Protests have erupted in U.S. cities and towns against high-profile police killings and shootings of Black people, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn. and Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. President Donald Trump has elevated the civil unrest as a major election issue, describing the protesters as “left-wing mobs” and positioning himself as the candidate most qualified to uphold “law and order” and preserve what he called the “suburban lifestyle dream.” He says his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, would build more affordable housing in suburban communities, which he claims will lead to an increase in crime. Meanwhile, Biden says the president himself is “recklessly encouraging violence” and that “for years he’s fomented it.”
USC experts offer their expertise on how the protests will shape this election year, while decoding the president’s racially-charged language about the suburbs.
Can the candidates capitalize on this moment?
“Black Lives Matter protests shifted public opinion on systemic racism and sparked calls to defund police departments, but it’s still unclear whether the racial unrest roiling the streets of America will help or hurt the presidential candidates for both parties.
“Whether the candidates at the top of the ticket for Democrats, both of whom been staunch supporters of law enforcement, can capitalize on the movement’s energy may depend on whether they can convince voters that they’ve seen the light and now recognize the need for real criminal justice reform.
“Whether those at the top of the Republican ticket can capitalize on this political moment depends on whether they can frame the protests as proof of the need for ‘law and order’ approaches to social problems and can galvanize their base through appeals to ethno-nationalism and white identity politics.”
Jody David Armour is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the USC Gould School of Law. He studies the intersection of race and legal decision making and is the author of the recently published book N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law.
“Phrasing like, ‘America first,’ ‘thugs,’ ‘suburban housewives’ and most directly the ‘fine people on both sides’ remark are thinly veiled messages to a largely white demographic.
“The combination of political speech and militias that encourages extremist views, along with fear of progressive change, have all contributed to an us-versus-them narrative that today has centered around the rule of law, and in particular, police reform and public condemnation of systemic racism and abuse of authority.”
Erroll Southers is the director of the Safe Communities Institute‘s Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies program and a professor of the practice of National and Homeland Security at the USC Price School of Public Policy. He is a former FBI special agent and was deputy director of homeland security under California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Southers recently wrote about the need for a national registry of police misconduct.
Is the Trump Administration reversing on housing policy?
“As recently as last year, the Trump administration was fighting on behalf of affordable housing in the suburbs. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson railed against the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality that stands in the way of high-density, multi-family affordable housing. The executive order Trump signed last year cited with approval an Obama rule that compelled local governments to take affirmative steps towards affordable housing.
“Now, Trump has suddenly reversed course in the run-up to the election to pander to white, single-family homeowners in the suburbs. This isn’t dog-whistle politics, coded in order to avoid being labeled racist. No, it’s an open call of ‘Here, bigot bigot’ aimed at mobilizing white racial fears of mixed-income and multi-racial neighborhoods.”
Daria Roithmayr is the Richard L. and Antoinette S. Kirtland Professor of Law at the USC Gould School of Law. She teaches and writes about persistent structural racism in labor, housing, political participation, wealth and education and is the author of Reproducing Racism: How Everyday Choices Lock in White Advantage.
“Trump is using outdated and segregated ‘suburban’/‘urban’ distinctions to capitalize on fear and racial panic to motivate voters at the ballot box.
“His inflammatory rhetoric about suburban degradation and ‘law and order’ plays upon a well-known historical narrative of ‘white flight’ that reinforces a segregated imaginary scenario placing the purportedly white suburbs, in opposition to Black and brown cities.
“In doing so, he ignores the demographic developments and transformations in U.S. cities and suburbs over the last 30-plus years, failing to account for how the suburbs, in some instances, have actually become important, thriving enclaves for immigrants and people of color. This is especially true since ‘urban revitalization’ and gentrification began to displace and relocate communities of color into the suburbs, most notably in the American West, in the 1990s.”
Karen Tongson is the chair of gender and sexuality studies and professor of English, American studies and ethnicity at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her research interests include queer and gender studies, minority discourse, popular culture and suburban studies. She is the author of Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries and Why Karen Carpenter Matters.
What do the polls tell us about white suburban voters?
“In 2016, suburban voters gave Trump the presidency. In 2018, they were the lever that gave Democrats back the House of Representatives. According to the Dornsife Daybreak Poll, the support of white people in the suburbs for Trump and Biden is now tied, and I think that’s why Republicans are talking about how the suburbs are going to be invaded and destroyed.
“I think that’s very significant but add to that that, for example, Biden is gaining among rural voters over Hillary Clinton’s performance with that group. In every single geographic area, Biden has gained support.
“Obviously it’s still early and we don’t know the full impact and future course of the ongoing racial strife and the two nominees’ reactions to it, but one thing is clear: Trump starts the fall campaign in a weaker position than any incumbent since George H. W. Bush.”
