WSSN Stories

Special to California Black Media Partners | Hardy Brown, Publisher Emeritus, Black Voice News and co-founder of California Black Media 

Pres. Trump is tempting Christians to crowd into churches, implying your God will protect you. You have been pent up for three months now and you deserve to be free. This is a free country.  

The President boasts that we had one of the greatest economies the world has ever seen before COVID-19, so you should deny the fact that the virus is threatening your life and get out, cut loose, sing, pray, shout and hug your friends. Your God will protect you. 

His attempt to persuade “the saved” among us to just get out and go back to their beloved churches carries more weight for African Americans.   

Trump knows that Coronavirus/COVID-19, “Rona” as it is called in the hood, is killing more Blacks than any other race of people.  

Across the United States, Black Americans represent nearly 13% of the total population, but African Americans living in counties where the Black population ranges between 13% and 85%, account for more than half of all COVID-19 infections, and they make up almost  60% of deaths. Those numbers were released earlier this month by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the University of Mississippi, and Emory University.  

Here in California, Black COVID-19 patients are 2.7 times more likely to be hospitalized than their Non-Hispanic, White counterparts, and they “tend to arrive at healthcare facilities sicker and with more severe symptoms,” according to a study released just last week by Sutter Health, a non-profit healthcare network based in Sacramento.  

Knowing that Blacks are at a higher risk of dying and getting hospitalized from COVID-19, what should we make of the President’s push to get us back into our churches? 

At best, we might assume that the President is trying to till the ground in preparation for a grassroots religious uprising against popular Democratic governors like Newsom and Cuomo across the country who have become models, for many Americans, of efficient leadership in response to the coronavirus crisis. So far, President Trump’s instigation and dog whistling against state-imposed shutdowns have taken root across the country mostly among White hard-Right wing groups. 

Earlier this month, about 1,200 pastors, mostly White, in California vowed legal action against the state and told the governor they would open up their churches on Pentecost Sunday, which is May 31, with or without the governor’s blessing or approval.  

But Black clergy and Civil Rights organizations are putting up a wall of resistance, remaining cautious about the reopening of churches, businesses, and public spaces, considering the havoc COVID-19 is wreaking in our communities.  

“I’m appealing to all my men and women of faith to reject that because, clearly, we are not in the position to safely tell congregants of any faith to come in person and worship without risking their lives and risking their health,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, President an CEO of National Action Network. “We’ve already seen churches that have prematurely opened up and people got have gotten sick and some have even died.” 

Fortunately, this past Friday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Gov Newsom’s ban on in-person church services, after President Trump reclassified churches as essential last week.  

Several other Black members of the clergy have echoed Sharpton’s position against reopening.  

In the worst-case scenario, African Americans might assume Trump is hoping to reduce the Black voting population of seniors by using “Rona” to do his dirty work, allowing him to escape the blame. This may seem cynical to some, but it is not a far-fetched notion among African Americans watching how callously so many are approaching a return to business as usual without factoring how this disease is impacting Blacks of all ages.  

We love religion and we tap into our Christian faith for so much of the power that takes us through life’s challenges from day to day. So I liken Trump’s proposition to a famous story of seduction in the Bible: What Satan was doing to Jesus after Jesus had fasted for forty days all alone in the wilderness.  

Like the frustration we’re feeling under this shelter in place order, Satan knew Jesus was lonely and hungry and wanted to be around people because that was His main reason for being on earth as a human.  

So don’t fall for the President’s “Rope-A-Dope” stay home for just a little longer until we figure out that its safer for us.  

The only way Black people should go back to church like the President is suggesting is if they see the Blood of the Lamb painted over the door and they personally hear God speak loud and clear, “you will be safe in this church building.” Otherwise, they should stay home and wait for COVID-19 (the death angel) to pass us by. 

