By Allison Kugel

For many Black Americans, he is next to a Messiah. For many non-Black Americans, he is thought to be an agitator, riling up already uncomfortable societal quagmires that are better left swept under the rug. Media image aside, Reverend Al Sharpton is neither of these things. The boy raised by a single mother in working class Queens, New York, developed a passion for civil rights activism as a pre-teen. He began marching alongside Reverend Jesse Jackson and other prominent civil rights activists at the tender age of thirteen, seeking to progress the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of civil disobedience and taking the high road to equal rights under the law for Black Americans.

As the years progressed, though the American civil rights movement has remained something of a moving target, much of the fight has landed at Reverend Al Sharpton’s doorstep. Families of victims of police brutality, fatal racial discrimination and other hate crimes come to him in their quest to gain the media attention they need to enact criminal justice and legislative reform on behalf of their loved ones. The powerless and voiceless look to Reverend Sharpton to get their voices heard. As Sharpton, himself, put it to me during our conversation, “People have called me an ambulance chaser, but we are the ambulance.” He is referring to victims’ families who have been helped by Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), providing everything from the media attention these families need to pressure prosecutors to take action towards justice, to gaining the attention of congress for policy reform, as well as emotional and financial support in some instances.

Now, with his new book, Rise Up: Confronting A Country At The Crossroads, Reverend Al Sharpton outlines his unrelenting position on the weightiest political and societal issues of our time, recounts some hard lessons learned, and offers an inside glimpse into the mentors who shaped the man we see today. Most importantly, Reverend Sharpton outlines his plan for an America at the crossroads.

Allison Kugel: In light of recent news in the Breonna Taylor case (no criminal charges were filed in her death), what was your first reaction when you heard that decision?

Reverend Al Sharpton: It was alarming, but not surprising. I didn’t have confidence in this investigation, because of the obvious policies of the prosecutor. The prosecutor guides the grand jury and there is nobody in there besides the prosecutor. This prosecutor is a protege of Mitch McConnell. I did not think that he was going to do anything. I did feel that the indictment of the other officer, [Brett] Hankison, for the endangerment of everybody but Breonna was just as offensive. What they are saying is that he was reckless in who he was shooting at and putting others at risk. What about who they shot, and her being at risk? It is one of the reasons why we do what we do, in saying there needs to be new laws. We just had a big march with tens of thousands of us, three weeks ago. Among two of the things we wanted are The George Floyd Policing and Justice Act that sat in the House, but the Senate hasn’t taken it up. It would strengthen the laws that would have eliminated the no knock laws and put this whole thing in a different perspective. That’s one of the things I talk about that in this new book (Rise Up, Hanover Square Press).

Allison Kugel: Many people believe that you just show up wherever the action and media attention is. It’s important for people to know that you and your National Action Network (NAN) are the ones who work to bring national attention to these cases in the first place. For example, it was your organization, NAN, that brought national attention to Trayvon Martin’s murder and to George Floyd’s murder. Without your hard work, the world wouldn’t know the names Trayvon Martin or George Floyd. Why isn’t this common knowledge?

Reverend Al Sharpton: A lot of the media just doesn’t say it. Ben Crump (Attorney for the Floyd family) and the families have said it. In fact, Breonna Taylor’s mother’s first interview was on my show (MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation”). They couldn’t get a national show before my show. Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin’s mother) wrote about it her book on Trayvon. Ben Crump brought them to New York to ask me to blow up Trayvon [in the media]. Trayvon had been buried for 2 weeks. I didn’t even know about Trayvon until they came and met with me in my office. We made it an issue and called the first rally and had about 10,000 people out there. It ended up being the day my mother died, and I went ahead with the rally anyway. I said in the eulogy to George Floyd that people call me to blow things up, and I have an infrastructure with NAN where we support the family, we help them get legal advice and media advice, and we stay with them. Sometimes people can’t cover their expenses if they need to do a rally. Some of them need to pay their rent, and NAN helps with that. They call us because they know we’ll come.