When Dr. Andrea Goings launched her mobile medical service, offering at-home doctor visits and virtual consultation sessions via video in 2016 in the Los Angeles area, she did not know that just four years later her business model would be more the norm than not.
Goings, an African American pediatrician, launched her service in West Lake Village, a city about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles near the Ventura County line. She made house calls to patient homes across the metropolitan area.
“Technology has changed the way we approach and experience so many aspects of our lives, so I thought at the time, why not apply it to the work I do,” said Goings, who has been able to provide care to patients in various parts of the country while she is temporarily in Ohio caring for her mom as she recovers from a surgery.
Dr. Andrea Goings mobile medical service Los Angeles area.
“Being able to save busy parents from long waits in the emergency room or long drives to doctor appointments or giving them around-the-clock access to medical advice from the comfort of their home are all reasons clients have appreciated BabyDocHouseCalls.com over the years. Now, there is an added safety component that makes the service convenient, even necessary, for so many.”
Goings said because her businesses gave her a head start. Therefore, pivoting to respond to the constraints COVID-19 safety measures have imposed on clinical care, has been easy for her.
“Telehealth is a really good option for young adults who have returned to college campuses and dorms,” she says.
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) says remote consultations like the kind Goings’s provides should be not be technically regarded as a distinct service, but an “allowable mechanism” through which medical practitioners can provide clinical services.
“The standard of care is the same whether the patient is seen in-person, by telephone, or through telehealth. As a result, DHCS has strongly encouraged all counties to work with providers to maximize the number of services that can be provided by telephone and telehealth, to minimize community spread of COVID-19,” said Ivan Bhardwaj, Section Chief, Community Services Division at the DHCS.
The DHCS has requested that all medical care providers adhere to all federal, state, and local guidelines.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights says it will use “enforcement discretion” and it will not impose penalties for non-compliance with all aspects of the HIPAA rules when healthcare providers use telehealth in “good faith” during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The DCHS has also relaxed some its rules to accommodate telehealth, expanding platforms allowed to include popular video services such as Apple’s FaceTime, Facebook’s Messenger video chat, Google’s Hangouts and Skype.
“So far it’s been great. No problems. We’ve been able to keep all of our doctor appointments and do it safely” said Joe Bowers, a Ladera Heights resident in Los Angeles County who is retired and writes a column on education for California Black Media. Bowers says, “My wife, Margaret and I appreciate the convenience of visiting with our doctors — from the comfort of our home.”
For some critical mental health services that are vital to some of the most vulnerable Californians during the pandemic, like Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for those struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD), DHCS has increased its support.
“The Department of Health Care Services, in partnership with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation (The Center), is funding 21 sites to provide telehealth substance use disorder and mental health services for individuals in counties that have been impacted by COVID-19, or in the case of providers, who have experienced trauma as a result of treating individuals with the coronavirus,” said Bhardwaj.
“DHCS and The Center additionally launched the Behavioral Health Telehealth funding opportunity in 2020 for non-profit behavioral health providers to receive up to $50,000 each for telehealth infrastructure beginning September 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021,” he added. “Providers applied for telehealth equipment, including laptops, desktops, monitors, electronic health record software licenses, internet subscriptions, cell phones for providers, and telehealth training. Providers that were awarded through this opportunity will receive funding in Fall 2020.”
DHCS is also providing Personal Protective Equipment so that facilities that provide in-person mental health services and MAT sessions can continue to do so without interruption.
California’s public awareness campaign titled “Choose Change California”?provides information on opioid use disorder and a list of centers across the state where people misusing opioids or other substances can go for treatment and community-based wraparound services.?The campaign is a collaboration operated by Sacramento- and Fresno-based The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and funded?through?the California Department of Public Health?MAT Expansion Project.?
DHCS’ efforts have resulted in helping some medical institutions to survive the pandemic and move closer to their pre-COVID levels of clinical care by transitioning to telehealth services, but they have come with some challenges. For example, the DHCS says some providers do not have enough funding to fully invest in telehealth infrastructure. On the flip side, some patients cannot afford or do not have sufficient broadband services and the required equipment to receive services through telehealth. Other patients, depending on their living situations, do not have adequate privacy to engage in telehealth sessions.
Goings pointed out that there are some obvious limitations to telehealth, too. With some conditions involving trauma or physical injury or pain, there is no way around seeing the patient in-person, she said.
“Now, that school has started, it’s difficult because you don’t know if someone has the flu or COVID,” she says. “I can’t give a clearance note, until you’ve been seen, tested and quarantined, if necessary,” she says.
The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is gearing up to once again take moviegoers on a cinematic world journey with international film screenings with the announcement of its “Call for Entries”.
