Happily Divorced And After

Publishers commentary by Wallace J. Allen

Dr. King’s Birthday requires us to annually measure the amount of successful change that has occurred since his death. Our friend Celes King IV was quick to say, “Perception is reality.” I think we can agree that the election of Barrack Obama to President of the United States boosted the image of Black men across the planet. It must be considered that if “Black lives matter” is a truer statement today than when Dr. King was alive, that Barrack Obama being President adds to that truth!   In several years, by 2016, people aged ten years and younger will represent members of an exclusive group. The only President of the United States that they will have experienced is a Black Man.  They, having witnessed such proof, will grow up expecting that Blacks can and will excel. That is a major long term benefit of Mr. Obama being President.  He is an inspiration. He inspires young Black children to want to be like him, to become important and influential members of society. He also shows the non-Blacks who harbor the false impression that “Blacks can’t” to understand that “Blacks can” and that society benefits when “Blacks do!  We know that low expectations generally come true.  Increased expectations allow room for increased participation and performance.

Increased expectations will cause among other things, a greater competition for participation and an expectation that winning is for the well prepared. Just because the world is more willing to accept that a Black man can do, does not mean that it will be easier for him to do; however, easy is not a requirement!

As we measure successful change, access to opportunity for those who have been deliberately denied that access, is an issue. The imagery of success is great for perception, but reality requires a job count and a measurement of education and quality of life. Access to education, jobs and quality of life for most Americans, Blacks in particular, has diminished since Dr. King’s death. The image of the most prestigious office holder on the planet, being racially disrespected under the guise of politics has been a reminder to “old school” witnesses, that racism is alive and that to some Republicans, greed and or “white privilege” is more important than the welfare of the Country.

So, in closing, I will say that the fresh sheets and pillow cases of opportunity make the American bed look better, but the mattress is still lumpy with racism, making a peaceful night hard to come by. Change is occurring but the need for hope is very alive!

Imani Hakim

PHOTOS AND WRITE UP BY NAOMI K. BONMAN

 BEVERLY HILLS, CA- The stars of Hollywood, along with authors, poets, screen writers, and directors came dressed to impressed as they stepped on the red carpet prior to the 34th annual NAACP Image Awards luncheon. The private luncheon was held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, January 17. The 34^th Annual NAACP Image Awards will be held on Friday, February 6 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium located at 300 E. Green Street in Pasadena. The show starts at 8 p.m. and is a black tie affair. To purchase tickets, please visit www.naacpimageawards.net. To view more photos, visit sophisticatedrelations.com/naacp-luncheon. 

Your ticket to Philadelphia

WHAT-TA STEAK is the name of the Inland Empire’s number 1 restaurant for lovers of Philadelphia’s name-sake sandwich, the world famous Philly Cheese-Steak Sandwich, says Cornelyo, the restaurant’s owner. Best known for its Philly sandwiches, (cheese-steak, pastrami, and the What Ta Steak) and its delicious chicken bowls, WHAT-TA STEAK offers more sandwiches, bowls, burgers and many delicious sides.

The restaurant is a mom and pop business owned and operated by Cornelyo and Lue Maria Bueno.  They want you to feel like you’re at home, whether you are dining in or taking out. According to Cornelyo All the food is made with real family recipes using the high quality meats and ingredients that you serve at home to your loved ones.

He states, “I am proud of our food. Not just because I know what it is, but because my customers say it is very delicious.”

Cornelyo smiled and confidently closed with, “And they prove they mean it by coming back! Our goal is to serve and satisfy our customers 100 percent.”

WHAT-TA STEAK is close to the freeway and three blocks East of the 215, located at 546 W. Baseline Street, one block West of “E” Street in San Bernardino (92410).  You can call-in you order by dialing (909) 885-5288.

Assemblymember, Cheryl Brown,(47th AD) introduced Keynote Speaker, Assemblymember, Chris Holden,(41st AD).

Photo by John Coleman

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches (IECAAC) presented their “35th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast.” The breakfast was held on Monday, January 19 at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino.  The morning’s program included prayer, readings from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, music and ‘spoken word (poetry)’, presentations, and special recognition/awards. (To view more photos taken by John Coleman, please visit www.wssnews.com).

