WSSN Stories

BOTTOMLINE: LeBron’s “Promise” School Project Demonstrates How Rich Folk Should Protest!!

Publisher’s Commentary By Wallace J. Allen

LeBron James’ gift to the children of Akron, Ohio is a template for what wealthy folk can do to help America benefit from the potential that is unlocked when our children are supported in their quest for excellence!  Educating children in grade school and guaranteeing their college tuition/education is really a gift to America.  It also lifts our vision beyond the typical distractions that haunt Black Americans and empowers our children with education and hero images that look like them! 

I encourage other affluent people who are concerned with America’s mistreatment of the Black descendants of the enslaved Africans who built the wealth of America; to replace protest with pro-activism!

I have supported the NFL Players kneeling in protest of police shootings of Black People and would support the protest now, were it not for King James’ royal proclamation and commitment. His action has set a new standard for activism by prosperous people.

I suggest that the NFL players who really want to make a difference, redirect their energy from protesting during the National Anthem to pro-action with their paychecks! Affluent Black men dedicating money towards educating our less fortunate will make a powerful impact. Affluent Black men supporting businesses that create job opportunities for our disenfranchised will make a powerful impact!

Kneeling has made a powerful noise that has not only been compromised by haters, but also threatens the income of those who choose to kneel in protest.  I suggest that we encourage our concerned NFL players to protect their source of income by rejecting protest and to demonstrate pro-action by investing in strengthening the Black Family and community. Stay Woke!    

‘Black Farmers Association’ Files Lawsuit Against Stine Seed Company For Defective Seeds

Thomas Burrell, President of BFAA, will be the “EMPIRE TALKS BACK” (ETB) guest this Sunday. ETB, hosted by Wallace Allen, WssNews Publisher, is broadcast each Sunday at 10:00 AM on KCAA 1050-AM, 102.3 FM and 106.5 FM.  ETB streams live video via http://www.kcaaradio.com

By Tom Charlier, Commercial Appeal

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Black farmers, whose numbers already have dwindled precipitously over the past century, face new hardships after suffering poor crop yields last year because they were sold “fake” soybean seeds, an association alleges in a lawsuit.

Leaders of the Memphis-based Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association have filed a class-action lawsuit against Stine Seed, the nation’s largest independent seed-producer, accusing the Adel, Iowa, firm of targeting African-Americans for sales of defective seeds.

The suit alleges that black farmers who attended the 67th Annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis last year bought more than $100,000 worth of “certified” seeds. But the lawsuit alleges the seeds were switched for inferior ones at a warehouse near Sledge, Miss.

Stine, in a statement, strongly denied the allegations and said it would mount a vigorous defense against the “meritless” lawsuit.

The lawsuit is the latest action by the BFAA, which also has represented some of the African-American farmers claiming widespread discriminatory practices by the Department of Agriculture.

Following an initial class-action lawsuit against the USDA, nearly 16,000 growers had collected settlements totaling $1.06 billion by 2011. Congress has appropriated $1.2 billion to pay for a second wave of settlements.

You may hear more about this case on Sunday, August 5 as Thomas Burrell, President of BFAA, discusses the lawsuit on ‘Empire Talks Back’ with Wallace Allen at 10 a.m. on KCAA 1050-AM, 02.3 FM and 106.5 FM. Listen onine at www.kcaaradio.com.

“You Will Never Be Able to Say – You Didn’t Know!”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—That’s right! Your rejection of the gospel will be inexcusable. You have heard the gospel. Your unbelief is not out of ignorance, but out of rebellion against God and against His Word. I tell you, you are just like Israel, who knew the truth, but chose not to obey it. You are guilty before God just as Israel was and deserving of divine wrath. This is the essence of [Romans 1:18-32]. For God says, “All the daylong I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” [Romans 10:21]. It’s not that God just displays His truth in the heavens, it comes home. It’s received. We get it, but we suppress it, that’s why the apostle Paul said that every mouth will be shut on that day because there is no defense against this [Romans 3:19]. You know it, yet you suppress it. You are created in the image of God, yet you are ungodly. You have the law of God written on your heart, yet you are unrighteous.

