WSSN Stories

By Lue Dowdy, WSS News Commentator | LUE Productions

I love going to comedy events or listening to audio of comedy shows. Comedy has been around for years and has always been a source of inspiration by infusing humorous content into film, theater, radio, television, and more.

In my opinion comedy is a form of medicine, like they say laughter is good for the soul. Please meet a very funny comedian doing her stand up show all over SOCAL, KYMEDIENNE.

Kymedienne has always had a funny sense of humor and there has always been something very special about her. In 1998, Kymedienne started to notice the people around her were always laughing at the witty and funny things she’d say or do. She would encounter different people and situations and would humor people from all walks of life; that is when she decided to pursue a professional career in comedy. ”Kymedienne the Fluff Puff” was born.

She began her comedy career in 2006, when she attended the Ontario Improv Comedy Class.  Her comedy instructors Johnny Dam and Gary Cannon helped her immensely. With their help and comedic guidance, she performed at the Ontario Improv in front of 300 people. The audience received her well. Kymedienne realized that her true passion in life was comedy.

Kymedinne has a fun playful way with the audience and audiences love her. She is fantastically entertaining, bubbly and very confident. She has a dramatic stage presence filled with laughter and high energy. Kymedienne is a natural born entertainer, who knows exactly how to take control of a room and take command of an audience and she does it all with laughter. Kymedienne has performed for many of the hottest comedy clubs in and around greater Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas. Here are just of few of the major clubs where she has graced the stage: Ontario Improv, Laugh Factory, Comedy Store, Comedy Union, The J Spot, Flappers Comedy Club, The Ice House, Ha Ha Comedy Club, Pechanga, Win River Casino and Downtown Comedy Club she also has hosted Antelope Valley Gay Pride and 20% LA Works Festival

In 2008 Kymedienne started her acting career. She has one of the highest rated episodes on the Tru TV Network, with her staring role on Operation Repo. Her many television credits include: Real Husband of Hollywood, Mike and Molly, Rake, True Blood, Total Blackout, Tosh.O, The Doctors, 1000 Ways To Die and We The People With Gloria Allred. Kymedinne’s film credits include: Scout starring Danny Glover, Road to Redemption starting Akon, Last Cry, and Face of Evil.

A highlight for Kymedinne came when she was asked to appear in the music video “One”, by ‘Take 6’, the Grammy award winning Christian R&B singing group. The video featured Brian McKnight, Lil’ Fizz (of B2K) and Mr. Stevie Wonder.

In 2010 Kymedienne entered the world of Radio Broadcasting as Co-Host on “The Truth w/ Cocoa Brown Radio Show”, on Hollywood Outlaw Radio. Due to the success of the show, Kymedinne was appointed Guest Relations Manager for Cocobub Media Productions.

In 2013 Kymedienne stared in these four hysterical webisode Shorts, all of which she created, wrote and produced: For Real, Bill Collector, You a Pigeon, Ain’t Got Money For That. Kymedienne continues to write and produce brand new material as well as perform stand up comedy, which will always be her first love.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Last week, hundreds of community leaders, advocates, and organizers representing labor, faith-based, Black, AAPI, Latinos, women and youth rally and march were held at the State Capitol. They were supporting Senate Bill (SB) 846, which aims to increase election turnout and remove barriers to voter registration for millions of Californians.

The California Grassroots Democracy Coalition, which is the largest voting rights coalition in California, has launched a campaign to enfranchise 4.7 million unregistered voters through SB 846. This bill, also known as the Motor Voter bill, was authored by state Senators Caroline Menjivar (D-Chino) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara).

The coalition, which represents millions of Californians, has embarked on a multi-year campaign to expand the electorate to better reflect the state’s diversity. SB 846 is co-sponsored by three members of the California Black Legislative Caucus (CLBC) — Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), and Mike Gipson (D-Carson).

“For decades, grassroots organizations like ours have worked year-round, mobilizing voters, organizing immigrant communities, providing legal services, running advocacy campaigns, and building multi-racial, multi-issue coalitions,” said Stanette Dixon, volunteer coordinator from Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement. “We are coming together to advance a new vision for California’s democracy and dismantle racist barriers to civic participation that marginalize BIPOC, naturalized citizens, young, low-income, and low English proficiency voters.”

SB 846 is being reviewed in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to transmit specified information to Secretary of State Shirley Weber for each person submitting a driver’s license application. To be eligible for voter registration or preregistration, these individuals must be United States citizens and of an eligible age.

