SAN BERNARDINO, CA- (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- The SB Pastors United will be hosting another Community Block Party on Saturday, April 28. The event will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Highland Pacific Elementary School located at 3340 Pacific Street in Highland.

“We are bringing God back into our schools and community,” Reginald Young explains. “The Pastors in Unity and solidarity is taking a stance against violence on our youth and in our community. We invite the community to come out and join us.”

There will be free food, free groceries, free shoes, free clothes and free health checks. There will also be a life-saving message by Bishop Ernest Dowdy of Church of the Living God, as well as powerful gospel music, dancing and good fellowship, face painting, free prizes, much fun! 

The SB Pastors United will also be in attendance at the San Bernardino 2018 State of the City address, on Friday, April 27 at the SB International Airport. Along with two other agencies, SBPU will be recognized for making a difference in the community. 

SBPU has been devoted to making a difference in the lives of the residence in the City. You are invited to come out and see what’s going on in your city and be a part of the solution. Let us join together in unity and solitary; let’s not just talk about it but be about it.

 “It’s going to take the whole village to turn our community around.  SBPU is here to help make a difference in our community by providing “Healing, Change and Progress” to the City of San Bernardino. Good things are coming out of San Bernardino,” Young said.

Please preregister by phone, email or visit www.sbpastorsunited.org. To volunteer call (909) 353-7977.  

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Talking ‘bout you sorry, and you ain’t going to do it no more!  Just be honest. You like getting high. You like drinking. You like fornicating; committing adultery. You like the way Sin makes you feel. Going around singing, “Ooh, baby, baby…  The way you make me feel, you really turn me on. You knock me off of my feet.  I’m in ecstasy. I bet you are! But I got news for you Mr. Feel Good. “Thus saith the Lord, ye have sold yourself for nought” [Isaiah 52:3]. You have traded your soul for nothing!  You have come up empty! “Oh, I say and I say it again, Ya been had! Ya been took! Ya been hoodwink! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!” [Malcolm X 1992]

You know when Lysimachus, king of Thrace, was very thirsty he offered his kingdom to the Getae for a drink of water. After he had drunk he said, “Ah! Wretched me, who for such a momentary gratification, have lost so great a kingdom.”  Esau who traded his soul for fleeting pleasure, sold his birthright, which included not only material benefits and family privileges, but spiritual blessings as well, for a bowl of soup. It says that “he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way” [Genesis 25: 29-34; Hebrew 12: 16-17]. He didn’t have a second thought about what he had done. He did it, it felt good, and only much later did he come to regret it.

How applicable this is to him who, for some earthly pleasure, loses conviction of sin, conversion, and the Kingdom of Heaven! Selling your soul for very little, for mere trifles, for nothing of value! For one bowl of pottage, a momentary gratification, a few moments of pleasure. The truth of the Bible is that sin may bring short-term pleasure, but it always brings long-term misery and pain. What great consequences are sometimes connected with little actions. For one morsel of meat, for one sin, under certain circumstances, Heaven is given away, and the soul is forever lost in the bargain.

Listen, every day you’re trading your life, your soul, for something. The question is, For what?When it’s all over and you’ve cashed in all the time and abilities which have been allotted to you, what will you have to show for it? If you trade it in for fleeting pleasure, to gratify your immediate needs, you’ll come up empty. But if you trade your life for God’s kingdom and righteousness, to fulfill His purpose, you’ll be satisfied with that which no one can take from you.

Paul reminds us that the stories God includes in the Old Testament are there to help us avoid making the same mistakes (I Corinthians 10:11-12). No matter how temporarily enjoyable and satisfying any sin is in that moment, it cannot begin to measure up to the eternal rewards of God’s birthright promises. Sin is pleasurable but only for a time and that time is passing.  What then? “The wages of sin is death.” [Romans 6:23]

Trading your soul for what? Don’t do it!