The 29th Annual PAFF, America’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival, will be held in February 2021 either with a physical festival in Los Angeles, a world-wide virtual festival or a combination of both. Over the years, PAFF has showcased films from all parts of the world, representing such countries as the United States, Angola, Nigeria, Jamaica, New Zealand, Rwanda, Canada, Mozambique, Venezuela, Egypt, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil, Kenya, Fiji, Mexico, the U.K., South Africa, England, Japan, Trinidad & Tobago, France and Canada.
With the pulse on the international film market, PAFF has opened the minds of its audiences, and transported them to far-away places and back home again.
“Over the years, filmmakers the world over have become more sophisticated in telling their stories,” says Asantewa Olatunji, the director of programming for PAFF. “In our ever-shrinking world, it is so important to understand the experiences and points of views of the world’s diverse peoples and cultures.”
Last year, more than 40,000 people attended the film festival, which has long been a highly anticipated event in Los Angeles attended by local, national and international guests. PAFF currently accepts only online applications and submissions. As of June 1, 2020 filmmakers wanting to submit to PAFF2021 can submit through FilmFreeway at filmfreeway.com and typing in the Pan African Film Festival or can go to the PAFF website www.paff.org and clicking onto the FilmFreeway button or the “Submit a Film” button on the menu.
ELIGIBILITY:
PAFF accepts applications for films, videos and webisodes made by and/or about people of African descent. (Please note: the filmmaker need not be of African descent.) Preferably, submissions should depict positive and/or realistic images and can be of any genre — drama, comedy, horror, action/adventure, animation, romance, science fiction, experimental, historical/epic, etc. PAFF accepts narrative and documentary features, shorts and webisodes.
COMPETITION:
The PAFF competition categories are: Best Narrative Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary (Short or Feature), Best Director — First Feature, Best Web-Series, plus a variety of Audience Favorite Awards. Films in competition must be copyrighted no earlier than 2019. With the exception of Audience Favorite Awards, films are judged by industry professionals. In addition to competition awards, other programming and festival special prizes will be awarded.
SUBMISSION PERIODS:
Early Submissions (Reduced Entry Fee): Currently being accepted through July 15, 2020.
Regular Submissions: July 16-September 20, 2020.
Late Submissions: September 21- October 30, 2020.
Extended Late Submissions: October 31-December 10, depending on available space.
After December 10, the submitter must contact submissions@paff.org to obtain permission to submit.
For submission instructions, information, fees and registration kindly go to www.paff.org and click onto “Submit a Film”. For questions regarding submissions, email submissions@paff.org.
Hear me and hear me good! Not once in recorded history has the world been brought together into any sort of international unity. Until Now! Many governments have attempted global domination. They all have conquered great chunks of territory, but none have ultimately succeeded in forging a one-world government. Until now! And as children of the Living God, we must prepare for what is ahead in our future. Jesus Christ encourages us through the Parable of the Ten Virgins [Matthew 25:1–13] to keep watch and prepare… For it is clear that many pieces of prophecy are falling into place before our very eyes. And soon and VERY SOON to come is a world ruler who is going to come up to dominate the world in the last days, and he is going to be an instrument in Satan’s hands. In the book of Revelation, John refers to the final and ultimate Antichrist as the Beast. He will have supernatural power and global influence. The Beast first appears as a political leader, who will make a covenant with Israel and assume world leadership. Later he takes on the role of a religious leader who is worshiped. Supported by his sidekick—the False Prophet—the Beast will deceive the world. He, his prophet, and Satan will form an unholy trinity to rule all of creation. But the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, and the beast from the sea is restrained – for now. [2 Thessalonians 2: 7-12].
Therefore, hear me and hear me good – The worst of evil is coming. “The Players Are In Place!” This is no time for compromise. Understand that the Antichrist is not going to burst suddenly onto the scene as something new. He is not going to come as a politician with radical ideas that shake up the whole fiber of the nations and of the world, but he is going to come as a moderate. There is going to be something that is very attractive about him. His attractiveness will be that he will be able to bring everything and everyone together. Not only will he propose plausible solutions for economics and politics and social issues and religion, but he will bring the people of the earth together. He will ride a wave of popular opinion. He will be a great communicator, who will convince those who are against him, until, as Revelation puts it, the whole world will wonder after him, they will stand in amazement at him. He will be able to come that way because everything that the Antichrist represents is already present in the world. [2 Thessalonians 2:7]. And his coming, will only serve to bring us closer to the day of Jesus Christ. His day will be short, the Bible tells us, and immediately following it, Jesus will come.
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief… [1 Thessalonians 5:1–11].
Beware, and WATCH [Luke 21:29–36]! Indeed, the “fig tree” is putting forth “buds”
“And do this, knowing the time, that NOW it is high time to awake out of sleep; for NOW your salvation is nearer than when you first believed.” [Romans 13:11].
“So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, Understand, [daughter] of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end. Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.” [Daniel 8:17-19].
I tell you, “The Players Are in Place!”
