WSSN Stories

Politics and Cannabis: Dr. Christopher Metzler Addresses Questions During Mixer

By Naomi K. Bonman

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— It has been seven months since marijuana has become legalized in California, as well as a few other states. Since it has been legal many have been joyous, while others have still been skeptical and have continued to raise questions and concerns. This is why it is important to have forums to accommodate people into better understanding the science and benefits behind cannabis. 

On Wednesday, June 27 at WeWork Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, modern-day political voice, cultural and legal expert, Dr. Christopher Metzler, participated in a one-on-one “Politics of Cannabis” discussion with Black Hollywood Live Executive Producer, Derrial Christon. Throughout the question and answer session they chatted on the medical, recreational and statutory components of cannabis. 

“[Tonight] is going to be a really good event,” Christon states on what attendees were in for. “Obviously the cannabis industry is booming and growing in several different markets It’s a money maker so people are now realizing that they need to label it differently than how it has been looked at before.”

The event was presented by Wise Owl Media Group and Jade Umbrella, and was very well attended. Attendees were able to mingle and network with each other, as well as partaking in sampling of Cannabis and hemp-infused food and drink supplements. 

“The people that are the closet to me are people in my family,” Dr. Metzler explains on what inspired him to get into the cannabis industry. “When I see family and friends suffering from illnesses and I see medication that is given to them that is not really helping but making the situation worst, I then have to look at what is freely available and what are the alternatives. I’ve done that and so I’m very very passionate about this topic.” 

In addition to educating the guests about Cannabis, the founders of MelixMJ also introduced their DNA kit. The Cannabis DNA report tests how genes influence Cannabis on one’s health through a saliva collection kit. Based upon individual results, certain products may be better tolerated or more effective for specific conditions. Genes help to determine how our bodies process and rest on cannabinoids and terpenes (different compounds in cannabis). This test is revolutionary for prescription of the right strain and right dose for flower, concentrates, edibles, topical, and THC to CBD ratios based upon one’s unique genetic expression.

This is just the first of many events that Dr.Metzler plans on doing. He will be rolling out more sessions across the country to start educating people about the benefits, science and how people can become more involved in the industry. 

If you missed the Los Angeles event, you can check out the interview below:

Stay connected @DrChrisMetzler on Twitter/Facebook/Twitter.

 

“In Church Lusting After the Pastor!”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— You harlot…. you are just as treacherous as Israel sister Judah who went and played the whore. [Jeremiah 3:8-10]. I tell you, you are an embarrassment to God and the church.  You have trangressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your charms to alien deties under every green tree… says the Lord. [Jeremiah 3:8-13].

Tell me, what was the sin that got Sodom and Gomarrah utterly destroyed? What was the sin that got David’s kingdom taken away? What was the sin that led to Samson getting his eyes gauged out, put into prison, and then death? Tell me, what was it? You see, Jesus said in [Matthew 5:27-30] that, “You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery; but I  [Jesus] says, that whosoever looks at a woman [man] with lust for her [him] has already committed adultery with them in their heart.

Listen, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out an cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. [Matthew 5:27-30; Matthew 8: 8-9].

Understand that your eternal destiny hangs in the balance of whether you fight lust or settle down and live in it. I tell you, only if you repent, and show you’re repentance by brokeness, is there any hope that God can change you from what you are to what he desires for you to be.

Return, backslider, says the Lord; I will not cause My anger to fall on you for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity “… for this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” [Ephesians 5: 3-6].

I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [Galatians 5:16-17].

Civil Rights Activist Plans Tour of Detention Facility, Says ‘It’s a Moral Issue’

By Manny Otiko | California Black Media 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego civil rights activist, is part of a group of clergies who have rallied in support of migrant families being detained at the southern border.  Harris staged a protest outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center on Friday, June 22. He will conduct a tour of the facility on Wednesday, June 27. 