“Woe to you Chorazin and Bethsaida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you [Matthew 11:21-22] because to disobey God’s commands is a spiritual and eternal death. You see, the more evidence you have of Christ’s reality, the more severe your judgment for not repenting. Your doom will be more miserable than the pagans. I tell you it would have been better for you to have never known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to you.” There is no excuse for unbelief. There is never an excuse for unbelief!

When you stand before the judgment seat in the last day, God will not judge you on the basis of what you did not know but on the basis of what has been revealed to you. Just imagine standing before God and trying to make excuses for your stubborn disobedience of His Word. What will be your excuse? Have you not heard? Indeed you have [Romans 1:19-23]! For the righteousness of God has been revealed to everyone through nature [Psalms 19]. You have no excuse. Your conscience knows the righteousness of God as you see God in nature. You have “heard” of God’s righteousness. How dreadful it will be to be without excuse! [2 Thess. 1:7-9].  

The end of the matter: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.

I tell you Paul certainly does not tell us what we want to hear, but rather what we need to hear. The Bible does not sugar coat the message, but tells it in a straightforward fashion. There is no fine print hidden at the end of the Bible. This truth is made known in large print at the beginning. I would remind you; this teaching is placed at the very beginning of the book of Romans. Paul does not hold back this news until the end because it is so unpalatable. Rather, he front-loads the subject of divine wrath at the very outset of the book of Romans. This mention of divine anger against sin is very direct, emphatic, and even abrupt. The apostle makes no apologies. There is no attempt to tone down this reality that threatens all who are without the gospel. This is the sheer, unvarnished truth from God coming through the pen of the apostle Paul.

But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lordthy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lordthy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it… [Deuteronomy 30:14-20]

Footsteps2Brilliance Summer Reading Challenge Under Way

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- SAN BERNARDINO, CA— San Bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre and the San Bernardino County Literacy Partners are encouraging the public to join the Footsteps2Brilliance (F2B) 5-Million Words Summer Reading Challenge 2018.

The Summer Reading Challenge runs until Sept. 7 with a goal for children to read 5-million words during the summer months. F2B is part of the San Bernardino County’s Vision2Read Initiative, a collective impact model involving multiple agencies working collaboratively to increase literacy rates among children and families. 

F2B is an innovative early learning mobile technology platform that provides free access to early literacy activities to all families with children birth through pre-kindergarten who reside in San Bernardino County. Families with children aged 0 to 5 can download the app at https://bit.ly/2OdbXRj.

Reading participation will be recognized at the end of the summer challenge. Additional summer reading programs and resources are available through the San Bernardino County Library and can be found at www.sbclib.org.

Enter the San Bernardino County Library Reading Program 2018 to win prizes and earn tickets for a grand prize opportunity drawing.

Join County Superintendent Alejandre and the San Bernardino County Literacy partners to raise the bar for literacy and get involved with the 5-Million Words Reading Challenge today.


About San Bernardino Countywide Vision2Read:

Vision2Read is a collective impact initiative involving government, education, health care, public safety, business and labor, community and faith-based leaders, and parents and families. Vision2Read support the San Bernardino Countywide Vision and its regional educational goal of supporting the success of every child from cradle to career. It is designed to help improve literacy throughout San Bernardino County by connecting people to literacy programs. www.vision2read.com.

About San Bernardino Countywide Literacy Partnership:

The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS), San Bernardino County Preschool Services, Children’s Fund, and First 5 San Bernardino are partnering to deliver the F2B program for free to all children ages 0-5 who reside in San Bernardino County. 

About Footsteps2Brilliance: 

Footsteps2Brilliance, Inc. is the breakthrough early learning platform that accelerates early achievement by uniting the power of mobile gaming technology with the latest in cognitive research. F2B provides enticing, interactive, 24/7 learning experiences that digitally link school and home to give students the edge they need for success in school today and the world tomorrow. This transformative literacy program supports the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Students and enables San Bernardino to become a Model Innovation County. www.footsteps2brilliance.com.

