WSSN Stories

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Now that the celebration of Black History Month is coming to a close; how can we honor our history, respond to the present, and build a viable, vibrant future for our people? I’ll tell you how…. We can honor their memory by rediscovering the “Faith” that allowed them to survive. The Faith, that enabled our forefathers to endure trials and hardships that we can only imagine. The Faith, that inspired leaders to respond courageously to the problems of our people. We can build on the legacy they have left us by carefully following the One they followed – Jesus. It is not too late! We can still return to the God of our fathers. For we have an extraordinarily rich spiritual heritage and there is victory in our bloodline. We belong to the family of God, and being engrafted into His family means that we are over-comers through the Blood of Jesus; the Blood of the Lamb, the Conquering Weapon.

Therefore, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecta of our Faith. For it wasn’t by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God—the wisdom, authority, power, and presence of the Most High God—that freedom, equality, and justice was and will continue to be.   Let us learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses.  “Though beaten, they were not beaten down by life because they looked to Christ. Though enslaved physically, they were not enslaved spiritually because they were free in Christ. For a people in bondage for 400 years— it is a sustaining and comforting reminder to know that God has not forgotten. “He has seen!” our afflictions, and heard our cries: every tear shed was preserved, and every groan uttered was being recorded, in order to testify at a future day, against the authors of the oppressors.”

Understand this truth…. God has chosen us for Greatness…. And there’s nobody, there’s nothing, and there is no circumstance, under the Sun that can keep God from doing exactly what He wants in us for His Glory! We have victory through Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior who lives and Reigns in our heart…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, if God be for us, who can defeat us? If God be for us, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  If God be for us, is there anything that we can’t do? If God be for us, is there anything our families can’t overcome? If God be for us, is there anything that the world can do to stop us? I hear our slave ancestors answering, “No!” I hear the civil right marchers, answering, “No!” Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who heard the songs of the slaves and the chants of the civil rights marchers will hear the prayers of those who now cry out for justice throughout our country. With God’s help, we shall overcome.

Oh, what an amazing future it is! Living moment by moment looking back with thankfulness on all that God has done for us, and looking forward at all God promises to do for us because of Christ. Let us rejoice in God’s great faithfulness consistently displayed through our great struggles and great strides. For empowered by God as they were, we can continue their work and likewise pass down legacies of strength, perseverance, faith, and victory to future generations. [Psalm145:41].

As it is written: “For our sake [they] were killed all day long; [they] were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in ALL THESE THINGS [they] were MORE than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. They were persuaded that neither death nor Life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come, nor Height nor Depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate them from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35-39].

Thanksgiving toward the Past, Faith toward the Future!

Tanya Wallace-Gobern

By Alexandra Fenwick

Most people are familiar with the phrase, “If you are doing what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Well, Tanya Wallace-Gobern is one of lucky ones doing just that. As the Executive Director of the National Black Worker Center Project, she is fulfilling her dream to serve and uplift the Black  community.

As a criminal justice and social work major in college, Tanya fell into an internship at the Organizing Institute of the AFL-CIO right before graduation that changed her career trajectory. Tanya climbed the ladder and continued to work in advocacy and organizing for more than 20 years, but as time went on, she felt she was getting farther and farther from her calling – making a difference in the Black community. That is until she joined the National Black Worker Center Project.

The National Black Worker Center Project focuses on supporting and incubating Black worker centers, providing education about the impacts of low-wage  work and unemployment in the Black community. The Center works to prevent racial discrimination in the work place. Through national convening’s, supporting their local affiliates and creating campaigns and initiatives to share the Black worker’s experience, Tanya and the National Black Worker Center Project are protecting the rights of unemployed and low-wage Black workers everywhere.

While working on the Project’s national “Working While Black” campaign, Tanya realized the scope of Black workers facing discrimination was much bigger  than the unemployed and low-wage workers she primarily focused on. While speaking to a man who worked in film in L.A. and earned a six-figure salary, he uttered words that would stick with her: “What about the rest of us?” Tanya thought, if you believe he shouldn’t be the kind of person the National Black Worker Center Project should also focus on, you’d be wrong.