Reference Notes: [Dr. Roger Barrier]
1. New World Order –
Here are some significant historical milestones pointing to one-world government:
1935: A New World Order symbol on the back of the US dollar bill.
1940: H.G. Wells publishes a book entitled The New World Order.
1945: The UN is founded.
1949: NATO is established.
1973: The trilateral commission is established.
1995: The World Trade Organization is formed.
2002: American FDA-approved the VeriChip (human implanted microchip for electronic ID).
2009: The body responsible for managing the Internet, Icann, takes over from the US to become global.
2019: Countries around the world have increased facial recognition surveillance, e-mail, text, and phone monitoring, geolocation data from smartphones and vehicles, credit card data and ad tracking information.
2. The Antichrist Will Unify 10 Nations
The Bible says this will be around the territory of the old Roman Empire and then capture three other countries. He soon defeats the whole world as he establishes his worldwide government [Daniel 8].
3. The Coronavirus Fulfills Prediction
The coronavirus of worldwide consequence is fulfilling Jesus’ prediction in [Luke 21:11].
4. Technology Tracks Everyone
Technological tools already are developed to track everyone in the world. Many countries are implementing a system of facial recognition and GPS locators to spy on everyone in the world. Facial recognition is an insidious tool. Phones can record conversations even when the phones are turned off.
5. Mass Financial Changes
Large-scale changes in our financial systems can open the door for a one-world government. Every nation of the world is sapped with crushing debt. Banking will change dramatically. Paper checks can slide into a slot and be read and deducted or deposited without ever touching another human being.
6. Fraud Is Rampant
Hacking and fraud are sophisticated enough for one nation to control another.
7. Economic Sanctions
Economic sanctions could very well be the ultimate tool of the Antichrist. Only those who have submitted their lives to the Antichrist as Lord, as evidenced by receiving a mark in the forehead or right hand, will be allowed to buy and sell.
8. Common Worldwide Currency
Watch for a common worldwide currency like the development of the Euro in Europe.
9. Everyone Can See
Only in the last 70 years has it been possible for everyone to see Jesus simultaneously at his Second Coming.
10. Believers Anticipate
Watch For Jesus! Hopefully, the Rapture is just around the corner.
Runyon Saltzman, Inc., an integrated communication agency located in Midtown Sacramento, (currently working remotely) is looking for a Media Planner. The Media Planner will be responsible for analyzing data, thinking creatively and dreaming up innovative strategies to make sure marketing campaigns reach the right target audience in the most effective way possible. The ideal candidate will have incredible communication skills and a strong passion for the advertising business.
Responsibilities:
Creation of media plans for a variety of clients, utilizing both traditional and non-traditional media
Generates insight from a multitude of data sources and communicates actionable recommendations to clients
Maximize returns on advertising and promotional activities across different media channels.
Analysis of media plan performance
Management of client budgets
Works on new business development
Requirements:
Previous media planning experience (including online/digital)
Intimate knowledge of all forms of media including television, radio, digital, outdoor and print
Familiarity with syndicated research
Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)
Convincing presentation skills
Strong organizational, mathematical, problem solving and analytical skills
Able to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines
Works well in a fast-paced team environment and thrives on collaborating with team members
RSE is an equal opportunity employer (women/minorities/disabled/veterans).
RSE offers a rich variety of benefits to its employees.
Medical – there are three HMO medical benefits to choose from:
Dental
Vision
Voluntary Hyatt Legal Plan
Life, AD&D and Long-Term Disability Insurance
Voluntary Life Insurance
401k retirement savings benefit
FSA – Flexible Spending Accounts – employees make pre-tax contributions to use against expenditures for out of pocket expenses for both medical and childcare
HRA – Health Reimbursement Account, offering direct reimbursement for several out of pocket medical costs
Vacation Time – New hires accrue up to 80 hours of vacation per year upon beginning work.
Sick Time
Holiday Time – RSE offers nine paid company holidays off annually.
EAP – Employee Assistance Program, and Worldwide Travel Assistance Benefit
Aflac and Pet Insurance – Voluntary Plans
Two Discretionary Annual Profit-Sharing Plans.
Company Paid Parking! Free on-Site Gym!
Saltzman School of Excellence (SSE) and a Wellness Committee – (WOW).
SACRAMENTO, CA—- AB 685, by Assemblymember Eloise Reyes (D-San Bernardino) was signed into law by Governor Newsom in Sacramento. AB 685 requires employers to provide a notice within one business day to employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 at their worksite, and report to the California Department of Public Health if an outbreak occurs. Current law does not require employers to notify their employees that they have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 at their work site. California is still making progress to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases, but nonetheless the state is still averaging about 4,000 new cases per day as well as 100 deaths over the last two weeks.