Allison Kugel: Who is your heir apparent once you reach a certain age and you are no longer able to do this work? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: That would come up through the ranks of NAN (Sharpton’s National Action Network). We have a lot of young people in our youth and college division, and some of them have a lot of potential. It is not up to me to choose who it will be, but I think it will come up from the ranks of the movement. That is why I built an organization. I could have just resigned from NAN several years ago, not worried about raising five to ten million dollars a year, and just done radio and TV and been a personality. I built a structure because I wanted to go way beyond my viability. I came out of that kind of structure, but nobody anointed me. The point person before me was Reverend Jesse Jackson who was one of my mentors, but he didn’t choose me.  Cream rises to the top. You’re going to take a lot of scrutiny. You’re going to take a lot of attacks. I’ve been stabbed and done time in jail for marching. There is a downside to this, and not everybody is built for that. 

Allison Kugel: What you are saying is actually a great life lesson. Nobody anoints you. Nobody taps you on the head and says, “You are the chosen one.” It has to come from within, and a person takes it upon themselves to take the ball and run with it. That applies to anything in life.

Reverend Al Sharpton: Absolutely, and you will only do it if it comes from inside. If I sat down and asked somebody if they would go through what I went through… I’ve done 90 days in jail at one time. Who would apply for that?  But if it is in you, you take it as it comes because your commitment and your beliefs are bigger than whatever it is you are going to face. But this is not a career move. I started to write when I was 12, I started preaching before that, and I became youth director under Jesse and Reverend William Jones when I was 13. When I was 13 years old, I didn’t sit down and say, “If I do this, one day I’ll have a show on MSNBC.” When I started, there was no MSNBC. There was no radio show syndication owned by blacks. You do things out of commitment and things result from that, but your critics will act like you just figured out this will make you famous. How would I know at 13 years old where this was going to go? 

Allison Kugel: After reading your book cover to cover I went to sleep and woke up the next morning with this thought: We are supposed to be the smartest, most sophisticated species on the planet.  However, we have trillions of dollars in circulation on this planet, and millions of people are broke.  We have more than enough food, to the point that we throw out ridiculous amounts of food every day, and millions of people are starving. So, we can’t be that smart.

Reverend Al Sharpton: I think you should be an activist.  You are absolutely right.  It’s a matter of will and a matter of using the intelligence we claim to have to distribute things more wisely, and to make people the priority rather than greed and ego. It’s a decision that we throw out food and not feed everybody. There is enough food for everybody. It is a decision to allow the water and the air to be polluted for people’s profit. We can clean up the air and the water. That is part of why I’m saying we need to Rise Up (the title of Sharpton’s new book, out 9/29), and this is not a book that just deals with blacks. I deal with climate change. I deal with LGBTQ rights. I’m saying, across the board, we could be better than this, but we are not rising up and demanding these things.

Allison Kugel: In your book you illustrate a parallel between The Great Depression and The New Deal put in place by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and our current economic crisis due to COVID-19 and the potential solution of a Green New Deal. Have you had the chance to speak with Kamala Harris or Joe Biden about this? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: During the [primary] campaign, yes. There was the meeting when Kamala came to Harlem and went with me to Sylvia’s soul food restaurant. I’ve talked to them separately. I’ve not talked to them at length since they were nominated. Obviously, we’ve talked on the phone, but this is something that I’m pushing out and I’m encouraging them to do. With COVID-19 this country is going to go through a tremendous economic challenge. We need a Marshall Plan and government involvement to bring the country back. If we don’t have that kind of engagement, we are going to have a very difficult 2021 and 2022. 

Allison Kugel: How do you see a Green New Deal rolling out despite the strong lobby for oil? How can a new administration circumvent that? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: Rise up and vote in this election and put in office people that will not be in any way swayed by the lobbyists. We have to change the lawmakers. Lobbyists can only go as far as who they can influence. You currently have people in the Senate and the Congress that they can influence. They have to have that majority commit to it; the same way Roosevelt did with The New Deal. That is why I wanted this book out before the upcoming election, to lay all of this out. 

Allison Kugel: With the worldwide protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd, what do you ultimately see resulting from all the protesting?

