WSSN Stories

(l-r) Vanessa Williams, PAFF Celebrity Juror Erica Gimpel, PAFF Life Time Achievement Award recipient Charles Dutton, Kristoff St. John, Jamil XT Qubeka, CCH Pounder, Nicki Micheaux & “Of Good Report” Co-Star Petronella Tshuma (Venus Bernardo)

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) held its opening night gala on Thursday, February 6 at the Rave Cinemas in Los Angeles, with the premiere of the film ‘Of Good Report’ directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka which starring Mothusi Magano, Petronella Tshuma, Thobi Mkhwanazi, Nomhlé Nkyonyeni and Tshamano Sebe. After the film, a question and answer session was held with the cast and filmmakers.

The film is about Parker, a shy and mysterious high school teacher, who arrives at his new assignment in a rural school. While he is earnest in his passion for teaching, his extra-curricular attentions are drawn to a gorgeous young girl. When he realizes she is a student at his school, and forbidden fruit, he grows increasingly obsessed. She ends up missing and a female detective comes snooping around, fueling Parker’s unstable, dangerous behavior. ‘Of Good Report’ won Best Feature Film in the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Nigeria.

INGLEWOOD, CA– Aio Wireless collaborated with A-MAN, Inc. to host a teen rap session entitled “Moving Black History Forward,” at its dealer-owned store at 1295 S. La Brea Avenue. The session enabled students from A-MAN, Inc. to share their perspectives and experiences, as well as their plans to play a positive role in advancing their communities. A-MAN, Inc. is one of three local community organizations which, through Aio’s “30 Days, 30 Dreams” program, provided 10 college-bound students with $1,000 scholarships and tablets.

Aio Wireless (pronounced A-O) was created for today’s value-conscious connected consumers who want it all. We created a new class of service for individuals who expect a first class wireless service at a value price – one with no-annual contract, friendly service, uncomplicated plans and the mobile phones and tablets you love.  All of Aio’s phone plans include unlimited talk, text, and data, with taxes and fees included – the price you see is the price you pay. Aio Wireless is a subsidiary of AT&T Inc.  Visit www.aiowireless.com to find out more.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) is seeking nominations to identify and honor outstanding women whose successes and contributions to the 47^th District have set the pace for our region’s future. A selection committee will use the nomination forms and independent research to make final selections to be recognized as Woman of the Year.

Nominees should be innovative leaders who are making waves with their energy, ideas, achievements, and commitment to excellence in the 47^th District. In addition, the nominee should reflect a woman who is of exemplary professional excellence and is a role model for others; a woman who has broken down barriers and helps create connections and new opportunities for other women while continuing to be a respected resource in the community.

One nomination per person will be accepted. For each submission, one nomination form describing the nominee’s qualifications and reasons for making the nomination is required. The deadline for entries is Friday, February 21 at 5 p.m.

The nomination form can be retrieved by visiting the district office at 290 N “D” Street in San Bernardino or by going online to www.asmdc.org/members/a47/ and clicking on the “Woman of the Year” button.

Please email your submission to Lisa Blacksher at lisa.blacksher@asm.ca.gov. Contact 909-381-3238 for more information.

UPLAND, CA– Keisha Harris, an educator in the Rialto Unified School District, took a leap of faith when she decided to embark on a new journey to publish her first children’s book.

“Giving children a voice has always been  been my mission as a writer.  I want to give life to their adventures,”  Keisha Harris states.

“Beware of the Common Core” is a comical adventure about a boisterous six year who will be entering the world of first grade.  She’s excited about starting school this year until she receives a suspicious letter in the mail about some strange “common core” that has invaded her school over the summer.  Convinced it must be a contagious virus, she tries to devise a plan to send it back to Washington only to discover the true meaning of the Common Core.

This is the first book released in the Alley Petes series.  Each book concentrates on a core standard and introduces new strategies and techniques to help children comprehend new concepts in language arts and math.  The book’s comical flare is designed to captive a young audience while incorporating literacy and language skills. The concept behind the Alley Petes series is to create a series of short stories that demonstrates a child ability to overcome her struggles with mastering complex standards.  The use of humor is a guaranteed motivator to encourage children to read.  “Beware of the Common Core” will keep young readers engaged and wanting to read more about Alley’s adventures.