Existing law addresses various workplace risks that must be reported to public health officials but lacks clarity on the appropriate reporting and employee notice that should occur when someone has been exposed to Covid-19. Specifically, Covid-19 outbreaks and workplace exposures are subject to state and local requirements that are not clear to either employees or employers. AB 685 establishes a clear standard and protocol that must be followed to address workplace exposure and worker protection.
“In the age of Covid-19 our essential workers risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones in our fields, hospitals, grocery stores, meatpacking plants, restaurant kitchens and countless other businesses in our state,” said Assemblymember Reyes. “COVID-19 infections and deaths disproportionately affect the Latino, Black, and Asian Pacific Islander communities. Communities that make up the majority of our state’s low-wage workers. By notifying the public and workers of potential exposures as required under AB 685 we allow workers to take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their loved ones while also bolstering the response of public health officials.”
“UFCW members – and all essential workers – have suffered greatly in the pandemic from a lack of basic information needed to prevent worksite exposure and target COVID-19 hotspots,” said Andrea Zinder, president, UFCW Western States Council and UFCW Local 324. “Targeting virus spread in our pharmacies, grocery stores, farms, meatpacking plants, and countless other businesses is vital to prevent workers from getting sick and carrying illness home to our families and frontline communities; it is also essential to get our economy moving again and allow our state to re-open safely.”
“Too many employers have refused to properly notify workers when COVID-19 exposures and outbreaks occur, leading to countless worker illnesses and even fatalities,” said Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation. “AB 685 (Reyes), by requiring such notification, will allow workers, their unions, and local public health officials to keep employees and the public safe and is a critically important tool for lessening the spread of this horrible virus. We applaud the great work of Assemblymember Reyes and the UFCW Western States Council in getting this bill through the legislature and thank the Governor for signing it.”
Current law lacks clarity as to an employer’s reporting requirements, including to their own
workforce. This deficiency has led to workers and members of the public living in fear for their own safety, unaware of where outbreaks may already be occurring.
A Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey released today also reveals that a majority of Californians are still concerned about potentially contracting Covid-19 and that communities of color and low-income workers are likely to be much more concerned than their counterparts.
Not only was justice not served, the desultory and insufficient result we received today was also unacceptably slow in manifesting. It has been over six months since Breonna Taylor’s innocent life was senselessly taken at the hands of careless, negligent, and indifferent law enforcement officials sworn to protect and serve her.
As officers of the court that take our oaths and hold our bar licenses in high regard, we urge our families and friends of color around us to place faith in the justice system within which we work, pointing out that the system needs our participation if it is ever going to bring forth the results we deem to be just. However, when headline after headline consistently supports the theory we so desperately want to disprove, it’s beginning to become more and more difficult to make the case that black lives matter to anyone but us.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s vow to “vigorously prosecute” Brett Hankison, the sole Louisville police officer criminally charged with three counts of wanton endangerment of the first degree as a result of Taylor’s death, falls on deaf and enraged ears. Breonna was a completely innocent woman, sleeping in her own home when she was killed by Louisville police attempting a no knock search warrant. How much clearer do the facts have to be for public officials on the ground to take appropriate and just action without public unrest and protest! While we will certainly continue to use our voices, admittedly it is frustrating that it is even necessary given how egregious and outrageous these facts are.
NBA Vice President for Regions and Affiliates, Lonita Baker, is lead counsel representing Breonna Taylor’s family and was quoted today stating, “This is the most absurd legal maneuvering that I have ever seen. If his [Ex-Officer Brett Hankison] behavior was wanton to those in neighboring apartments it was likewise wanton to Breonna and Kenny. He should have been charged with wanton murder and another count of wanton endangerment. To add insult to injury, an indictment for wanton endangerment was returned for Breonna’s white neighbors but none for her black neighbors that also had gunshots from the police entering their home. This is another example of the devaluing of black lives.”
We stand in solidarity with Lonita, her co-counsel NBA Past President Ben Crump, their legal team, and Breonna’s family, and pledge the support of the National Bar Association in an effort to bring about honorable justice for Breonna and her family. May our precious Angel Breonna continue to Rest in Peace.
Keifer Sykes plays professional basketball in Turkey, not Los Angeles or New York. He hasn’t yet made his NBA dream fit inside his 6-foot frame. And life off the court has been pock-marked with losses and tragedies tied to the gun violence that has riddled the streets of Chicago for a century.
The former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay star had his successes and heartbreaks documented in the award-winning 2018 documentary “Chi-Town.” Audiences saw Sykes become the first college graduate in his family’s history. they watched as he led Green Bay to a Horizon League Championship for the first time in more than a decade.
The low points, though, made the gritty film touch millions. Incarcerations, shootings and death visited his family and friends back in Chicago, and he hasn’t forgotten any of what his talents allowed him to escape. Sykes’s strong will has now turned him into a philanthropic brand, not a sneaker brand. His Free10Foundation provides mentorship to inner-city kids, holds clothing drives and Christmas parties for Chicago’s poorest, and assists children who have been victims of trauma.