Reverend Al Sharpton: The legislation is one, as I said, but the overall result should be how we as a culture redefine policing and move past police being above the law while questioning the actions of some police is thought to be anti-police. I think legislation can enforce this, or we need a cultural shift. One of the reasons the Floyd case caught on the way it did is that it happened in the middle of a pandemic and everyone was in lockdown. There were no sports, so people were watching the news to see what was happening with the lockdown. They kept seeing this footage over and over again, and they couldn’t turn to sports as a distraction. There was no distraction with George Floyd, and I think that caused an eruption. How could somebody press their weight with their knee on someone’s neck for more than eight minutes unless there was some venom there? 

Allison Kugel: I believe everything happens for a reason. I love how you said that God chooses the most unlikely people to make the biggest impact on the world. George Floyd’s story and his likeness will be passed down for generations to come. Has the Floyd family grasped the enormity of that?

Reverend Al Sharpton: Yes, we talk about it all the time.  His brother, Philonise, who does a lot of speaking for the family, we talk almost every day. We talked last night, and I think they have begun to understand the impact. Their immediate reaction was they didn’t understand it, because they were suddenly thrust into something [public] and they were also mourning. As time has gone on and they see people responding to George and his image, they understand that maybe God used him as an instrument. I told them God absolutely used him as an instrument. Nothing but God could have brought it to this level, and you have to be at peace with that and also set your responsibility in that.

Allison Kugel: I want to talk to you about Defund the Police. I read where you are not in favor of it, and I’m definitely not for it. Rather than defund the police, I am of the mind that some funds should be reallocated towards programs for compassion, empathy, tolerance, psychological competency, and things like that. What are your thoughts?  

Reverend Al Sharpton: I think that we should redistribute how we do the resources like dealing with some of the things you outlined. A month after we did the eulogies for George Floyd, I did a eulogy for a 17-year-old kid killed by a stray bullet in the Bronx, and a eulogy for a one-year old baby that was killed by a straight bullet in Brooklyn. How can we say we don’t need policing when our communities are disproportionately victims of crime? We are the only community that has reasonable fear of cops and robbers. I think we need to reallocate how we deal with the funds for police. We must have police in presence because right now we are inundating our communities with guns and drugs, and that is reality. Ironically though, I think what people don’t understand, Allison, is the one who has defunded the police is Trump. By Trump ineffectively handling COVID-19, most of these cities are going to be in deficit and will be laying off police. That is a bigger threat than people stating it at rallies. They have run out of funds. They are laying off teachers and policeman in some cities. 

Allison Kugel: Good point. And whether you love Trump or hate him, every American should be aware that an important part of our democracy is a free press, as well as our postal service. When you have somebody in the highest office in the land who essentially gaslights the American public and says, “You can’t trust the media, you can’t trust the medical experts; only believe Me,” that is very dangerous rhetoric and undermines our democracy.  Why do you think so many Trump supporters aren’t seeing that? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: It baffles me on one level, and on another level, I think because the country is so divided, and they have been divided by the media. The media has convinced people that everybody but FOX {News] and a few radio talk show guys are buffaloing you or fooling you. They set a climate where a guy like Trump, who really is representing himself almost as an autocrat, can rise up and take advantage of that. He can say, “Don’t believe them, believe me. I’m one of you.” There is nobody more not one of them than Trump, with the glitzy billionaire lifestyle he lives. Whether he is a real billionaire or not, we don’t know. But he’s been able to sell that to people who are suffering through existence issues that are lower-middle class or poor, like I grew up. It’s appealing to them that they are doing this to me, and he has identified “they” as the liberal media. He gives everybody a blame game. In the interim, he does policies that don’t help them, but that they can feel that it is not his fault, instead it’s their fault. 

Allison Kugel: Throwing it back to the 2016 presidential election, do you think Hillary Clinton was a strong and viable candidate? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: I think she was a strong and viable candidate, but she did not run a strong and viable campaign. They did not engage the ground enough. To lose Michigan by 12,000 votes, I know three churches that could have given her that. They never went into Detroit. They never really went into Milwaukee. I think there was almost this feeling of, “We got this. Nobody is going to vote for Trump.” She certainly had the credentials. I think she had the vision, and I think she is a decent person. I knew her since she was First Lady, but I think her campaign was too up in the air, too high ground. They didn’t get on the ground, and that is where the voters were. It left an opening for Trump to do it. I think that Biden has not run that campaign so far. 

