WSSN Stories

Netflix recently announced that Grammy-nominated, Oscar and Golden Globe award-winning actor and comedian Mo’Nique will film her first Netflix original stand-up comedy special this year in Atlanta.

Mo’Nique said, “Hey y’all it’s your girl Mo’Nique and I’m excited to say that I’ll be shooting my first Netflix special; in addition to reuniting with my friend, Director Lee Daniels on the Netflix film The Deliverance. You won’t want to miss either of them, so stay tuned! Thank you all and I love y’all to life!”

Additional details about Mo’Nique’s stand-up special will be shared later this year.

As previously announced, Mo’Nique is also set to star in the Netflix film The Deliverance from Lee Daniels.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – (July 18, 2022) – Teens from around the country are trying to put their best foot forward in hopes of being among the 100 students selected for the 2023 Disney Dreamers Academy. Applications are now underway for the inspiring and transformational mentorship program at Walt Disney World Resort for Black teens and students from underrepresented communities.

The application process for the 16th annual program, set for March 23-26, 2023, runs through October at www.DisneyDreamersAcademy.com. The 100 teen participants receive an all-expense-paid trip along with one parent or guardian to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to experience a combination of inspiration, education and fun at The Most Magical Place on Earth.

The program is an important part of Disney’s commitment to supporting diverse communities by encouraging the next generation of Black students to think big, so they can relentlessly pursue their dreams and make a difference in the lives of others.

“We’re excited to find the next group of Disney Dreamers and welcome them to Walt Disney World Resort for an experience they won’t soon forget,” said Tracey D. Powell, Disney Signature Experiences vice president?and Disney Dreamers Academy executive champion. “If there is a teen in your life who has a dream, I would highly encourage them to apply. Taking a first step towards your dream is a hugely powerful moment. And, for those who are selected, the experience can be life changing.”

Since 2008, Disney Dreamers Academy has inspired more than 1,400 students from across the country who were selected from thousands of applicants who submitted written essays about their personal stories and dreams for the future.

During the four-day event, the students interact with community and business leaders, Disney cast members, celebrities and other special guests while participating in sessions teaching valuable life tools such as leadership skills, effective communication techniques and networking strategies. Past celebrity participants have included stars from the big screen and television, noted sports figures, popular musicians as well as personalities and cast members from across the Disney family, including “Good Morning America,” ESPN, Disney Channel and the TV series “black-ish” and “grown-ish.”

The students also take part in career workshops covering a variety of disciplines aligned with the students’ dreams. These workshops introduce the Disney Dreamers to diverse career paths within business, entertainment and sciences, including career opportunities within The Walt Disney Company.

After taking part in the academy, graduates have gone on to become doctors, nurses, engineers, pilots, journalists and more, and some have transitioned into mentors to the Disney Dreamers who followed them.

For more information, visit DisneyDreamersAcademy.com, or follow on social media at Facebook.com/DisneyDreamersAcademy, Twitter.com/DreamersAcademy and Instagram.com/disneydreamersacademy/

By Lou Yeboah

“I’m telling you right now! You have taken my forbearance for granted and have ignored my warnings. I gave a command: I said, “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, that I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. I told you, your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I told you, I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I told you, I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. I told you, you will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. I told you, I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high, but yet instill, you have taken my forbearance for granted and have ignored my warning. I tell you; it’s going down!”

I am going to bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. I am going to set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. I am going to punish you for your sins seven times over. I am going to break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit. I am going to send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

And if in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile towards you. I am going to bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I am going to send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.

