WSSN Stories

WHAT IT DO I.E.! Well it’s a NEW YEAR and ya girl is back! I hope you missed me. Being a female in the entertainment game; I am always about girl power. I would like to introduce an upcoming entertainment entity called “DIVA’S BASEMENT”, an internet show catering to urban Culture. DIVA’S BASEMENT was formed in 2012 by sisters Nicole Juniel, known as Nikki, and Nina Martinez, known as Nina B. The team also includes two other women,  Danielle Person known as  Queen D and Mychelen Skinner known as My My.

Divas Basement is a metaphor which means “motivated and driven women working hard to help build platforms that urban upcoming artists could use to build their careers from the bottom up.” Their main focus is to talk about issues women are thinking about, but are afraid to say, as well as showcase and interview up and coming talent throughout California. This group of beauties will be bringing you the scoop on all the happenings. I’ve seen these ladies in action, and let me tell you they WORK!!!!  I’m extremely excited for them and wish them SUCCESS.

Filming for their first show starts soon, so if you or someone you know wants to be on their show please email them at DivasBasement@gmail.com. They are looking for musicians, R&B artists, rappers, poets, dancers, models, fashion designers, hair and makeup artists, athletes, cooks, and  more. Please go like their Facebook page at The Diva’s Basement. Well I’m outta here, until next time. L’s UP!

Mixed Reviews On How to Solve Some Of The States Most Persistent Problems

By Simeon Gant, California Black Media 

Assembly Members Jim Cooper and Kevin McCarty on the Assembly Floor after Governor Jerry Browns unprecedented fourth inaugural address.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper said California needs to address drug addiction and did not support proposition 47, the ballot measure that releases low-level offenders into the community
Cooper Assembly District 9 is from Elk Grove, McCarty 7th District is from Sacramento.

For the first time in the state’s history California elected one person to the Governor’s office four times. The Honorable Edmund “Jerry” Brown was sworn in today in front of both houses of the legislature, California’s judges and a bevy of state officials. Brown combined the State of the State address with his inaugural speech to include his previous accomplishments and a wish list of upcoming issues addressing California.

Brown quickly spoke to the usual concerns of most Californians – education, crime and public safety, health, human services and overall fiscal stability. The most unique aspect of his speech however, was how little has changed.

Brown recalled his first time in the Assembly Chambers. It was1959 during his father, Governor Pat Brown’s inauguration, “That was 56 years ago, yet the issues that my father raised bear eerie resemblance to those we still grapple with today: discrimination, the quality of education and the challenge of recruiting and training teachers, the menace of air pollution, and its danger to our health; a realistic water program; economic development; consumer protection and overcrowded prisons.”

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus responded to the Governor’s speech with hope and optimism for concerns of education equity and a reduction in health disparities throughout the state.

“The Governor is a visionary and very committed to California,” said Assembly Member Shirley Weber, Ph.D., chair of the Assembly Budget Committee. Focusing on how education equity may play out this year, the San Diego representative lawmaker said, “Local Control Funding Formula is still a work in progress. What they do with the resources they get for those special populations is going to be a challenge because we have already run into some roadblocks in terms of accountability and transparency. I want to see outcomes.”

Governor Brown touted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) as “a much fairer system of school funding.” He informed the audience LCFF’s shift toward giving local school districts more control, giving the state less power and delivering more money to schools “based on the number of students from foster care, low-income families and non-English –speaking parents.”

Freshman Assembly Member Tony Thurmond, a Democrat from Richmond was also pleased to hear the Governor include an increase in health insurance coverage under the Medi-Cal Program.

As chair of the budget subcommittee on health and human services, Assembly Member Thurmond relates to the relatively silent healthcare crises of hospital and clinic closures, “In my district we have a hospital that could close because of the low reimbursement rate in Medi-cal.” He continued, “We know that people of color and low income people are disproportionally impacted around healthcare disparities and we are going to need to make some expansions around Medi-Cal.”