Allison Kugel: Meaning he has been on the ground? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: He has been on the ground and he has his infrastructure on the ground. 

Allison Kugel: As a Jewish American, this next question is more personal. There is a faction of the Black American movement that has become antisemitic as of late. It’s confounding to me based on our shared history and a lot of our shared activism. How can we clear up some of these misconceptions? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: We need to stand and walk together and go back to the history. When I was a kid, I will never forget, Reverend Jackson brought me to the Jewish Theological Seminary, and I met Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who marched with Dr. King. Rabbi Heschel gave me a collection of his books and I still have some, like God and Man, and some others. There are people like Heschel, who were part of the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. I tell a lot of people today that when we talk about voting rights, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner, were three Jews who died to get us the right to vote. I don’t think enough of us talk about that in the Black community. And yes, we may have had our disagreements, but the history of it is not put out enough and we have to deliberately deal with the misnomer that we have not come together and suffered together. I remember when 9/11 happened. I went to Mort Zuckerman, who was then the head of the Conference of  Jewish Organizations, and I said I want to go to Israel and identify with the fact that they live under this kind of terrorism all the time, and we just went through it in New York. [Former Israeli President] Shimon Peres invited me as his guest to Israel and I went and met with him. He asked me to take that message to [Yasser] Arafat. He set up a meeting with [Yasser] Arafat (late Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization), and I went and worked with them. There are people on both sides that don’t want to let certain things go, but we have to keep standing up and represent the facts of history. We’ve suffered together, we’ve fought together, and at this time we cannot afford to be separate. We are fighting the same enemy. Most people that are racist are also antisemitic, and those who are antisemitic are mostly racist. We are connected and we need to stop acting like we are not. 

Allison Kugel: I like that. A big part of your organization, the National Action Network, is Criminal Justice Reform. Recently Kim Kardashian worked with President Trump to have the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent offender, commuted.  Would you ever be open to following suit and working with this current administration on Criminal Justice Reform? 

Reverend Al Sharpton: I don’t trust Trump. I did support the [Emergency Community Supervision Act of 2020] bill that Corey Booker and Hakeem Jeffries came to me with. They said, “Even though we are working with Jared Kushner, would you support this bill?” Van Jones called me, and he was working very closely with Jared Kushner. I said, “I’m not going to do photo ops with them, but I support the bill.” I went on my show and endorsed the bill. I think you have to put principle over personality, but I don’t want a photo opp with this president. He called me after he won and invited me to Mar-A-Lago, and I wouldn’t go because I believe he is just a cynical manipulator. Even bad people can sometimes deliver good results, and I didn’t want to get in the way of the results. I wanted to support it even though I do not trust him. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. 

Allison Kugel: (Laugh) Lastly, there has been a lot of rioting and looting mixed in with peaceful protesting.  Your organization’s famous slogan is, “No Justice, No Peace.” Do you want to clear up, for people, what you mean by that?

Reverend Al Sharpton: It means the only way we are going to have real peace, where we can live together as a society that respects each other, is to have justice. I don’t mean “no peace” in the sense of violence. I am absolutely, unequivocally against violence. I have denounced it everywhere and will continue to. As far as the two cops shot in Louisville, Kentucky, I think it is morally wrong. You cannot become like the people you are fighting. If you become like that, if you have the same values and the same moral code, they have already defeated you. At the same time, I think there’s a difference between peace and quiet. Quiet means just shut up and suffer.  Peace means let’s strive to work together even if we’ve got to march and make noise together to get an equal society for everybody.  That is what I mean by “No Justice, No Peace.”

Rise Up: Confronting A Country At The Crossroads, the latest book by Reverend Al Sharpton, is out Tuesday, September 29, 2020, everywhere books are sold.  Visit www.alsharptonbooks.com for links to purchase. Follow Reverend Sharpton on Instagram @real_sharpton and on Twitter @thereval. To learn more about the National Action Network (NAN), visit www.nationalactionnetwork.net.

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated Martin Jenkins, a San Francisco native, and a former prosecutor and judge, to the California Supreme Court. If confirmed, Jenkins, 66, would be the third African American to serve on the state’s highest court.  

