SAN BERNARDINO, CA—-After a mask-wearing and music-filled event on Saturday, September 25 that brought much joy and excitement to the San Bernardino High School (SBHS) community, Abdel-Rahman Hussein and Jamie Villalobos were crowned the new Mr. and Miss Cardinal City, respectively.

The 2021–2022 pageant was unlike any held before. According to pageant

director and SBHS bilingual school outreach worker Jaime Rios, due to COVID-related cancellations of the separate 2020–2021 Mr. Cardinal and Miss Cardinal pageants, he made the decision to combine the pageants for 2021–2022.

“The students and staff have waited so long for the pageant,” Rios said. “It’s become a tradition and something that everyone looks forward to. Once we had the proper safety precautions in place to make it happen, I wanted to involve both sets of contestants.”

Rios worked closely with staff from SBHS and Sturges Center for the Fine Arts, where the pageant was held, to make sure that everyone would be as safe as possible from COVID. He also consulted with District officials, including the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Safety & Emergency Manager Eric Vetere.

The COVID safety measures involved limiting the pageant audience to 250 invited guests only, which included only 10 members of each contestant’s family, pageant judges, performers, and a small, select group of Sturges and SBHS staff and judges’ guests. Since Sturges can accommodate 700 audience members, the extra space allowed the audience to be grouped by household with empty seats between groups.

Additionally, every person in attendance was asked to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times, excluding when sipping water or for children under age 2, as allowed by law. Signage reminded attendees to assess their health before entering Sturges, and everyone had to submit to a temperature check. Hand sanitizer stations were available for the judges, backstage for the contestants, and for the audience. An industrial-sized, HEPA-grade air filter in the auditorium filtered the air for virus particles.

Filling out Mr. Cardinal City’s court are first runner-up Carmel Gonzales and second runner-up

Saul Felix.

Miss Cardinal City’s court includes first runner-up Kylee Bravo and second runner-up Laura Galindo. Miss International Beauty 2021 Trinity Ortega and Teen International Beauty 2021 Ashley Torrez were also crowned Saturday night and will be part of the Miss Cardinal City court.

The pageant also included several special presentations. Ivan Cruz, a SBHS Class of 2021 graduate, was named Mr. Cardinal City 2020–2021.

“The Mr. Cardinal City 2020–2021 pageant was cancelled just weeks before the event due to the COVID-19 lockdowns,” Rios said. “The contestants had been practicing and providing hours of community service up to that point, but they never got to take the stage. I couldn’t give that back to them, but I could crown an honorary Mr. Cardinal City 2020–2021 from among the contestants.”

Cruz was crowned shortly before Mr. Cardinal City 2021–2022 was announced, so his reign was short lived, but he will be listed as a former Mr. Cardinal City in official documents.

Dr. Harold Vollkommer, retired SBCUSD interim superintendent and former deputy superintendent, was honored for his longtime support of the Mr. and Miss Cardinal City pageants. He has judged several pageants and been the master of ceremonies for others.

Mr. and Miss Cardinal City and their Courts will represent Cardinal City, which is an official chartered city that encompasses the SBHS campus and all of its current students and staff, at various in-person and virtual functions.

According to Susan Jeske Irvine, the holder of the trademark for Miss International Beauty and Teen International Beauty, both titles focus on using the exhilaration of pageantry to teach women and girls important life skills, encourage involvement in community service, and use their “Crown for a Purpose,” while shaping the leaders of tomorrow. Miss International Beauty and Teen International Beauty were incorporated into the Miss Cardinal City pageant this year as part of a set of unique circumstances because of COVID and the passing of founder Louise Madlin.

Mr. and Miss Cardinal City are eligible for college scholarships when they graduate from SBHS. To donate to the Cardinal Scholarship fund, contact Communications/Community Relations secretary Susan Zavala at (909) 381-1250. Miss International Beauty 2021 and Teen International Beauty 2021 will each receive $100 in prize money.