Governor Brown’s speech covered many of the state’s social and economic bases, confidently including the passage of water projects, environmental protection, a $2.8 billion Rainy Day Fund, driver’s licenses for undocumented citizens, $59 billion investment in roads, highways and bridges, the elderly, pensions and criminal justice.

Freshmen Members of the Assembly Tony Thurmond, left and Jim Cooper right share a moment responding the Governor Jerry Brown’s record fourth inaugural address. Thurmond wants to see an expansion of Medi-Cal. Cooper wants to see an emphasis on drug rehabilitation and criminal sentencing. Thurmond is from Richmond, W. Contra Costa, Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda

Referring back to his father’s 1959 inaugural speech Brown reiterated, “He talked about identifying “’those prisoners who should never be released to prey again on an innocent public,’” but he also said, “’we should also determine whether some prisoners are now kept confined after punishment has served its purpose.’”

Newly minted Assemblyman Jim Cooper served most of his career working in law enforcement in Sacramento. He feels realignment—sending many low-level offenders from state prisons to the local jail systems — “is a good start.” However he proclaims the key is to reduce the number of people hooked on drugs and coming out of prison without a plan to get unhooked.  “One of the big issues is substance abuse,” Cooper said.

Since the recent passage of Proposition 47which released from prison low-level drug offenders throughout the state, Cooper says drug courts now don’t have the same teeth in the law to “hold over their head.”  He says prior to this new law the judges could “make them get clean” but no longer have that option.

Governor Brown doesn’t exactly agree with Cooper’s assessment about Proposition 47. His primary concern is overcrowding of prisons. “In the 1970’s we had12 prisons holding fewer than 30,000 prisoners…our system then grew to a peak of 34 prisons, with an inmate population of 173,000, eating up more than 10 percent of our budget dollars. He said the state dramatically lengthened sentences and added a host of new crimes and penalty enhancements to include more than 5,000 separate criminal provisions and over 400 penalty enhancements.

While it is common knowledge California’s prisons are disproportionally populated by men of color – a large number of African American and Latino heritage – the unemployment lines also see this struggling population as an ongoing challenge to California.

Governor Brown’s speech referred to a shrinking unemployment rate, currently sitting at approximately 7.2 percent in California, it’s still lower than the whopping 13.6 percent nationally for African Americans as reported by the US Department of Labor. None of these numbers include Blacks that have simply quit looking for jobs out of fatigue and futility. Governor Brown’s speech didn’t address a solution to the unemployment issue, but strategically included “California has seen more than 1.3 million new jobs created in just four years.”

Many of the new jobs on the horizon may very well come in what he deems three ambitious goals to be accomplished within the next 15 years.

He reminded the audience of the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon pollution to 431 million tons by 2020. Looking forward to 2030 he said the state should, “Increase from one-third to 50 percent our electricity derived from renewable sources; Reduce today’s petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent; and Double the efficiency of existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner.”

These new efforts require a new and improved workforce, trained in the development of wind, water, solar and waste conversion into energy, specialist in alternative fuel vehicles and a renewed process of redeveloping California’s infrastructure.

The culmination of his speech addressed the potential for jobs by protecting our environment. He said, “We must build on rock, not sand, so that when the storms come, our house stands.”

By Carmel Ferrer

Higher education and upward mobility are often touted as a ticket to better health. Yet a new study suggests that the positive health effects of a good education are felt less by blacks than by whites.

Consider this scenario: Four adults are sitting in a doctor’s office. Two are black and two are white. One black adult and one white adult have high school diplomas; the other two have college degrees.

You might reasonably expect that the two college graduates would be healthier than the ones who finished only high school, owing to the improved access to health insurance, fresh foods, and safe housing that higher education often brings. But the study shows that the health benefits of educational attainment for African Americans may in fact be offset by racial discrimination and other associated stresses.

Conducted over the course of 15 years, the data set—part of an ongoing longitudinal study—assessed subjects at age 30, and then again at age 45, for levels of inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation has been shown to contribute to a greater incidence of diabetes and heart disease.

One of the study’s authors, Thomas Fuller-Rowell, PhD, puts it this way: “Among whites, the more educated you are, the better off you are in terms of inflammation across adulthood. Among African Americans, we found no health benefit to being more educated.”