The governor nominated Jenkins, who his peers describe as a moderate Democrat, to replace Justice Ming W. Chen, a Republican Gov. Pete Wilson appointed in 1996. Chen retired in August.  

“I am more excited about Martin Jenkins’ appointment than I was for my own,” says Judge Teri L. Jackson, who Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed last year Associate Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Three, in San Francisco. Jackson, who also grew up in San Francisco, has known Jenkins most of her life.  

“I feel so lucky to have always had him as an older brother, mentor, confidante and friend. Now, the whole state of California will be lucky to have him — we all can experience his brilliance together, his commitment to justice, his sense of fairness and his collegial style. He always tries to seek common ground and the common good,” she said. “He will bring practical and intellectual analysis to our Supreme Court. And it will come with compassion, courage and dedication.” 

When Gov. Newsom announced Jenkins’ nomination, he hailed the jurist’s performance, reputation, character and temperament.

“Justice Jenkins is widely respected among lawyers and jurists, active in his Oakland community and his faith, and is a decent man to his core,” Newsom said in a statement. “As a critical member of my senior leadership team, I’ve seen firsthand that Justice Jenkins possesses brilliance and humility in equal measure. The people of California could not ask for a better jurist or kinder person to take on this important responsibility.” 

Jenkins currently serves as Gov. Newsom’s judicial appointments secretary. In that role, Jenkins, who would be the first openly gay man to serve on the California Supreme Court, worked with Regional Judicial Advisory Selection Committees to help the governor nominate 45 judges across the state from diverse backgrounds.  

On Monday, Jenkins reacted to the news of his appointment.  

“I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by the governor to continue serving the people of California on the Supreme Court,” Jenkins said following the governor’s announcement. “If confirmed, I will serve with the highest ethical standards that have guided me throughout my career, informed by the law and what I understand to be fair and just.” 

Jenkins began his legal career as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney office. After that, he held several positions in public and private practice, including trial attorney for Pacific Bell’s legal department in San Francisco; an attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice; and judgeships on the Oakland Municipal Court and the Alameda County Superior Court.    

Before accepting his current role in the governor’s office, Jenkins served as an associate justice on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, from 2008 to 20019. Before that, he was a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District. President Bill Clinton appointed him to that position.  

Jenkins completed his undergraduate degree at Santa Clara University and earned his Juris Doctor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. After college, he signed a contract to play in the NFL as a cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, but he decided to go to law school instead.  

Jenkins, a devout Catholic, says he remembers working with his father as a kid cleaning offices and churches around San Francisco for extra money.  His father was a custodian and clerk at Coit Tower, a historical landmark in San Francisco. His mother was a nurse.  

The other two African American justices who have served on the California Supreme Court are Justice Leondra Reid Kruger, who former Gov. Jerry Brown appointed in 2014, and Justice Wiley William Manuel, who former Gov. Jerry Brown also appointed in 1977 during his first term.  

Jenkins’ nomination is pending approval by the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees and confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The members of that commission are California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal J. Anthony Kline. 

As a Supreme Court Justice, Jenkins would earn an annual salary of $261,949.  

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Save the date for Monday, October 26 for Southern California Black Chambers of panel discussion. The discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.  

Discussion topics will include: Knowing Your Voting Rights! Get to the Polls; The Importance of the BLACK VOTE; What to LOOK for on the Ballot; What’s on the Ballot for San Bernardino County; San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors; State Assembly; State Senate; House of Representatives; City races; School, college district races; and Ballot measures. 

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85119136856?pwd=WEUwcWdrTC9Ha2dJRFl3czNRanVlQT09

Meeting ID: 851 1913 6856

Passcode: 569408

By Dana Givens

Monica R. Lawson made history. The U.S Army promoted the active-duty military woman chaplain to the rank of colonel, making her the first Black woman to receive the honor. Lawson spoke about the milestone at her ceremony, which was streamed through the U.S Army Chaplain Center and School’s Facebook page.

“As an African American woman who has always been proud of the skin that I’m in, in this time, this is a bright spot in a sea of what seems to be darkness never-ending,” Col. Lawson said during the ceremony, according to the Richmond Free Press. “In a time when we are faced with political polarization, racial unrest, a pandemic, and economic uncertainty, it’s good to have something to celebrate and to take our minds off of what is going on, if only for a moment.”