INDIAN OCEAN—-Seaman Carissa Ledesma from San Bernadino, California stands communications watch during a replenishment-at-sea aboard the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Ronald Reagan, flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman George Cardenas)

FONTANA, CA—Victor Glover was escorted into the press conference at the Jesse Turner Center on the arms of Miss Black Awareness and her Court, where he was greeted by his fraternity Brothers, elected officials, and the press.

This took place on Saturday, September 18 during the 5^th Annual Concerned Citizens for the Development of North Fontana. The event was a day of, “UNITY in the CommUNITY”. Other festivities of the event were the Chillin’ N Grillin’ BBQ competition.  A big thank you goes out to all the grillers for your participation, and Congratulations to the Riverside County Fire department for taking home the MasterChef award for 2021-2022. 

Representatives from Ted Porter Elementary School 5th grade class was invited to attend a VIP press conference with Commander Victor Glover, while over 100 of their classmates anxiously waited at the North Fontana Park Sports Pavilion.  The four Representatives asked very pertinent questions to astronaut Glover about how life was living in space for six months, and presented him with a banner that 5 grade classes had made for him.  

Victor Glover was pleasantly surprised to receive the key to the City from Fontana’s City Council members presented to him by Mayor Acquanetta Warren. After the press conference, he was transported by Fiona the movie car and her owner Elaine Francisco where he was led into the Sports Pavilion by Chaffey  High School Honor Guard Naval ROTC to a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful sang by Amore’ the Songstress, accompanied by a 116 piece band from Summit High School under the direction of Mr Sharp.

The goal of the organization is not only to break bread together, but to bring CommUNITY Awareness to the Inland empire.  their initial purpose was to

bridge the gap between law enforcement agencies and the community.  However, the vehicle that fuels this event is education as stated by Ellen Turner, president of the Concerned Citizens, she further states that knowledge and partnership is the essential.

This annual event would not be possible without the help and support from the City of Fontana, and the Police Officers Association. It truly “takes a village”.

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INLAND EMPIRE, CA—- The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has certified First Community Capital, Inc. as the first and only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) located in Southwest Riverside County.  First Community Capital serves Southern California and Arizona.

Community Development Financial Institutions play an important role in generating economic growth and opportunity in some of our nation’s most distressed communities. By offering tailored resources and innovative programs that invest federal dollars alongside private sector capital, the CDFI’s take a market-based approach to supporting economically disadvantaged communities.

CDFI’s can loan money at very attractive rates to help people buy homes, and small businesses.

“Our mission is to foster economic justice and opportunity by providing access to capital and technical assistance to economically disadvantaged micro and rural businesses,” said Jay Diallo, CEO and Founder of First Community Capital, Inc.

“FCC is inspired to achieve the ambitious goal of economic inclusion by ensuring that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and women-owned businesses including immigrants, refugees and those formerly incarcerated have equitable access to capital and other financial resources to support business startups, while also strengthening existing businesses to withstand the economic impacts imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Diallo said.

First Community Capital helps low – and moderate-income entrepreneurs who lack sufficient training and education to gain access to capital, thereby delivering long-term economic strength to communities while helping small businesses become more resilient.

“We often lend to borrowers that may not meet mainstream institutions’ underwriting criteria, helping to bridge the gap between conventional lending standards and the needs of hard-to-reach borrowers,” said Diallo.

Before starting First Community Capital in 2019, Diallo was Vice President – Community Development Lending Officer at Pacific Premier Bank in Irvine, CA.  He also served as Executive Director – PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Developing Corporation (PMHDC), in Tucson, AZ.

Diallo earned undergraduate at bachelor’s degree in political science with a Minor in Economics, from Westmont College in Santa Barbara.  He also earned a graduate degree in Banking from Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle, WA.  His fields of emphasis included: Credit and Enterprise Risk Management, Bank Financial Statements, Bank Financial Tools, Dynamic Leadership, Analysis of Business Conditions, Sales and Marketing.

Our

First Community Capital is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and a certified CDFI governed by an independent board of directors. The board provides fiduciary and organizational oversight, ensuring it achieves its mission of growing businesses and strengthening underserved communities in California and Arizona. The directors are responsible for approving all lending policies and procedures as well as reviewing the financial and programmatic performance of the agency.