My friends, this is what the angels will do for you if you believe, keep the faith and trust in HIS WORD. My family’s pastor, the late Rev. William Jacks at St. Paul AME in San Bernardino, taught me that when our son was lying in the hospital bed in an induced coma for 19 days. Friends were advising me to go home get some sleep, and Rev. Jacks said to me, “follow Jesus, He will provide everything you need in times like these.” 

And he sure did. Our son miraculously pulled through and survived that ordeal, as we stood by his side, praying, and knowing that we would get to the other side of that crisis, together, as family.  

Sacramento – AB 2147 authored by Assemblymember Reyes (D-San Bernardino), which provides an expedited expungement process for inmates that have successfully participated as inmate hand crews actively assisting with fire suppression activities passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Under existing law, once released from custody a former inmate must finish the terms of their parole before applying for expungement of their criminal record.  Even once those records are expunged, the person must disclose their criminal history on applications for state licenses. With nearly 200 occupations that require licensing from one of 42 California government departments and agencies, these former inmates are almost entirely denied access to these jobs, as an estimated 2.5 million California workers (approximately 17% of the state’s workforce) need a professional license to work.  Under, AB 2147 a person that served as an inmate fire-fighting crewmember would be eligible to apply for expungement upon release from custody, and if the expungement is approved could seek various career pathways including those that require a state license.

“’It is without a doubt a tremendous sacrifice of personal safety to volunteer to fight these deadly fires to keep our families, our homes, our wildlife, and our forests safe, while simultaneously reducing the impact of damages on our economy.  Assemblymember Reyes continued, “However, even with their sacrifices, their training, their dedication and their low-level risk status, many who participate in the fire camps continue to struggle to find permanent and stable employment once released. This is due to the significant barriers that have historically been placed on formerly incarcerated individuals, hindering their ability to seek and acquire employment or even the education necessary to start a career and contribute to society.”

Roughly 2500 inmates from the Conservation Camp program volunteer and train to serve on fire crews to battle fires across the state.  In 2017, 650 inmate hand crews assisted in suppressing the Pocket, Tubbs, and Atlas Fires.  In 2018, close to 800 inmates assisted with the Camp Fire and in 2019 over 400-inmate hand crews assisted with battling the Kincade Fire.

The California Conservation Camp Program was initiated by CDCR to provide able-bodied inmates the opportunity to work on meaningful projects throughout the state. Those projects can include clearing firebreaks, restoring historical structures, maintaining parks, sand bagging and flood protection, reforestation and clearing fallen trees and debris.

There are 43 conservation camps for adult offenders and one camp for juvenile offenders. The conservation camps make up approximately 219 fire-fighting crews and are jointly managed by CDCR and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as CalFire.

All inmates participating must earn the right to work in a conservation camp by their non-violent behavior and conformance to rules while they are incarcerated. Only minimum-custody inmates are eligible to volunteer for assignment in conservation camps.

In an average year, the Conservation Camp Program provides approximately three million person-hours responding to fires and other emergencies and seven million person-hours in community service projects, saving California taxpayers approximately $100 million annually.

Several counties across the state, including Los Angeles and San Bernardino operate inmate fire training academies for county jail inmates utilizing several hundred jail inmates.

Despite their low-level risk status, dedication and willingness to put themselves in harm’s way, many who participated in these programs struggle to find permanent and stable employment once released. This is in part due to significant barriers in place for individuals with a prior conviction, to seek employment or even the education necessary to start a career. The intent of this bill is to provide an expedited expungement process in which an inmate who has participated in the California Conservation Camp Program as an inmate firefighter can begin their expungement process as soon as they have served their time. This individual may also be eligible for early termination of parole, if the court deems that the defendant has not violated any terms or conditions of probation or parole prior to, and during the petition for relief.

Congratulations to the Hon. Cheryl Brown on graduating from USC class of 2020.

“She is the story of resilience!” Hardy Brown, son of Cheryl Brown, said.

Over the last few years she has been quietly taking graduate classes one at a time and has earned a Certificate in Gerontology. Gerontology is the study of aging and older adults. Researchers in this field are diverse and are trained in areas such as physiology, social science, psychology, public health, and policy.

