WSSN Stories

Mac Rome

By Lue Dowdy

Standing room only, ‘Straight Out of Barstow’ Comedy Show was a huge success thanks to Comedian Mac Rome and his affiliates. With Barstow being so far away it’s hard to provide entertainment, especially with the living population being so low. But the residents showed up in full force to see comedians Chuck Diesel, Scott Figueroa, JT Turner, Paul Deese, Kevin Davis, and Matthew Piccione take the stage. 

Here’s more about the man with the comic plan, Comedian Mac Rome: Diving into the comedy world over 4 years ago, this comic has been non-stop with it. Mac Rome got his first taste for comedy when he performed at an open mic night held by LUE Productions in San Bernardino. Wanting to perfect his craft, he studied mainstream and local comics. From that point on he began to network and started landing gigs. He has performed at venues like the Ontario Improve and the Ice House. 

Not being afraid to venture out he created his own comedy podcast titled, “The Mac Rome Show,” which highlights comics from all over. Gaining momentum and a fan base, he was approached to participate as a main character for an upcoming reality show called “The Bone Yard Game.” A former Naval Officer, this comic-veteran donates his talents to community events. He loves to help and give back by providing joy to others through laughter.

Make sure you follow Comedian Mac Rome on all social media sites and remember that laughter is GOOD for the SOUL. Until next week L’z!

By CBM Newswire

The African American Civic Engagement Project in conjunction with the California Legislative Black Caucus hosted their annual Juneteenth celebration at the California Railroad Museum June 7 highlighting leadership from California’s public universities. Four African American university president’s, were honored from California State University (CSU) and California University (UC) higher education systems.

By Lou Coleman

To my homeboys, home girls; thugs, drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes, thieves, rapist, addicts, gang bangers, adulterers, and the like. I want you to know that I GOT NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR YOU! You see in light of the public hatred toward those who are despised, those who are regarded as thieves and robbers, and those who have been deemed as the scum of the earth; it is significant that every time they are mentioned in the [Book of Luke], it is in a favorable light [3:12; 5:27; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10; 19:2]. So much so that Jesus picked an O.G. [Levi/Matthew] to be one of His twelve disciples. That’s right! Jesus hung out with thugs, pimps, prostitutes, and derelicts! Not to mention that He died between two criminals. Go figure! But naw, everyone, including the lowest person on the social totem pole, has made O.G.’s out to be that one person that no one could be lower than; to have the occupation of an [O.G] is extremely negative, ranked with harlots, considered traitors, deemed to be among the most apostate of all people, and potentially unclean for dealing with anyone. Yes, just like Levi, O.G.’s public opinion poll would be 100% unfavorable.

But what I want the “Holy than Thou” people to know is that what Jesus did shows’ a heart for sinners and the transforming power of God’s saving grace. Yet, somehow the Church today is hands off.  Why I don’t know! But perhaps because there are too many “Scribes and Pharisees,” in the church, who are confident of their own righteousness.  Listen, “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved…” [John 3:17]. We must keep in mind that God loves His people, and that He has made a covenant to heal and save this generation. Thank God for the new covenant of mercy, love, and grace. Jesus receives sinners. That’s the message that comes through loud and clear in [Luke chapter 15]. And when Jesus receives sinners, he rejoices over them, he rejoices that they’ve been found and brought back. And not only does Jesus receive sinners, and not only does he rejoices over them, he does one more thing. He restores these sinners to his service.  

So to all you “Holier than Thou” “Scribes and Pharisees” ….Jesus is trying to get through to you; that what he is doing should be a cause for rejoicing, not grumbling, not pointing the finger, not thinking that you are better than any other. So in all your getting, get understanding. Because I tell you, Jesus lays it out pretty straightforward in [Luke chapter 15 verse 7]: He says, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who [think they] need no repentance.” “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors [O.G.’s] and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors [O,G,’s] and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him” [Matthew 21:31–32].

Let it be know that my only objective  is  to  share  Jesus’  love  with  anyone  He  brings,  to  build relationships with men and women or boys and girls and to see them saved.   Relationships   are   the   key.   Jesus’   whole   ministry   was relationship-based.    His  entire  reason  for  coming  to  live  among  us, dying, and overcoming death, was to restore relationship between us and  Himself  and  His  Father.    If  it’s  important  to  Jesus,  it  ought  to  be important  to  us. Jesus’  pursuit  of  us  is  relentless;  things  like  rejection or  offense  or  hate  do  not  deter  him.  He’s  not  frightened  by  what people  will  think  of  Him,  if  He  loves  too  much  or  if  He  is  hurt  in  the process.   He is single-minded in His pursuit, and we are called to the same focus. As a born-again, spirit-filled Jesus-lover, I am mandated to be like Jesus, to let Jesus live through me  –  to  love,  to  pursue,  to  risk,  to  persist,  to  endure  –  all  so  that  He [God] would   be   glorified   and   that   those   I encounter   would   be   drawn   to Himself.  