The 26-year-old Sykes is wise beyond his years and skilled beyond his size. Although he is an active pro basketball player overseas, he continues to find time to give back to the community that raised him up.
Percy Crawford interviewed Keifer Sykes for Zenger News (Photo courtesy of Percy Crawford)
Percy Crawford interviewed Keifer Sykes for Zenger News.
Zenger News: How are you doing, bro’?
Keifer Sykes: I’m living good, man. This Covid gives people a lot of reason to be negative right now, but my family is good. I was able to spend a lot of time with family. Covid made us look at the world different. We’re going through a lot of things with inequality right now. I was just happy to be home and helping my city.
I left out for a little bit right now, for three weeks. I was blessed to get a deal because a lot of people aren’t getting deals right now. But it’s a deal where I can get right back home next month. It’s unique times, but I’m blessed right now for sure.
Zenger: You’re playing ball in Turkey right now. Are they in a basketball bubble out there right now as well?
Sykes: So, right now I signed this deal to play … they’re finishing the Champions League from last year. I don’t know how familiar you are with Champions League, like soccer. They have a basketball Champions League as well overseas. When we go to this tournament, yes, we will be in a bubble-like setting. They have a bubble-type situation over here to keep us safe. It will be in Athens, Greece. I’ve never been to Greece during the couple of years I played over here. We haven’t had any Greek teams in our bracket, and I’ve always wanted to go to Greece, so it’s going to be fun to go there.
But yeah, we’re going to be in a bubble situation because as you know, with the world, this Covid thing, sports is taking a big hit. I hope it’s made a lot of us athletes realize that we have to do more and … be more diverse, and use our influence and our talent to be able to do different things in the world. If they stop sports, a lot of us don’t have a job.
Zenger: “Chi-Town” was so well put together. That’s a movie/documentary that follows your life from 17 years old through your journey through college, and ultimately chasing your NBA dream. Did you think basketball would take you this far?
Sykes: I appreciate you for supporting the film, my family and the city of Chicago. As you see in the film, I was real naïve. I wouldn’t say not confident, but when you’re living in a situation where a lot of things are happening, you’re living in violence, it’s kind of one of those things where you hope for the best but expect the worse.
I was naïve, just not knowing, and at the time I didn’t know that basketball would take me this far—basketball, that film and the impact that those two things would do for my life. I’ve just been blessed to have these opportunities, to have that film playing all over the world. I just want to use these experiences to teach the next generation to continue to hone their talents. Because, like you said, basketball can take you around the world. It can change a lot for your family.
Former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay standout Keifer Sykes has escaped the gun violence and gang culture of Chicago but hasn’t forgotten where he came from (courtesyof Cynthia Busby)
Zenger: One part of the film that was disturbing and unfortunately your reality, when you were away at college you were hesitant to answer phone calls from a Chicago number because you assumed it was bad news on the other end.
Sykes: That was hard. Even now. Just being away and knowing what my people going through and America in general is going through. I turned down a lot of deals this summer just to stay at home. I think that comes from just growing up in poverty, growing up in inequality.
We are oppressed. It’s difficult for a lot of us. We have a lot of trauma and PTSD, and getting phone calls about my coach getting shot and my dad passing away, that trauma just builds up. A lot of our youth face that.
I knew that I was blessed with this talent to play basketball, so I was able to elude different things and circumstances. But having that film in place and me seeing … at first, I just thought this was regular life. For me and my friends, it’s the life we grew up in. but when I went to Green Bay, I was like, “Wow! This is a good life.”
And when the movie comes out, those people have never seen someone get shot, they’ve never seen anyone go to jail. I realized how much we had to do to help those less fortunate. Those that don’t have a talent. Those that won’t be able to have basketball or some type of talent as a vehicle to get them out of poverty. And that’s the reason I started my non-profit organization, The Keifer Sykes Free10Foundation.
Zenger: How important is it for you to not forget Chicago and to give back and help the youth keep their dreams alive, and not just give back but be visible and there in the flesh?
Sykes: It’s turned into something that is probably top priority for me. It’s always been my passion. My father, as you saw in the film, he helped the community a lot. He was my coach. A lot of us in the neighborhood weren’t blessed to grow up with a mother and a father. I was blessed to have my father in my life. He was real active with my basketball teams, coached a lot of my teams. And with a father figure for a lot of young boys in Chicago, that right there just made this thing of me giving back top priority and a passion of mine. I kind of found my purpose in it.
With me playing overseas the last couple of years and not being at home a lot, and getting this chance with Covid to be home for 6–7 months and actually be available and help these kids on a day-in and day-out basis, I had to set up a program to connect with these kids. And to see the impact of being available? It’s a lot of work, but it’s the work that someone has to do, and it needs to be done. I realized it needed to be done and I’m blessed to be in a position where I’m able to have kids even listen to me.