Migrants have been coming to the United States, fleeing poverty and violence, for several decades, but the Trump administration recently instituted a new policy that separated parents from their children. About 3,000 families have been affected so far. 

Former Immigration and Naturalization Service INS which is now known as ICE agent Damon Alexander said this is not a new issue. He saw the same situation when he was working for the agency in the 1990s. In those days, people were fleeing political violence in Honduras. 

“Back then it was the death squads,” he said. 

What’s different is the amount of media attention. Alexander also pointed out that if you are fleeing violence you can apply for political asylum, but that depends on the criteria of the country, the attorney general at the time and the president. 

Alexander emphasized that it was a crime to enter the country without using legal means. If you do so, you are subject to arrest and could be separated from children, like American citizens who break the law, he said. However, he was surprised that deported migrants were not kept with their children. 

According to Harris, this is a moral issue. He said the policy of separating children from their parents was not “biblical.”

“It is biblically and morally wrong,” said Harris. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who spoke forcibly for family separation, has been criticized by his own United Methodist Church, who has accused him of aiding “child abuse.”

Although the Trump administration has backed down and said it would reunite the families, it hasn’t said how and when it would do this. 

Many Americans have been shocked at the administration’s family separation policy, but this isn’t the first time this has happened. In the past, enslaved Africans were sold as property and torn from their children. And during the early part of the 20th century Native Americans children were taken from their families, and placed with white families who gave them Anglo names and forbade them from speaking their languages. (This process was supposed to help them better integrate into society.) 

During World War II, Japanese American families were interned in prison camps, because the nation questioned their loyalty. Also, the War on Drugs, which is still on going, separated thousands of black men and women from their children.

Harris added that the treatment of migrants was an issue that should concern the African-American community. The Trump administration has been hostile to minority groups, he said. He added that the administration planned to deport Haitians migrants who had been allowed to stay in the country as part of a refugee program. The Trump administration has announced that Temporary Protected Status designation officially ends in July 2019.

“This administration is rewinding the clock,” he said. “We should stand with them (migrants.)”

Harris thinks Trump implemented the policy because he saw it as an issue Republicans could run on in the 2018 midterm elections. And it seems to be working with hard-core Trump supporters. The New York Times reported 90 percent of Republicans to have a favorable view of Trump. 

According to Harris, this can serve as a lesson for liberal Democrats. 

“If Democrats want to win in 2018, they need to stop saying ‘I’m surprised,'” said Harris. “He’s (Trump) playing to his base,” said Harris.

D.L. Hughley Shoots Straight on Police, Mark Fuhrman and Racial Profiling

Photo credit: Shannon McCollum

By Allison Kugel

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Hailed as one of the most prolific standup comedians of the past three decades, D.L. Hughley has never been afraid to dig into ethnic stereotypes, economic disparity, relationships, politics… nothing’s off limits. His words are explicit and paint an accurate portrait of societal contradictions and pain in fast forward.

From his legendary standup material and his nationally syndicated radio show, The D.L. Hughley Show, to his upcoming Netflix series, The Fix (a hybrid game show/issues-based panel talk show), D.L.’s platform as an outspoken advocate of civil rights is unconventional and tinged with off-color language. But as he shared with me during our conversation, he believes that to reach people with a heavy message, you’ve got to get them to let their guard down through laughter.

His latest book, How Not To Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People (Out June 26th)pulls no punches and offers no apologies, as Hughley puts forth his satirical and bitingly sarcastic take on racial profiling, police shootings, President Trump, and the advice that white people often give black people on how to adequately assimilate into American society. Nothing is off limits as he covers topics like black names versus white names, dressing black versus dressing white, how white people advise black people to talk to the police, neighborhood profiling, “the race card,” and a host of other hot button, racially charged issues. D.L. goes in.

The book doubles down on D.L.’s already controversial public platform. It is filled with humor, sorrow and irony, and it will make you a bit uncomfortable no matter what side of the fence you are on.

Allison Kugel: Did the motivation to write your latest book, How Not To Get Shot (And Other Advice From White People), come from a place of fear, love, hope, anger…?