“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone…” [John 8:7]

 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, and they shall be as wool. [Isaiah 1:18]

Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

By Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

There is a 3-year gap between Black and White students. Many people love to believe it’s due to income fatherlessness, educational attainment of the parent and lack of parental involvement. I believe a major reason for the gap is we continue to close schools for the summer as if we are an agrarian economy. Very few Black youth will be farming this summer. If you multiply 3 months by 12 years you will see the 3-year gap. There is nothing wrong with Black youth if their schools remained open during the summer and/or their parents kept them academically engaged.

Middle-income parents who value education enroll their children in some type of academic experience during the summer. They also visit libraries, museums, zoos and colleges. Other parents allow their children to sleep longer, play more video games, watch more television and play basketball until they can’t see the hoop. These students will have to review the same work they had mastered in May in September.

Black parents cannot allow their child to lose 3 months every year. Black parents cannot say they cannot afford the library. It’s free! Most museums have discounted days. A male friend of mine shared his experience with me when he took his family to the museum. He wondered why so many people were staring at him. His wife and children had to tell him he was the only Black man in the building! I am appealing to every father to take his children this summer to the library, museum, and the zoo. I a appealing to every mother if he won’t, you will.

We need every parent to make sure their child reads at least one book per week and to write a book report. I am reminded of the formula Sonya Carson used to develop Ben Carson to become the best pediatric neurosurgeon. This low-income single parent, with a third-grade education, had enough sense to tell her sons to turn off the television, read a book and write a report that her sister would grade!

I have a theory that I can go into your house and within 5 minutes tell you the type of student who lives there and predict their future. I believe that engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. need different items in their house than ballplayers, rappers, and criminals. I am very concerned when I visit a house that has more cds and downloads than books. My company African American Images has designed a special collection of books for boys. Research shows one of the major reasons boys dislike reading is because of the content. The set is titled Best Books for Boys. We also have one for girls, parents and teachers. Enjoy your summer. Let’s close the gap. I look forward to your child’s teacher asking your child what did you do for the summer? And your child answering we went to the library, museum, zoo, colleges and other great

educational places. Excerpt from There is Nothing Wrong with Black Students.

LOS ANGELES, CA-The SAG-AFTRA Foundation announced today that Emmy®-nominated actress Rashida Jones will receive its Actors Inspiration Award, an honor recognizing artists who give back to the community by championing worthy philanthropic causes which make a difference in the world. On Monday, June 12th, the award will be presented to Ms. Jones at the Foundation’s 8th Annual Los Angeles Golf Classic, an event benefiting its assistance and children’s literacy programs.

Rashida Jones is an actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician and activist. Her philanthropy includes work with the International Rescue Committee, traveling around the world as an advocate for the nonprofit which delivers lifesaving care to people fleeing conflict and natural disaster; serving on the board and as a celebrity ambassador for Peace First, a youth organization that encourages the development of the world’s next generation of peacemakers; and supporting Oceana in its mission to protect and restore the world’s oceans. In addition, she lends her voice to several other important charities including Amnesty International, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and The Trevor Project. Ms. Jones is also a supporter of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s online children’s literacy program Storyline Online (storylineonline.net) and will be filming a new video for Storyline Online following the Actors Inspiration Award ceremony. She will join the ranks of actors Viola Davis, Lily Tomlin and Chris Pine as Storyline Online advocates. Rashida Jones’ commitment to supporting vulnerable populations around the world, the environment, and children’s literacy embodies the spirit of the Actors Inspiration Award.

“We are excited to present Rashida Jones with our Actors Inspiration Award and honor her tireless dedication for tackling issues around global poverty, improving health outcomes for people battling AIDS and cancer, and for using her artistic platform to support several important charities, including our very own children’s literacy initiative Storyline Online,” said SAG-AFTRA Foundation President JoBeth Williams.  “Rashida’s generosity and commitment to giving back to the global community is an inspiration, and we are proud and grateful she will accept this honor.”

Previous recipients of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Actors Inspiration Award are Sofia Vergara, Kerry Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio, who were recognized for their philanthropic work.