Honorees with their awards posing with PAFF Founders Ja’Net DuBoise(left) and Ayuko Babu (right)

LOS ANGELES, CA- On Saturday, February 1, the Pan African Film Festival kicked off its’ festivities with ‘A Night of Tribute’ where they honored legendary icons Charles Dutton, Roz Stevenson, Jeff Clanagan, Emayatzy Corinedaldi and Tequan Richmond for their achievements in the film industry.

Hakim Hazim

It’s lamentable when I turn on the radio and hear many young men talking about what they have, did or will do. This show and tell false bravado seems to permeate the air waves.  Attention-seeking behavior rarely appreciates the level of appreciation it receives. It’s never enough. Modern day hip-hop culture has helped to norm this approach to life for many of our young. Now this begs a question about a certain segment of our culture, the poor and marginalized youth who seem to use self-glorification as a way to build their persona due to the fact that most visible means of support are missing from their lives, and the question is this: why? Why do so many feel compelled to act in this manner? Dr. Ryan T Howell hits the nail on the head when he wrote this article “What Drives Us to Get Our Bling On?” (Psychology Today):

“According to the urban dictionary, the term bling came in to the modern vocabulary in the 1990s, possibly imported from Jamaica by American rappers, and meant to indicate either the imagined play of light bouncing off shiny jewelry, or the sound of the metally bits of jewelry “blinging” against itself.

Whatever the specifics of its origin, it turns out to be no accident that a term meant to describe and draw attention to shiny, expensive possessions grew out of low-income, inner-city environments. As a new study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology demonstrated, the ostentatious display of expensive personal adornments is most likely to be practiced by people who perceive themselves to be of low status.”

As a black male raised in an athletics-oriented family, I remember a gnawing desire to distinguish myself and be good at something. Muhammad Ali was my idol so I learned to talk trash, play the dozens and stay witty. Most of this was fun, but some of it was insecurity and false bravado. Fortunately I had a strong father who curbed a lot of this. I learned from his example that self hype was meaningless. He said, “Let someone else toot your horn. If you are really worth something they will.” Sadly, many of our youth don’t have a strong male figure in their lives to curb the excessive showmanship that constantly competes with peers in the form of possessions, women and trash talk. Stuck in a state of perpetual adolescence, the music reflects the wounds of children screaming for affirmation, even when they are well into adulthood.

This social commentary is about a chronic insecurity that has caused many of our young, disadvantaged youth of today to substitute gimmickry, fashion, sexual prowess, material possessions and catch phrases in the place of substance and gravitas. The unfortunate thing is this: once that behavior sets in it proves difficult to change and continues well into adulthood. The cries for attention can be concealed in religiosity, business, sports, entertainment, athletics and just about every other platform. Sadly, no amount of applause, bling or recognition can fill that void. Bling is to fool’s gold what character is to a good name. This is what we need to teach. This is what we need to live.

L to R 1st Row: Mrytle Foster, Ruth Harris, Annette Weathington (President), Rev. Paul S. Munford, Darnetta Duncan, Twillea Evans-Carthen, Harriet Moore, Joni Wright; 2nd Row L to R: Devorlynn Celestine, Carol, Yvonne Ashe, Geri Fox-All Kater, Earnestine Warren, Alice LaTouche, Olivia Taylor-Smith, Lorraine Melbourne)

RIVERSIDE, CA- Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Eta Nu Omega Chapter of San Bernardino-Riverside chapter celebrated the founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.106 years of “Service to All Mankind” on Sunday, January 26 at New Joy Baptist Church in Riverside.  The ladies were the guest of golden member, Ms. Darnetta Duncan who has been a member of the sorority for over 50 years and a current member of Eta Nu Omega Chapter.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is known for being an international, community service organization of college women founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by 16 courageous young women. It is the first Greek letter sorority for black college women with over 260,000 members in more than 900 chapters around the world. It is an organization whose mission is to provide “Service to All Mankind.” The sorority implements this through its many service projects such as the Emerging Young Leaders Program for middle school girls, which benefits the Inland Empire.  Happy Founders’ Day! For future events, please visit www.etanuomega.org

Gloria, Olivia, Janine, Joan, Tammie, Beth, Tamera, Charmaine, Audrey, Eleanor, Below: Dr. Theresa, Dorcas, Andrea, Pauline, Donna, Dorla, Suezanne and Lea’ann