Several states, including Alaska, Massachusetts, Oregon, Colorado, Delaware and the District of Columbia, have already passed similar legislation with overwhelmingly positive results. Members of the coalition and other supporters marched from the state capitol and circled the Secretary of State building twice at 10th and O streets in downtown Sacramento to rally support for the legislation.

SB 846 provides a path to 100% voter registration, supporters say.

“California is no stranger to making election improvements, from creating the first version of automatic voter registration, to making it possible for all registered voters to vote by mail. Now, we have the opportunity to take the next step in modernizing California’s elections,” Limón said in a statement. “SB 846 will broaden access to the ballot box for all eligible voters.”

Data shows that due to a lack of voter registration among traditionally hard-to-reach communities, California’s current voter population is unrepresentative of its demographic, Limón and Menjivar explain.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 82% of California’s adults are eligible to vote, but only 64% are registered. As a result, younger, lower income, less educated and state residents who are renters are underrepresented during elections.

Leveraging its voter engagement expertise with communities traditionally ignored by mainstream political campaigns, the California Grassroots Democracy Coalition (CGDC) says it promotes legislation that expands the electorate, builds up civic education, voter registration, and turnout in underrepresented communities, according to the group’s website.

CGDC comprises 140-plus grassroots organizations that are committed to helping California’s most vulnerable communities become empowered through pro-democracy reforms.  Organizations in the network have a range of priorities, including, criminal justice reform, immigrant rights, language access, low-income communities, environmental justice, religious rights, labor unions, etc.

Julius Thibodeaux, Executive Director for Movement 4 Life, spoke about his experience as a person who was formerly incarcerated and how it affected his access to voting.  He also discussed the importance of investing in the development, health and wellbeing of youth in cities.

“In 2020, California voters restored voting rights for more than 50,000 people who are no longer incarcerated. But that’s only the first step,” Thibodeaux told California Black Media at the march and rally. “Now, the work begins to get folks informed, registered, and returning to the ballot box every fall and spring election.”

By Lou K Coleman

Oh, no you didn’t just ask “Why?” After all the warnings, the roadblocks I sent to stop you, to arrest your attention, to get you to turn around, you got the nerve to ask “Why?” You know “Why!” Over and over again, I have shown such long suffering towards you restraining My anger, giving you much time to repent and change your ways, but no, you want to sink deeper and deeper in sin and continue to do you. Claiming to be descendants of Abraham, enslaved to no one! If you were descendants of Abraham, you would have listened to Me, but you couldn’t even hear Me! You are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. But you got the nerve to ask, “Why?” No need to ask “Why?” Disobedience always walks hand in hand with consequences. So just imagine spending ETERNITY with that on your mind! Imagine being in Hell for a million years and then thinking, “I didn’t have to come here! I could have received Christ! Oh, what a fool I was! If only I had not been so stubborn! If…if…if…!” That’s the shame of Hell: going there when you don’t have to go! Why? Why? Why?

I tell you, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell…. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell…. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ [Mark 9:43-48].

People accuse God of being unfair in sending sinners to Hell. It is not God’s decision it is ours. We send ourselves to Hell through the decisions we make in this life. As [Ezekiel 33:4] states, “If the people hear the horn and ignore the warning and the enemy comes and takes them, they will be responsible for their own deaths. The decision is YOUR’S, not God’s. God made His decision over 2000 years ago when He gave His Only Begotten Son to die as a payment for your sins. So, if you go to Hell, you will go AGAINST God’s will. Because you chose to reject God. You harden your heart, you didn’t want to hear about Jesus, and you ignored all the ways God tried to reach you throughout your entire life. So don’t be asking why when you know why. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn from your evil ways; for why will ye die. [Ezekiel 33:11]. You have been given a second chance; Go and sin no more. Lest a worse thing come upon you. [John 5:14].

I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it… [Deuteronomy 30:14-20]. This is your Exodus! Repent and live!

By Lue Dowdy | LUE Productions

Calling all my old school music lovers. The Bromatics along with a few other amazing acts will be hitting the stage on Saturday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the Haven City Rancho Market, located at 8443 Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

Get ready as Stone Gas Entertainment Production presents the Inland Empire’s Old School 70’s Summer Jam featuring the BROMATICS-Performing Motown Hits. There will be Special performances by: The Five Tempting Men; The SoulTones -Harold Melvins Blue Notes; Melodik-singing the hits of the Marvelettes; and Kim Caffey-A Gladys Knight Tribute.