Photo credit: William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

D.L. Hughley: I think all those things. Fear, frustration, anger… they all kind of mirror each other. When I was writing this book, I realized that society would never take a good look at itself unless you make it feel good; unless you give them something to make their ears tickle a little bit. My overall thought was to be clear enough where it doesn’t seem trite, and to be satirical enough where people can’t tell if I’m being serious or not. And I needed it to be angry enough to mirror the people who go through these things all the time. Watching people of color being slaughtered at the hands of police is nothing new. I grew up in Los Angeles, so it happened quite often. Everybody always wants to say they want to start this conversation, and this book is my contribution to that conversation.

Allison Kugel: Do you feel safe living in the United States?

D.L. Hughley: I don’t think I ever… black men and safety don’t go together. There are a lot of words that black people use to describe how they feel, but I don’t think “safe” is one of them.

Allison Kugel: What do you tell your kids when they ask if they’re safe?

D.L. Hughley: That we’re going to do the best we can to make sure. I think that America’s never seen a person of color that lost their life where the powers-that-be were compelled to do something about it; where they were actually moved to action. Whether it was Emmett Till or Trayvon Martin, I think they have a certain kind of distance when it comes to black people dying. The first thing they’ll say is, “Well, if you wouldn’t have done this?” or “You shouldn’t have done that.” The impetus for me writing this book was going on Megyn Kelly’s show (Megyn Kelly TODAY). I went on Megyn Kelly’s show and we were going to talk about the police and policing, and she had Mark Fuhrman (disgraced detective in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial)on the same show. She didn’t tell me he was going to be on, and he went on before me. They had Mark Fuhrman on to talk about policing. He got fired for lying. He lied so much that he got a murderer off. He got O.J. off! And this is how we start the conversation about policing, and about good police versus bad police? Even other police will tell you that Mark Fuhrman was a bad [cop]. That’s how they decided to start the conversation that day. That’s when I knew I would write this book.

Allison Kugel: You’ve discussed in great detail, your previous affiliation as a gang member with the Bloods in Los Angeles. What was the life lesson from that experience for you? What was the major takeaway?

D.L. Hughley: The takeaway was a level of independence and compassion. One of the things that I always felt bad about when I was growing up was that even when I was in that situation, I knew I wasn’t ofthat situation. I knew that I didn’t belong there. I knew I would do something else. It taught me to have compassion for people who, for them, that was their natural experience. While I knew that I wasn’t born for that, that [gang] experience was organic to a lot of people. So, it was knowing that I was in that situation and not of it, and to have compassion for the guys who didn’t see any other way to live. When I was eighteen or nineteen years old, stuff got so bad, I tried to get into the Los Angeles Police Academy. I just wanted things to be different. I was reaching at anything to not give into the frustration that was all around me.

Allison Kugel: Do you fear that this book is simply going to preach to the choir rather than reaching a wider demographic of people?

D.L. Hughley: I think that people who have already made up their mind before a question is even asked, they have a certain perspective. But a lot of the book is based on statistics and facts, things that have happened and their outcome. There are always a lot of white people who want to tell you what they would do if they were black, but they can only tell you what they would do if they were black from their current perspective(laughs). They can’t tell you what it’s like. I’m sure that a lot of people who have had positive experiences with the police can’t believe that the police that pull them over are the same policemen that interact with me. They can’t believe it because it’s not their experience. But my hope is that people can at least look at this book and see that things aren’t the same as their own experience. You don’t have to have that experience to know those things do exist.

Allison Kugel: Does fame and money insulate you at all from racial profiling and police harassment?

D.L. Hughley: It didn’t insulate Bill Cosby’s son (the late Ennis Cosby). He was still shot down by violence. It didn’t insulate Tupac when he was shot. There was a member of Earth Wind and Firewho was shot by the Santa Monica Police Department for holding a fireplace holder. I think when you’re black and nobody knows that you’re famous, it doesn’t matter anyway. Before they see anything else, they see that you’re black.