Fuller-Rowell is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar whose research examines how differences in race and social class affect health. “In order to solve the larger health disparities issue, we need to understand what it is about educational attainment that is more stressful for African Americans,” he explains.

As the study points out, stress is a prime suspect when it comes to poor immune function, slow healing, and infections. Long-term stress can cause chronic inflammation, which in turn contributes to a greater incidence of diabetes and heart disease.

“Upward mobility and education are put forward as the best way to improve health disparities, but these findings suggest that eliminating educational disparities will not be enough,” says Fuller-Rowell. “We have to address the differential stresses of getting a higher education along with issues relating to white-dominated workplaces.”

One of the study’s recommendations is to increase programs that not only encourage upward mobility among underrepresented groups, but also “acknowledge and seek to mitigate the challenges of navigating educational and workplace contexts that are often racially and culturally insensitive. “

According to Fuller-Rowell, “We need institutional and governmental programs that are designed to remedy group disparities so that we can address the legacy of racial inequity in the United States.” The study, he notes, defines rather than explains the problem.

“We’re now working on research that gets to the explanation,” he says.

Jacob Whitesides

The Internet has helped make stories available of young girls who are struggling with thoughts of suicide and depression. One local Los Angeles teen has set out to spread awareness and hope to those in need. Delila Brown, 14, an eighth-grader at Flintridge Preparatory School, has organized a concert featuring singer/songwriter Jacob Whitesides to benefit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, which provides quality mental health care and substance use disorder services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access. The event takes place on January 10^that the school auditorium from 3p.m.-8p.m. There will be a “meet and greet” with Jacob for 200 people who purchase $100 VIP tickets. Location: Flintridge Preparatory School, 4345 Crown Avenue, La Canada Flintridge.

As to how Delila came to host the event and chose Didi Hirsh, she said, “I was thinking about what I should do for my 8^th grade community service project. I didn’t want to just put out a collection box like a lot of other people I know. So I came up with the idea of having a benefit concert. My teacher helped me find some good charities. She knew about Didi Hirsch and what they do with suicide prevention. That sounded good to me. So we did some research to make sure it was a good organization. Then we had to find someone to do the concert. My dad builds stages and has a friend who is a concert promoter. He told me I should find someone who is not too famous, but up and coming, otherwise it would be hard to get the person to come. I found Jacob Whitesides on YouTube a few years ago and have been following him ever since. My dad’s friend helped me reach out to him through his manager (who happens to be his mom). He wanted to make sure it was a legitimate event and did his own research on Didi Hirsch before he told his manager he wanted to do it. He says he knows a lot of his fans have gone through depression and have been suicidal and he wants to help them.”

Jacob is a 17-year old Internet phenomenon who has six million+ views on YouTube and over one million followers on Twitter.

For more information about Delila, click here.

ABOUT DIDI HIRSCH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services provides mental health, substance use disorder and wellness services to more than 74,000 children and adults in 11 locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties each year. Our Suicide Prevention Center’s Crisis Line has English- and Spanish-speaking counselors available 24/7, is one of five centers nationwide to operate the Disaster Distress Helpline, and offers online emotional support, community training and bereavement support groups for those who have lost loved ones to suicide. Learn more atwww.didihirsch.org.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Ding… Ding….The battle is raging and there are no deferments, there is no going AWOL if you are a Christian. No, you are in the battle, automatically, and it is a fight to the finish, a life-or-death conflict. Heed the cry, “Prepare for Battle!” Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” For that’s the only way you will be able to stand in the day of battle, and at the end of the day stand victorious… Get Ready to R-u-m-b-l-e… This is the most crucial, most intense battle you will ever face in your life; it is a battle that will last your whole life long.  No matter how young or old you are, no matter how long you have been a Christian, man or woman, boy or girl, pastor or layperson—you are in a battle. It is a spiritual battle. Paul describes it like this: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place.”  The fight is raging on the line between faith and unbelief, between reliance on God and pride in self, between hope for the future and despair of God’s mercy. Your enemy Satan will try to defeat you, destroy you, and get you to fall away from the faith. He will try to distract you or render you ineffective in the service of the Lord. He will tempt you; allure you, seducing you into great shame and vice. And if that doesn’t work, he may try to lull you into spiritual sleepiness and security, getting you to let down your guard.  Your adversary will attack your mind, attack your emotions, attack your body, attack your relationship, and attack your soul. In all of these attacks, his purpose is to get your eyes off of Jesus.