Top Athlete’s Honored at Athletes for Impact Awards

By Linden Beckford Jr.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— LOMA LINDA, CA— On Monday, July 16, there was a fantastic program held at L.A. 84 Foundation entitled, “Athletes for Impact Awards”. The event was hosted by Claudia Jordan.

Several top athletes received honors, which included: Dr. John Carlos, who was the Inaugural Legacy Award Honoree and Wyomia Tyus (1964 and 1968 Olympic Track/Field runner) received an ASI Special Recognition Award. Other honorees consisted of Michael Bennett (NFL Philadelphia Eagles), Etan Thomas (Retired Professional NBA Player), Maya Moore (WNBA Minnesota Lynx), Laila Ali (Undefeated Boxing Champion/daughter of Muhammad Ali and Ibtihaj Muhammad (U.S.Olympic Fencer).

Dr. John Carlos truly showed us that he is the same warrior he was when he stood on the world stage with his comrades Tommie Smith and Peter Norman of Australia. This coming October will make 50 years since the courageous stand was taken in Mexico City. When one looks at Michael Bennett taking a knee like Colin Kaepernick, it is clear that these athletes are taking a page out of the book. In closing, this Writer would encourage present and future athletes to make their voices heard.

Ibihaj Muhammad made her voice while competing for the United States in the United States in the 2016 Olympics. She competed in fencing as a Black woman, as well as a Muslim. As African Americans, it is critical that we forge forward with our actions positively. When we do, the world will continue to hear the words written by James Weldon Johnson, “Lift Every Voice and Sing!”

 

What It Do with the LUE: Baby Diva

Ronda “Baby Diva” Robinson

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Reality Star Baby Diva is What it Do! 

Ronda Robinson cast member of ‘Diva Gamma’s,’a new reality show airing on the Punch TV Radio Network is kicking ass. The show features grandmothers over the age of 40. I absolutely love the show and Robinson’s role in it. She was able to secure her spot by knowing the legendary Turner family.  

I met this beautiful Queen through a mutual friend, Jonathan Fields a.k.a. Mr. Swagnificinat. I had a chance to interview Ronda one on one in her lovely home. It was so easy talking to her and getting to know more about her on a more personal level. When I laid eyes on her I, notice her extremely long and decorative nails. Turns out that Ronda is a professional nail technician with over 18-years’ experience and the spokesperson for X’steme Nailz International. Her gorgeous nails are a show stopper!  

This beautiful and talented Diva is most definitely turning heads. Currently under management with Dark Gable Productions you can find Ronda all over Southern California and other States promoting her brand.

You can catch Ms. Ronda, on Saturday, August 11 in Moreno Valley at the Grand Opening of Club Thick and Beautiful promoting. She will also will be a guest speaker on Sunday, August 26 for LUE Productions 2nd Annual BBW/Plus Size Model Competition, ‘bringing awareness to domestic violence’. The event will take place in San Bernardino at the San Bernardino Women’s Club.

Make sure you follow this star on all social media sites. I’m Lue and this is What it So! Until next week L’s! 

Here are five things you may not have known about Rhonda Robinson:

What is your favorite place to visit and why?

Magic Mountain! I love roller Coasters and the thrill it brings. I also so love Marvin the Martian.  

What’s your favorite meal?

Carne Asada Tacos

What was your favorite subject in school?

History! Everything repeats itself!  

Is there a cause near and dear to your heart?

Alcoholism and cancer

A must have of yours is what?

God, Coffee, nails and polish!

“To All You Card Toting, Medical Mary Jane/Ganja/Roach/Marijuana Smoking Christians!”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—“Are ye yet without understanding [Matthew 15:16-20]? Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Do you not know that if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him? The temple of God is holy…. [1 Corinthians 3:16-17]. What an embarrassment to God and to the Church! What a disgrace to the Cross! Jesus Christ died not only for our soul and spirit, but also our body. Being involved in any act that defiles God’s temple attracts serious judgment of God. You better know that you know!