“Our family is super proud of her to accomplish this all while caring for our father and making a difference in California for Senior Citizens. Way to go mom!!” Hardy Brown states.

LONG BEACH, CA—- In an effort to assist the many Californians affected by the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, Molina Healthcare of California (“Molina”) has donated a total of more than $100,000 to dozens of local organizations across the state, supporting grassroots efforts in communities. The grants and supply donations will help the nonprofits provide hygiene essentials, food, financial support, and other resources to help vulnerable communities during the pandemic.

“We are extremely grateful, especially during these trying times, to have dedicated partners that are committed to alleviating some of the barriers that many families are experiencing,” said John Kotal, plan president of Molina Healthcare of California. “We understand that many people are feeling increased uncertainty at this time. It’s comforting to provide donations to nonprofits that are working tirelessly to ensure supplies and support are provided directly to those in need.”

Molina is providing necessities and financial donations to more than 75 organizations throughout the six state counties it serves (Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Orange County and Imperial). The organizations Molina has identified serve a wide range of populations such as seniors, children, people experiencing homelessness, individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues, people with disabilities and more.

Molina Healthcare continues to seek opportunities to supplement the resources of its community partners throughout this crisis. The leadership team is working closely with its executive task force, along with following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and departments of health, to regularly evaluate and communicate information to its members, network providers, employees, government and community partners.

For members seeking information about COVID-19 risk factors, this week Molina launched its Coronavirus Chatbot, an enhanced digital tool available on the Molina website, member portal, and mobile app.

We must honor them with clear political action vs. the impatience of a microwave movement

As outrage, fear and angst bubble up in Georgia and, now, Kentucky over the grisly murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, one question fails to appear in the broader dialogue: How will these tragedies impact the 2020 elections?

We can’t do anything for “the culture” about either case if we’re not engaged in a targeted political strike on three Senate seats, helping Democrats retake the Senate and (just maybe), grabbing 24 electoral college votes that flip two Southern states from reliably red to blue in an end to the current White House madness.

To the novice political observer or those folks who detest politics altogether, the question seems irrelevant. To some, it may seem off-putting, if not disrespectful: “WTF you mean politics?”

But, it’s very relevant.

In fact, it absolutely determines the path and outcome of these cases, and where the rest of us end up in the meantime. Whether we accept it or not, the political dimensions are there, the very raw emotional elements in these conversations are already tipping off a general outcry for justice and retribution.  We can’t arrive at either with just hashtags, protest tears or fist pumps in the lockdown confines of our homes. Achieving both will be the result of pressures applied from an aligned mix of strategically calibrated protest, mass voter mobilization, and decisive election wins that lead to the dramatic policy (and personnel) changes needed for redress.

Sacramento – In just over eight weeks the state of California went from a $6 billion projected budget surplus to an over $50 billion budget deficit.  The Governor’s May revise reflects the harsh realities of the impact of Covid-19 on our state’s finances and the financial stability of each and every Californian. 

Over the past several budget years the California Legislature led the nation by building up the largest budget reserve of any state in the nation to mitigate a potential recession.  However, even with our prudent planning the scope and size of this Covid-19 caused deficit means that California still needs federal assistance to prevent devastating budget cuts that would have long term implications for education and our social safety net programs.

In the coming weeks the Assembly, along with the Senate will work to meet our Constitutional budget deadline of June 15^th to fine tune the budget proposal so that we can minimize cuts and began the process of building a strong future.

Via The Guardian

The singer and songwriter Betty Wright, who has died of cancer aged 66, occupied a significant position in African-American music across six decades, beginning with powerhouse gospel in the 1950s and settling on an R&B, soul and funk groove from the 60s onwards that eventually led to work with superstar rappers of the 2000s.

Wright’s career began as a young child in a gospel group in Florida, and her signature song, Clean Up Woman (1971), was recorded when she was only 17, epitomising what became known as “the Miami sound” – Floridian soul music shaped by the many facets of her home city’s cultural melange.