^” For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [2 Timothy 3:2-7]

 

LOS ANGELES, CA- (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Betty LaMarr, Founder and President of EmpowHer Institute, is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with B-STEM Project, a national organization that focuses on engaging young girls and women in business and STEM-related disciplines across various industries. 

On Wednesday, April 25, EmpowHer will host the Girls to Greatness Mentor to Inspire Summit.  The goal of this Summit is to motivate students by exposing them to different career opportunities in various industries. Professional women from diverse industries and companies, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Southern California Gas Company, United Parcel Service (UPS) and Microsoft, will serve as mentors for the day. The Summit will include a full day of activities for 300 middle and high school students including one-on-one conversations with mentors, an interactive STEM project facilitated by B-STEM, panel discussion and Mentoring Luncheon with Keynote Speaker, Los Angeles’ First Lady, Amy Elaine Wakeland.  

“We’re so excited about all the work B-STEM Project is doing. While many STEM programs focus solely on developing computer science skills, they create a gateway into the entire business of the STEM ecosystem,” said Betty LaMarr. 

“If we are to make a dent in the STEM talent gap, we need to mentor and guide young women now.  Organizations need to make it a priority to level the playing field for women and to deliver top-down support and institutional accountability,” said LaMarr.

“It’s not enough that young girls learn to code nor is it realistic that every girl has an interest in pursuing computer science related careers. However, at B-STEM Project, we believe that all girls need to understand and be confident in their knowledge of STEM disciplines to become successful in the 21st century marketplace,” said Tracie Ponder, Founder, B-STEM Project

This year’s sponsors include: JP Morgan Chase, US Bank, UPS, Microsoft, Quest Diagnostics, Lawrence Livermore, Perry Foundation, Bergman, Dacey, Goldsmith, So Cal Gas, VACO, Frontier Communications, Information Management Resources, Inc. and AMC Theaters.  For sponsorship contact Betty LaMarr, President (310) 574-9181 or info@empowher.org.  For more information on the Girls to Greatness Mentor To Inspire Summit visit our website www.girlstogreatness.org.

EmpowHer Institute 

EmpowHer Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2003. EmpowHer Institute’s mission is to empower marginalized girls and young women by giving them the skills necessary through education, training, and mentorship to enable them to become confident, college and career ready. To learn more about EmpowHer Institute, visit our website www.empowher.org. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

B-STEM Project
B-STEM Project is designed to educate young girls and women about the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math in business and everyday life. We take an interdisciplinary approach by integrating STEM into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real world application in all professional industries. To learn more about B-STEM, visit our website www.bstemproject.org or email info@bstemproject.org.  B-STEM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Legislators and education advocates came together at a press conference Wednesday, April 11, to show support for a bill that they believe will help fix how education is funded for one of the lowest performing subgroups. Advocates say there was a flaw in the five-year-old law that overhauled how education funding is appropriated to school districts through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).

Assembly Bill 2635, authored by Assemblywomen Shirley Weber, would target $350 million towards struggling school districts. Many of these districts educate California’s black student population which has historically failed to meet grade-level proficiency in math and reading and perform right above special education students.

According to a press statement, AB 2635 drives equitable funding for California’s lowest-performing subgroup to students not currently receiving funding under LCFF. Additionally, this bill demands greater accountability from both school district and charter school recipients of these supplemental funds over the education outcomes of the lowest performing subgroup.

“We cannot look the other way anymore. African-American kids in California persistently fall behind academically,” said Weber. “And this problem is not limited to low-income students either. Parents have been patiently waiting for something to change, but it has not. Providing additional resources for the lowest-performing students is now no longer an option, but a necessity.”

 Data provided by the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and presented to the California Legislative Black Caucus shows the majority of African-American students performed well below state standards. Legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013 allows school districts to direct increased funding to failing students in four categories.

“About 260,000 (76 percent) receive a supplement under LCFF because they are low income, foster children or homeless, or English learners,” according to the California Department of Education web site.