Doors Open at 5:00 p.m., and the red carpet will be provided and hosted by LUE PRODUCTIONS. We are looking forward to seeing you there with your dancing shoes on!

You may purchase your tickets on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inland-empires-old-school-70s-summer-jam-tickets-634369806167?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

By Antonio Ray Harvey| California BlackMedia

In California, an increasing number of Japanese, Jewish and other non-Black groups are expressing their support for reparations to Black American residents of the state who are descendants of enslaved people.

Around 100 grassroot organizations, motivated in part by the efforts of the Japanese American Bar Association and John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles, have endorsed the work of the task force, and are calling on California to compensate Black residents for historical wrongdoings.

Donald Tamaki, an attorney, and the only non-Black member of the nine-member state reparations task force panel, stated that the groups supporting the task force are mostly Asian, Latino and Jewish.

“They didn’t need whole lot of persuasion,” Tamaki said. “Why? Because they know the healing power of reparations. I think that, in itself, is a news story: that there’s a multi-racial group of both big and small organizations representing different constituencies.”

The United States government has previously approved reparations for other ethnic groups to address historical injustices. For instance, Native Americans have been given billions of dollars in compensation for land that was unlawfully taken from them. Japanese Americans received billions in compensation and some of their property was returned for being placed in internment camps during World War II.

Many of the injustices experienced by Japanese Americans occurred after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s issued Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, responding to Japan’s aerial bombing of U.S. Military installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec.7, 1941.

In the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, approximately 122,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent were forcibly relocated to “assembly centers.” Nearly 70,000 of these evacuees were American citizens. They were then evacuated to and confined in 75 isolated, fenced, and guarded “relocation centers,” known as “incarceration camps.”

According to the National Park Service (NPS), 92,785 Californians of Japanese descent were put in temporary detention camps called “Assembly Centers.” The cities of Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, metropolitans with the largest Japanese contingents, were incarcerated without legal recourse.

Japanese Americans were imprisoned based on ancestry alone. There was no evidence that they had committed any crimes against the U.S. or presented any danger, NPS explained in its “A History of Japanese Americans in California: Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II.”

Three Japanese Americans who were involved in and knowledgeable about the Japanese American Redress Movement (JARM) testified at the California reparations task force’s public meeting held in Los Angeles on Sept. 24, 2022. They educated attendees about efforts Japanese Americans made to obtain restitution for their forced removal and confinement during World War II.

Mitchell Maki (President and CEO of the Go for Broke National Education Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy and lessons of the Nisei World War II veterans) and Ron Wakabayashi (former Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League) provided historical context on how Japanese Americans achieved a rare accomplishment in U.S. history by passing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

They received an official apology letter from the President of the United States and 82,000 surviving Japanese Americans were compensated with $20,000 payments, which totaled to $1.6 billion. Executive Order 9066 was officially rescinded by U.S. President Gerald Ford on Feb. 16, 1976.

Miya Iwataki – a special assistant to former California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) member and U.S. Congressmember Mervyn Dymally who represented the state’s 31^st District in Congress during the 1980s – was a member of the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations for Japanese Americans.

Iwataki says she drew inspiration from the activism of Black leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Black Panther Party member Fred Hampton, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Brown Berets, among others. She explained that it was Black leaders such as Dymally and former Oakland mayor and U.S. Congress member Ron Dellums who supported the passage of the Civil Liberties Act.

Maki, Iwataki, Wakabayashi and other Nisei (second-generations Japanese Americans) and Sansei (third generation) are urging the state to compensate Black descendants of chattel slavery and provide a formal apology for harms suffered in California.

“First, I want to acknowledge the difference in our fight for reparations for the injustice of the (incarceration) camps and the 400 years history of enslaved people,” Iwataki testified. “We’re not here to make recommendations or to prescribe lessons learned. I am here to share the experiences of NCRR and all volunteer grassroot organizations that fought for reparations and to express our continued solidarity for Black reparations.”

In September 2022, the San Francisco Black and Jewish Unity Coalition held reparations teach-ins at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco. Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who authored the legislation, Assembly Bill 3121, that created the task force when she was an Assemblymember, was one of the speakers.

Congregation B’nai Israel hosted a 90-minute reparations information session in Sacramento on June 11. Presented by Sacramento Jewish opera singer Lynn Berkeley-Baskin, over 20 people – Jewish and Japanese — attended the event to hear Chris Lodgson from the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California share his experiences as one of the grassroots leaders driving California’s movement for reparations.