Devastation, disaster, agony — words that still speak volumes in the hearts of lives of those affected by the 2010 earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  At least 300,000 people were injured and over 316,000 were killed.  This earthquake left many children as orphans in the surrounding cities. Although there have been many programs created by generous organizations throughout the years, Haiti still needs help.  A youth outreach program called Tribe of Judah World Outreach has decided to help Haiti on a continual basis. After 13 years of serving in ministry, working with youth and families across the United States, their focus is on the orphans left to fend for themselves on the streets of Haiti.  They have partnered with Dr. Michelle Corral and her ministry Breath of the Spirit and have also started Chesed for Jesus, Youth World Missionary Team.  An orphanage was purchased in the beginning of 2013 in Gonaives, Haiti and named The Fathers Treasure Orphan Home, where 100 children now live and are cared for daily.  Along with the orphan’s home, Chesed for Jesus runs medical clinics, feeding programs, educational instruction, provides spiritual care for the children in Haiti, and gives school supplies, school uniforms, and room and board.  Their main goal is to share the love of Jesus in practical ways by giving specific and direct support to those who are in need.
The team stayed in the County from December 5th to 10, where they interacted daily with the children; making arts and crafts, playing educational games, teaching English, singing worship songs in their native language of French and Creole as well as English.  The team taught the children a stomp routine which they wanted to do every minute.  Daily feeding for the children was done, along with a toy give away.  School uniforms given to every child, along with a medical clinic for the children and all the people in the village.
If you are interested in contributing to the cause, please visit www.sosyouthandfamily.com, or mail in a payment to Tribe of Judah, P.O. Box 2223, San Bernardino, CA 92406. All donations go directly to the children for their day to day care.  As a 501 c3 nonprofit organization, all donations are tax deductible.

Posted by Tahira Wright. She is a blogger and has her own website at www.happilydivorcedandafter.com where she discusses relationship issues, insights on trending news and celebrity insights and her journey in becoming a happily divorcee. Her style is reality-based with a quirky and comedic twist.

Many times when entering in a relationship or friendship there is initial acceptance of a certain level of trust. What increases your level of comfort with someone? Is it time that has elapsed since initially engaged with that person or the depth of your communication?

When reflecting over obstacles faced in my relationships, I cannot help but to say to myself, now had we communicated our thoughts better this issue would of been a moot topic. In my opinion, trust and communication are directly correlated. Between two people of the opposite sex, this becomes a challenge. When speaking to my girlfriends we have very descriptive conversations, share our emotions whether it is the way our feet felt in our brand new pumps when we hit the town last night or how we are excited in meeting a new guy. Men on the other hand tend to be more reserved, keep it simple share on a need to know basis. If you want to know how there day was, you have to pry it out by asking specific questions. “What type of feedback did you receive from your manager on the presentation you were up all night preparing for?” Not just how did it go. On the other hand, when a man asks a woman how her day went, we as women will start to tell a story. We discuss  how our boss looked at us, what they were wearing and want it to be interpreted by our mate.  But men don’t want to hear all that. They just want to know it went well and as a result there will be a peaceful evening.

The imbalance in my opinion can create trust issues if the man and woman aren’t understanding of the communication expectations from each other. What communication feedback do I as a woman want and need in a relationship? When initiating the possibility of a relationship: communicate expectations upfront. When you are dating: still communicate updated expectations. When exclusively dating or married: still communicate updated expectations. When I refer to expectations not I want to get married in so many months. Gees relax men! Some men hear expectations and think us women are trying to race them to the altar or give them a long list of rules. No not the case at all. In my opinion for most women, we want to hear what type of woman our potential mate likes and explain what keeps us attracted. What thrives you and goals do you have are the questions we want answered. Now these expectations change. So it is important for both mates to stay updated. Only difference is that maybe the communication will need to be more direct and less colorful when speaking to a man. For the man he will need to step up his convo and be a bit more descriptive.

When there are too many unknown variables….alternative conclusions and assumptions are made. Expectations are not met and trust begins to erode as opposed to increasing. Hence, in my opinion communication and trust are intertwined together.

What Are Your Thoughts? Do You Think Communication Fosters Trust?