Justifying smoking Marijuana by saying, “but the “Doctor,” says it will cure my disease, and it do relieve my pain.” You dare not justify your unholiness or make excuses for it.  God commands, “Be ye holy!”What part of that do you not understand?And what happened to believing the Word of God that says, “By His Stripes You Are healed. Why want you just tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; you like getting high! You like the way Marijuana makes you feel. Talking ‘bout, it relieve your pain! Naw, what it does is numb your brain which causes you to think it relieves your pain.  Killer Bud!Don’t you know as Solomon said; it is difficult enough in life to resist Satan and keep God’s commandments when one has all of their wits about them. How much more do you think it is when you are all “K.G.B?”

“I tell you the most blatant form of sorcery in the book of Revelation is the multi-BILLION dollar pharmaceutical-medical industry, which just happens to be one of the biggest frauds being perpetrated today. And maybe you never thought of this, but you should know that drug use opens you up to spiritual attacks. There are specific demonic spirits associated with liquor and marijuana and cocaine and heroin, and opium, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, and any mixture of drugs, etc., and every time you use these substances, you could unknowingly be opening the doorway for these demonic spirits to come into your life. Leaving yourself wide open to demonic possession. How can God use you as a witness to others if you have no self-control, are setting a bad example to others, and are behaving just like the world? God’s Word tells us that for us to be used by God; we must be sober and avoid intoxicating substances. Substance abuse is dangerous and detrimental – physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.  Why want you pass instead of puff!

Take the steps to cleanse yourself of all filthiness of the flesh that you may present yourself without spot or wrinkle before Jesus when he comes in glory. He is coming soon!

How is Black-owned Business Doing in the Trump Economy

By Marisol Beas | California Black Media

 (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)——Leo Hickman, the founder of Classy Hippie Tea Company, has been in business for seven years. Hickman said under the current economy “there is monetary value, even if you are losing” because Trump “just put in tax breaks for owners,” the American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that can be written off.

The American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December and will have some benefits to small business owners. The National Federation of Independent Business  says small business owners will be able to file as “pass through entities,” which allows owners to file and pay as an individual.

In addition, the NFIB says business owners can deduct up to 20 percent of claimable income. According to the NFIM, taxpayers will not have to file deductions to claim the deduction, “and may simultaneously claim this deduction and the standard deduction.” 

Hickman said he started his tea company after backpacking around the world. He noticed how all of the different cultures sat over tea and talked about the community, and how “from there at a community level you could activate and start changing the community.”

Hickman says that although the Trump economy is helping his business the system was “not built for us.” But he believes that African Americans are not “excluded, where [they] are included is in the programs as workers and the laborer” but that “you have to figure out a way to get access to get to the other side.”

Once you are there Hickman says, “There is going to be bigotry, racism, and hatred that will try to keep you where you are at… but you have to figure out how to bubble up.” Because Hickman says, “If you are going to be in this country you have to be about money.”

Hickman says there are no actual losses when you can write things off, “that’s why this side is set up for them, it was built for you to take a risk.” But Hickman says that African Americans need to “take the small risk of…thirty five dollars to get your business filed,” because if you don’t “we miss out on a couple hundred grand.” 

“You are creating your own economy… it comes down to how much effort you are going to put into educating yourself, and it opens up the world; that’s were freedom lies.”

Cheryl Brownlee, the CEO of CB Communications, started her small business 20 years ago. Now, under the Trump economy Brownlee said, “A lot of things [African American business owners] had the opportunity to be a part of before are changing” and those “opportunities are being taken away.”

Brownlee started her business 20 years ago in her living room as an idea, launching CB communications officially in 2000. CB Communications has partnered with organizations like The Black Advocates for State Services, Café De California, The International Black Women’s Policy Institute, and the California Black Expo.

“We started out…in Sacramento and now we are international,” Brownlee said, working in countries like “Belize, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and [now] Ghana.”