Allison Kugel: There was one page in the book where you ask the reader, “Who can say the “N” word?” and then you answer, “Fucking black people, and that’s it.” Using myself as an example, not only do I not want you to use racial or religious slurs against me as a Jewish person, I have no desire to say them about myself either. Why do you even want to have the right to use the “N” word? Why use it?

D.L. Hughley: I don’t want to have the right. I wish it didn’t exist, but it does so I won’t pretend that it doesn’t. The most annoying thing is that people will blame the use of the “N” word on black people. They’ll say, “Well, if you didn’t use it, then maybe we wouldn’t use it. You use it in hip hop all the time.” That word has been a part of the American lexicon since the early 1700s. Hip hop’s been around since 1975. What came first, the “N” word or The Sugarhill Gang? To pretend that black people can stop saying it and then all people will stop feeling that way about us, and that it will go away, is ridiculous. There has never been a word in our lexicon that equates to that word, not one.

Allison Kugel: I’m going to share my perspective at the risk of you getting mad at me…

D.L. Hughley: I won’t get mad at you…

Allison Kugel: To give my perspective as a female, I have always felt that the B word was used to dehumanize women, and I can remember that word stinging from the time I was a little kid. I remember thinking, “Does that word mean that I’m less than human?” So, from where I’m sitting, a de-humanizing word is a de-humanizing word. Am I way off base with that one?

D.L. Hughley: There is no equating the two. They took a word which means a female dog, and equated it to something else, that is true. But they made up a word to describe us. The “B” word is horrible, but it had another meaning. Our word never had another meaning. They invented a word just for us. To me, there is no comparison and no other word that equates to our word.

Allison Kugel: On page 164 of your book, you cite the statistic that 72% of black births in the United States are from unwed mothers, and you do point out that it includes women who have partners but are unmarried, and women who simply choose to not be married. Then you go on to point out that one reason black women often outnumber eligible black men is because so many black men are in prison. Do you pin some of that on former President Bill Clinton’s now infamous 1994 crime bill that ultimately led to the mass incarceration of black men in the United States?

D.L. Hughley: Here’s what I will say… I remember when they banned assault rifles (a ten-year ban passed by United States Congress in 1994). It wasn’t because mass shooters were using them. It was because gang members were using them. Bill Clinton banned them at the time because of that. Bill Clinton gave black community members, black community leaders and elected officials, what they asked for, which was relief from crime. And now they get to pretend that they didn’t ask for it. They asked for that. Black leaders asked for harsher sentences, and now they get to pretend that they didn’t. I remember that Bill Clinton had a Republican congress. Everything he did would have had to go through congress, and they weren’t inclined to do anything but be hard on n*****s. I think Bill Clinton is at fault. I think the elected officials are at fault, and I think that the American population is at fault. Any time somebody sells somebody out, it’s going to be us. That includes our own elected officials, our own civic leaders and our own religious leaders. If you want to send a black man to prison, get a conservative black person on the jury. You cannot not send black people to jail without other black people being complicit in some way.

Allison Kugel: There’s a part in the book where you compare black-sounding names versus white-sounding names, and dressing black versus dressing white, in a sarcastic way. Do you think black people are more pressured to assimilate than other ethnic groups? And by the way, your kids have very Caucasian-sounding names. Was that deliberate on your part?

D.L. Hughley: It was more so my wife. I wanted them to have names where you can tell where they’re from. But statistically, if a person has an urban-sounding name they are less likely to be hired. She knew that, and I didn’t. The Washington Post did a story on biases with teachers, where if you live in a certain zip code, if you come from a single parent home, if you have a certain name, you’re judged a certain way. My wife knew all of that. I’m glad she named our kids. When it first happened, it used to annoy me, but she didn’t weigh them down with my [issues].

Allison Kugel: What’s your opinion on the song, The Story of O.J.by Jay Z and the music video for the song. Brilliant social commentary or offensive imagery?

