying them to the five phases of educational, occupational and social development. These include Self Identity, training in the areas of academics and career preparation, competition in sports, career advancement and politics, social endeavors, which include religion, the arts, communication and etiquette, and health education.

The program is open to male students in grades 9 through 12, with a minimum grade point average of 2.5.  For more information contact Martez Nix at MartezNix@gmail.com.

Wild ‘N’ Out Host Aarona Lopez

INGLEWOOD, CA-Bully Awareness Network will be presenting its “Move 2 Improve: Youth Empowerment Event” on Saturday, November 7 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Chuco Justice Center located at 1137 East Redondo Boulevard in Inglewood.

The day will include entertainment, giveaways, Norking, Food, and contests. There will also be special guest appearances from Grammy Award artist Kevin McCall, Wild ‘N’ Out Host Aarona Lopez, #1 BMX Rider in the World Daniel Sandoval, Noel G (Fast & The Furious, Training Day), Chris Lavrar (America’s Got Talent), Trae Ireland (Chocolate City), Brandon Larkins (Cougar Town), and Erica Abke (Miss California 2015).

If you would like to register for the Talent Showcase, please call (323) 301-2416. Also don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for BAN’s toy giveaway for homeless children. Your toy is your token to be entered into the raffle. To purchase tickets, please visit www.move2improve.bpt.me.