Research shows the more educated or the higher the salary, the more opportunities there are for discrimination against Black workers. Tanya is working against the discrimination itself, as well as the fallacies that once Black workers reach a particular status or salary, they no longer encounter discrimination.

As a Black worker herself, Tanya knows this to be true. That’s why it’s so important to her that she, and people who look like her, are at the forefront of the movement. She understands the people she serves aren’t waiting for a savior. What they are looking for is leadership development so they can become the leaders in their own movement.

Although their focus is on Black workers, Tanya is clear that the work the National Black Worker Center Project does encompasses people of all races, economic status, religion and sexual orientation. “The work doesn’t end with us. It isn’t a poor person’s issue, or a Black person’s issue, or rich person’s issue, these are worker issues.” Tanya doesn’t think she can solve this problem any time soon, but that isn’t stopping her from trying. She believes the mere existence of her organization is a win for workers everywhere.

To learn more about the National Black Worker Center Project, or get involved with an affiliate, please visit: https://nationalblackworkercenters.org/.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles

The story of Black people in the U.S. has always been one of triumph in the face of impossible odds. It is the heritage of an entire people that rose from bondage and overcame one of the greatest atrocities in human history. June 19, 1865 marked the end of legal slavery for Black people in the U.S. and ushered in a new age of progress. But with the reality of residual intolerance and an economy built on free labor, those who escaped the chains of subjugation often found themselves bound by those very chains once again under a new name: Prison.

According to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, the U.S. represents under 5 percent of the world’s population and over 21 percent of its prisoners. Mass incarceration in the U.S. has a long and arduous history that can be directly traced back to the end of slavery. In regard to the prison system in the U.S., Criminal Justice Attorney Vonya Quarles, who spoke during the Inland Empire Women’s March, said, “We have an addiction to cheap labor. We have an addiction to slavery.” Slavery existed as an economic system and when it went, our economic security almost went with it. Thus, began a trend of criminalizing and incarcerating Black people for small infractions in order to exploit them for cheap labor.

In the late 60s, the rhetoric surrounding criminality became far more hostile in nature. The heavily criticized “War On Drugs” painted drug addiction as a criminal issue and not a health issue. John Ehrlichman, former advisor to President Richard Nixon, said about the “War On Drugs” that “the Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti-war left and Black people… We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Blacks.”

According to the NAACP, African Americans “constituted 2.3 million, or 34 percent, of the total 6.8 million correctional population.” African Americans make up about 13 percent of the world’s population but comprise over one-third of the country’s prison population. Regarding San Bernardino, CA, Dr. Annika Anderson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at California State University, San Bernardino and Project Director of Project Rebound, wrote in an email, “In 2014, in San Bernardino, African Americans had the highest jail incarceration rate (958.3 per 100,000), followed by Whites (420 per 100,000) and Latinos (354.2 per 100,000) with significantly lower rates.” Anderson went on to discuss how community context also plays a role in the high recidivism rate for African Americans in California, which was at 66.1 percent as of 2013 according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

There are, however, programs in the Inland Empire area that aim to help this special population. Project Rebound, for example, is a program on CSUSB’s campus that helps formerly incarcerated students attend classes and work towards a degree. “The CSU Chancellor’s office supported the development of Project Rebound programs at all CSU campuses, and CSUSB is one of several pilot efforts,” Anderson wrote in an email. “We have established relationships with several community colleges, three reentry centers, and provided outreach efforts to potential students who are currently incarcerated at several prisons (e.g. Chino Institute for Women, Chino Institute for Men, CRC Norco, and Chuckawalla prison).”