“When the health and economic disaster of COVID-19 hit our small businesses, FCC swiftly responded to their critical needs. Through the US Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.  FCC has helped more than 65 microenterprises secure loans to fund their business operations through the pandemic to survive until the crisis has passed,” said Diallo.

“In addition, FCC has made direct loans specifically to minority-owned microbusinesses who did not qualify for the SBA EIDL loan and would have otherwise been left without financial assistance and forced to close their businesses, likely to never reopen,” Diallo added.

For more information on First Community Capital, Inc. go to https://www.fccbi.org or call (951) 249-5767

Board of Directors

T. Jay Diallo, Chairman, President & CEO 

Mark Davis, Vice President-BDO-PM 
Canyon Community Bank

Vincent McCoy, Vice President 
Riverside County Black Chamber of Commerce

Fatimoh Muhammed

President & CEO – Wamufat International

First Community Capital Locations

California Locations

Southwest Riverside County

26111 Ynez Rd. Suite B30

Temecula, CA 92591

Inland Empire

2060 Chicago Ave. Suite A13

Riverside, CA 92507

Los Angeles County

879 W 190th St. Suite 400

Gardena, CA 90248

Southern Arizona Market

Pima County

8321 E Broadway Blvd #103

Tucson, AZ 85710

Maricopa County

1510 W McDowell RD #4

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Yuma County

8321 E Broadway Blvd #103

Tucson, AZ 85710

About First Community Capital Inc.

Established in 2019 as an economic development nonprofit agency, First Community Capital has already made significant contributions in helping entrepreneurs to start and grow their small businesses. In leveraging our network of bankers, community development organizations and leaders, we have provided training, seminars, and workshops to about 200 small business entrepreneurs. We strongly believe that with each business financed and each job created and or retained, it represents a critical step in the transformation of a life, a family, and a community.

By Lue Dowdy

What up IE and everybody!? As we all know that our youth is the future. This week in my column, I’d like to highlight DJ Jahcory. He is a very talent young man with a bright future in the world of entertainment. I’ve had the pleasure of booking him for one of our Lue Productions youth events. The kids and adults loved him! He has major skills and a dope play set. He took a hobby and made it into a business. Read more about him below on how he got started.

Jahcory Williams is a 17-year -old DJ. He was born in San Bernardino and was raised all throughout the Inland Empire. He has been DJing since the 7th grade. His mother connected him with DJ Demico for lessons. His parents bought all of his equipment and DJ Demico came over and had sessions with him and his friend Kyran, teaching them how to DJ and how to do it well if they wanted to make a career out of it. Jahcory found it was a good legal way for them as young men to make some good money.

DJing is not the only talent that this young man has, he can also dance. Jahcory has been dancing since he came out of the womb and could never stop. From a young boy, he would just sit there watching dance videos and music videos of people dancing and trying to recreate the dances, to now a young man doing his own thing trying to perfect his craft and make something of himself dancing as well. Getting tens of thousands of likes on Tik-Tok.

He is also a twin. He has a twin sister Jordin, who is also his manager. He loves spending time with his family and people he loves. This is only the beginning of what he can do, and you will see more of him soon.

Welp that’s it that’s all ya’ll! Until next week, L’s!

By Dr. Naomi Bardach, Safe Schools for All team lead

California school districts are close to fully reopening for the 2021-22 school year. Seventeen of the 20 largest districts have reopened with the other three on schedule to reopen soon. By implementing the right precautions, such as wearing masks indoors, parents can feel confident about their children being back in school for full, in-person learning.

With the help of scientists and medical professionals, we have gathered a lot more information about the coronavirus since it first hit America more than a year ago and those learnings are being applied to the new school year. It is imperative that we work together to support learning and growth for all students by fully reopening schools, which play a vital role in our communities. 

Living with the virus has become our reality and we are learning to adapt. There will continue to be challenges this school year but with a multi-layered strategy in place — testing, vaccinations, masking, improved ventilation — we are confident this is the best path to safely returning to in-person learning.