Needless to say, this is a battle not to stay alive but to stay strong against your spiritual enemies who are a trinity of evil; the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is about who shall have the supremacy, Christ or Satan. It is a struggle for the souls of men. It is a battle to keep people out of Hell. It is a struggle to get people saved. It is warfare, a conflict until the final finish. And every one of us is engaged in it. We are in warfare. That ought to keep us from folding our hands and taking it easy. That ought to make us sit up and take notice. “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Your enemy supreme desire is to destroy your joy, your witness, your effectiveness for Christ, and your relationship with your Father. This is not WrestleMania either, this one is for real!  Your fight is not just to exist as a Christian, but to have a winning walk in all areas of your life. The victory assures you that you will live a life of spiritual depth and meaning. Jesus said, “I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10).

I want you to know that the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. I want you to know that just because you are a church member and you attend church does not mean that you are going to win in life’s fight. I want you to know that you are not going to win just because your church happens to be a Word-preaching, tongue-talking, devil-stomping, deliverance church either. You have got to pay attention and apply yourself to spiritual truths. When you grasp the fact that you win in life’s fights ONLY when you fight the fight of faith, you will be on your way to enjoying victory that God meant for you to have.

The good news is that God has equipped you for the battle. He has given you a complete set of armor, especially suited for this conflict. Paul even lists the pieces of armor you’ve been issued: He says, “… stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for God’s people.” {Ephesians 6:10-18} God is guaranteeing that if you use His weapons, you will win. They are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” Use them, and things will fall before you, is what He is saying. Therefore, arm yourself with the Word of God and face your enemy with full assurance of God’s protection and love. No doubt this will be the most unusual wrestling match in your life.  Prepare for Battle! Put on the whole armor of God, and you will not only live to fight another day; but at the end of the day and on the Last Day, you will stand victorious…. Get Ready to R-U-M-B-L-E!”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

My friend, I want you to know that God hasn’t changed! He is still a God who keeps His Word! Everything God has promised, He will do! There are some verses in the Bible that confirms this – {Romans 4:21; Heb. 6:18; Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2.} But I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know. God has proven Himself time and again to us. He is still coming through for His people. Look back over the years and remember the times the Lord has displayed His great power in your life. Hasn’t He parted the waters for you? Hasn’t He opened the heavens and dropped the manna of His glory on your life over and over? Hasn’t He moved in response to your cries of faith? He has proven Himself to you and me repeatedly! All I am saying is that we can TRUST the Lord for EVERYTHING in our lives. We have a God who has demonstrated His power, His grace, His love and His character many times over. Think of the times He has delivered you; when He saved you, and the times He moved mountains in your life. Remember His power and all that He has done. Let His past works remind you that He is able, no matter what you face in life. GOD IS ABLE and He will come through for you, EVERY TIME! Let the past be your reminder and learn to TRUST HIM no matter what! “I’m just a Nobody, trying to tell Everybody  about Somebody who can save Anybody!”