Another resource for the formerly and currently incarcerated is the grassroots human rights group known as All of Us Or None based in Southern California. Their goal is to fight for the rights of these people and “strengthen the voices of people most affected by mass incarceration and the growth of the prison-industrial complex.” During their monthly meeting, the group discussed policies such as Assembly Bill 1008, the California Fair Chance Act, which prevents employers from performing a background check into the criminal record of potential employees until the former has officially offered them a position. Members in attendance also discussed the Voting Restoration and Democracy Act of 2018, a bill that proposes to restore the voting rights of those in state prisons and on parole. Riverside County Supervisor Candidate Penny Newman attended this meeting as well. She remarked, “The whole criminal justice system is screwed up. In fact, our society is screwed up.” This idea seemed to echo Vonya Quarles’ opening statement during her speech at the Inland Empire Women’s March. As thousands of people cheered, Quarles said, “We don’t have a justice system, we have an injustice system.”

By Lue Dowdy

LUE Productions 2018 PLUS SIZE CALENDAR featuring DIVA OUTLAW is WHAT IT DO!

Stop the press because they are finally here. Much love to all that helped and participated in making this a fun and successful project. It doesn’t matter how big you are. What matters is your confidence, self-esteem and the way you carry yourself. I had an amazing time working with Diva Outlaw, Freddie Washington of F.W. Photography and all the beautiful plus size models listed below. We have calendars for sell as a fundraiser. Please contact LUE Productions immediately for yours by texting (909) 567-1000 or inbox us on Facebook. We appreciate any support. Remember to love the skin you’re in. L’z!

The cover Photo Models include Brittnay Shearz, Chondra Smith, Lola Lestrange and Essence Johnson. Participating models include Porscha Dillard (February), Ronnie Thomas (March), Tanisha White (April), Brittnay Shearz (May), Tasha Renee (June), Jasmine Hall (July), Chondra Smith(August), Essence Johnson (September), Lola Lestrange (October), Lue Dowdy (November) and Riisha Shelby (December).

By Naomi K. Bonman

Talk about Black excellence! This year’s Black History Month has been lit and will definitely go down in history thanks to the premiere of Marvel’s Black Panther. Black Panther brought in $426 million at the worldwide box office after a slow rollout overseas and a record-shattering domestic bow over the holiday weekend.

If you have not seen it yet, please go out and see it. Our people (African-Americans/Blacks) showed up and showed out and surely dressed for the occasion in African print attire. This was a pivotal moment in history with this film displaying positive messages and allowing our youth to finally see superheroes on the big screen that look like them.

Not only did the Black Panther have a majority Black cast, but it was written and directed by Ryan Coogler and it was the first film filmed at the new stages of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Once again, Black Excellence was displayed all throughout this film.

“The first day that I walked on set a lot of the crew were people of color,” Michael B. Jordan explained when asked what it was like working on the set of the movie. “The set was beautiful and I felt very proud.”

 Danai Gurira added, “You felt the power of this nation.”

Speaking of beautiful sets, the cast and crew all favored the warrior falls scenes as there most memorable and favorite set design.

“The warrior falls scenes were festive,” Chad Boseman stated.

In addition to the well-designed sets and realistic effects and scenes, this film also dealt with modern day issues. These issues were brought to light in various scenes and atmospheres, from the more serious to the comedic scenes.

Black Panther is a movie where you can take the whole family to. It also showcased unity of all people, but especially among Blacks.

“We were all jamming while they were trying to figure out things,” Lupita Nyong’o explains while illustrating a moment on set when the whole cast were in sync with one another. “I looked around and I realized this is Pan Africa. We have Black people from all over the Globe. It was Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Tobago, South Carolina, Los Angeles, Canada, the U.K., Senegal. Nigeria…We were just everywhere and we all came together to make this film happen. This is a film that is stretching across the Globe and bringing us all together.”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

I want to encourage you to NEVER lose hope.  Why? Because, hope is the anchor of the soul.  Our ancestors held on to hope when facts, circumstances, and actions of others said otherwise. They had no evidence and no reason to believe things would get better, so they held desperately to hope. Hope, that was based on the fact that: God will continue being what He has always been – faithful.  Hope that was based on the fact that:  God will successfully complete whatever He has begun.  Hope, that was based on the fact that: God would keep all His Promises. Hope, that was based on the fact that: There would be justice and equity. Hope, that was based on the fact that: All things would work together for good to them that love God.   What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

According to the Bible, “Hope,” is about a promise. Hope is a confident expectation regarding the unseen and future [Hebrews 11:1-2; Colossians 1:27]. That’s why Paul said in [Romans 5:3-5], we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are a people of Hope. Not only that, but that our suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” [Romans 5:3–5]. So as you hold on through the storms, know that there is a proven-ness in regard to your character.