As we dig into the school year, there are several things that parents should keep top of mind that will directly impact their children’s safety and well-being. Here are five key areas that I recommend paying close attention to.

Vaccinations remain key to COVID-19 prevention in kids.

Medical research has shown that children are less likely to catch the coronavirus than older students and adults. Most children contract the virus from a close relative in their home, not from other students or school personnel. Vaccines substantially reduce the need for quarantines, especially in middle and high schools.

Remember all teachers and staff in K-12 public and private schools are required to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. 

The requirement to get vaccinated or weekly COVID-19 testing applies to the state’s 320,000 public school teachers and more than 250,000 support staff — from cafeteria employees to campus custodians — and at least 80,000 private school employees, according to the California Department of Education and labor unions. It will also pertain to school volunteers. These individuals will set the tone on our campuses and ensuring their safety allows for more focus on the students.

School-associated cases are evidence that schools are screening out COVID-19.

Schools are creating safe spaces through layered approaches including testing and contract tracing which supports identifying cases, in addition to sending ongoing notifications to keep parents updated. Vaccinations for anyone 12 years of age and older and masks for all students supports schools in being safe spaces for students. 

Schools reopening promotes mental and social-emotional health.

The last year and half has been a long and hard challenge for many of our students. The absence of school structure has led to social isolation and anxiety which severely impacts student’s social and emotional development. Research supports the reopening of schools to promote the mental, social-emotional and academic well-being of students. We must do all we can to mitigate the substantial effects of students remaining out of in-person learning. We want them back doing the things they love – socializing, spending time with their friends and playing sports.

The Delta variant remains a concern. 

The presence of the Delta variant has created a need to increase testing capacity in many schools, although children are not the principal drivers of virus transmission. Vaccination is the best way to protect against the Delta variant. Unvaccinated children may safely return to school, but that makes other protective measures such as masking more important for them. 

For more information and ongoing updates, parents can visit https://schools.covid19.ca.gov/pages/parent-page.

RIVERSIDE, CA- The Pink Ribbon Place, a program of Riverside Community Health Foundation, is proud to announce the return of its 10th annual breast cancer awareness walk – Pink on Parade -with virtual and in-person activities that highlight the importance of raising breast cancer awareness, screenings and early detection to save lives.
 
According to the CDC, the total number of cancer screening tests received by women through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (Early Detection Program) declined by 87 percent  for breast cancer during the pandemic.
 
“Breast cancer screenings and treatments have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic; many have delayed, and some have even skipped annual screenings, which can be instrumental in the early detection of breast cancer,” said Nicole Stovicek, Director ofThe Pink Ribbon Place. “Pink on Parade is a celebration of strength, hope and survival, but it is also an opportunity to remind every one of us of the importance of early detection and to increase knowledge of breast cancer signs and symptoms. We ask everyone who can get involved in raising breast cancer awareness with us, to do so.” 
 
The Pink Ribbon Place invites you to kick off breast cancer awareness month early this year with two virtual contests, “Art on Parade” and “Paint the Town Pink”. “Art on Parade” invites community members to create an art piece inspired by the breast cancer journey in any medium and “Paint the Town Pink” invites locals to decorate the interior or exterior of their home and/or business in pink. Community members can enter the contests and vote for their favorite entries throughout October. All entries must be submitted by October 2 via pinkonparade.org.   
 
In addition to the virtual contests, the Pink on Parade route will return on Saturday, October 16th at Mt. Rubidoux (Ryan Bonamino Park 5000 Tequesquite Ave, Riverside, CA 92506) from 8AM-5PM. Individuals, family, friends, and co-workers are encouraged to start a team, fundraise, and walk the decorated route at their leisure and enjoy activities which include a Hula celebration and dedication at 8:30AM on top of Mt. Rubidioux, a Jeep Club car show, and breakfast & BBQ provided by Riverside Police Officers Association’s Lost in Sauce food truck are just a few highlights community members can look forward to at this year’s in-person walk.
 