After years of solid achievement in the US as a singer and songwriter, in the mid-80s she set up her own record label and, although she continued to record her own material, began to make a new name for herself as a producer and songwriter, collaborating with the likes of Gloria Estefan and Joss Stone. Later still her material was much sampled – including by Beyoncé – and she was able to undertake projects with rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne.

She was born in Miami, to Rosa (nee Braddy-Wright) and McArthur Norris. The infant Bessie – as Betty was christened – was co-opted into the family gospel group, the Echoes of Joy, at the age of two. The Echoes worked the Southern US gospel circuit and Bessie proved to be a vocal prodigy – so much so that by the time the group split in 1965, she was confident enough to start singing on her own, in a new R&B vein, and with a new name – Betty Wright.

Willie Clarke and Clarence Reid, two Miami-based musicians, were so impressed by the young girl that they signed her to Deep City, the only African-American record label in Florida. Wright’s debut 45, Paralysed, was released in 1965, and it sold well locally. However, Deep City lacked the resources to promote records properly, and so Reid and Clarke eventually passed Wright on to Henry Stone, a distributor with experience and contacts who was launching Alston Records in Miami.

Aged 14, Wright recorded her debut album for Alston, My First Time Around (1968), which not only revealed her to be a formidable soul singer but generated a single, Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do, that reached the Top 40s of the US and Canadian pop charts.

Although subsequent singles failed to make much of an impression, Wright continued to sing in the Miami clubs on the weekends, building up valuable contacts in the music business. Then chart success returned in 1971 with Clean Up Woman, written by Clarke and Reid, which got to No 6 in the US. Based around a distinctive guitar lick played by Willie Hale, Clean Up Woman’s breezy, danceable funk ensured that Wright would be one of the few school pupils ever to have turned 18 with a million-selling hit record behind her.

The song also helped to launch the Miami sound, whose origins Wright associated firmly with the city’s vibrant and fluctuating cultural scene. “You’ve got a little Cuba, a little Jamaica, and a little Haiti; you’ve got a large Jewish culture and you’ve got calypso,” she told Billboard magazine. “Then you’ve got people who were born here or came from South Carolina, where they’ve got a heavy African culture too. It’s a very rhythmic roots music. Even the white acts that come out of Miami tend to be very soulful. We’ve got that serious, serious conga rhythm.”

Wright continued to produce popular songs across the 1970s – Baby Sitter, Let Me Be Your Lovemaker, Secretary, Where is the Love?, Tonight is the Night – although none quite matched the success of Clean Up Woman and generally made more of an impact on the US R&B charts than in the pop sphere. A prolific songwriter, she won a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1976 for Where is the Love?, a song she had co-written.

Signing to Epic Records in 1981, Wright quickly grew disillusioned with the restrictions of being with a major company, and so launched her own Ms B record label in 1985. With her 1987 album Mother Wit she became the first African American woman to achieve a gold album on her own label.

From that point onwards, however, Wright began to achieve greater success by working with other artists. Estefan’s US No 1 single Coming Out of the Dark (1991) featured Wright’s vocal arrangements, and Wright co-produced and co-wrote every track on Stone’s 2004 album Mind, Body & Soul, which reached No 1 in the UK.

In 2006 she appeared as a mentor on the US reality TV talent show Making the Band, and in 2008 produced two songs on Tom Jones’s album 24 Hours. Her 2011 album, Betty Wright: The Movie, featured Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne, and was praised by reviewers as her best effort in 30 years.

Wright continued to tour almost up to her death – she sold out the Barbican Centre in London in July 2019 – and earned considerable amounts from her back catalogue. Clean Up Woman has often been sampled, while Beyoncé used a section of Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do for her 2006 single Upgrade U.

In 1985 Wright married Noel “King Sporty” Williams, a Jamaican musician who had co-written the song Buffalo Soldier with Bob Marley. Noel died in 2015; Wright is survived by three daughters and a son. Another son, Patrick Parker, was murdered in 2005.