But if you will confess your sins and the sins of your ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward Me, which made Me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For I am the Lord their God, and for their sake I will remember the covenant with your ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. [Leviticus 26:3-46] Return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your hearts, for I am gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and I will relent over disaster. [Joel 2:12-17]. For the times of this ignorance, I winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent [Acts 17:30]. Once My wrath begins, it will not end until it has accomplished its purpose. [Jeremiah 30:24]. Repent before it is too late! “For in the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. Now is the time of My favor, Now is the day of salvation.” [2 Corinthians 6:2]. Don’t wait until it is too late! If you do, you will see My power and might. I will bring terror to you. You will not escape My wrath and judgment. I will use My wind, water, and fire to open your eyes. You will see the truth. You will understand your error when you see the destruction and hear the war drums. You will know I AM THE LORD. I will make everything desolate. You will fall on your knees and beg for mercy. Repent or Perish, Now! “For in one hour is thy judgment come.” [Revelation 18:10]. It’s Going Down!

ATLANTA, GA— chromatic black™ launches Season Two of the Ida B. Wells Fund and calls for entries in short filmmaking and two new categories – visual arts and creative placemaking. This season, the fund expands to offer awards ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 in three categories—short-form filmmaking, creative placemaking and visual arts.

Ida B Wells Fund competition is open to storytellers whose original work explores the spirit of exploration and deepens our collective literacy.   Here are key dates for the fund.

Ø  The Short Film Fund applications will support five Black filmmakers with $15,000 each (a total of $75.000).  Short form film applications open on July 16, 2022.  Deadline for submission is August 27, 2022.  Short Film winners will be announced on September 23, 2022.

Ø  The Visual Art Fund will support 12 visual artists at $1000 each (a total of $12,000).  Visual arts applications launch on July 21, 2022. Deadline for submission is August 31, 2022.  Visual arts winners will be announced on September 23, 2022.

Ø  The Creative Placemaking Fund will support four creative placemakers at $25,000.  Creative placemaking making applications open on October 1.  The deadline for submission is December 1. Winners will be announced on February 14th, 2022.

The Ida B. Wells Fund partners with artist – activists across a spectrum of creative disciplines.  This year, the fund has two new developments – a new curatorial leadership of chromatic black™’s Artistic Director, Jessica Green and three categories—short-form filmmaking, creative placemaking and visual arts.

“We are equity architects. We are building cultural power by partnering with dope artists, creative teams and communities. For impact investors, we tie up the messy middle  connecting folks to the next wave of Black smarts, creativity, vision, grit, and determination” says Angela Harmon, co-founder and an Emmy-nominated storyteller, filmmaker, and creative director chromatic black™.

Ida B. Wells Fund Short Film Competition

The award recipients will be chosen by an interdisciplinary panel composed of expert curators, filmmakers, producers, other arts professionals, scholars, and winners from last year in a thorough, multi-step review process.

“Ida B Wells Fund enables filmmakers to take disruptive risks with new original works,” says Aunjanue Ellis, Oscar Nominee, Actress, and Writer.

The fund will invest in five projects that critique dominant social and historical narratives and embody artistic attributes: commitment, communal meaning, disruption, cultural integrity, emotional experience, risk-taking, coherence, openness, stickiness, and resourcefulness.

Winners of last year’s film fund at $10,000 each include Lamard W Cher-Aime’s “Captain Zero: The Animated Series” which speaks to the importance of mental health awareness in the Black communities and Christine Swanson’s “Sunflower: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story” staring Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis.

Ida B. Wells Fund Expands to Include Visual and Creative Placemaking

In addition, the Ida B. Wells Fund will expand to visual arts and creative placemaking.

“Not only are artists producers of aesthetic objects and creators of experiences, they help to make places healthier, more equitable, and sustainable,” said Artistic Director, Jessica Green. The expansion of the fund to include creative placemaking is an acknowledgment of creativity as a radical act of resistance.”

Black placemaking is a reclamation of space rooted in remembrance. The fund acknowledges this praxis of remembrance, reclamation, and renewal as a creative act of resistance. The fund will partner with cultural bearers fortifying our participation in the public commons.

Visit the Ida B Wells Fund  to apply and for additional updates.

LOS ANGELES, CA— The University of California Board of Regents today (July 20) appointed University of California, Los Angeles doctoral student Merhawi Tesfai to be the 2023-24 student regent.