Under AB 2635, districts could see possible increases: Los Angeles Unified would receive $50 million, Oakland Unified $12.6 million, Long Beach Unified $10.6 million, Pasadena Unified $7 million, San Francisco Unified $6.2 million, Sacramento City Unified $5.3 million, and Inglewood Unified $4.8 million, according to the press release.

“Our students are the most likely to be disciplined and suspended than any other student as shown in various studies linking to implicit biases and damaging stereotypes,” said Sen. Steve Bradford, vice chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, “because of this, and their lack of access to the adequate school resources, the future for our next generation looks grim, unless we take meaningful action. We cannot allow African American students to be left behind any longer.”

Students marched in front of CTA to support AB 2635

 Young people have joined the fight to improve the education system.  Students recently took to the front of the California Teachers Association in Sacramento chanting “schools not prisons,” “support AB 2635” and “don’t watch us fail.”

 “We’re here telling them (CTA) to be in support of AB 2635, and don’t watch us fail” said Nailah Dubose, a ninth-grade student at Fortune High School.

CTA sent a letter to Weber, the author of AB 2635, expressing their shared goal for the bill, but highlighting concerns and marked it as a bill CTA will “watch”.

 In the letter CTA wrote:

“We share the goals of this legislation—to provide additional resources to school districts to help close the achievement gap for our lowest performing students. However, we are concerned that as currently drafted, AB 2635 will not meaningfully increase resources to serve our lowest performing students and may have unintended consequences.”

However, speaking at a press conference Margret Fortune, president and CEO of Fortune School, called for unity among the education community. She noted that the California Charter Schools Association is often on opposite sides of policy debates and acknowledged California School Board Association’s support for this legislation. Fortune invited all of the education coalition community to join in supporting students that were left out of the LCFF funding.

“The students in the most need are the ones that equity demands that we give support. Isn’t that the reason the Local Control Formula Funding was created in the first place?” Asked Fortune.

AB 2635 passed out of the Assembly Education committee and now heads to assembly appropriation.

Link to full press conference

Student protest CTA video link

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Dozens of community organizers and volunteers are gearing up for the inception of a community space that will provide effective, supportive resources to low income residents.

The co-operative, located at 802 N. E Street, is the only of its kind in the Inland region. A community kickoff will take place on Friday, April 20 to introduce residents to the community service model that utilizes shared governance to resolve social, economic and cultural issues.

Organizations working out of the center are not offering “charity” or “pity” to residents, but instead looking to empower fellow residents living near or in poverty.

“We’re here in this space to be responsive for our community’s needs” said Mary Valdemar, Co-founder of the Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action (Ch.I.C.C.C.A.A.). “Whether its jobs, education, immigration, or environmental justice, we’re looking for local, grassroots solutions.”

The kickoff will feature live performances from local artists and musicians. Organizations are also hosting a community potluck with the community. Students organizing walkouts across the region are expected to also be in attendance.

The following groups are located at the center: Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action (Ch.I.C.C.A.A.A.), Sierra Club My Generation Campaign, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Inland Regional Equality Network, the Indigenous Defense and Resistance Movement, Progressive Alliance of the Inland Empire, Village and Child Co-Op, Mother Earth Co-Op, San Bernardino Valley College LGBTQ+Pride, San Bernardino Valley College Progressives, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A.) de San Bernardino Valley College, I.E. Hack Lab, and Team Abigail.

Date: April 20, 2018

Time: 4:20 p.m.

Location: 802 N. ‘E’ Street, San Bernardino, CA, 92410

For more information on the kickoff, contact the core team at chicccaa@gmail.com.

King Day in South L.A.: A Photo Essay

By Rob Liggins

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Walking down Western Avenue fresh off the eastbound expo line, I could instantly feel the energy. I hadn’t even made it halfway to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and I was already enthralled by the atmosphere.

The joy. The pride. The love.