I take that very seriously. And I would hope other athletes, entrepreneurs, and just successful people would help out and make that a priority as well. It’s definitely worthwhile and meaningful.
At 6 feet tall, Keifer Sykes would be dwarfed by many of the NBA’s stars, but his legacy may be more about philanthropy than athletic legend (Courtesy of Keifer Sykes)
Zenger: Tell us more about Free10Foundation.
Sykes: Yeah, The Keifer Sykes Free10Foundation. The idea was born from the film. When I went to that first film festival, South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and I saw the reaction after everyone watched the film, they were saying how strong I am, and how they weren’t aware of all of the things that were going on.
I wanted to do something. I just continued to pray to God and just asked him—much is given, much expected—for him to give me the ability to fulfill everything that he wanted me to do with this instrument and vehicle that I had. Like I said, my dad always gave back, so I wanted to just bring awareness to what’s going on.
So I started this Free10Foundation. Free10 just stands for the offerings, the generosity and the service that every human being should give to the world. Kind of like our tithes. We came up with the number 10 as the numerical identity for the foundation because 10 represents our tithing.
I’m big in my faith. I’m a Christian. That’s just an equal percentage that everyone can give back to the world. Like I was just saying, I wish more successful people would give back in their own means. I just came up with 10% because if it’s $10,000 or $100, that 10% is $1,000 or $10, and even if you got $10, you could always give back that $1. I believe if we use this service to give back to the world, we can make it a better place.
We have been active for two years with the Free10Foundation, but I just received my 501(c)(3) certification this fall. For the last two or three years we have done coat drives, basketball camps—because basketball is a way for me to relate to the kids and mentor them. We have done different Christmas parties, sponsoring families that don’t have enough.
Our focus is targeting kids who are suffering from trauma, gun violence, mass incarceration. Losing a parent—people don’t understand, we have a lot of murders and gangs in Chicago, and when these black males get killed, they leave behind two or three children, and they don’t have that support from that parent, which hurts their self-esteem with going to school.
It’s a lot of different things. They have a lot of trauma. The system puts a lot of our black men and women in jail and they lose that support and it hurts their self-esteem. Life gets really hard for them and that’s the cycle that we live in when we get behind. Free10Foundation is where we step in and try to fill that void for these kids and for these families.
Zenger: That film started when you were 17 years old and it followed you up until your overseas pro career. How did you become the subject of that film at such a young age?
Sykes: It was a blessing, actually. This film crew from New York was following Oprah while she was doing her shows at the Oprah Studios in Chicago. But they love basketball in New York like they do in Chicago. Basketball in the inner city of New York is very popular. So they started to film some of the best seniors. And I just so happened to be a senior in high school that year.
At the end of the basketball season, they didn’t have the project they wanted to tell the story about Chicago and basketball that they were trying to tell. They spent time coming to my house, filming me and my family. And as we all went on to college as basketball players, you know I went to a smaller school, Green Bay. Which gave me the opportunity to play a lot as a freshman.
I was doing really well on the court, and I was also keeping in touch with them. They were seeing things that were going on with me off the court. Me losing my friend to jail that same summer when I went to college. And then that next summer losing my father. And then the next season, I flourished on the basketball court.
It just seemed like Chicago was always coming back into play, or something with some type of violence or negativity that was affecting my life or my friends and family’s life back home. With me just being personable, they just decided to make this film a documentary. They thought that was the best way to tell the story.
It was really God’s blessing. He wanted this story to be told through me. To say that we have great players from Chicago like Anthony Davis who is in the Western Conference Finals right now. Me and him were in the same grade. We had Jabari Parker, we had Derrick Rose. As far as Chicago, Kevin Garnett, Isiah Thomas—we had plenty of players in terms of basketball, but the movie, “Chi-Town,” they wanted to tell this story through me, and I haven’t played an official NBA game yet.
I just felt like, God chose me to tell this story. I will continue to pray that I fulfill everything that he wants me to do with this film.
Sykes says his Free10Foundation aims to persuade people to ‘tithe’ 10 percent of their earnings to help people in their communities (Courtesy of Keifer Sykes)
Zenger: You were called the James Harden of China. You can obviously play your ass off. You are now in Turkey hooping. You have been all over the world, how does basketball differ all over the world, yet bring people together the same way everywhere it’s played?
Sykes: I think basketball, as you can see now, is becoming one of the more popular sports. It used to be football. Just with the times we’re going through with social injustice and things like that, basketball is a way for us to express ourselves creatively in a unique way, more than any other sport. We’re just more visible. We don’t wear helmets and shoulder pads. It’s just how it’s structured.