Tesfai is the 49th student regent, a position established in 1975. He will serve as the student regent-designate for the coming year, able to participate in all deliberations, and will have voting privileges when his one-year term as a regent begins in July 2023.

Currently, Tesfai is a doctoral student in social welfare at UCLA, where he earned dual master’s degrees in social welfare and public policy. He also received his bachelor’s degree at UCLA in African American Studies, and his associate degree for transfer from Los Angeles City College.

Born in Eritrea, Tesfai immigrated to the U.S. as a child and is a first-generation, non-traditional transfer student. Tesfai has a background in counseling and uses his own experience to engage in outreach to assist community college students in navigating the transfer process. He also encourages students from underrepresented communities to apply to graduate school.

“UC offers incredible opportunities for learning, research and economic mobility to countless students from California and beyond. I am grateful for this opportunity to bring my experiences as a first-generation, non-traditional student to be one of two representatives of the student voice to the Board of Regents and advocate for our priorities and needs,” said Tesfai. “There is much work ahead for the University to provide critical academic resources and necessary support to ensure students have the tools for success. I cannot wait to get started in this important work.”

Panels appointed by the UC campus student body presidents and the UC Student Association and UC Graduate and Professional Council reviewed the applications for the student regent position and interviewed semifinalists. A special committee of the Regents interviewed the finalists and nominated Tesfai.

You may find more information about the Board of Regents’ policy on appointing a student regent here.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

A recent federal appeals court decision opens the door for the state and several California cities to pass laws requiring landlords to pay one month’s rent to a tenant after they’ve been evicted.

The law, AB 1482, authored by former Assemblymember David Chiu, who represented the 17th District (San Francisco) until October last year, passed the Legislature in 2019 and took effect in 2020. Among other things, the legislation caps yearly rent increases to 10% for areas without rent control and provides financial assistance for tenants who were evicted because an owner of the property moved in.

San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Long and Los Angeles all have laws on the books or proposals in the pipeline requiring landlords to pay to evict tenants.

As of July 1st, California’s eviction moratorium ended. Reports are that evictions are on the rise in some California cities, like Sacramento, for example.

Velma Marie Poplar, the owner of a property in Compton with 10 units and 10 families, says that this law is ill-conceived, and it will particularly hurt struggling Black property owners who do not have a lot of money saved up to absorb unanticipated expenses.

“I don’t think this is a good idea right now because these are hard times for us as well,” said Poplar, explaining some of the challenges landlords face.

“I don’t think it’s fair that a landlord has to pay a tenant to move out,” she continued.

Poplar says her financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic has been interfering with her and her husband’s ability to build generational wealth for her Black family.

“Right now, we’re barely making ends meet during the pandemic ourselves. We’re spending a lot of money that we had saved before COVID because you still have to maintain the apartments,” said Poplar.

She said many large real estate management companies may be able to afford to pay tenants a month’s worth of rent, but most small property owners cannot.

“The laws are not made for small business owners, they’re made for big businesses; either you’re rich or you’re not and the rich can outlast people like me,” Poplar emphasized.

In California and many other states, lawmakers responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on renters by enacting protections for tenants whose abilities to earn money may have been impacted by local health and safety guidelines.

Poplar claims that some tenants have been taking advantage of those protections.

“During COVID-19, a lot of their incomes had not changed yet they refused to pay rent,” said Poplar.

She claims that 4 of her 10 tenants have not been paying rent due to the eviction moratorium and other pandemic related ordinances.

Although many Californians facing eviction have applied for the state’s COVID-19 rent relief-program, the process takes time, renter advocates say.

According to the California Department of Housing, over the last 15 months, $4 billion in financial support has been disseminated to 340,000 renter households.

“California ran the largest and most successful eviction protection and rent relief program in the country,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “340,000 families weren’t evicted because of this, and the overwhelming majority of assistance went to very low-income households. Homelessness prevented, public health protected, families stabilized.”