Inspirational Films Sol Brothers and When Roosters Crow Examine Young Men of Color, Servant Leadership, and the Life of an Early Pioneer in the Fight Against AIDS

LOS ANGELES, CA- Amid threats to free speech across the globe and questions about the limits of police action at home, acclaimed scholar and filmmaker Dr. Daniel E. Walker launches the “Faith, Hope, and Justice” Lecture and Film Tour. A Research Associate at the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Walker is the author of the critically acclaimed book No More, No More: Slavery and Cultural Resistance in Havana and New Orleans and the study Black Church Next: Challenges and Opportunities Facing African American Congregations in 21st Century Los Angeles,He is the writer/director of the films Sol Brothers and When Roosters Crow, Founding Director of the Long Beach Indie International Film Festival, and executive producer of the forthcoming documentary series Faith and Soul in the City in collaboration with Emmy Award-winning writer and producer P. Frank Williams (Unsung, American Gangster).

A proud product of Head Start, Dr. Walker is an otherworldly speaker called to a mission of education, inspiration, and social change. As he states, “I simply believe that the inherent nature of humanity bends towards the good and I’m just trying to remind people of that. While it’s easy to see all of the recent unrest as negative, I know that there is an opportunity for change that is both proactive and redemptive.”

Walker’s films Sol Brothers and When Roosters Crow exemplify this vision. Sol Brothers examines the triumphant journey of a group of inner city young men as they attend a revolutionary college prep camp. In the acclaimed short film When Roosters Crow he investigates the life of Emmy Award-winning choreographer Dr. Danny L. Scarborough and his public battle with AIDS in the late 1980’s.

As a speaker, Dr. Walker’s style is intelligent, humorous, and inspirational. In addition to his films and moving lectures that are tailored to the specific event or theme, he is also known for his jubilant and provocative extended workshop “Oh Happy Day: The History, Music, and Mission of the Black Church.” Rousing and informative, the stand-alone event covers everything from spirituals and Hip Hop to slavery and social justice.

In addition to his work in history, religion, and film, he is an expert on Cuba, servant leadership, and the use of film, television and digital media as tools for advocacy.

Holding a doctorate (with distinction) in Latin American and African American History from the University of Houston, Walker was formerly the Associate Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of Houston, Assistant Professor of Latin American and African American History at Indiana University, and Visiting Professor of Latin American History at Occidental College. He was also elected Student Government Association President while an undergraduate at San Diego State University.

Walker is co-founder of Leadership Excellence and the Board Chair of the BLU Educational Foundation, two of the nation’s leading youth development and college access organizations, and is the recipient of the W.K.Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, the New York City Urban Fellowship, and the Coro Leadership Fellowship. A frequent speaker at conferences, commencements, and African American history month events, his passionate message is both timely and universal.

To watch Dr. Daniel E. Walker in action or to download a full biography, visit www.drdanielwalker.com

For questions and bookings contact OneNation Media Services atinfo@onenationmedia.org or call (909) 657-0578 ext 1.

BEAUMONT, CA-Homelessness and poverty is a sad reality for thousands of children, families, veterans, and seniors in Riverside and San Bernardino County, and the recession has left waves of panic and despair in the lives of residents. According to RealtyTrac, Riverside County is second in the state in foreclosures, with one in 17 households slipping into some stage of foreclosure during the first six months of the year. San Bernardino County was fourth, with one in 19 households in default.

In addition to the soaring homeless rate, poverty is a major concern and a growing epidemic for families. According to www.RedlandsDailyFacts.com, 1 in 5 families are living in poverty in the Inland Empire and the number is growing. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations in the Inland Empire.

According to www.NewAmericaMedia,org, a growing number of children don’t eat at all when they go home because 17 percent of children in Riverside County live in poverty. Dedicated to helping underprivileged children, families and veterans live prosperous and empowered lives, former police officer, Lorenzo Thomas, and his family founded Glimmers of Hope Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Beaumont, CA. According to Charla Mackey, the president of Glimmers of Hope Inc., “My family founded Glimmers of Hope in 2007 with our own funds as well as donations from friends because we wanted to provide more opportunities for people in our communities whose lives were torn apart by home foreclosures, homelessness, and unemployment.