D.L. Hughley: Brilliant is a word that’s used a lot. I think it was demonstrative. I got it. I wouldn’t call it “brilliant,” because that word is overused. I think it was clear and interesting, and satirical. But brilliant would be a whole different level or category.

Allison Kugel: I know of some people who thought it made an interesting and accurate social statement, and other people I know were completely offended by it because of the negative stereotypical images it portrayed.

D.L. Hughley: There’s a book called Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do (W.W. Norton and Company). It’s about stereotypes and how they started. Stereotypes exist because somebody embodied them. I’m not saying most people, but some people did. And it was clear enough where people took that as the majority. I was on a plane one time and it was me and a bunch of other famous comics. A lady came up to us and said, “Are you guys in entertainment?” because we were in first class. They all got offended. I was like, “Motherf*cker, we are in entertainment, and we are sitting in first class, so shut up!” (Laughs). Most black people you know who are wealthy are in entertainment or they’re athletes, so stop pretending like that’s not true. It doesn’t mean that all of us are that, but a lot of people embody that fact.

Allison Kugel: Do you believe there is a reason for everything that happens, and that you are here at this time, exactly as you are, for a greater purpose?

D.L. Hughley: I think I am supposed to give a higher level of clarity and specificity to the things I see. All an artist can ever be is what they see.  I want my people, and by that, I mean all human beings, to see themselves. And I don’t want people to make excuses. This week I watched people use the bible to justify putting children in chains. Those are the same scriptures they used to put black men in chains. If there is anything I do, it’s to be an artist who is clear enough so that people will get that I’m saying exactly what I saw.

Allison Kugel: Where is the elusive bridge of communication, for example, between police officers and the black community?

D.L. Hughley: Here’s the way we have a dialogue; it starts with accountability. The same accountability you demand from us as a community, we should demand from you as [law enforcement] professionals. When a mayor in Los Angeles says we need to teach our children to respect the police, well children are just children and that’s why you have parents. You have to guide them at that age, and in the process they make a lot of mistakes. But is a reasonable solution to a communal problem to say that children need to be more responsible than trained adults? When Megyn Kelly has me on her show to talk about the police and says, “I’m going to talk with Mark Fuhrman first,” or when you tell children to act more responsible than adults who are fully trained by the state, that’s based on a false premise.

Allison Kugel: What do you think the police are afraid of?

D.L. Hughley: I can’t speak for them. I can’t tell you what they’re afraid of. But I can tell you this, that I don’t only teach my children to respect the police, I teach them to fear the police. If the police treated us like the human beings that they say they serve, then we would be okay, but they don’t. What the police do is what they’ve always done to black people, to keep us in our place. You’re suspicious if you’re somewhere you don’t belong. The reason we have all these policemen getting called is because [black people] are in places where people aren’t used to seeing them or are uncomfortable seeing them. That’s always been their mission. Maybe we should change what their mission is. Maybe it shouldn’t be to just keep us in our place. Maybe it should be to treat us like citizens. If you call the police on somebody for barbequing, for sleeping in a common area at Yale, or walking to a mall, or eating at certain places, what that tells you is the police’s goal is to make society feel safe from us. I got the police called on me in my own neighborhood, and I’ve lived there for seventeen years. My wife has had that happen and my children have had that happen. You can look around Calabasas (a tony suburb in Los Angeles’s northern San Fernando Valley)and you wouldn’t see many people who have lived there longer than me, but I’mthe stranger!

Allison Kugel: Have you had some positive interactions with the police?

D.L. Hughley: Sure. Generally, they work for me (laughs). I have three police officers that work for me. But, it’s been ninety percent [nonsense] and ten percent cool. I think white people would say it’s the other way around.

Allison Kugel: I’ve often heard black men say that if they are too outspoken about racial issues and/or if they’re platform should grow too big and too powerful, they then become a target and the government will now see them as a problem that needs to be dealt with. Do you ever think about that?