While rent is on the rise in the Sacramento area, Poplar said she has not raised rent on her tenants because she “knows the tenants can’t afford it.”

She also said that her taxes go up every year.

“Anyone who isn’t paying rent is getting evicted after COVID-19 is over,” said Poplar. “If I don’t catch up with everything I need to catch up with, my bills, I’m going to lose what I’ve worked so hard for in the last 17 years.”

She said that she’s worried the banks will take her and her husband’s property if they cannot continue to afford it due to pandemic related income loss.

“I would lose everything,” said Poplar.

According to reports, the lawsuit related to the court’s decision to uphold the rent payment law was filed by Better Housing for Long Beach and they are considering appealing to the Supreme Court.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

California is the winner of the 2022 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation.

The nation’s preeminent education award for innovation, it recognizes a state for enacting reforms or implementing programs that go beyond marginal or incremental changes to improve student outcomes on a large scale.

According to the Education Commission of the States, California is being recognized for “its coordinated approach to educating all students from preschool to postsecondary, with explicit attention toward whole-child supports and services, as well as its historic financial investments to ensure educational equity.”

In his press release announcing the win, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said, “This is an incredible honor, and while the work continues, we’re proud of this national recognition that shows how California is improving educational outcomes for its students, closing equity gaps, and transforming education for students from pre-kindergarten to adulthood.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration has made funding public education a priority, acknowledged receiving the award by saying, “California is transforming education from pre-kindergarten through to college and beyond, empowering students and families with more supports, more choices, and more opportunities. This award recognizes the hard work that’s gone into this transformative change by leaders throughout the state…. and the winners here are California’s kids and parents.”

The Newman Award announcement coincided with school districts finalizing their 2022-23 budgets which were due at their County Office of Education by June 30. Their budgets are bolstered by the highest level of funding in state history for all K-12 education programs – $128.6 billion is being allocated. Per pupil spending is $22,893 an all-time high.

The award recognized California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) as one of the nation’s most equitable formulas. LCFF allocates more resources to school districts educating low-income students. In this year’s state budget, school districts are receiving a $9.0 billion increase in ongoing LCFF funding, a 13% base increase over 2021-22 rates.

The award noted that in the last two years, California has approved increases to the LCFF allowing school districts to add more teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, and other student support providers.

A letter nominating the state for the award read, “… [W]e believe there is no other state doing as much to advance educational equity for its neediest students as California is doing today.”

Since taking office in 2019, Thurmond has championed and created initiatives taking into consideration the unique needs California’s students. In order to achieve equity and transformative change he has promoted mental health programs, community schools, literacy, expanded learning programs, professional development, anti-racism training, and universal schools and universal meals programs.

Thurmond told California Black Media (CBM) that, “Starting out my goal was to figure out how to support Black students wherever they are in the state.” His Task Force on Closing the Achievement Gap has been the source of a number of recommendations advancing equity for all students.

Task Force recommendations include:

Supporting literacy as a strategy for closing the gap. In 2021 Thurmond launched a campaign committed to ensuring all students read by third grade by 2026. This effort includes securing funds for literacy supports and school libraries as well as for family engagement supports for literacy. This year’s budget includes $250 million to be spent over 5 years to hire literacy coaches and reading specialists for low-income elementary schools, and to implement evidence-based literacy strategies for preschool through third grade students and their families.

Diversifying the teacher workforce. Thurmond developed and sponsored AB 520 (Mike Gipson, D-Carson), which called for expanding male educators of color. This bill was embedded into the 2021 budget which allocated $350 million in residency grants for teacher preparation programs with an emphasis on diversifying the teacher workforce. $184 million in new funding for teacher residencies is included in the 2022-23 budget and eligibility is expanded include to counselors.