Betty Wright (Bessie Regina Norris), singer and songwriter, born 21 December 1953; died 10 May 2020

SACRAMENTO – A day after submitting his May Revision to the Legislature, Governor Gavin Newsom today met with Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Senate Budget Chair Holly Mitchell, and Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting to discuss efforts to enact a balanced budget by July 1. 

.A. County Lifeguard PSA on Beach Regulations and B-Roll Available For Download 

Los Angeles – Los Angeles County announced the re-opening of its beaches as of May 13 for individual sports, exercise and similar physical activity. Permitted activities include walking, running, swimming and surfing. Face coverings are required at all times on the beach unless in the water and around other people, and the county urges everyone to keep at least six feet of physical distancing from other visitors. Once finished with an activity, all beachgoers are asked to head home. 

For now, parking lots, piers, boardwalks and biking paths will remain closed. Sunbathing, group sports, large gatherings, beach chairs, coolers and umbrellas are not allowed to help ensure proper physical distancing. If anyone headed to the beach feels sick or lives with someone who is sick, they are being asked to stay home.  

Download LA County Lifeguard Pono Barnes Beach Reopening PSA in ENGLISH (Credit LA County): https://vimeo.com/417827870  

Download LA County Lifeguard Marco Rodriguez Beach Reopening PSA in SPANISH (Credit LA County: https://vimeo.com/417828268 

Download LA County Beach B-Roll (Credit LA County): HERE

Find beach rules here: beaches.lacounty.gov/la-county-beach-rules/

By Lou Yeboah

It was as if Jeremiah was the lone person aboard the Titanic who knew that the ship was on a collision course with an iceberg. It was his task to convince the crew and the passengers that they were doomed if they didn’t change course. That there was still time—if they would just listen. But the captain and the people plugged their ears and didn’t course correct. They just kept dancing and dining to their demise. “The Weeping Prophet” cried when no one would heed God’s Warnings. 

Jeremiah spent forty years telling the people what would happen. And they didn’t listen. They were warned, over and over and over, but they did not repent. Then God told Jeremiah that He had had enough. “I am tired of holding back…declared the Lord. Because they have rejected me, I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people, for they have not changed their ways. I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea … I will put the survivors to the sword before their enemies.” “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy…[Jeremiah 15:2-3, 5-9].

I tell you, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. [Jeremiah 8:20]. Listen, God’s judgment is coming. Right now, mercy is available, but one day God will draw a line in the sand and there will be no more opportunity. Don’t ignore the warning! Warning comes before destruction. Heed the Warning! Repent! Knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. [Romans 13:11]

Case in point.: The major prophetic events coming up on God’s calendar are these:

• The rapture of the church [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58].
• The seven year tribulation period [Daniel 9:27; 12:1-12].
• The rebuilding of the Temple [there is no specific prophecy about rebuilding the Temple, but several prophecies happen within and around the Temple, so we know it must be rebuilt].
• The Antichrist will establish a one world economic system with some form of identification placed inside everyone’s right hand or forehead [Revelation 13:16-18].
• The return of Jesus Christ at the battle of Armageddon [Revelation 19:11-21; Zechariah 14:4].
• The Millenium – Christ sitting on the throne in Jerusalem for one thousand years [Revelation 20:1-10].
• Following The Millenium is the final judgment of the unsaved and the ushering in of eternity for the redeemed [Revelation 20:11-22:21].

All of these are Biblical prophecies to take place during the Tribulation, and we are watching them taking shape around us now. These events are coming just as sure as Jeremiah knew Babylon was on her way.

In Luke’s account, Jesus tells us that “when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near” [Luke 21:31]. Then He warns about not letting “that Day come on you unexpectedly” [Luke 21:34]. Jesus concludes by saying, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” [Luke 21:36].

“But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. [Jeremiah 12:17]

“To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.”

[Jeremiah 6:10]

“The Weeping Prophet” Cried, When No One Would Heed God Warnings!