D.L. Hughley: I’m going to do what it is I believe. I can’t say how people will respond to it. That’s not my job. You gotta be doing somethingwhen you go. I teach my children to stand up for what they believe in and to be willing to sacrifice for their beliefs. And I can say that my children know who they are as people, and they know who I am and what I believe. 


D.L. Hughley’s book, How Not To Get Shot (And Other Advice From White People)is available everywhere books are sold June 26, 2018. Pre-order your copy. His hit radio show, The D.L. Hughley Show, airs weekdays, 3PM to 7PM in national syndication.


Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment and pop culture journalist, and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and visit AllisonKugel.com.

 

What It Do with the LUE: 2017 Youth Competition Winner

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Our 2017 Youth Competition Winner is What it Do!

Last year LUE Productions held a $500 youth competition titled ‘Show It Off’, and that’s exactly what Lil’ Jack did. He captured the hearts of the judges and the audience by taking First place with the classic song “Ben,” by Michel Jackson.

It’s important to sow into the lives of our young ones and support their efforts. LUE Productions is looking for more talented youth to showcase. Come to our auditions this Saturday at 1 pm. Auditions are free! For more information, please text (909) 567-1000 or contact LUE Productions on Facebook. Check out the bio of Lil’ Jack below. His name will be in lights everywhere!

Jack Musgrove Jr. is a 9-year-old singer and a proud resident of the city of San Bernardino. Jack has also proven himself to be a very talented percussionist and basketball player. He has been destined to perform on stage since he was able to crawl and join his dad, Jack Musgrove, who plays trumpet. Los Angeles area bands such as LRS, Balance, Malo and Tierra, have encouraged his musical talents and often features him on stage at local concerts.

Jack enjoys listening to different genres of music, especially old school, funk and R&B. His musical influences include Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and Stevie Wonder. He has played all over San Bernardino including the Winter Wonderland at Perris Hill Park and Juneteenth at Anne Shirell’s Park. He sang the Star-Spangled Banner for the opening ceremony and performed at the National Orange Show.

You can see Jack perform the Star-Spangled Banner on August 3, 2018 at the San Manuel Stadium for the Inland Empire 66ers. He will also perform opening day at the Los Angeles County fair on August 31, 2018.

Jack’s dreams are to sing the Star-Spangled Banner for his favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers and to someday open for Bruno Mars. Jack is scheduled to audition for the next season of Americas Got Talent, so please wish Jack good luck!

High Desert’s Own Justified Smith, Takes the Lead in Launching Fathers of Hip Hop Initiative

Justified and his daughters

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— VICTORVILLE, CA— Recording artist and community raptivist, Justified Smith, is back on a mission in the name of FATHERHOOD!

Being well known for his work in the High Desert community, Justified has taken fatherhood engagement to another level by reaching out to the Hip Hop Community to stand alongside him as “Fathers in Hip Hop (FIHH).”

Some of his Hip Hop partners active in the movement include: Lynwood natives Nephew Michael and Roc Box of Rhyme Rocca Ent; Urg 7; Tha Chill from the group Compton’s Most Wanted; Diirty Og’z; Twin brothers Big2daboy and J2DaNut; Big Doty from Gardena; Gospel recording artist 2FACE and Dunamis; amongst a host of other influential artist highly respected in their individual communities.

FIHH takes an intimate and up-close look into the testimony of various Influential hip hop artists in regard to their experiences and definitions of fatherhood. Too often these types of artist are categorized as dead-beat dads and judged by their genre of music instead of who they are as fathers.

The movement covers testimony by men discussing fatherhood from a variety of angles, exploring resources and introducing tips to better aid men in raising their children. It covers financial planning including life insurance and other means of providing security and provisions for their children’s future.

Fathers in Hip Hop brings awareness to the importance of being an active father in a child’s life regardless of the circumstances. The organization will expose the effects that carry over into adulthood stemming from the absence of a father figure.  FIHH is impacting fatherhood engagement around the world!