Our game is continuing to flourish. We are able to make more money but also acquire more endorsements and be creative in tackling different problems in the world while trying to find a solution. With basketball being a majority African-American-dominated sport, we have a lot of impact on the culture. Our style of play, how we dress, the way we carry ourselves and our attitudes.
All that is expressed in the game of basketball which has given us opportunities to go across the world, and as African Americans we can shine no matter what the culture is, no matter what country or city that you’re playing in. I try to tell the youth and other athletes that we have to continue to hone our talents and continue to be creative and find ways to change the world with this influence that we have. Basketball allows us to express and uplift different communities and change and impact the world.
Zenger: I love your story. Continue to do what you have been doing and I wish you the best, man. Is there anything else you would like to say?
Sykes: I just want to say thank you, man. I appreciate your patience. I hope everything is getting better with the hurricanes that hit you all, the wildfires out in L.A. and just bless all the people.
Former LAPD Dispatcher Condemns Violence, Urges Justice Reforms in Seeking Peace
POMONA, CA—- Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today responded to news that two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies were ambushed by a gunman on Saturday while sitting in their squad car in Compton, California. Both deputies, one male and one female, remain in critical condition after undergoing multiple surgeries. The assailant remains at large, and anyone with information about his identity or whereabouts should contact the police immediately to help bring him to justice.
Congresswoman Torres released the following statement:
“I categorically condemn this act of horrific violence. The perpetrator on that chilling video must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and brought to swift justice.
“As someone who dispatched LAPD officers for nearly 18 years, and who experienced the horrors of a lawless society as a child growing up in Guatemala, this is personal to me. I know how vital the heroes that were attacked last weekend are, because I’ve met the people they protect. Anyone demanding an end to the police, or declaring this violence somehow justified because of other violence, has never heard the calls that I have. Answer the phone when a store clerk is held at gunpoint, or as a child is senselessly murdered on the other end of the line, and then come talk to me about defunding the police. The fact is those calls take place every single day, and two of the people who suit up to protect the public were gunned down on Saturday.
“This attack did not take place in a vacuum though – the moment of reckoning law enforcement is in right now is long-overdue and well-justified. As a woman of color in a country besieged by overt and systemic racism, the anguish fueling tensions on our streets is as real to me as it is to any other minority living in America today. Law enforcement must ensure that nobody is unfairly targeted, persecuted, and yes, murdered, by unchecked police aggression. That has not happened for black Americans and it has not happened for brown Americans.
“The oath to serve one’s community is sacred, and we honor those who live by it when we refuse to tolerate those who break it. These officers did nothing to deserve what happened to them on Saturday, but as they struggle to recover, the eyes of history are now upon us as our region struggles to respond.
“The burden is on law enforcement to earn the public’s trust, but whether or not they are allowed to earn that trust is up to each and every American. In that sense, we all have a role to play in making this a safe and tolerant country. We will sink or swim together, whether we realize it or not. I pray we realize it, act upon it, and become the agents of change our society desperately needs.”
Congresswoman Torres spent nearly 18 years working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department, and has maintained long and productive relationships with law enforcement officials throughout her time in public service. That history has not stopped Torres from being an outspoken critic of police brutality, and used her experiences as a dispatcher to improve police reform legislation following the high-profile murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Rep. Torres also leads an ongoing effort in Congress to force the Department of Justice to update and make public a 2006 FBI intelligence assessment entitled, “White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement.”
Meet Ronda Reid-Mohammed, the founder and CEO of Filance, a new app that connects certified financial service sector professionals directly with low and middle-income individuals and families. The platform allows users to receive financial advisory services from their mobile device.
Ronda says she created the app to bolster financial stability among everyday people. With an emphasis on affordability, she feels the app will open doors for those who might have perceived financial advisors as out of reach, either due to cost or lack of access.
“Cost should not be a barrier for seeking financial advice. Everyone, no matter their income, should be able to work with a professional who can help them make a plan for their finances,” she said. “Many people are already burdened with embarrassment when admitting they need financial advice, so it was significantly important to me to remove the cost barrier and provide a personalized and discreet service.”
The Filance App offers:
• A secure and simple interface that is easy for both the customer and their provider to use with voice and video features for personalized sessions.
• Nationwide accessibility so users can connect with financial professionals regardless of their physical proximity to them.
• Affordability through a bidding system, so customers can select the best advisor for their budget and situation, while only paying for the service they need.
“We have a wealth problem in this country,” Ronda said. “I wanted to use my technology expertise and background to create a platform that could help improve the financial lives of everyday people. I believe if everyday people have access to more resources like financial advisors and planners, we could level the playing field a little and begin to close the wealth gap through that access.”
About Filance: Ronda Reid-Mohammed created Filance in June 2018. She has been in the IT Industry since 2002 and holds a B.S. in Computer Science from ECPI College of Science and Technology, as well as an M.A. in Management and Leadership from Liberty University.
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