Col. Lawson also spoke on the significance of her achievement as a win for both her and the Black community serving in the military.

“I know many of you are saying, ‘What does race, race relations, and racism have to do with you being promoted? Well, just in case you didn’t figure it out, it took us 245 years for this moment to happen,” said Col. Lawson.

U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains, Maj. Gen. Thomas Solhjem, also congratulated Col. Lawson on her historic accomplishment.

“You’re being recognized today not because you are a Black female,” he said. “But you are being recognized today because you have exhibited to a board of what will soon be your peers and those superior that you have the potential to lead in this United States Army Chaplain Corps.”

Monica Lawson is the @USArmy’s first African American chaplain to pin on colonel. Today, women make up only 5% of the Army’s active-duty chaplain corps. During her ceremony, Lawson was recognized for her ability to lead. Congrats, Colonel! #HerMemorial #Leadership #Promotion pic.twitter.com/qIQ8UU0BRx

— Military Women’s Memorial (@wimsatweets) September 10, 2020

By Lou Yeboah

He is the ONLY One that has the cure for anything that we encounter. What man puts a period on, God puts a comma in those places because it’s not over until He says it’s over. So despite what we think, feel or believe, we need to remind ourselves that God is in control. When everything around us feels out of control, we can allow Scripture to prove to us that God has been, is, and will be sovereign over our lives and world. Nothing in nature happens outside of God’s providence. In Exodus, God clearly sent the plagues in Egypt. In Genesis, God sent the flood. When we read about Jonah, we see that God hurled a storm into the sea.

Understand that there is one God in heaven Who is King and Lord of all. There is one God in heaven to Whom EVERY entity in this universe is subject. The pandemic serves as a warning to us, a warning against disobedience, a warning against exerting our will against God’s, and a warning that assures us sin has consequences.

God is trying to get our attention; He wants to heal our land, but we must turn to Him with all our heart and soul. For He says in [2 Chronicles 7:13-14]: If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; What can mere man do about it? Nothing! Nothing at all! Absolutely Nothing!

Listen, disasters come upon nations for a reason. The Bible talks about famine, sword, and plagues [pestilences] as instruments of judgment upon a people. [Jeremiah 14:12]. God uses disasters to discipline nations. Those who have a secular mind set might not believe such could happen in our modern and sophisticated society. Yet, the Bible is not governed by the beliefs of modern society. The Bible definitely teaches that God does and has used disasters to discipline and judge nations. [2Chronicles 6:26-27].  The Bible is clear that God punishes nations that fall into sin and refuse to repent. He has done it before and He is doing it now whether you believe it or not!

What then is a Biblical response to disaster? “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The emphasis is national and is directed to a nation not a people within a nation. Lot and his family acknowledged God but that did not save Sodom. God destroyed Sodom because of its sin despite the fact that Lot who lived there was righteous. Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah and that nation was spared. The whole nation repented as a people collectively from the top down. That is a true national repentance. National repentance, prayer, and reformation are required…. We as a nation the “United States of America,” need to repent of our national sins and to turn as a nation back to the God we have revolted from. Then an only then will we will see a national healing of our land when there is a national repentance of the people of our land.

We have failed to respond to disaster properly. We have done many things to respond to our national disasters such as giving aide to the needy and providing help to those who have suffered. All of this is to be commended. However, the great failure on the part of this nation, the “United States of America,” is that we have not acknowledged God in all of our disasters, we have not owned up to our sinfulness as a people, and we certainly have not repented of our sins. Because of our national failure to do these things, the disasters have continued to come year after year and they will continue to come in the future and may increase in number and degree. So if we are going to call on God to heal our land, to heal our nation, and to heal our human community, it is vital that we are also forthright in changing our wicked ways. Until we as a people own up to our national sins, and until we as a people repent of those sins, we can expect national disasters to continue. Besides, no nation that divorces itself from God can expect to survive as a nation. We cannot secularize the nation and expect God to bless us.

The distress we are experiencing in our nation today can be addressed. It can be reversed. Our only hope is in repentance. We must individually and corporately as a people of God bow before our Maker and repent.  [2 Chronicles 7:14].  “Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting…weeping, and…mourning; and rend your hearts….’ Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” [Joel 2:12-27].