Unfortunately though, there are many of us who call ourselves “Christians,” fail to trust the Lord and fail to remember that GOD CAN! As a result, we live our lives defeated and discouraged. It doesn’t have to be that way! I challenge you to GIVE IT ALL to the Lord today and find out for yourself that GOD CAN! Psalms 34:8 says, “O taste and see.” The psalmist invites us to come and “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  We are invited to experience God’s presence. The psalmist is a poor man seeking to taste what he believes about God. He is calling upon God. He is experiencing deliverance from all his fears. He is experiencing God’s salvation in troublesome times. His shame is covered despite his failures. He is experiencing refuge in God and feeling the presence of the angels encamping around him. Will you give your doubts, your fears and your questions to Jesus? For the omniscient power of God has not, nor shall it ever change! I tell you, the closer we engage with God the more we can know His goodness. In Psalm 34:8 the Lord urges you to “Taste! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that He is good.” God’s goodness is what He wants us to experience. He offers Himself to us. Psalms 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good, His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness is to all generations.” Every generation learns the truth – God goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything He does. If you are a child of God, you will figure this out by the end of your life… God is good! Now there’s no telling what He will take you through to bring you that place. But eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, “The Lord is good!” Everything he allowed; everything He withheld, every difficult season, and every stretching circumstance. God meant for your good. His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit.  Oh magnify the Lord with me! “I’m Just a Nobody, Trying to Tell Everybody about Somebody Who Can Save Anybody!”  Somebody who can bring you from guilty, to not guilty. From death to life. From darkness to light. From hatred to love. From weakness to power. From bondage to freedom. From tribulations to triumph. From grief to joy. From gloom to glory. From defeat to victory. From failure to success. From fear to faith, from I can’t too I can.  Knowing all of this, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that love us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, no height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us all be a little like Zacchaeus {Luke 19:1-10} who was curious about Jesus and wanted to see with his physical eyes what all the commotion was about. When Zacchaeus heard about Jesus travel through town, a thought came to him, a thought from the depth of his soul, he just HAD to see who this Jesus guy was.  Is He who He says He is? Zacchaeus, a man on a journey to find something to believe in. He embarks on a quest to see who this Jesus was and comes away converted to the way of Jesus and forgiven of all his sins. Oh, give God some praise!

Listen; if your life lacks meaning, if there is no hope, if everything you have tried has left you defeated, discouraged, disillusioned and looking for more, then Jesus is your answer. You don’t have to climb a tree to meet Him, all you have to do is to respond to His call and come to Him . If you will do that and if you will receive Him, He will save your soul! “I’m Just a Nobody, Trying to tell Everybody about Somebody who can save Everybody!”

Dr. Mildred Henry

Lyrics of a once popular song said that “we should accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative”.  Many of our  youth are engaged in great humanitarian  endeavors, however, their good works are too often overshadowed in the news media by negative, sensationalized acts of barbarism.

The elementary school scholars at Henry Elementary School in San Bernardino are engaged in a Global Studies program. Recently, 4^th and 5^th graders  researched Global indigenous tribes around the world.  They studied tribes such as The Awa in Brasil, The Matses in Brasil, The Wichi in Argentina, The Bushmen in Botswana, The Ogiek in Kenya, The Aboriginal people of Australia, The Batak in the Philippines, The Dongria Kondh of India, and the Siberian Tribes of Russia, among others.

Each scholar presented a major power point film documentary of their research, complete with credits at the end of the film.  The young scholars filmed, narrated, and operated all of their equipment.  I was absolutely amazed!  During the research, scholars found that many native people were in danger of having their lands destroyed.  The scholars found a website on international tribal survival, and planned a “Tea for Tribes” to raise funds for tribes that are endangered due to deforestation and loss of resources. Donations were forwarded to help these less fortunate tribes around the globe.

Our youth were giving instead of taking, providing food instead of drugs, making friends and collaborating instead of  fighting.  The young scholars were smiling and excited rather than sullen and bullying.   Their skills and researched knowledge was absolutely “off the charts”!  They deserve Kudos for the great humanitarian activities in which they are engaged.

Congratulations to the young Henry Elementary School scholars for their sensitivity, to their superlative principal, Dr. Marcus Funchess, and to the great Henry staff, for truly Accentuating the Positive.   They truly live up to their artistic expression,  “We are smart, We are Intelligent, We are full of greatness!”

   Come on Adults, the children are leading the way.  Let’s get on board, reach out and touch, and make this world a better place!  We can!

                             -Mildred Dalton Henry, Ph.D.