Since our inception, we have volunteered and donated toys, clothing, food and other necessities to numerous organizations, schools, churches, and businesses throughout the Inland Empire including St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Holiday Wish Foundation, World Visions, Christ the Resurrected Church, Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veteran’s Medical Center, Nicolet Middle School, Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, Victorious Living Institute, and New Hope Sober Living Homes.

We also operate our own Christmas drive to support families in need in our community and provide care packages for U.S. troops, but we want to help more economically disadvantaged people become self-sufficient and remain financially stable throughout the year. One of our biggest goals for next year is to create a resource center to help people find career opportunities (not just minimum wage, part-time jobs) and qualify for higher paying positions. We recently launched a Go Fund Me campaign in order to help make this dream a reality.

Our resource center will allow us to offer many services to Inland Empire residents, including a basic life skills course, basic computer classes as well as job training classes that will teach people the secrets to writing effective resumes and cover letters that will get the immediate attention of HR managers. We will also teach them about the importance of using the right keywords in resumes, and how to communicate like a pro to land the career of their dreams.

We will also have a clothing closet for job seekers who cannot afford to buy professional business attire for interviews so that they can look and feel their best. Our overall mission is to help underserved communities in the Inland Empire become financially independent-especially parents and veterans, so that they can be successful and contribute their unique skills and talents to make the Inland Empire a better place to live. Although there are shelters and temporary help for people in need, we want to help people help themselves which will ultimately decrease homelessness and poverty rates in our communities,” says Mackey.

To make a donation to Glimmers of Hope’s Go Fund Me campaign, click here:  http://www.gofundme.com/GlimmersofHopeInc

For more information about Glimmers of Hope Inc., visit www.Glimmersofhopeinc.org.

Eric Carthen

OXNARD, CA- Eric Carthen is from the Inland Empire and is a junior at California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks, California. He was one of the students from CLU to be honored at the Ventura County’s 29^th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day event.  The theme for this year’s event was “Celebrating Voting & Civil Rights—Today!”  The event was held on Monday, January 19, 2015 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center Theater in Oxnard, CA. The keynote speaker was Mr. Gerald C. Rivers who spoke on the topic of “The Voice of Dr. King.”  This event was sponsored by: Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Ventura County, The City of Oxnard.

(left to right) Hattie Inge, President of Rialto Black History Committee; Myron Hester Sr., Master of Ceremonies; Joanne Gilbert, Community Service Award Recipient; Elvis Brown, Minister; Sup. Gonzales, Dr. Joel McCloud, Chancellor; Valerie Singleton, Psalmist; Pastor Chuck Singleton, Community Service Award recipient; Assemblymember Cheryl Brown; Congressman Pete Aguilar; and Mike Story, City of Rialto Administrator at Rialto Black History Committee, Inc. 30th Annual Dr. MLK Luncheon.

FONTANA, CA- Residents throughout the County of San Bernardino gathered over the weekend to honor one of the most inspiring and influential activists in United States history. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a testament to how the strength and service of one individual can uplift a community and collectively change the world,” Supervisor Josie Gonzales stated. “I was honored to join friends and colleagues at the Rialto Black History Committee, Inland Empire Concern African American Churches, and Bethel AME Church in Fontana to celebrate the life of such a historically iconic individual.”

King High School senior Brooke Tolson with her parents Andamo and Gayla at the Posse Foundation awards event.

RIVERSIDE, CA- Brooke Tolson, a senior at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, was awarded the highly acclaimed Posse Foundation scholarship in Los Angeles on January 7. The Posse Foundation founded in 1989 identifies the best and brightest multicultural students from public high schools with exceptional academic and leadership potential. These students are awarded a four-year full tuition scholarship to attend one of 51 top colleges and universities in the nation. The Posse model is rooted in the belief that a small diverse group of talented students, a Posse, carefully selected and trained can serve as a catalyst increased individual and community development. For 25 years, Posse has awarded $668 million scholarship awards. Over 2400 students were nominated out of Los Angeles for the 100 scholarships that were awarded.