Follow the FATHERS IN HIP HOP on social media. Instagram @Fathersinhiphop Twitter: @Fathersinhiphop Facebook: Fathersinhiphop Website: fathersinhiphop.com

Letter to the Editor: Good Morning – Wake up America

Good Morning America,
I woke up this morning to CNN showing a piece on immigrant families being separated at the Mexican border. They were showing footage of children caged, and babies being snatched from their mothers and fathers, and children who were lying on hard floors and covered with a thin foil blanket. My spirit compelled me to write this letter to America to ask you to WAKE UP!  America, we MUST wake up and stop turning a blind eye to our history. The separation of Africans brought to America in the 1700s is playing out right in front of us today.
These types of systematic atrocities have long been embedded into the fiber of America.  Our flag is stained with the blood of many immigrant groups, some who came by choice, and others who came by force. We must wake up and look at human parallels which have plagued America. All we need to do is examine our history. There is an adage that states  “What goes around will someday come back around.”  We see this in every facet of today’s music, fashion, and society.
Young America, do your research on who serves as the common denominator at the forefront of America’s afflictions on others; and the inhumane acts toward other races, religious groups, and women, etc. Immigrant separation is merely a form of “Divide and conquer” ~to overcome and take control of (a place or people ) by use of military force (Border Patrol).  Americans, ask yourself when did you last see this and what were the results?
Let me help you with your research. The suppressors need the same thing now that they needed then, someone to work the fields. Young American have not been upthrust to work in the ruffians’ fields. They still need industry sectors harvested to maintain and control their economic status in America.
This is not new, it is just colored up to look differently. Whether you reach the border by foot, or you were transplanted by boat, the welcome to America is still the same. “Divide and conquer” is a term “the MAN” or repressive system cohorts, want us to forget, however, it still exists in their arsenal to control people and power. WAKE UP AMERICA!
The same thing that is happening right now took place hundreds of years ago when African families were ripped from their homeland, caged on boats and families separated at the auction block.  African-Americans still struggle today to undo this unjust and inhumane act that their predecessors endured. Many African-Americans are still in a state of separation and have no apparent knowledge of their family heritage or bloodline due to the “Auction Block Separation Syndrome.”(ABSS)
This planned attack on immigrants is just colored up, but the results will be the same. FEAR is what drives the repressors’ thinking. The understanding that “what goes around will ultimately come back around” is haunting.
“The MAN” has committed monstrosities on people for centuries and payback is long overdue for his inflictions on innocent people. He will try everything within his means and power to slow down or stop the retaliation due, “Even selling out America”!
The ruffians understand there is power in numbers so they must slow down that process by any means necessary, (research- The Tuskegee Experiment).  They are back to the separation and fear game by forcing young men of color to see themselves being gunned down through the use of social media and any other platform that affords them the viewing eye. This is the same scenario as when slaves were hung on the plantation and in the middle of town. The metal shackles have been replaced with mental shackles which penetrate and pierce the skin just as profoundly as with our predecessors.
If a peoples’ psyche is controlled with fear, they are kept locked in a plantation state of mind. “You dare not run from your state, neighborhood or cross our border to learn to read or write our language”.  (Slaves were not allowed to read and write).  This perpetual mentality has kept “the MAN” in power for years. His fear of being outnumbered by people of color and women has spun him into a psychotic frenzy, which is being played out on a national stage for people and countries alike to see.
He knows history better than anyone and will continue this cycle of suppression until the real America Wakes Up! “If we as Americans keep doing what we’ve always done, we will continue to be what we’ve always been.”
It is time to Wake up America!

“You Been in Church ALL Your Life…!”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— And yet, still, you are in need of milk. Shame on you! “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God…” [Hebrew 5:12-14]. I tell you, you got to grow up! Over and over we are told that God wants us to grow up. [Ephesians 4:14-16] “For we can no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ-…”

You know the author in Hebrews was desperately concerned about those who were lagging behind in their spiritual growth: The Hebrew Christians were lazy. The writer of Hebrews expected them to grow up, learn the foundational truths, and be well on their way to maturity. But by their own choices, they’d quit. They were stymied, moving backwards on their spiritual journeys.