Germany has openly acknowledged past aggressions committed during the Holocaust. According to a June 202 report by Steven J. Ross in the Jewish publication the Forward, the German government has paid out $92 billion to Holocaust survivors over seven decades. In the United States, the country has “failed to reckon with the consequences of centuries of slavery,” Ross writes.

“As laws advancing revisionist history sweep our nation’s state legislatures, Americans who favor a national reckoning with our own complicated past would do well to take a lesson from Germany,” writes Steven J. Ross, a history professor at the University of Southern California (USC).

“If we want to truly heal as a nation, we must first acknowledge both the long history of slavery and the pain its legacy still causes – and take tangible steps to right our collective wrongs,” Ross stated.

The task force will hold its final meeting and submit its final report to the California legislature on June 29.

The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m., in the First Floor Auditorium of the March Fong Eu Secretary of State Building, located at 1500 11th Street, downtown Sacramento.

“If there are helpful takeaways from our experience, I hope that they will contribute,” Wakabayashi said of Japanese Americans’ fight for reparations. “It would help repay a great debt. The Black civil rights movement generated the Japanese American Redress Campaign and led the struggle for human rights in this country.”

By Antonio ?Ray? ?Harvey?|? ?California? ?Black? ?Media?

Two bills aimed at equipping K-12 students with the ability to discern between accurate and false news — and teach them media literacy, more broadly – are currently progressing through the California legislature.

Assembly Bill (AB) 873, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), and AB 787  by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland) would mandate that schools in California offer instruction at every grade level to promote a more informed and civically engaged society.

As of June 7, both AB 873 and AB 787 are pending review on the Senate floor and have been referred to the Education Committee.

“Children today are being inundated by misinformation and disinformation on social media networks and digital platforms,” Berman said in a May statement. “The last few years have been a terrifying wake-up call to the insidious nature of online misinformation, from jeopardizing public health, to threatening the foundation of our democracy, to dangerously rewriting history. Anyone who spends much time on social media could greatly benefit from media literacy training.”

Media literacy, also known as information literacy, develops students’ critical thinking skills around all types of media platforms and instructs students to evaluate online information that affects them, their communities, and the world.

AB 873 intends to direct the  Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to incorporate media literacy content into the English language arts/English language development, science, mathematics, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised.

A growing number of states are now requiring schools to educate students in media and information literacy, including New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware.

“This bill is an important step to help ensure young people are equipped with the relevant media and informational literacy skills so critical in the 21st century,” said Nicholas Harvey, K-12 Policy Director for Generation Up.

AB 787 would require, on or before January 1, 2025, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Tony Thurmond, in consultation with the State Board of Education, to survey teacher librarians, principals, and technology directors to monitor how they are currently integrating digital citizenship and media literacy education into their curriculum.

AB 787 would also require Thurmond to share the results of the survey with an advisory committee consisting of specified representatives.

A 2022 Pew Research Report found that the number of teens who use the internet at least once a day has increased by 5% since 2014-2015.  Many of these teens are active on popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Currently, 97% of teens report using the internet daily, compared with 92% in 2014-15.

Pew Research Center reports from 2018 and 2022 also found that 95% of teens have access to smartphones, and 45% are online more frequently. In addition, the reports stated that 56% of Black teens are online, compared to 55% Latinos, and 37% of White teens.

“If these practices are important and salient to our youth, then it is critically relevant for educators to acknowledge this insight as they teach, and for researchers to write about studies in humanizing ways,” according to a January 2023 International Literacy report titled, “Normalizing Black Students/Youth and their Families’ Digital and STEAM Literacies.”

Common Sense Media’s California policy manager Kami Peer, a nonprofit focused on youth and media, told the Napa Valley Register that Berman’s and Gabriel’s legislation would change the way student’s use the media to obtain information and handle ever-changing digital tools.

“We believe these two bills, if signed into law, would bring California to the forefront of this important policy area and ensure our students are well-equipped to face the rapidly evolving digital, online landscape,” Peer said.

By Jordon Culberson

Having an opportunity to watch live sports in person such as Basketball, Football, and Baseball is cool, but seeing Professional Wrestling is even better.

You heard it here folks! There is professional wrestling in the Inland Empire, and it’s called the Empire Wrestling Federation, produced by Commissioners Frank Mott and Jesse Hernandez.

The two commissioners produced a wonderful and excellent 27th Anniversary Show at the Alosta Brewery Company in West Covina California on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

Now after that wonderful event, lucky for all of us in the empire, they will be producing two stupendous upcoming events.