Never lose hope. Hold on, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Because the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish usu. [I Peter 5:10]. And this is the hope we have as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure, says the Scripture.

“All the promises in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” [2 Corinthians 1:20].Never lose hope. The Anchor of the Soul!

Building on its success in prostate cancer education, awareness and advocacy, the Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is enhancing its efforts with a Broadway-style stage play. “Daddy’s Boys” tells the story of a widowed father and his sons, whose relationships are fractured, coming together when faced with prostate cancer. This highly entertaining play imparts real-life messages and information to the audience which raises prostate cancer awareness.

It is the latest health-oriented presentation by playwright Garrett Davis, who uses humor and music-laden dramas to bring awareness to minority health issues.  The PHEN/Davis collaboration builds on Davis’ established portfolio of stage productions that highlight diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease among other issues.  

“Daddy’s Boys” will launch on March 9th in Philadelphia, PA, in partnership with Enon Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, a mega-church serving the African American community. On May 12th there will be a performance in Glendale, MD at Reid Temple AME Church. Informational workshops, resource materials and cancer screening will be provided as part of these efforts.

“We are thrilled to kick-off the Daddy’s Boys tour at Enon Tabernacle. It is a great complement to our ‘Men know your Numbers’ Health Initiative that will be held on March 10^th, says Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller.

PHEN will sponsor each Daddy’s Boys performance with the support of its industry partners, and work with its national network of church partners to host and promote the play within their congregations and communities.  The performances are free of charge with tickets made available through the host church and other local PHEN partners.

“The Daddy’s Boys play is a natural progression of PHEN’s educational outreach efforts,” says Thomas Farrington, Founder and President of the Prostate Health Education Network and a 17-year prostate cancer survivor.  “Prostate cancer is a family disease as highlighted by this play, and this entertainment format will appeal to men and women enabling us to reach many more people and save more lives.

“We bring real life situations to the stage to educate and enlighten on health issues that affect us daily,” said playwright Davis.  “We believe our stories help direct those in attendance to resources that can lead to a better quality of life.” His work centers on issues that affect everyday people to build awareness and advocacy.  “What I call unreached people are African Americans,” Davis continued.  “We learn differently. Our people need to see us giving them information. The infotainment format is an effective way to teach them.”

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer for men, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths behind lung cancer. About one in five African American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Black men are diagnosed at a rate 60% higher with a death rate more than twice that for men of all other racial and ethnic groups. 

About PHEN

The Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is the leading patient education and advocacy organization addressing the needs of African American prostate cancer patients, survivors and families.  Based in Quincy MA, PHEN, a 501c(3) organization founded in 2003, sponsors educational webcasts, the Annual Father’s Day Rally  education symposiums with church partners, and the Annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit in Washington DC.

About Gdavis Productions

Gdavis Productions is an urban theater company that tours stage plays across the USA. Established in 1994 by CEO/Founder Garrett Davis, playwright has won numerous awards for brining real life situations to the stage. The goal is to bring light to issues and concerns that affect our community in hopes of creating a change for a better quality of life for everyone.

Gdavis Productions is based in Winston Salem, NC: www.gdavisproductions.net

Management Contact: Bridget Fleury & Associates, LLC bridget.fleury@gmail.com 414-699-8357

Churches and other organizations that may be interested in hosting “Daddy’s Boys” should email PHEN at rapcancer@prostatehealthed.org

By Lue Dowdy

Booking new talent is WHAT IT DO! LATE NIGHT! SPOTLIGHT! Back by Popular demand and we brought frenz – (Talon Networks and the Mac Rome Show)! A night of comedy, live interviews and performances from some of the most talented in the Inland Empire and beyond.

This is a grown and sexy event. Come out and network with likeminded individuals. Let’s get intimate once again! Comedy Show Hosted by Comedian Mac Rome, Live Show Hosted by Queen LUE.