As an Oregon native, I had experienced MLK Day in Portland, but I had never celebrated King Day in South Los Angeles.

Only six months into my time as a Los Angeles transplant, the 2016 Kingdom Day Parade was my first time participating in the celebration.

The Los Angeles Community Coalition marches with signs honoring the 1968 Memphis Sanitization Workers Strike. The Community Coalition was founded in 1989, with the primary missions: transforming schools, strengthening families and building a thriving community in South Los Angeles.

In Portland, MLK day is another day off from work or a company-led volunteer day. Sure, people understand the historical significance of the national holiday, but it’s not the same.

I had never seen a celebration like this.

I had never heard every person who walked past me say, ‘Happy King Day’.

Seeing the thousands of people of all different ethnicities celebrating the life of a man who made many of their lives possible; Seeing the joy it brought them and the joy it made them want to share, filled me with a sense of pride I had sadly never known.

It’s been a year since that first, magical celebration. This year’s parade was much like last year’s?—?the perfect blend of the love that defined Martin Luther King Jr. and the people that define South Central Los Angeles.

Kamala Harris was the parade’s grand marshal, and the theme was the famed former First Lady Michelle Obama quote, “When they go low, we go high.”

I wanted to capture the day so others could experience the feeling for themselves. So, I documented the parade with a photo essay and interviewed several community members in the process (shown below).

I also wanted to learn more about the history of how it all got started, so I got in touch with Adrian Dove, President of the Kingdom Day Parade and Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE).

Happy King Day.

Each year, citizens and organizations representing a vast array of ethnicities and social justice causes honor Dr. King through his legacy of peaceful protest.

The History:

It’s been thirty-eight years since a retired banker, Larry E. Grant, decided to organize a neighborhood march honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The first parade was held in San Diego, California.

In 1985, the Kingdom Day Parade moved to the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. And today, it is the largest and oldest Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in the nation.

The current Kingdom Day Parade and CORE President, Adrian Dove, 84, first became involved with the parade when he was the Regional Director at the U.S. Census Bureau.

“I used outreach money from the Census to help finance the parade, so that’s how I first got involved.” he said. “Then, five years later, it moved to L.A., and every year it got bigger. About thirteen years ago, the parade lost its funding. At the time, I was President and Chairman of CORE…we made the shift and had all the finances run through CORE, and that’s all that I was asked to do.”

For many high school marching bands in Los Angeles, the Kingdom Day Parade is the most anticipated performance of the year. It is the premiere opportunity to earn community bragging rights.

But, after filing taxes for the parade, Dove noticed the organization was still in financial turmoil. He then spent the next six years gathering support from community organizations and businesses to keep the parade alive. Each year, the number of parade floats, volunteers, and crowd members increased.

“[Larry Grant] died just a couple months before the parade in 2012. I was at Larry’s funeral and I said, ‘This man spent a lifetime, thirty years, of doing this parade, and it will not be lost. I personally promise to see to it that this parade shall go on’. And then I said to myself, ‘Did I say that? How am I going to do that?'”

However, Dove’s commitment to the parade was not only fueled by his love and admiration for Grant.

As a young man in the 1960s, Dove left the comfort of his job and home in Los Angeles to personally work with Dr. King as a part of the voter registration movement in Alabama.

Inspired after reading Dr. King’s book, Strength to Love, Dove attended a sermon led by Dr. King and was introduced to him afterwards by the woman he sat next to in the church.

In their conversation, Dr. King explained the need for college educated individuals to join the movement and help with registering African-Americans to vote in the South.

Two weeks later, Dove was living at the freedom house and working in the field.

“As great a man as he was, and I was just a young kid, he took the time to sit down and talk to me and treat me as if I was his equal. So, I always said, I was born at the right time… He put me out in the fields, there were people threatening to shoot us, and we were only getting thirty-two dollars a week, and to this day, I have to say, it’s the best job I ever had.” He said. “Nothing matches up to the experience of being able to go in and chat with him.”