Though registration is free for this year’s event, Team Captains are encouraged to register and engage their family and friends to fundraise and raise breast cancer awareness. Proceeds from Pink on Parade will go towards the no-cost services at The Pink Ribbon Place, which supports individuals and families impacted by cancer by providing education, client navigation, counseling, support groups, headwear, post mastectomy products, treatment kits and much more.  
 
The event is proudly sponsored by Aetna, who is committed to providing individuals, employers, health care professionals, producers and others with innovative benefits, products, and services.  
 
Important Dates to Remember: September 1?-?Contests Open; October 2 – Contests Deadline; October 8-22 – Community Votes; October 16 – Pink on Parade; October 29 – Winners Announced  
 
For more information about the Pink on Parade visit www.pinkonparade.org. 

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

It looks like Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain in the office he won in 2018 after he secured an insurmountable lead in votes counted so far in Tuesday’s gubernatorial recall election. 

Several media outlets projected shortly before midnight Tuesday that the attempt to remove Newsom from office failed. 

About an hour after thanking Californians for keeping him in office, Newsom tweeted, “Now, let’s get back to work.”

Larry Elder, a conservative Republican Los Angeles-based talk show host, who was the leading candidate vying to remove Newsom from office conceded the race. A total of 46 candidates were on the ballot to replace Newsom. 

“Let’s be gracious in defeat,” Elder said after the results started pouring in and it was obvious, he had no chance of winning.  “We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war.”

According to preliminary results, just under 65% of the voters have said “no” to recalling Newsom in the special election that is estimated to have cost California taxpayers $276 million. With about 67 % of all votes counted so far, only a little over 35% voted yes on the recall. 

Reactions on social media included the following:

Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), Assembly Speaker pro Tem tweeted, “A $276 million waste just to reaffirm 2018’s results with an election coming in 2022. The CA recall process must be reformed including elevating the Lt. Guv in the event of a recall. But to avoid partisan power grabs the Governor/LG should be a ticket of the same party (like NY).”

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis wrote, “Thank you California for recognizing that @GavinNewsom is exactly where he needs to be, in the Governor’s office! His commitment to the people of California is unwavering and I look forward to his continued leadership of our great state!”

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA 37) tweeted, “Proud of our governor. Proud of our people. Proud of California.”

Newsom told supporters, although Californians voted “no” to the recall, he wants to focus on all the things they were saying yes to by their votes. 

“‘No’ is not the only thing that was expressed tonight,” Newsom said. “I want to focus on what we said ‘yes’ to as a state. We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic. We said yes to people’s right to vote without fear of fake fraud or voter suppression.”

The gubernatorial recall was the fifth statewide vote Dr. Shirley Weber has overseen since she was appointed Secretary of State on Jan. 19. Throughout the process, Weber, a former Assemblymember who represented the 79^th District in San Diego County, says she worked hard to make sure that voter fraud or the talk of fraud of would not interfere in the results of this election. 

“We worked hard to secure our elections. There’s no evidence of fraud or miscounting,” Weber said on CNN. “As Secretary of State, we’ve been even-handed in how we’ve handled every issue. I was sued by the governor as well as by others because of some of the decisions we made that were fair and just.”

Weber’s office has 30 days to certify the recall election once all of the votes have been counted. If there are any discrepancies, Weber said those issues will be addressed.

“I like to say to those that continue to challenge this issue of fairness and so forth, I always say, ‘where’s the evidence?’” Weber said. “We are willing to accept the evidence as it is not just to simply open-ended allegations of fraud and deceptions. Those things are easy to say. But we have yet to get evidence of fraud and deception.”