We are now booking acts and vendors (limited Space). For more details, text us at (909) 567-1000 or message us at Facebook under ‘LUE Productions’.

Until next week L’s!

By Naomi K. Bonman

The first week of Pan African Film Festival is a wrap with just a few more days to go. Last week we seen a plethora of great films from a variety of genres ranging from comedy-romance to social justice to action. The screenings all took place at the Cinemark Rate 15 Theatres at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza located at 3650 Martin Luther King Blvd in Los Angeles.

On Thursday, February 8, the festival opened by with ‘Love Jacked’ featuring Amber Stevens West, newcomer Shamier Anderson, Mike Epps, Lyriq Bent, Marla Gibbs, Angela Gibbs, Demetrius Grosse and Nicole Lynn. ‘Love Jacked’ is a romantic comedy written by Robert Adetuyi and Linda Eskeland, and directed by Alfons Adetuyi. The film follows the love story, or lack thereof, of Maya (played by Amber Stevens West) who takes a trip to Cape Coast, South Africa where she ends up falling in love with after capturing the attention of a handsome African man. Only to later be disappointed by what was supposed to be the most exciting time of her life. Upon returning back home to Los Angeles tries to make things seem glorier than what they are to impress the likeness of her father Ed (played by Keith David). 

“If any dad that has daughters you understand that you just want the best for her,” Keith explained on why he believes this movie is one to see. “And if you have a daughter like mine that you sometimes butt heads with they don’t always agree with you in that moment, so you have to have words about it. But in time they come around.”

On Friday, February 9, premiered a special screening of “Behind the Movement”.  We all heard and know the story about Rosa Parks; however, many do not know it on a deeper level. Most assumed because as it has been stated throughout books and news articles was that Rosa was tired. But she was not tired, but fed up with the treatment towards our people. 

“I always knew who Rosa Parks was and that she was the one who sparked this movement,” Meta Golding explained when asked how it felt to play such an iconic character in history. “This film was really educational for me about Mrs. Parks and Raymond Parks, her husband who she always described as the first real activist that she ever met because he was an activist in the 30s. When I found out I got the role I was initially terrified because I knew how much Mrs. Parks meant to everyone, not just in this country, but around the World, so it was really daunting. But then it became a tremendous responsibility to attempt to try and tell her story and because the power of film can become what we think of us the power of history.”

She continues, “I felt a tremendous responsibility, but more than anything a tremendous honor to step into the shoes of this giant.”

On Wednesday, February 14, the center piece film was none other than a special screening and premiere of “Black Panther”.

For more information on PAFF and the screenings, please visit www.paff.org.

By Naomi K. Bonman

These last few years have been booming with African American writers in television. From ‘Empire’, ‘Star’, ‘Power’, ‘Dear White People’, ‘Insecure’, ‘Claws’, and ‘Luke Cage’, just to name a few, these shows all have one thing in common—they are ran by an African American.

To commemorate Black History Month, the Paley Center for Media Los Angeles gathered prominent, Black showrunners, creators and executive producers to discuss the current state of the industry. I was able to attend the panel discussion which I found to be very enlightening and informative. The panelists consisted of: Cheo Hodar Coker, Creator/Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Luke Cage’; Courtney A. Kemp, Creator/Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Power’; Janine Sherman Barrois, Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Claws’; Karin Gist, Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Star’; Prentice Penny, Creator/Showrunner, ‘Insecure’; and Justin Simien, Creator/Executive Producer, ‘Dear White People’. The moderator for the evening was Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight host.

The discussion ranged from topics surrounding the increase of more African Americans and show business who are calling the shots to the content that we choose to put out there. It is refreshing to see more of our stories told BY US.

“We can now say that ‘I want more people of color as directors’,” Barrois explains. “’I want more people of color in editing jobs. You don’t have to say if they send you all white writers, “I’m not hiring all white writers’, why would I do that?”

The industry is now becoming more diverse to where opportunities are expanding for people of color. No more are we only considered as a possible option.

To listen to the discussion, please click below:

Listen to discussion here