Brooke is in the top 10 percent of her graduating class and has a 4.33 GPA. She is involved in Cheer, Link Crew, BSU, the Adventure Club, California Scholastic Federation and National Honor Society, while having perfect attendance at King High School. She is a tutor at Mathnasium and has traveled to Haiti with Vacation Bible School to teach English. Brooke will be attending Pepperdine University in the fall to study elementary education with career aspirations of becoming a teacher. Brooke is the daughter of Gayla and Andamo Tolson and the sister of Enrico and Austin Tolson.

Dr. James L. Snyder

By Dr. James L. Snyder

I must confess I do have some old-fashioned biases. I would be the first to admit I’m not up to date on the latest fad or trend.

I come from that era that believed the well-dressed man is one that doesn’t stand out from everybody else. I’ve tried to keep to that all these years. I certainly don’t want to stand out and have people recognize me or point their finger at me and whispered to each other.

For years, I’ve been very careful about that. Now, it seems that because I try to dress like a well-dressed man and not stand out I am in fact standing out. Nobody, except me and two other people, really care about being well-dressed.

This has never been an issue with me and it even now is not an issue. But reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the year before me, I have to take some calculations. According to my calculation, I no longer fit into that “well-dressed man” category, because the term “well-dressed man” does not mean what it used to mean.

I hate it when something outlasts its definition.

To be a well-dressed man today, according to the latest fads and trends I have noticed, I need to throw away my belt and let my trousers drop all the way down to my knees.

Let me go on record as saying, never in a million years will that happen.

Then there is the issue about a necktie. Am I the last person on planet earth wearing a necktie?

Very few people today know how to tie a necktie. Well, I do and I will until they put me in a casket and then I hope I’m still wearing a tie. So if you come to my funeral and look at me in the casket and I’m not wearing a tie, complain to someone for me.

The latest trends and fads have no interest to me whatsoever.

This came to my attention recently when I had to sign some legal papers for something to do with the church. I had to sign here, initial there, sign the next page, initial three pages and it went on and on until I ran out of ink.

I’m one of those old-fashioned guys that use a fountain pen and all that signing and initialing drained all of the ink out of my fountain pen. Before I finished, I was on the verge of carpal tunnel.

I sighed rather deeply, looked at the gentleman (I think he was a gentleman because he was dressed like a gentleman), and said kind of sarcastically, “Do you remember the old-fashioned handshake?”

He looked at me without smiling and then said, “Here are some more papers for you to sign.”

I thought I was signing my life away, but in reality, I was just signing my ink away.

I do remember when a handshake really meant something. Just about everything was sealed with a handshake and both parties were as good as their word. It would take a lot of undoing to undo that handshake. Now, you’re only as good as the word on a piece of paper over your signature. Then, some lawyer can finagle it around to mean something other than what you really meant it in the first place. So what’s the purpose of all this?

I know you’re not supposed to say this, but I will, I sure long for the good old days when a handshake was all you needed. I get tired of the rigmarole passing as business these days. I get tired of paperwork that’s piled higher than the tallest tree in the forest.

Of course, if we go back to that handshake scenario, it will put many lawyers out of business. What would these people do for a living? I have some ideas, but I’m going to keep that to myself.

Trust has gone out of our culture today because everybody is only after what they can get for themselves and they don’t care how they get it.

A handshake met something in “the day.” In fact, I believe it was more binding than all of the paperwork and signed documents and legalese we have today. It’s hard to sue a handshake!

What I want to know is simply this. When we replaced the good old-fashioned handshake with all of this legalese stuff, are we better off? Have we simplified everything and covered all of the bases?

The answer is a loud no.

A man’s word used to be his bond and something he would never go back on.

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I have lived on that marital philosophy all of our married life. I know in the marriage ceremony there is no “handshake.” But the philosophy of that handshake is right there. When I said “I do,” and she responded by another “I do,” we were shaking hands and saying to everybody around us but particularly to one another, “We do.”

I think James shook the right hand when he wrote, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:12).

I’m all for getting back to the good old days when a handshake was all you needed.

Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net or website www.jamessnyderministries.com.