Dove’s admiration for Dr. King’s legacy of love was evident in just about everything I heard him say. There’s an embracing warmth in the kindness of his voice, and a resounding joy in his laugh?—?the kind with the obvious intent to be spread. Every response to one of my questions was genuine and used as a teaching moment.

He told me how he always agreed with Stevie Wonder, who was instrumental in the creation of the parade and served as the first grand marshal. Wonder spoke in support of the King holiday saying, “There needs to be a holiday purely dedicated to love.” Dove then said, “That’s what we’re doing. [We’re doing] our best to make sure it stays dedicated to that.”

After years of persistent recruitment efforts, and seeking the advice of Los Angeles neighbor, the Rose Parade, the Kingdom Day Parade began to thrive year-after-year.

And Dove is far from the only one who embraces this holiday of love.

Today, in South Los Angeles, King Day is one of the most anticipated days of the year, and the parade is the main event.

“The biggest thing I like about the parade, is the fact that I’m working on something where people call and say, ‘I sure had a good time. Everybody was so happy,’ and to me that’s what makes it worth doing. You got a program and you just make people happy… I ride [in the parade] every year, and riding down the streets people are just smiling, waving?—?whole families. It’s a family thing, everyone you see is saying, ‘Happy King Day’, ‘Happy Kingdom Day’.” Dove said.

“That’s the neighborhood where we started in, South central, and that’s the neighborhood we intend to stay. We’re not gonna take it downtown or to the beach, we’re gonna stay right in the neighborhood and do it for the community.”

 

Plans for the 2019 Kingdom Day Parade are already in the works. Dove told me they recently selected the grand marshal for next year, and will reveal the special guest on a date closer to the parade.

But, that’s not all Dove and CORE have in mind for the South Los Angeles community. The organization is also hoping to begin a Juneteenth March as early as June 19 of this year. Dove spoke of the importance of Juneteenth as a holiday, and maintaining the mindset of, “No one is free until we’re all free.”

We talked about the Women’s March, which took place earlier that day. “We wanna do something like that,” he said.

“In January, we celebrate. In June, we march.”

Marchers in the Community Coalition proudly carry a Haitian flag. The white ribbon on the flag of Haiti bears the cultural motto, “L’Union Fait La Force”, which translates to “Unity Makes Strength.”

Reuben Belisle?—?”I live right in this area, a couple blocks from here. For the last twenty years, we’ve been coming to the parade just to see everybody come together for Martin Luther King. He did a lot for us to be here right now, and we appreciate what he did… We from Belize (pointing to friends and family behind the fence). This is the Belize community. What [King] meant to me when we was coming up, he was the one who gave us the right to be where we are right now. He fought for us. He died for us. I love being here… What’s going on with the politics right now. We gotta put up with it. But, it’s going to be over pretty soon?—?once Donald Trump gets outta the office.”

Trinisha Stewart (third from right), 41, “We watch it here every year. I live in Riverside and come here because my family owns the property. So, we’re out here for the annual King Day Parade, and everyone has come together?—?all the different cultures. You see so much diversity, you see togetherness. Everyone is out here just having an awesome time, just celebrating life, and celebrating the fact that we can all get along and exist in the same America… I’ve been coming since the very first one. I actually do not [remember it] because I was a small child. But, at this point, they’re just getting bigger and better. A lot of people are joining, it’s just really great. [The parade] means togetherness. Everyone celebrating their rights, everyone being able to celebrate, without anyone having issues with that. I’m glad that everyone’s out, we’re all just bonding, and it’s a great day.”

Glenn?—?”I’ve been coming here, every year since it started. My sister stays right here. And this is my nephew. I just love being with all the people and enjoying the day on a positive note. Everybody happy. It’s a happy day, (pointing to dancers) see what I mean? I’m living here today to see what he fought for years ago?—?and it’s happening. Slowly, but surely… [I’m] very proud to be here.”

 

(Left to right) DeAndre Allen, 20, Christopher Daniels, 20, Marcel Drinker, 19, Maalik Stokes, 16.

Christopher?—?”Martin Luther King, he was a really good man. I’m glad he helped out with this country. We wouldn’t be like this if it wasn’t for him. Happy birthday, King!”

 

DeAndre?—?”He did a lot of things for us colored people. He helped us not be segregated and come together.”

Maalik?—?”Man, Martin Luther King was the first man to really fight for our rights, man. He wasn’t the only one but he was the first one to really do this! You understand? Martin Luther king was the man. You understand? He gonna live on forever. This not the last MLK parade, we got a million more.”

Marcel?—?”What he did is gonna live on through centuries. It’s a legacy. This not the last parade ever. Without him we wouldn’t be here today.”

DeAndre?—?”Happy birthday to Martin Luther King. Thank you.”

 

Joe Epps and Danette Epps

Danette?—?”[We’ve been coming] over ten years or better, or even longer. Just getting together and seeing everyone come together in unity, [I’m] loving it. Since I’ve been coming, it’s been very peaceful.

Joe?—?Happy Martin Luther King’s birthday, you know? Like I said, we been coming down here for the last ten years to celebrate the legacy. And I request work off every year, just for this event.”

Danette?—?[The day represents] mainly how far we have come and how he set the mark for us to have the freedom and all that we have today. And how everybody really focusing on trying to be equal. You know? Cause that’s what he was about. You know? It wasn’t about that color, this color. He wanted everyone to just love and that’s what it is when we come down here to the Martin Luther King day.”

Andre Williams, 56.

Andre?—?”My mother was living here for five years, so we’ve been sitting here [during the parade] for five years. I was out of town for a lot years, I moved around. I was in the marines. Then, I went out on my own, living in different places…I’ve been back home for seven years.

I love the parade. It brings the community together. A lot of people see old friends and stuff. It’s about MLK, his legacy. Everyone getting together in peace and harmony.”

 

 

Ayesha?—?”[We’ve been coming] probably since elementary. Seriously, twenty-plus years. Since we were kids. I just love seeing everybody together. That really puts a smile on my face. Since this is all about peace and stuff, this a moment where everybody is pretty much all on the same page, you feel me? So, it’s real festive. And you feel like ‘that’s my sister, that’s my brother, that’s my cousin.’ You know? Like It’s a family, man. I love it.”

LuLu?—?”It’s the unity. Cause that’s what King was about. So It displays it. Not just between like the black culture. But, between everybody. That’s why there’s everybody in the parade. All different ethnicities. Just the unity of everybody being together for a peaceful event?—?for a man that did a lot for us. I feel like it’s very important that we keep what he’s done alive…I feel like we have to remember what he stood for, the reasons for it and we have to do the same thing. Cause he lit the torch and passed it and we gotta keep carrying it. Or we’ll let it die and we’ll revert back to before his days.”

Ayesha?—?”I think the main thing is keeping the legacy alive so hopefully maybe we can avoid some of the injustices going on.”

 

Heavy?—?They call me ‘Heavy’. I’ve been coming at least ’bout seven–eight years. My favorite part of being out here is being amongst love. You understand what I’m sayin’? Love is everything. God is everything. Know what I’m sayin’? You out here with love. Everybody, all nationalities are here. That’s what the world is. It’s love. People trying to divide, but love conquers all.

Being sixty years old, I see [King’s] words were strong, but ain’t too much has changed from that [in America]. But a change is gonna come. You know what I’m saying? A change is gonna come. We all gonna unite.”

PHILADELPHIA, PA- (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Starbucks Coffee Company recently announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in their stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country and will become part of the on boarding process for new partners.

“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” said Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to be a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial-bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”

All Starbucks company-owned retail stores and corporate offices will be closed in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29. During that time, partners will go through a training program designed to address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store feels safe and welcome.

“The company’s founding values are based on humanity and inclusion,” said executive chairman Howard Schultz, who joined Johnson and other senior Starbucks leaders in Philadelphia to meet with community leaders and Starbucks partners. “We will learn from our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for every customer.”

The curriculum will be developed with guidance from several national and local experts confronting racial bias, including Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Heather McGhee, president of Demos; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Starbucks will involve these experts in monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the measures we undertake.

Earlier this week, Starbucks began a review of its training and practices to make important reforms where necessary to ensure our stores always represent our Mission and Values, by providing a safe and inclusive environment for our customers and partners.

Once completed, the company will make the education materials available to other companies, including our licensee partners, for use with their employees and leadership.

 

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- The 3^rdUltimate Lowrider Photoshoot and Models is What It Do! We are calling all models, slim or thick!

Diva Outlaw is providing an opportunity for you to expand your professional portfolio with some fresh and edgy photos. You can sign up with Diva Outlaw and have these phenomenal photographers, ‘Trademenz Loung’, ‘The LBC Photographer’, and guest photographer ‘FGO Fantasy’ take your photos on Sunday, May 19. Come out, have fun and network with other models. For more details email Riisha Shelby, owner of Diva Outlaw at divaoutlawapparel@gmail.com.

Until next week L’s.

 

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- It appears that police take complaints about Black men as orders to arrest! I expect that the police should validate the accuracy of the call and the level of threat prior to arresting or shooting!

Did the police in Sacramento check the validity of the phone call about someone breaking car windows prior to responding and chasing someone to the area of Stephon Clark’s Grandmother’s backyard, where upon seeing Stephon with his cell phone in his hand? They screamed “gun” and shot him 8 times, killing him. Six shots of which were in the back! Were the police sure that the person they had been chasing was the person standing in the yard? Were they sure that the person they were chasing had broken any car windows?

When the police responded to a call from the Starbucks store about trespassers that had not yet made a purchase, did they investigate the validity of the call? Did they question and determine if there was a threat that required or justified the arrest of the two Black men?  How many people have the police removed, in handcuffs, from a Starbucks because of their slow order or for waiting to meet someone that completes their party?

Starbucks, you and I have the ability to call the police for any reason; however, it is up to the police to validate the reason prior to taking action!

We will discuss this subject further and “What happens when we choose to not vote” during this Sunday’s edition of “Empire Talks Back” at 10 a.m.  on KCAA1050 AM, 102.3 and 106.5 FM. There is also a live video stream via www.kcaaradio.com and you can listen on your phone by dialing (701) 801-4444.

San Bernardino Valley College holds first-ever CyberTech Girls Workshop getting girls more involved with technology on Saturday, April 21

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- (EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Sixty middle and high school girls from San Bernardino and Riverside counties are scheduled to participate in the first CyberTech Girls workshop on Saturday, April 21 at San Bernardino Valley College.

The students represent more than 25 schools and 14 districts in the two-county region. At the conference, they will learn about crime scene investigations, how to build a computer and work on constructing a website.

The event is organized by San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools’ (SBCSS) CyberSB and San Bernardino Valley College. Participating schools and districts include: Alta Loma: Vineyard Junior High; Central: Ruth Musser Middle; Chaffey: Alta Loma High; Colony High; Etiwanda High; Ontario High; Rancho Cucamonga High; Colton Joint Unified: Joe Baca Middle; Etiwanda: Day Creek Intermediate, Lightfoot Elementary; Summit Intermediate; Hesperia Unified: Sultana High; Ontario-Montclair; Redlands Unified: Beattie Middle; Clement Middle; Cope Middle; Moore Middle; Redlands High; Redlands East Valley High; Rialto Unified: Kolb Middle; SBCSS; Upland Unified: Foothill Knolls Elementary; Upland High; Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified: Dunlap Elementary, Inland Leaders Charter; Park View Middle.