Ms. Jones currently stars in the hit TBS series Angie Tribeca where she plays the title role, in addition to working behind the camera as executive producer and a director of some episodes. A multi-hyphenate in the entertainment space, this past year she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for co-writing the first episode of Netflix’s third season of Black Mirror. She is the Executive Producer of Claws on TNT, a nail-salon turned money-laundering-front dramedy, set to premiere this summer. This past April, she released a docu-series on Netflix, Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On, a continued exploration of themes discovered in her Emmy-nominated documentary in 2015, Hot Girls Wanted, this time focusing on society’s relationship with sex and technology. Fans grew to love Ms. Jones from her beloved roles on The Office and Parks and Recreation and through the romantic film that she wrote and starred in, Celeste and Jesse Forever. She will next be seen in the upcoming feature films Zoe alongside Ewan McGregor and Léa Seydoux, and the comedy Tag with Jeremy Renner and Ed Helms.

The L.A. Golf Classic is a major annual fundraiser benefiting the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Catastrophic Health Fund and Emergency Assistance Program for SAG-AFTRA members facing life-threatening illness and severe economic hardship with the support of the entertainment community and generous sponsors. The tournament also benefits the Foundation’s children’s literacy programs Storyline Onlineand BookPALS, which reaches 14 million children worldwide every month. The L.A. Golf Classic is one of the biggest celebrity golf tournaments with over 125 actors and entertainment industry executives expected to participate in the 2017 event.

Celebrity participants in the L.A. Golf Classic to date include: Adam Baldwin, David Leisure, Don Cheadle, George Eads, Gregory Harrison, James Remar, Joe Mantegna, Joe Pesci, Jonathan Banks, Kevin Sorbo, Robert Hays, Ron Perlman, Tim Allen, and Tom Welling. Sponsors to date include: United Airlines, Johnny Carson Foundation, SAG-AFTRA, TNT, TBS, CBS, AMC, Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Specialty Benefits, Express Scripts, Fiji Water, Dana Industries, Jerry Lasky, Wing & A Prayer Productions, Backstage, Subaru and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

Since 1985, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation has granted more than $18.5 million in financial and medical assistance including $7.5 million in scholarships to SAG-AFTRA members and their dependents. In addition, the Foundation has offered 7200 free educational workshops, panels and screenings to union performers nationwide and its children’s literacy programs have brought the love of reading to more than 250 million children worldwide.

To learn more and for registration information and sponsorship packages (limited while availability remains) visit sagaftra.foundation/golf.

Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, and more generally the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South. Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in most states.

Riley Keene Temple’s recently published book, “Aunt Ester’s Children Redeemed: Journeys to Freedom in August Wilson’s Ten Plays of Twentieth-Century Black America,” examines the redemption story of each play – how the southern black oppressed, descendants of centuries of slavery, put the pieces of themselves back together. Temple analyzes how Wilson’s language – his poetry and the blues — and his dramatic narratives expose the responsibilities, the opportunities, and the challenges of freedom.

Wilson’s plays include “Fences,” “The Piano Lesson,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”  The New York Times obituary called him “the theater’s poet of black America.”

“Wilson, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, died in 2005 at the age of 60. He would have wanted to see the wondrous celebrations of Juneteenth. He would have seen them as both meet and right,” says Riley Keene Temple.  

Riley Keene Temple is an avid American arts advocate and supporter, and has been honored for his leadership of arts organizations. He is a telecommunications attorney in Washington DC, where his Board memberships include the National Archives Foundation and the Trust for the National Endowment for the Humanities. He holds a Masters degree, cum laude, of Theological Studies from the Virginia Theological Seminary. He has written frequently on theology and the creative arts.

DJ Damiq

By Lue Dowdy

DJ Damiq burning up the turn tables is WHAT IT DO! OMG, the feeling you get when the DJ starts playing your favorite song. Keeping a crowd entertained and engaged can be intimidating, but not for DJ Damiq. Dripping with confidence, swag, and humbleness all rolled into one, this DJ makes it happen in several clubs all over Cali. With a large fan base, he stays booked. He gives back by providing free services for charitable and community events.

Demico Sherman, better known as DJ Damiq a.k.a. The People’s DJ, roots hail from the South which includes Houston, Texas and Mobile, Alabama. He was raised in Highland, California as a preacher’s kid that loved to sing and perform. He started djing when he graduated in the summer of 2001 The Arcade, former teen club. What started out as a favor became a hobby and before you knew it, people wanted him at their parties and events.

Being in high demand, Damiq’s network has provided him a long list of DJing accomplishments. Not to mention, he was awarded at the 2016 “My Music, My Mic Indie Artist Award Show” held by LUE Productions for his hard work.

In his words, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Even though I’m far from done, I’m at the stage of preparing the next generation of DJs that come along to have an equal amount of success. Team Work Makes the Dream Work!”