Expanding funding for Community Schools. In 2019 Thurmond wrote and sponsored AB 1196 (Gipson) to fund Community Schools. In 2021, Thurmond worked with Newsom on a proposal to expand community schools. The 2021 budget allocated $3 Billion for Community Schools and the California Department of Education (CDE) is currently implementing the community schools’ strategy. An additional $1.13 Billion was authorized in this year’s budget.

Providing professional development to help close the achievement grant. Thurmond helped to secure $1.5 Billion in Educator Effectiveness Grants to support professional development for educators to help close learning gaps. CDE has awarded the Educator Effectiveness Grants and is working with districts to implement this strategy.

Expanding mental health programs. Thurmond sponsored SB 1229 (McGuire, D-Healdsburg) which would fund $25,000 grants to add 10,000 mental health clinicians to serve California students. Provisions of SB 1229 have been folded into the 2022-23 budget legislation as part of teacher and school counselor residency programs. The current Golden State Teacher Grant Program is expanded to include mental health providers authorizing them to receive grants up to $20,000.

Expanding Pre-school programs. Thurmond sponsored AB 22 (McCarty, D-Sacramento) a bill that guarantees Universal Transitional Kindergarten. Thurmond and CDE are now implementing the policy. This year’s budget expands transitional kindergarten eligibility and rebenches the Proposition 98 Guarantee to $611 Million to accommodate enrollment increases. Also, $383 Million is approved to reduce the adult-to-student ratio for transitional kindergarten.

Expanding Dual language immersion programs. Thurmond wrote and is sponsoring SB 952 (Limón, D-Santa Barbara) a bill that helps schools expand into dual language immersion programs. This bill is a priority bill for the Latino Caucus.

Piloting implicit bias programs. Thurmond secured $10 million in the 2021 state budget for funds for districts to provide anti-bias training.

Reducing chronic absenteeism. Thurmond secured grant funds to provide Oakland and Inglewood Unified School Districts resources needed to contact families with chronically absent students.

The Education Commission of the States will present California leaders with the Newman Award at the 2022 National Forum on Education Policy being held July 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

By Lou Yeboah

Get yourself together, repent at once, and act as you did at first, or else I will surely come and remove your lampstand out of its place- [Revelation 2:5]. I will come in and sweep your house clean, says the Lord. Repent while it is still daybreak!

Listen, as God through Pilate gave Israel one last chance before consigning the nation to perpetual judgment. [John 19:8-16] He is giving you one last chance to repent.  The parable’s lesson in [Luke chapter 13] is that mercy and grace are available to all who will come to Christ IN TIME. Because eventually time runs out. ]Hebrews 9:27]. This is an urgent call to use the second chance wisely. This is a judgmental word filled with overtones of grace. [Luke 13: 1-9]. Don’t be like the self-righteous, prideful Jews who were horrified at the demand for repentance. How could they acknowledge sinfulness and the validity of God’s condemnation? They compared themselves to others who had met with unfortunate disaster and judged themselves to be worthy of God’s favor. But Jesus turned the tables on them once again as He pressed home the urgent need for repentance. As a nation, this was their last chance to repent. Don’t you wait until it’s too late! There is a season and time for everything. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8].

Listen, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where it comes down to the wire. For Jesus says in [Revelation 2:21] “And I gave her time to repent, and she did not repent.” Understand that it is only the forbearance of God that stands between you and eternal damnation. You are living on borrowed time. Opportunity to repent does not last forever. For He said to the vineyard-keeper, “Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! [Luke 13:7]. I tell you; God’s patience won’t last forever. “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thought, let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6-7].

Listen, no one likes to be commanded to do anything. But here is a command from Almighty God that applies to every man, woman, boy and girl born on this planet. God says you must repent. No excuses will be accepted. If you do not obey God’s command, you will someday face a divine court-martial. Don’t take the grace of God for granted, make use of this opportunity to repent. “Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” [Ezekiel 18:31-32].

“But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge.” [Job 36:8-12]. You’ve been given notice! Repent while you still have a chance!