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

It is shocking how often we ignore crucial warnings, until it is too late. Yet, we all understand what warning mean in our daily lives, and we know what the risks are for ignoring them, but what about the warnings that exist for our spiritual lives? What is the result of continually ignoring God’s warnings?” [Amos 4:6-12; Isaiah 5:24 paraphrased] says that God’s love will be turned to anger, His blessings will turn to judgment, murder and death of the people will increase, enemy nations will threaten to attack—suddenly and overwhelmingly—and all trusted defenses will fail. It happened before and it will happen again, because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Listen, throughout Bible history, God has repeatedly provided man with more than “ample warning” of His impending judgments. His purpose for warning man is to motivate him to repent and come back to Him. Let us not be like the people in Noah’s day. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, how will you escape if you neglect so great a salvation? How will you escape inevitable judgment if you ignore the warning? If you refuse this invitation, this incomprehensible gift of grace? You will not. What catastrophe! Eternal consequences beyond human comprehension!

God’s final appeal, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” [Revelation 22:17]. But lest you put it off, the Bible goes on in the next to the last verse to warn, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly” [Revelation 22:20].

Then I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” [Revelation 8].

For all of God’s remedial efforts had failed. The people had turned against Him more and more. With great reluctance He releases them to their own destructions. [2 Chronicles 36:15-17] Even though God had compassion on them and wanted to save them from this, they were not willing.

“Woe, Woe, Woe!”  In one day, in one hour, her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the LORD God who judges her.” [Revelation 18:8].

By Bishop Kelvin Simmons

I’ll be honest. As co-pastor at Immanuel Praise Fellowship in Rancho Cucamonga, I had decided I wasn’t going to encourage my parishioners to get the COVID-19 vaccine until I was sure the vaccine was safe.

And I was not alone among my peers in the Southern California faith community. Dr. Andrea King, pastor at 16th St. Seventh Day Adventist Church in San Bernardino and a fellow member of Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches, felt the same way. We know all too well that Black people have been mistreated by doctors, scientists and others for generations.  So, it’s no surprise that many of our brothers and sisters believe the stories circulating on social media making false claims about the vaccine.

However, the truth is that we have a life-saving vaccine that protects us against a virus that has hospitalized and killed far too many of us. 

While hospitals are struggling to keep up with the number of unvaccinated people with severe COVID-19 illness, the FDA granted full approval last month of Pfizer’s vaccine for those ages 16 and up. It’s worth noting that emergency-use authorization also remains in place for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots, as well as Pfizer’s for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Dr. King and I believe in being informed, so despite our reservations, we prayed about it and then we got educated. We connected with a group of Black and brown health care providers from nearby Loma Linda University School of Medicine. We fired question after question at them and talked about our suspicions and fears. We delved into how the vaccines were developed, how they work in our bodies, and the possible risks and benefits of getting vaccinated.

We recognized that these people, who look like us, are the real experts. We trusted them to tell us the truth.

When I learned that people with immune system disorders can be fatally impacted by the virus, I thought of my only child, who has lupus. I asked myself, “How can I be out engaging with people and getting exposed to the virus unintentionally and then endanger my daughter?” For me, it was a real ‘Come to Jesus’ moment.

Soon, we were hosting town hall meetings and vaccination clinics for our congregations and surrounding Inland Empire communities. We have educated hundreds of people through our town hall meetings, webinars, and a Black church summit on COVID-19 with Loma Linda University and county health experts. We have vaccinated thousands at more than 20 pop-up clinics. 

When people ask me if I took the vaccine, I tell them, “Yes.” If they ask me how I feel, I say “good.” We cannot argue with the numbers. As an African American, we can’t argue that we are 12 percent of the U.S. population but 34 percent of those who have died of COVID-19, according to CDC data Think about it for yourself and the people around you.

Of course, there are those among us who still don’t trust the vaccine and still don’t want to take it. I pray about it. I tell them that I can’t make them get vaccinated, but I also try to help them understand that we must do better, especially when we have deathly ill children in hospital ICUs with the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.

I urge my congregation and anyone who follows Biblical teachings to love their neighbor as they love themselves.

The virus itself is what it is. What is keeping COVID-19 around is the hardness of the heart of humanity. If everybody looked out for everybody else, and got vaccinated, we would be talking about something different. The virus can only do what we allow it to do. It’s not about the virus now, it’s about humanity.

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Bishop Kelvin Simmons is co-pastor of Immanuel Praise Fellowship in Rancho Cucamonga, president of the Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches, and a member of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE).