(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—-SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce (SCBCC) is proud to present its inaugural awards gala and fundraising dinner. Set for Thursday, November 15 at the beautiful and historic Rezek Centre (on St. Bernardine Medical Center Campus) located at 2101 N. Waterman Avenue in the City of San Bernardino. The event is set to begin at 6 p.m.

This promises to be an event you don’t want to miss. The entertainment is provided by jazz sensation Mark Allen Felton aka Panther.

The SCBCC is a non-profit business organization with a mission to improve the economic environment for the minority business community while fostering business development and prosperity.  The SCBCC also support the Alzheimer’s Foundation which provides resources, training and support for individuals and families affected by the disease and YouthBuild Charter School of California, a free, project-based charter high school rooted in social justice and community action for students ages 16-24, who need to earn a high school diploma. YouthBuild’s main focus is providing opportunities to low income and marginalized students.

The goal of the gala is to raise money to support the non-profit programs that the SCBCC serves and recognize individuals and organizations who have demonstrated dedicated service to the community through professional, personal and philanthropic endeavors.

Among the awards to be handed out will be those honoring Community Support, Community Advocate, Business Advocate, and the Humanitarian of the year.

The event promises to be a who’s who in the local business community.

Entertaining the gala crowd for the evening will be Mark Allen Felton. Felton, who is affectionately known as, Panther, is an entertainer extraordinaire. The saxophone is his instrument of choice. His musicianship is the stuff of the legendary artists that he holds in high esteem. Artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, Grover Washington, Jr. and Kool & the Gang have influenced the Chicago native, and current Los Angeles resident. Panther has graced the stage with a number of legendary artists including Patti LaBelle, Jeffrey Osbourne, Chaka Khan and the late Al Jarreau just to name a few. He also toured the world with Ray Parker, Jr for five years.

For additional information on the Southern California Black Chamber Awards Dinner and how to purchase tickets visit the website at www.blackchamberofcommerce.org or call (888) 466-7408. Ticket prices are $25.00 per person, and a table of 10 is $250.00.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Last week, Youth Action Project (YAP), a San Bernardino based non-profit organization, announced funding from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s 2018 Mentoring Opportunity for Youth Initiatives grant program or $500,000.

In making the announcement YAP founder Joseph Williams was accompanied by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D- San Bernardino), Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson and San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis. The grant will allow YAP, Young Visionaries’ Executive Director Terrance Stone, Sigma Beta Xi’s Director Corey Jackson, and the Youth Action Mentoring Network – to detect and assist Inland Empire students who show risk factors for opioid abuse.

“Our region has not been immune to the nationwide opioid crisis, and too often when a young person in our community struggles with addiction, they have no clear place to turn. I’m grateful for the work of Youth Action Project to provide Inland Empire youth with the resources they need to lead happy and successful lives free from the weight of opioid addiction,” said Rep. Aguilar.

The OJJDP e3p3 Modeled Grant will include the City of Rialto, and middle and high schools in Rialto.

Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson said, “Rialto continues to be a pioneer in moving initiatives forward that will empower our residents.  The e3p3 Model, created by M.H.M. & Associates (a professional grant firm) serves in creating strategically aligned public, private partnerships.  This win affords the City of Rialto, students and their families in being one of the first that will benefit from the program efforts to dress the Opioid Crisis.”

The project was one of 12 projects funded nationwide to provide mentoring to youth at-risk of Opioid abuse.

YAP, Young Visionaries and Sigma Beta Xi have all been funded under prior initiatives using the e3p3 Model, designed to accelerate grant resources into cities/regions, and were excited to see it work once again to further assist youth in the region.

Earlier this year, Rep. Aguilar’s office held a Federal Grants Workshop to highlight best practices and share strategies for success when applying for federal grants which was attended by a representative from YAP.

“Our youth are in crisis, they are being influenced by many fronts to experiment with drugs and we will do all we can to help them combat bad information. Now more than ever drug use is promoted in music, movies and social media. We have to continue helping and mentoring our youth in making informed decisions. The resources awarded by OJJDP will support our efforts to make sure the real winners are our youth,” said Joseph Williams President San Bernardino Community College Board District Board and YAP CEO.”

Today’s announcement comes just over one year since Rep Aguilar announced an additional $500,000 to combat the broader opioid crisis within the Inland Empire.

For questions regarding this announcement, the project or the e3p3 Model contact Joseph Williams at 909-75-1068 or call Luvina Beckley from Grant writing firm M.H.M & Associates at 951-692-4646 or go online http://mhmandassociates.com

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen IV

My number one recommendation is that you vote…  Either vote early, vote by mail or go to your polling place on November 6^th and pick up and fill in your ballot! I am willing to tell you how I am going to vote on State issues, and being that “Politics is Local”, I am willing to live with your decisions and deal with our local elected officials and staff at our regular meetings… Councils, boards, commissions, etc…

Regarding the eleven propositions that are on our state wide ballot; Prop 1; Prop 2, Prop 3, and Prop 4 are bonds… I vote Yes! They allow the State to Borrow money for these projects today and pay back with interest in the future. If you vote yes, be prepared to “follow the money” and how it is really spent! If you vote against them, we prolong the problem with no immediate replacement solution. However it goes those of us who are compassionate will always find ways to help others. And you can be sure that there are people who will need it!

Prop 5 allows a homeowner tax break for senior citizens… I vote Yes! I am a senior citizen homeowner!

Prop 6 repeals the recent gas tax and vehicle registration fee… I vote No! The tax costs me money and thus I am looking at a non-gas-burning –vehicle, and maybe you should too.  Plus our roads need help which means, “follow the money”!

Prop 7 saves daylight… I vote No! Whatever you do is fine with me, I am not a morning person!

Prop 8 reflects the ongoing war between health-care and profits… And in this case the unions are pushing for what they regard as their share. I vote No! Your vote will not end the war.  Only when we decide which is more important, profit or people, will that be solved.  Hint, people can create profit, profit cannot create people!

Prop 9 was disqualified by the courts!

Prop 10 gets rid of existing state restrictions on rent control leaving Cities and Counties to do as they please.  I vote Yes! If we don’t like what they do we can vote them out!

Prop 11 solves a problem that does not exist… I vote No!

Prop 12 is expensive for food producers, but I have been told that the less trauma in the lives of animals that are raised for food, the better the taste!  I vote Yes!

By Lou Yeboah

… Because you haven’t received what you want. Trust God! For in Matthew 6:25-27 He says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” The keynote is DO NOT WORRY because He already knows your need.

I want you to know that it angered God so much that the Israelites complained in the desert after all the miracles that He performed to get them out of Egypt to the point that He allowed the trip to be much longer than it needed to be… “Take another lap, God said…. See if you can get this right.” Again and again they complained until God said: “Just die in the wilderness – a whole generation in the wilderness.” That is how serious God took complaining.

I tell you, complaining to others or having a bitter heart towards God about not having received what you want does not help the situation. Stop it already! And take the counsel that David took for his own soul– “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from You. For You alone is my rock and my salvation; my fortress, I will not be shaken…” Murmur not, repine not, but wait upon God.

Yes, there are many times we find ourselves in situations that we just don’t understand. But I tell you, it is in these times that we are called upon to exercise our faith and just TRUST in the LORD.  I know that it’s not always easy for us to give our cares to God and trust Him completely, but when life presents itself with ever-changing variables; we’ve got to realize that we serve a God who is stationary in His Goodness. Consider “The Source,” God, and stop stressing yourself out – losing sleep, being weary, anxious, worried, depressed and sad. Trust God! He is forever faithful and true.

“Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen…”  [Hebrews 11:1]

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The San Bernardino County Museum announces the speakers confirmed for the 2019 Dome Talks series. The lineup of national authors and thought leaders address timely, serious, quirky, and critical issues. These evening discussions are scheduled monthly from January through June. Full Series Passes, which include a ticket for each evening, are now on sale. Individual tickets go on sale beginning December 14.

Museum Director Melissa Russo remarked “Dome Talks has been a tremendous success bringing notable speakers to the San Bernardino County Museum. This upcoming third season of fascinating individuals promises discussions that will be stimulating, entertaining, and hopefully deeply thought provoking.”

Dome Talks commences on the evening of Jan. 17, with Kirk W. Johnson, author of The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, his investigation into the true crime story of the theft of 299 rare bird skins from a British natural history museum. Johnson brilliantly traces a narrative from the 19th century to present day about exotic bird exploration, ornithological research, the obscure and quirky world of Victorian fly-tying, and rare bird trafficking.

On Feb. 28, Richard Rothstein, discusses his book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of how Our Government Segregated America. Rothstein, a former New York Times columnist, is a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute and a Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Haas Institute at the University of California–Berkeley. The Color of Law expands upon and provides a national perspective on his recent work that documents the history of state-sponsored residential segregation, as in his report, “The Making of Ferguson.”

On Mar. 28, Heather David, cultural historian and advocate for the preservation of mid-century modern architecture, art, and signage, speaks about her book Motel California. The story of the rapid rise and subsequent decline of the individually owned mom-and-pop motel in The Golden State, Motel California is a celebration of sparkling blue pools, flashing neon signs, automatic ice machines and bleached white towels. It is an exploration of theme-based marketing and a documentation of American culture at perhaps what was the most prosperous time in United States history.

On Apr. 25, Francis French, co-author of  Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut’s Journey to the Moon, discusses his career co-writing four bestselling space history books and  interviews with astronauts Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter, Pavel Popovich, and Al Worden. Currently the Director of Education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum,  French is a regular presence on PBS, The Discovery Channel, History Channel and Science Channel.

Rue Mapp speaks on May 30 about the organization she founded, Outdoor Afro, a nonprofit social community reconnecting African Americans with natural spaces through outdoor recreational activities. The evening is co-sponsored by the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio and San Bernardino County Regional Parks. Through Outdoor Afro, Mapp shares opportunities to build a broader community and leadership in nature. Her important work has generated widespread national recognition including The Root 100 most influential African Americans in the country, the Outdoor Industry Inspiration Award, the National Wildlife Federation Communication award, and Family Circle Magazine selected Rue as one of America’s 20 Most Influential Moms.

June 20 is the final speaker in the series, Danna Staaf, author of Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods, an epic adventure spanning hundreds of millions of years, from the marine life of the primordial ocean to the calamari on tonight’s menu. The Inquisitive Biologist’s review noted “This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you write a good popular academic book.” Anyone who enjoys the undersea world—along with those obsessed with all things prehistoric—will be interested in the sometimes enormous, often bizarre creatures that ruled the seas long before the first dinosaurs.

All Dome Talks evenings open at 6:30 p.m. for a light reception sponsored by the San Bernardino County Museum Association. Presentations start at 7 p.m. and include book sale and signing where applicable. Books are available for sale in the Museum store starting in November.

Full Series Passes are on sale for $130 ($105 museum members) and include all six evenings. Tickets for individual evenings will go on sale December 14 for $25 each evening ($18 museum members, no discount applies for May 30) and are subject to availability as the Dome Talks theater has limited seating. Tickets can be purchased online at www.sbcounty.gov/museum or may be purchased at the Museum’s Guest Services Desk. Advance ticket purchase is strongly encouraged as walkups are not guaranteed. No refunds can be made for ticket purchases, but unused tickets may be donated to the nonprofit San Bernardino County Museum Association in advance of the date.

The San Bernardino County Museum’s exhibits of regional cultural and natural history and the Museum’s other exciting events and programs, including Dome Talks reflect the effort by the Board of Supervisors to achieve the Countywide Vision by celebrating arts, culture, and education in the county, creating quality of life for residents and visitors.

The San Bernardino County Museum is at 2024 Orange Tree Lane, at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $10 (adult), $8 (military or senior), $7 (student), and $5 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under five and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.sbcounty.gov/museum. The museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- Higher Heights, the leading, independent and trusted voice for Black women leading up to, and beyond Election Day, has rolled out its #BlackWomenVote campaign for the 2018 cycle. The nationwide effort is aimed at ensuring that Black women raise their voices and mobilize their networks to get out the vote on Tuesday, November 6.

During the next week, leading into Election Day 2018, #BlackWomenVote will help prepare Black women to get ready to go to the polls, by encouraging them to activate their networks, by using the make a vote plan tool that can be found on BlackWomenVote.com, and by hosting a series of online activities to further energize Black women and emphasize the importance to get out the vote in November, as well as staying active beyond Election Day.

The #BlackWomenVote campaign is fueled by BlackWomenVote.com, which was launched during the 2014 cycle and provides the latest election news, commentary and tools for Black women to prepare to vote, and get out the vote within their social networks. Over the week the campaign will reach Black women across the country, encouraging them to activate their circles and give them the tools to raise their voice, cast their vote, and flex their collective voting power.

Earlier this year Higher Heights launched its Truth Tellers campaign lifting up Black women’s unique voices, votes and power centered around “Ain’t I a Woman?”, a question from Sojourner Truth that continues to resonate with Black women today—167 years later. This election season Higher Heights wants Black women to tell their truth and ensure Black women’s voices are heard in the political process.

“There is much at stake this election cycle. Black women are a major voting bloc that we want to ensure is armed with the tools and necessary information to vote,” said Glynda C. Carr, co-founder of Higher Heights.

“BlackWomenVote.com provides Black women with those tools, and also provides a common space where they can read about other Black women’s experiences.”

BlackWomenVote.com includes an Election Center, where women can commit to vote and make a voting plan. The website will provide Black women with the tools to activate their networks and create a space where they can share their stories on the latest news from Black women across the country about this election and current topics focused on issues affecting Black women.

“We have all seen the news coverage about how Black women showed up and showed out to the polls in 2016, 2017, and 2018 is not expected to be any different,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co- founder of Higher Heights.

“We have launched this campaign and website to provide meaningful ways for Black women to organize their networks this election and demonstrate our collective power for change in our communities and nationwide. Higher Heights wants to ensure that Black women have seats at political and economic decision-making tables.”

Please visit BlackWomenVote.com here.

About Higher Heights

Higher Heights is the leading national organization exclusively dedicated to advancing Black women’s political power by ensuring they have the tools to engage, advocate and lead in their personal and professional communities. Higher Heights is building political power and leadership of Black women all the way from the ballot box to elected office.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— November is epilepsy awareness month. Join Epilepsy Education Everywhere for a month of education, support and a whole lot of fun!

They will kick off the month with the 6th Annual Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland on November 5^th to November 7th. Tickets are available until Saturday, November 3 at 9 p.m./PST.

If you would like to join us for events, or learn more about epilepsy, visit epilepsyed.org.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— OAKLAND, CA—- As 39,000 University of California workers wrap up a 3-day strike over issues of inequality at the state’s 3rd largest employer, a bombshell of a research brief reported by CALmatters has revealed that Black and Latino workers employed at UC are more likely to be fired and get smaller raises when they are promoted.

Read the report: “Limitations on Career Advancement for Black and Latino/Latina Workers at the University of California,” click here to download.

The new report supplements Pioneering Inequality, a study released last April that revealed growing income, racial, and gender disparities at UC. The new research brief tracks promotions and separations for 25,000 UC service and patient care workers between 2013 and 2017 to highlight growing patterns of inequality within the University’s frontline workforce.

The new report supplements Pioneering Inequality, a study released last April that revealed growing income, racial, and gender disparities at UC. The new research brief tracks promotions and separations for 25,000 UC service and patient care workers between 2013 and 2017 to highlight growing patterns of inequality within the University’s frontline workforce.

“The data reveals that Black and Brown service and patient care workers are far more likely than white workers to be fired or otherwise forced out of their jobs,” said Owen Li, co-author of the reports. “When Black and Latino workers change jobs or get promoted, they receive far smaller pay increases on average than their white counterparts. Whether due to an implicit bias in UC’s employment practices or a real lack of structural career advancement opportunities, women and people of color who are employed in these job titles are clearly being short-changed.”

While more than 5,000 Service and Patient Care Technical workers left their University job during the period under review, the study found that white men were the most likely to leave voluntarily and that Black workers were involuntarily forced out at nearly twice the rate of white men.

Among the more than 3,000 Service and Patient Care Technical workers who changed job titles within the AFSCME-represented workforce during the study period, white workers received raises amounting to as much as $3,000 more per year—on average—than Black women.

“The absence of more equitable career development ladders for people of color likely contributes to the growing income gap at UC that was revealed in Pioneering Inequality,” Li added.

“In 12 years, I’ve taken several certification courses, put in countless volunteer hours for training and experience, trained co-workers for positions I applied for but did not get hired into, and applied for over 130 UC jobs to advance my career. I haven’t even received a call-back for any of those applications in those 12 years,” said Mshindi Cherry, a Black member of UC’s Patient Care Technical Unit at UC Davis Medical Center. “It seems UC would rather hand higher paying jobs to people who don’t look like me.”

Cherry—whose last call-back from UC was for the job he currently holds—has been told that he is not qualified for jobs that he already informally performs as an Operating Room Assistant.

The University is disproportionately firing Black workers and people of color in the same job titles that UC is outsourcing jobs to contract companies that pay workers lower wages and fewer benefits. Fully 71% of Black workers who lost their jobs during the study period were employed in food service or custodial positions, yet UC spent over $54 million per year outsourcing this work through 99 different contracts between 2013 and 2017.

The study notes that this trend is not limited to service work. At UCSF Medical Center, the single most outsourced job title is Patient Support Assistant (PSA). PSAs are 96% non-white at UCSF.

“The University of California has stopped investing in career ladders for its most vulnerable workers, and is instead outsourcing jobs,” added AFSCME Local 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger. “If UC is sincere about serving as an engine of economic mobility, it will actually work with us to address these problems, instead of pretending they don’t exist.”

In May, Service workers staged a 3-day walkout in protest of these issues and 53,000 UC workers joined them in solidarity. Today, nearly 6 months later, Patient Care Workers have decided to follow in their footsteps. Their 3-day strike officially ends at 4:00am on Friday morning.

By Naomi K. Bonman

Dr. Joe Johnson

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Take this. You dream of working at “X” company with X” person who is known to the best in the industry. However, when you finally land that dream role you are still not fulfilled. Yes, you may make great money, but you still fill empty. This is because you are not living out your purpose.

This is what Dr. Joe Johnson, speaker and peak performance coach, teaches his cliental. He shows them how to tap into their purpose and how to live a purposeful life.

“Purpose is that feeling. It just feels right,” Dr. Joe Johnson explains.

Dr. Johnson was born in Milwaukee, WI but has lived in several places during his childhood including Hawaii and New York. He considers Milwaukee, AKA: “The Mil” his hometown because of the family ties. He understands the meaning of struggle but has lived with a mentality instilled in him by his mother,” I can do and be anything I want in life”.

Johnson learned the value of education from both parents but as he began his love for sports at an early age, his focus with competing on the football field and basketball court caused him to develop a “who cares” attitude toward his education. Growing up in the inner-city of Milwaukee allowed for Johnson to almost fall victim to what many young males were doing in his neighborhood.

Sports was his key out of a city where many Black and Hispanic males were often victims of gang violence and self destruction. Johnson soon learned the power of competing in the classroom, the same way he competed in sports. With his new found attitude and focus, he began to excel academically after being accepted into a Master’s program. Johnson soon founded to love learning and realized his purpose was transforming the lives of individuals and the culture of organizations allowing through speaking, training, and peak performance coaching.

As a proud graduate of Milwaukee Bay View high school, Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Saginaw Valley State University and a Master’s degree in Counselor Education from Western Michigan University, and a PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Florida, over 20 years of experience working with individuals and organizations, and is ready to take on the world!

Now that you guys know a little about Dr. Joe Johnson, tune into the interview below where he chatted on purpose!

To listen to the interview, please click here

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Talking about an urban event drippin’ with talent, this is it! A few local entities came together to make one entity that focuses on the performing arts. We want you to tap in with us Sunday, November 4, as we launch out first event in the city of Riverside/Moreno Valley at Club Status starting at 7 p.m.

The event will showcase funny comics the first half hosted by Comedian Brett As Is and rap artists the second half hosted by KG X DEE Drizzle. We have door prizes, giveaways and more for those in attendance. Early arrival is strongly suggested. Below explains more about the movement.

Who: The Collectives – likeminded entities banning together for the sake of achievement surrounding the performing arts. (Legendary Entertainment/LUE Productions/Grim Reality/Future Pioneer Enterprises).

What: I.E. Culture Fest

Why: The I.E. Culture FEST was created for artists of diverse backgrounds to showcase their artistry on different platforms while networking.

Get your tickets online now for IE’s Culture FEST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-culture-fest-tickets-51480549710?aff=efbevent

Until next week L’s!