But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. [John 16:4]

By Stephanie R. Wilson

Vibrant Green for Vibrant Peace and Vernon Dental Specialties recently collaborated with 911 Biocare to show their gratitude and appreciation to the heroic firefighters who are effortlessly fighting to tame the Eldorado and Bobcat fires.

Founder and CEO Eugene Weems of Vibrant Green for Vibrant Peace and a few of his local business partners are doing what they do best and that is giving back to the community. Only this time, Vibrant Green for Vibrant Peace and Vernon Dental Specialties wanted to support the firefighters by acknowledging their hard work and efforts to tame the horrific fires happening in Southern California. 

This has been such a tragic time for the firefighters, working in extreme heat, and in the process losing a team member in the midst of it all. What is greater than showing their love and cherishing the firefighters by providing bags of hope filled with tee shirts, free dental care certificates, IV hydration bag gift cards, and other items to show thanks to all the fire fighters who work non-stop to preserve, save the property of the residents and keep the community safe.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Homecoming season is approaching, which means it is time for SBCUSD Alumni and friends to get up and show their school spirit! Join our virtual marathon to help bring hope to our community! One price and five distance choices to keep you moving at your own pace. Simply register and pick your Alma mater’s team!

We are raising money to support SBCUSD high schools and our Foundation’s mission. Schools will get to keep 25% of adult entry fees that their team earns. The school with the greatest number of adult runners registered will receive $1,000 for their ASB. Also, for every 500 runners a school team has registered in their team, they will get a $5,000 scholarship for one of their 2021 graduates!

Register or Donate now by October 15th at: bit.ly/HomecomingHustle

SACRAMENTO, CA—- The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) today announced special tax filing relief for Californians affected by recent wildfires. Because of the governor’s state of emergency declared on September 25 and September 28 and his recent executive order, taxpayers in governor-declared disaster areas are granted an extension to December 15, 2020, to file California tax returns on 2019 income and make any tax payments that would have been due between now and December 15.

“Californians affected by this historic wildfire season need the opportunity to focus on themselves, their families, and their properties,” said State Controller and FTB Chair Betty T. Yee. “I hope this extension provides a small measure of relief under very difficult circumstances.” 

With the addition of the California counties that received a disaster declaration in September, FTB now has extended the deadline for individuals and businesses to file and pay in the counties of Butte, Del Norte, Fresno, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo. Any counties added later to the disaster area will be granted the same extension of time to file. This relief applies to various upcoming tax filing deadlines including the following: 

Individual filers whose previous tax-filing extension was set to end October 15. Because tax payments related to these returns were originally due on July 15, any payments associated with these filings are not eligible for relief. 

•  Business entities with a due date between now and December 15.

• Taxpayers who are victims of wildfires may claim a deduction for a disaster loss sustained in an area proclaimed by the governor to be in a state of emergency. For a complete list of all disasters declared by the governor, see the “List of Disasters” chart on FTB’s disaster loss webpage. Additional information and instructions are available in FTB Publication 1034, 2019 Disaster Loss: How to Claim a State Tax Deduction. 

Taxpayers may claim their disaster loss in one of two ways. They may claim the disaster loss for the 2020 tax year when they file their return next spring, or they may claim the loss against 2019 income on this year’s return. An amended return may be filed by those who already have filed this year. The advantage of claiming the disaster loss in the prior tax year is that the FTB can issue a refund sooner. 

Taxpayers claiming the disaster loss should write the name of the disaster (for example, Glass Fire) in blue or black ink at the top of their tax returns to alert FTB and to expedite any refund. If taxpayers are filing electronically, they should follow the software instructions to enter disaster information.

Disaster victims also may receive free copies of their state returns to replace those lost or damaged. Taxpayers may complete form FTB 3516 and write the name of the disaster in blue or black ink at the top of the request.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media 

Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), who is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, says he supports Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order issued last week that phases out gasoline-powered vehicles. The directive requires all new passenger vehicles sold in California to have zero-emission engines by the year 2035.? 

But Cooper, who is the chair of the Assembly’s Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration, has some concerns about how the mandate will affect low-income families.  