The first event will be “Pro Wrestling Lucha Libre: Bad Guys Have All the Fun”, which will be located at the VFW (Veteran Foreign Wars) 8737 Post, 2018 Foothill Blvd, San Bernardino California, 92410 on Saturday June 17 at 7 p.m.

General Admission tickets are $10.00 for children 12 and under and $20.00 for ages 13 and up. It will be an outdoor event, great barbecue, and night for the family will enjoy.

Many wrestlers who will be present at the event will be EWF American Heavyweight Champion, Michael Bad Wolf who defending his championship against EWF World Tag Team Champion Tio Chulo, former EWF American Heavyweight Champion, El Vato Loco, Erick Rojas who will square off against a student from New Japan Pro Wrestling, the “Lone Ranger”, and lastly, we will see the “Double Wide and Dignified King” Trailer King face off against “Beef” David “Flex” McCallion in a Grudge match.

To end the night, there will also be a World Title match between the challenger, Allan Breeze and the World Champion the “Succulent Eye Candy” Richie Slade.

Now if you want to meet those wrestlers, but don’t have the time or money to make the event no worries!

Another event will be held on Wednesday June 28th, 2023, at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Christian Assembly, in Jurupa Valley, California titled, “Pro Wrestling Lucha Libre: Belltown Brawl”.

General Admission for the event is free entry along with providing the front desk with a valid
e-mail address, and the only thing to pay for is food, drinks, and merchandise.

So, what are you waiting for? Go to one of these amazing events and enjoy yourself!

By Lou K Coleman

If you don’t know let me, tell you. God’s Final Warning is that the time is near. The time is at hand. It is closer than we think. His coming will be quick. His coming will not wait on your preparation.  God’s Final Warning! [Revelation 22:7-20]. What are you waiting for? Accept Jesus now as your Lord and Savior! For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? [Mark 8:36]. Do not be foolish! Too lose your soul is the greatest loss of all because it is a loss that can never be recovered.

Jesus told a story about a man who lived the American dream. He worked hard. He stored up all that he needed for a long retirement. And he said to himself: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. So, relax, eat, drink, and be merry. I’m going to enjoy myself. I’ve earned it.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you” [Luke 12:19-20]. Do not wait until it is too late! Whether you are young or old, the message today is for you. It is about your life, your eternal future. You soul is of greater value than the whole world and Jesus want your soul to be saved. Do not be foolish! Repent before it is too late. For you know neither the day nor the hour [Matthew 4:17; Matthew 25:13; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:32] “God’s Final Warning, “The appointed time has grown very short.”

Understand, before God judges a nation, He sends warnings. America, like Israel, has not responded with repentance, but with defiance. [Isaiah 9:10]. And if you read your Bible, you know that God had repeatedly warned the people of impending danger if they didn’t acknowledge Him, and in the end, because they did not, they paid the price for failing to listen. Don’t you do it! Don’t ignore the warnings. Repent before it is too late! Because God has also told us that prior to the return of Jesus Christ, there will be a distinct and discern-able period of 3.5 years [1,260 days] and we will know when this period of time is upon us by the following series of events and circumstances:

A worldwide power structure controlled by Satan, ran by the Beast, will be established with total control over the lives of all people on the planet. Happening Now! [Revelation 13:5].

The military and police forces of the Beast will occupy [trample] Jerusalem. Happening Now! [Revelation 11:2, Matthew 24:15, and Luke 21:20].

All the flesh and blood descendants of Jacob will be persecuted and violently oppressed. Happening Now! [Jeremiah 30:7, Matthew 24:21].

And one more event that will occur during this 3.5-year period. The final, global witness of God’s truth accomplished by those who are known as “the two witnesses.” [Revelation 11:1-14].

I tell you, the prophecy of [Daniel 2] alone shows we are in the ‘time of the end’, and all the other evidence proves we are in the very end times. The Biblical signs are clear for all to see, but as [Ezekiel 12: 2] states, “You have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for you are a rebellious house. Ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding;” [Mark 4:12].

Listen, I cannot overstate that we are living right in the end of times for this world. Sure, many people throughout history have proclaimed that we were living in the last days and the end of the world was near, and some of the Bible signs have always existed from the early days. But never has there been a time before when ALL these events were evident in so many diverse places and with such frequency and intensity. Please repent before it is too late! God’s Final Warning! TIME IS ALMOST UP!

And He said to me, ” Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this Book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying [deception, cheating].

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! [Joel 3:14].

By Tanu Henry and Edward Henderson | California Black Media

On May 30, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined city council leaders to observe Africa Day. The celebration commemorates the establishment of the African Union (called the Organization of African Unity at the time).

Founded in 1963, the union was established to promote solidarity among African countries, defending their sovereignty, eliminating colonialism, encouraging international cooperation, and coordinating and harmonizing member states’ policies.

Councilman Curren Price led the event’s main presentation, where the history of the union was shared along with the acknowledgment of LA-based entrepreneurs who promote African culture and influence and make it part of their mission to give back to Africa and the city.

“As we know, Africans have been displaced throughout the globe, and many of us are descendants who may or may not be able to trace our heritage, but that does not hinder us from honoring the continent and the African diaspora,” Price said.

Bass highlighted that at the time the union was formed, only 30 African countries were independent. Today, 54 countries have that distinction.

“There was a large movement in the United States, celebrating the independence of nations, but also some fighting to change U.S. policy,” Bass said. “I think, it’s most famously known as the anti-apartheid movement.”

Bass said the City Council played an important role during that time to divest from doing any business related to South Africa. Councilman Robert Farrell, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA 43) who was then an Assemblymember in 1976, played key roles in this effort.

“This movement caught fire around the country and around the world,” Bass said. “It actually led to one of the many reasons why the U.S. changed its policy and decided to divest and impose sanctions on South Africa.”

By Antonio Ray Harvey| California Black Media

Pro-public service legislation introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor’s (D-Inglewood), Assembly Bill (AB) 1, moved closer to becoming law when it was passed by the Assembly with a 66-3 vote in late last Month.

It is now under consideration in the Senate.

If passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Newsom, the bill will permit California legislative staff to unionize and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions, regardless of their political affiliation.

“Legislative staff aren’t looking for special treatment. They are looking for the same dignity and respect afforded to all represented workers,” said McKinnor in a statement after her colleagues voted to advance the legislation.

“To the staff in our district offices and Capitol offices – including our dedicated committee staff – that honorably serve the people of the State of California every day, know this: We see you and we respect you,” McKinnor continued. “With AB 1, we are taking action to make sure that current and future legislative staff, regardless of their member’s political affiliation, are afforded a safe, equitable and fair opportunity to build a noble career in public service.”

McKinnor, a former legislative employee herself, said at the Women in California Legislature” speakers series on March 8 that she was an original signer of the “We Said Enough” letter in 2017. The correspondence led to the “Me Too” movement to address workplace sexual harassment, retaliation, and intimidation within the California Legislature.

Mary Virginia Watson, chief of staff for Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-Hayward), supports AB 1. Watson has been a campaign director, campaign, director, and political organizer.

“Congrats to #CALeg staff! I was proud to speak in favor of #AB1 in (the) policy committee, and as a chief of staff, I 100% support Leg staff’s right to unionize. A union would improve recruitment and retention and help the legislature better serve Californians!,” Watson tweeted.

If AB 1 is approved, it will take effect on July 1, 2024.

Another bill, dubbed the “Ebony Alert” bill, would help locate missing Black youth and Black women in California also made it out of the Senate last week with a 39-0 vote.

Senate Bill (SB) 673, authored by Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood), establishes a notification system to address the issue of missing Black children and young Black women in California who do not receive enough attention.

“The Ebony Alert would ensure that resources and attention are given so we can bring home missing Black women and Black children in the same way we would search for any missing child and missing person,” Bradford, Vice Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), stated in March.

The Black and Missing Foundation Inc. (BAMFI), reports that 38% of missing children in the U.S. are Black, despite Black people making up 14% of the population. Black children are disproportionately classified as “runaways” in comparison to their white counterparts who are classified as “missing.” Therefore, when Black children are reported missing, law enforcement does not always treat those cases with urgency or issue Amber Alerts.

The AMBER moniker – which stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response – was created as a legacy to nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.

“When someone who is missing is incorrectly listed as a runaway, they basically vanish a second time. They vanish from the police detectives’ workload. They vanish from the headlines. In many ways, no one even knows they are missing. How can we find someone and bring them home safely when no one is really looking for them,” Bradford said.

Bradford’s Ebony Alert bill is inspired by a similar bill, the Feather Alert, introduced by Assemblymember James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), the only Native American serving in the California Assembly. The Feather Alert law, which took effect in January, assists law enforcement to quickly notify the public when Native American Californians are reported missing.

Black women and girls face a higher risk of being harmed and trafficked. According to a report by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on human trafficking incidents in the U.S., 40% of sex trafficking victims were identified as Black women.