The 1st place winner of The PAL Center 4th Annual Christmas Tree Essay Giveaway Contest, Joanna Ballesteros along with CEO, Dwaine Radden. Previously, before the picture was taken and winners were announced, Dwaine Radden gave an amazing speech with the closing statement, “We are very proud of you all. All essays were very wonderful and I just want to encourage each one of you to keep up the good work. I’m very grateful to have a group of students like this who seems to know so much about the true meaning of Christmas. We at The PAL Center love each and every one of you.”

Christmas isn’t just about presents or just a day to celebrate, but spending time with family and friends. Having laughs and memories; I love spending time with my family especially my nieces and nephews. Also the smell of Christmas, the pine cones, food and coldness.

Most importantly it gives us the opportunity to cherish relatives. When it’s Christmas it reminds me of my mother, stressing while keeping a smile on her face, her warm hugs and sweet laughter. Now when it’s this time of year I wrap myself and keep warm with my nieces and nephews.

Even if there’s nothing to give it’s being thankful for what you have. Not only is it just a present opening day it’s also an eye opening day. The day the Lord, Jesus Christ birth is celebrated. Even though you do get presents still thank the people who got you something.

Bob Butler

By Bob Butler 

The second half of 2014 has been marked by the shooting deaths of four African-American males by local law enforcement — Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric Garner in New York, John Crawford and Tamir Rice in Ohio — that have attracted the attention of national media and the federal government, and shined a light on the issue of policing in minority communities.

It has also been marked by some exceptional journalism on the subject, as well as some alarming narratives from journalistic choices that, while not necessarily intentional, serve to perpetuate stereotypes of Black men as dangerous criminals.

Race is present in the dynamics around these stories and those who are involved in producing these stories. Put another way: while a diverse group of journalists has been on the ground reporting this story, the same cannot be said about who makes decisions about what will be covered and how.

Some of the coverage goes into great detail about how the victims’ actions may have contributed to their own demise: John Crawford should not have tried to buy a toy rifle at Walmart, Mike Brown should not have (allegedly) stolen cigars from a convenience store, Eric Garner should not have (allegedly) been selling loose cigarettes and Tamir Rice should not have been playing with a toy gun.

These cases are not the first, nor will they be the last, involving Black males and the police. It must be pointed out that Black males are not the only ones being shot. Dillon Taylor in Utah and Gil Collar in Alabama were White and also unarmed when police shot them. The difference is the media coverage of their cases does not imply that they deserved to die.

From the breaking news coverage of these events to the analysis that followed, and will hopefully continue, it is important to recognize the negative patterns that can emerge in such stories, and to discuss strategies for countering these patterns.

Two questions can help guide this process: Is this information relevant? And how will this affect the story?

A big part of how narrative is shaped in these stories starts with the photos of those involved. While availability of photos can be a challenge, especially in the early stages of a fast-moving story, efforts must be made to paint the fullest picture (pun intended) of the central figures. Images depicting black men solely as menacing, threatening or dangerous only fuel existing stereotypes.

Weighing whether to include details about a black victim’s criminal background or drug use also contributes to the narrative. Here, balance is important. Is there an attempt to report the officer’s history? Does the officer have a disciplinary history or a record of complaints regarding use of force? Is the victim’s background relevant to the specific incident that ended his life? If so, explain this to readers, lest it be interpreted as gratuitous or malicious.

In the case of Tamir Rice, why did the Northwest Ohio Media Group report on his parents’ criminal records? What did that have to do with Rice being shot by police?

Stories like Ferguson and the deaths of Crawford, Garner and Rice reaffirm the urgency of more diverse American newsrooms. Look no further than the membership of the National Association of Black Journalists to find many examples of responsible reporting.

NABJ was founded in 1975 in part, “to monitor and sensitize all media to racism.” Nearly 40 years later, NABJ still finds it necessarily to fulfill this role. It is our hope that those committed to a better approach to exploring issues of race and society will join us in examining how we can all improve.

Bob Butler is the President of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). NABJ is the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide. For additional information, please visit, http://www.nabj.org

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

THE DEVIL IS A LIAR AND DECEIVER! “He is the greatest concealer, the mightiest pervert of truth, the ultimately misleader, the most convincing fraud, the master of disguise and the master of surprise!” He’s a malicious liar whose only purpose is to steal, kill and destroy your life. His game is Deception (Matt 7:13-15) and his trick is no treat. Scriptures and experience proves that every time the Devil promises happiness, he lies. Every time the Devil promises things will turn out well, he lies and deceives. Proving that everybody who ever depended on the Devil’s lie, the Devil’s way, the Devil pleasure, the Devil’s whim, the Devil’s plan for happiness and peace, found they had been bamboozled, hoodwink, duped, fooled and deceived… Satan the Trickster…  He will lie, cheat, connive and steal to hurt you if he can. Hear me and hear me good…. I don’t care who you are, how holy and pure you are, how long you’ve walked with God, or how old or young you are, Satan couldn’t care less about you or me, but he knows God loves us, so if he can hurt us and make sure we can’t spend eternity with God, that will hurt God. This is war! It is a battle for your soul. And for those of you have chosen to go all the way with God, with a determination to obey and pursue holiness, you can be 100% sure Satan has a hellish setup planned for you.  Watch out! “Be sober; be vigilant; because your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” {1 Peter 4:8}. His lies are so devious and his traps and setups so camouflaged with charm and beauty that we can only depend on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to expose them.

You see, in order to seize the throne of God and to attract willing followers, Satan has snidely and viciously set out to deceive us – to convince us that he has the truth and that God is a liar. But it is he, Satan, who is a liar! Scripture says he has been a liar from the beginning. His purpose is to turn the whole world against God and to rebel against all of His laws and standards.  Understand that Satan is the arch enemy of God and the church. His intent is to destroy the work of God in your life by any means possible. He wants to detour you from the presence of God and he’s willing to do any and everything to do that. He wants to get you to a point where you throw in the towel and step back from God. But I come with a word of encouragement; Stand Strong! Stand strong in the Lord and know that God will give you strength to endure in every situation. The Lord tells us that He won’t put more on us than we can bare and the enemy knows this. And because the enemy knows God’s burdens are light, the enemy will take the littlest things and place it under a microscope to make your circumstances and burdens APPEAR to be bigger that what it actually is. Remember that… And when you hear the roar of the lion, when the flood crashes in, and you’re overwhelmed, simply run to the Holy of Holies. By faith, enter into the very presence of God on His throne, because the Lamb has made a way for you, through His blood. Call on Him, and stand on the power of Christ’s blood… Jesus is our example here. He resisted the Devil with God’s Word… the TRUTH exposes Satan, putting him to shame… Hebrews says, “That all who have trusted in God’s Word “through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.” (Hebrews 11:33). I tell you we must muzzle the powers of Hell by standing on God’s Word. Fall on your face before the father. And immerse yourself in His Word. Because the devil knows this war is his last chance, he knows that he has only a short time remaining before Christ returns for his bride. And because of that, Satan’s war against the church is the most intense of all. He wants to gain back the ground he lost to Christ – so he’ll stop at nothing to destroy the faith of his bride. That means he’s going to use all of his weapons against us – all subtleties, deceits and devices. It is therefore important to know what you believe about God and what is substantiated in the Bible because we are living in a time when earth’s greatest deception is about to take place right before our eyes and so closely will the counterfeit resemble the truth that it will be impossible to distinguish between the two except by the Holy Scriptures.

You know, as I walk with Christ and continue to do His will, one thing I realize is that the enemy is persistent – persistent to stop me and anyone else who seeks to do the will of God. Please don’t be oblivious to the schemes of the devil as he comes to kill, steal, and destroy. To be wise, we must know who to listen to {God} – and who NOT to listen to {Satan}.  The purpose of this article is NOT to glorify Satan, but to show you his strategy so that you don’t become a casualty. We live in a war zone. Like it or not, we are in the middle of the age old conflict between good and evil, the kingdom of light and kingdom of darkness, God and Satan. Do not be deceived by Satan…..“Extra, Extra … Read All About It!”