Newsom says his vision is to replace gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles (EV) on California’s highways and surface roads.

“The EVs pictured in today’s signing of the EO (executive order) cost more than $50k each. How will my constituents afford an EV? They can’t. They currently drive 11-year-old vehicles,” Cooper tweeted on Sept. 23.? 

To comply with the governor’s executive order, the Air Resources Board is also expected to develop regulations to mandate that all operations of medium and heavy-duty vehicles be 100% zero-emission by 2045, where feasible. Trucks that tow freight will have to become compliant by 2035.  

Recently, Cooper, who represents California’s 9^th Assembly District, wrote a two-page letter to leaders of environmental organizations, calling out racism and the lack of diversity.? 

Cooper said prominent environmental organizations in the state, including the Sierra Club California (SCC), the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Environment California, “from their leaders to their funders, are nearly all White.”? 

“(And they) attempt to trade on race issues by branding their efforts as: ‘environmental justice’ — for which they do not apologize,” Cooper wrote in the letter dated Aug. 3. 

Now, the Assemblymember is directing his concern to the high costs of EVs and how their unaffordability will be a burden to lower income, working class Californians.  

“I, too, believe we must cut emissions to combat climate change. That’s why I’ve run bills to increase rebates for low-income residents to buy EV’s. But we know?@AirResources regs benefit the well-off, not my constituents,” Cooper tweeted.? 

Newsom’s said his action will “aggressively” move the state further away from its dependence on climate change-causing fossil fuels and, at the same time, retain and create jobs, which will spur economic growth. 

The transportation industry is responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, 80 % of smog-forming pollution, and 95 % of toxic diesel emissions. Communities in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley see some of the dirtiest and most toxic air in the country, the governor pointed out in a written statement.?? 

?“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” Newsom said. “For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn’t have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”? 

In Feb. 2019, the energy foundation reported that the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) quantified Californians’ exposure to dangerous air pollution.? 

UCS’s findings revealed that particulate matter, known as PM2.5, disproportionately affects people of color and low-income communities in California. PM2.5 is created by automobiles, trucks, and buses. 

African Americans are, on average, exposed to 18% higher PM2.5 concentrations than the average Californian, the report stated. White Californians have an average exposure that is 17% percent lower than the average for the state. 

“Exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) is linked to increased illness and death, primarily from heart and lung diseases,” the Energy Foundation reported. “These particles are small – 20 times smaller than the diameter of fine human hair – so they can penetrate deeply in the lungs, and the smallest particles can even enter into the bloodstream.” 

The governor’s executive order also sets new health and safety standards that protect workers and communities from the impacts of oil extraction.  

However, it does not prevent Californians from owning gasoline-powered cars or selling them on the used car market, Newsom says.  

By the time the new rule goes into effect, zero-emission vehicles, the governor’s office stated, will almost certainly be cheaper and better than the fossil fuel-powered cars that dominate roadways now.  

The upfront cost of electric vehicles are projected to reach parity with conventional vehicles within a few years, and the cost of owning the car – both in maintenance and how much it costs to power the car mile for a mile – is far less than a fossil fuel burning vehicle, the governor’s office stated.

“I applaud the Governor’s goals, but how will?@AirResources develop regulations that will actually benefit the majority of Californians? Last year,?(the California Air Resources Board) said the overall mean purchase price of a CA household’s main vehicle was $14,000, which is over half of their yearly income,” Cooper tweeted. 

John Abad, former San Bernardino 7^th Ward City Council candidate endorsed Damon Alexander for San Bernardino City Council 7^th Ward. Mr. Abad pledged his support for Mr. Alexander in the general election, Tuesday November 3, 2020.

Candidate Alexander beat incumbent James Mulvihill by more than 150 votes for the lead in the top 2 spots in the primary, qualifying him for the general election.

Mr. Alexander believes “San Bernardino needs new leadership that will set the example, by rebuilding the City, restoring the trust and repairing the breach.”  

Damon has called the City of San Bernardino home for over 30 years. Candidate Alexander is married to his lovely wife Felicia Alexander. Together they have 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Candidate Damon Alexander is a Marine veteran who served his Country proudly.

For more information about Damon Alexander, please visit his website at www.damonalexandercitycouncil.com.