 The night life wouldn’t be right without DJ Damiq literally in the MIX. Until next week L’z!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

I promise you I will never do it again! I’ll stop sinning! I’ll do anything you say, Lord! Please Lord! Help me! Get me out of this mess!  I tell you the nerve we have trying to bargain with God! Ain’t that ‘bout a pickle! But we do it all the time. We are all guilty. In fact, we are so good at it, and so used to it, that we think it is normal, right, and expected. Tell me, how many times has God come through for you? How many times has He moved mountains in your life? How many times has He caused peace in the storm? How many times has He met your need, done the impossible, and proven Himself to be God for you? But what I really want to know is how many times have you renege on your promise to God after he has delivered you out of your mess? And now you got the nerve to ask Him to deliver you again?

I tell you we ain’t no different they those in the Book of Old. You see Abraham tried to negotiate God’s peace with Sodom, in return for finding a certain number of righteous people in the city; Jacob was willing to devote himself to the Lord in exchange for safety and provision on his long journey; Jephthah bargained with what he assumed would be an animal of his to be sacrificed if the Lord granted him victory over the enemy; and Hannah was willing to give any son the Lord gave her back to Him, if He opened her womb. The truth of the matter is that we have no bargaining position. We are utterly owned by God and we are squatters on His land. Every breath we take is a gift from Him. Every virtue we perform is because of His grace.  We must remember that God owes us nothing; we are complete debtors to Him. The good news here however is that in all of these cases, God fulfilled their requests because of His love and His grace.

I want you to know that trouble is often didactic [intended to teach a moral lesson]. Some of the most amazing lessons of your life will come in times of stress and strain.  You may not believe this now while you are in your mess, but you will be better because of the trouble you went through! You will be stronger and you will be wiser because of it! Your praise will even be where it needs to be because of it! I tell you, trouble came to make us better. I can testify that by my own experience when I experienced trouble I became a better person because of it. The things I’ve learned in sorrow are the things I’ve learned the best! You see no matter how difficult the circumstances may be, you have to see the hand of God in it.

You know Job made a request to God and then he took a stand in God. Perhaps that is what God is saying to someone today who is big on the request side, but suffering on the stand side. You cannot ask God to do, if you refuse to be. Your convictions must be clear. Your stance must be sure. Your resolve must be resounding. You are not reading this because you wonder if God is going to do it. You have a history with God. You have seen God do too much over the years to even let doubt come out of your mouth. You know God is going to do it. The real question is how long are you willing to wait for God to manifest it into your life? I know it is rough, but wait it out. I know you are pushed to the edge, but wait it out. If you just wait this thing out, God will work it out. The trials and adversities of life are never pleasant, but it is in them that we learn the secrets of dependence, of grace, of hope and of God’s presence. None of us wishes for trials or adversity, but it is through them that God refines the metal of our lives and molds us into His image. Just as metal is placed in a furnace and heated to a white hot state so the dross can be removed, God allows us to enter the furnace of affliction so that He might refine and purify our lives. Rather than complain and be depressed, know there is a blessing tucked away in the midst of the trouble.

“If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. [Isaiah 7:9]

By Naomi K. Bonman

If you’ve been following the movement for a while, then you probably remember Gerald D. Thomas, a young, successful millennial who is making an impact in his community. For those that are unfamiliar with Mr. Thomas, he is the founder of the marketing and public relations agency, The GDT Agency. He recently launched a new campaign entitled, “The Love Project,” and I recently caught up with him again where he chatted about his inspiration behind starting the project and where he plans on taking it. 

Click here to read more

By Lue Dowdy

BBW Model Tasha Rene is WHAT IT DO! I love working in entertainment and meeting new talent. It gave me the opportunity to meet the beautiful Tasha Rene. I fell in love with her spirit, energy, and passion.

From San Bernardino, California this Diva has been modeling off and on since 2000. This beauty is making a name for herself in the Plus Size world of fashion. Tasha has rocked runways all over Southern California. She competed in Miss Plus Top Model and modeled for Baby Doll Couture and Belo Noir Diamond Couture by Tanya Marie. Ensuring that she stays relevant, this model auditions and competes all over.

Tapping into her acting skills, Tasha landed herself a gig on BET’s My Black is Beautiful and a modeling gig for Fashion Bug.

I’m currently working with Tash on the set of a new reality show called “Entertainment At A Glance” where she plays a main character. I’ve seen this Queen in action and yes she slays. Make sure you support Tasha Renee the BBW Model/Actress. Until next week L’z!

In the words of Tash Rene, “I’m me 100 percent of the time. What you see is what you get. I live life to the fullest. I want no regrets.”