Brownlee and Hickman’s businesses are clear cases of success but perhaps anomalies in the Trump economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics projects the growth rate of the Black labor force to be slower than the growth rate of the black population between 2018-2026. Furthermore, the overall labor force of Black Americans has been on the decline and is between 5.4 percent-10.1 percent in California.

Brownlee said, “I don’t think that when you are a small business. You have many resources” they are “limited.” The Guidant Financial Small Business Trends and Statistics show that 67 percent of small business owners face the lack of capital, marketing, and advertising efforts.

African American small businesses exist in California but a majority of them are not certified in the State, Brownlee stated. “The small business administration …[found] that there is ten thousand African American businesses in the state of California.”

Brownlee said the Black Chamber of Commerce is making efforts to find the business owners to help them get registered. Brownlee said this is important because this gives African American business owners the “opportunity to be on the list, so when individuals are looking for businesses they can be contracted.”

Under the Trump economy, Brownlee says, it is “big businesses [who take] contracts and if they want to work with small business they may work with small women owned businesses, not African American women, just to meet that check box.” According to the Public Law Research Institute this check box is the federal preferences in public employment, contracting, and education based on ethnicity to eradicate discrimination. “In business, the mindset is the same… racism is becoming blatantly more open” Brownlee said.

“It’s really hard” for small minority businesses, there has to be “organizations advocating on your behalf, to show the value” of African American businesses Brownlee said.

African American businesses need more access to education and tools, Brownlee stated. We need to have “more partnerships” within the African American community.

African American business owners “have to be more conscious, more aware, because we are not going to survive in this administration or any administration really going forward, unless we really understand what business is.”

Youth Leaders Present Nestle with Number 1 Water Thief Award

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Fifty student leaders with the Sierra Club’s youth chapter gathered outside the Nestle Bottling Facility in Cabazon, CA today to protest the company’s privatization of public water resources. They awarded Nestle with a “#1 Water Thief Award” in a mock recognition ceremony, noting that the company has been diverting water from national forests using an expired permit.

“Nestle doesn’t have a right to claim that this water is theirs to profit off of. Water should be a human right, not something that international corporations can exploit from our communities,” said Sam Rodriguez, youth leader with the Sierra Student Coalition from San Bernardino.

Nestle has withdrawn 62.6 million gallons of water per year for the past 68 years for bottling, all from public sources. While California remains in a historic drought and local residents face mandatory water restrictions, Nestle continues to divert publicly-owned resources. Sierra Club youth activists cited corporate privatization and climate change as factors that have exacerbated ongoing water shortages in California and around the world.

“Nestle is taking water from our communities and then trying to sell it back to us for profit, while also worsening environmental degradation with plastic water bottles and packaging, and a pipeline that goes through the forest,” said Erika Ruiz, San Bernardino resident and youth leader with the Sierra Student Coalition. “It’s a danger to our generation’s future and an insult to our communities.”

More information and petition language at sc.org/Nestle

Live video and photos at facebook.com/SierraStudent

 

What It Do with the LUE: Your Favorite BBW Contestant

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Your favorite BBW Contestant is What It Do! Cast your vote for your favorite selfie! LUE PRODUCTIONS 2018 BBW/Plus Size Model Competition is almost here.

As a part of the competition, each contestant took a selfie wearing a white t-shirt or tank top. The selfie with the most votes by Friday, August 24 at 5 p.m. will be our online selfie winner and will be recognized at the competition on the Red Carpet, Sunday, August 26 at 5 p.m.

As of right now, Jasmine Hall contestant number 8 is taking the lead with 654 votes with contestant number 4 Casandra Greer right behind her with 624 votes.

You can vote for your favorite by visiting our event page on Facebook. Please don’t miss this entertaining and exciting event happening right here in the beautiful City of San Bernardino, my hometown.

Tickets can be purchased now by texting (909) 567-1000 or inboxing LUE PRODUCTIONS. The evening will bring awareness to domestic violence. Break the silence! Please Report Abuse. Until next week L’s!