Paul was both brokenhearted and angry at the many Corinthian Christians who had decided to remain spiritual babies: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly…[1 Corinthians 3:1-3].

I tell you, there is a clear and present danger in not growing up. You see, Satan never bothers with half-hearted people who are content with a ho-hum spiritual existence. As long as you live with one foot in the world, living according to the world’s values and for the world’s goals, Satan won’t trouble you. You can go to church and even pray and read your Bible, and he won’t mind. But the minute you wake up from your spiritual lethargy, shake off the worldly mindset, and commit yourself to radical obedience to Jesus Christ, you will not only encounter spiritual opposition, but you will know that you have chewed meat.

I tell you, as a believer you must move beyond the basics of the Christian faith and grow up in Christ. God’s plan is birth, growth, and maturity. The Word of God: It corrects, it convicts, it cleanses, it equips, and it confirms to us what the Lord has said. The days of coming to church and not understanding the Word is over. Why sit in church just to die on the vine? Grow up!

 

Bottomline: Juneteenth Blues

Publishers Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- JUNTEENTH BLUES… America became great because of slave labor! The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery and America became the beacon of opportunity for people all over the world!

People have come from all over the planet, migrating to the “land of the free and home of the brave”! Taking their lumps and squeezing through any crack leading to an opportunity for advancement!

The heat in America’s melting-pot, easily blended the white-skinned European, but could not generate enough heat to meet the challenge of accepting and absorbing the people wrapped in the hues of red, black or yellow.

Racism is a prominent member of the same family as slavery. However, racism is more efficient if not as blatant, an expression of hate! The language of racism is guised in, ‘We need to build boarder walls!” The idea of racism occurs when we hear where the wall is to be built. When we hear the POTUS say that we need more immigrants like Norwegians or that Nazis are good people!

Racism is a dehumanizing tool that allows people to rationalize that separating children from their parents is OK! Racism encouraged slavery to capitalize by selling children!  Racism is separating Brown babies/children from their parents at America’s Southern boarder today!

We are experiencing the same brand of racism that allowed slavery to flourish as an American beauty mark, instead of the hideous cancerous sore that it is! A birthmark that still defies makeup!

It is obvious racism when Black professional athletes are distained by POTUS for taking a knee in protest. Distained for protesting the lack of equal protection for young Black men! Distained for protesting police shootings of Young Black men! Shooting young Black men, the descendants of the same enslaved Black men whose unpaid labor-built America! 

The unpaid labor from forced immigrants that made America great, did create a debt! Protest is a simple reminder!

America owes itself and world observers an explanation for the obvious hypocrisy that finds Black Americans in a “State of Emergency” in the country that was made great by the labor of their ancestors! That same explanation just might expose why the POTUS is so determined to keep Brown migrants from crossing our borders.

“Walk together children, and don’t you get weary!”

What It Do with the LUE: Industry Connections

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Industry Connections is WHAT IT DO! Tonight, come see what it do with ya’ girl in L.A. as we get it in.

It ain’t nothing like a networking party to kick things off for the BET weekend extravaganza. The event is sponsored by DRS Da Radio Show (LA 10510 AM) and will be hosted by ‘DJ 6PAC’ and ‘Dundee’.

The evening will consist of performances from artists all over. There will be a special guest performance by international recording artist ‘Iakopo’. Performing live out of the LUE Productions camp we have ‘Mack Pepperboy’. Doors open at 7 p.m. The show will be held at Habesha Lounge located at 5066 W Pico Blvd in Los Angeles. For tickets please visit www.daradioshow.com. Tickets are $15. Attendees must be 18 and older to enter.

Hope to see you there. Until next week L’s!