By Higher Heights

Dear 2016 Presidential Candidates:

In an effort to hear what issues Black women are most concerned with this election cycle, Higher Heights asked Black women across the country (at events and online), what is the most important issue facing Black women and their families. 49 percent stated that economic security was the most pressing issue.  

No wonder this was the top response, considering Black women are paid just 60 cents to every dollar paid to a White man.  In addition to economic security, the other top issues included Education Equity (19%), Police Violence (16%) and High Quality Affordable Housing (14%).

According to 2013 U.S. Census data, 71 percent of Black women are in the labor force (69 percent for women overall).  Black women are more likely than women nationally to work in the lowest-paying occupations (like service, health care support, and education) and less likely to work in the higher-paying engineering and tech fields or managerial positions.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the percentage of Black women who are full-time minimum-wage workers is higher than that of any other racial group.  

The late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan once said, “What the people want is very simple – they want an America as good as its promise.”  Higher Heights is asking you, as a candidate for the highest executive job in the country, to pledge to make good on this promise by putting forward a comprehensive economic security strategy and plan at the top of your list of priority issues on which you will focus in the first 100 days of your administration, should you be elected.

Higher Heights is also asking Black women across the country to raise their voices on this issue at the ballot box this November.  We know that when you fire up a Black woman she does not go to the polls alone, she brings her house, her block, her church, her sorority, and her water cooler. For us, this election is about harnessing the power of Black women’s votes to ensure that you, as candidates feel compelled to address and support building economically stable communities and the other issues of the greatest importance to Black women.

It really isn’t that complicated.  Black women are voting this November and economic security is the No. 1 issue they care about. The next President of the United States will take office at a time of great opportunity for our nation. In the final weeks of the election, we encourage you to listen and devise a course of action to address the concerns of this very important constituency.  

Water is essential to our everyday lives so it’s important to conserve our water supplies. Cutting water use outside is really important. If each of us changed our water-use habits even a little, we could save billions of gallons of water. Here’s a few ways you can help:

• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks and save up to 150 gallons each time.
• Check and repair promptly your sprinkler system for leaks, oversprays and broken sprinkler heads to save up to 500 gallons per month.
• Water your plants in the evening or early in the morning to reduce evaporation and to save up to 25 gallons each time.
• Install a smart sprinkler controller that adjusts watering based on weather, soil type, amount of shade and plant type to save up to 40 gallons per day.

Be a team player. Follow your local water agency’s suggested watering days to save up to 840 gallons per week.

Metropolitan Water District’s conservation website, bewaterwise.com, offers additional tips on how to reduce indoor and outdoor water use. Love Water. Save Water.

By Lue Dowdy

Feeding the homeless on Tuesday, October 22 is WHAT IT DO! I’m calling out all Indie Artists and anyone affiliated with the entertainment game in the I.E. Mobilize with us to feed over a 1,000 homeless individuals in the Inland Empire. It’s better to GIVE. BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS THIS YEAR!

Last year we made 477 hot meals and passed out socks, sleeping bags and more. This year we’re doing it bigger and better. Please join in! To donate please contact us on Facebook under LUE Productions or call (909) 567-1000, or email Lue.info@yahoo.com. Until next week, much LOVE and L’zzz!

Items still needed include: Rolls, Cranberry sauce, Corn, Dressing Mix, Gravy packages, Napkins, Forks, Cakes and Pies, Socks, Scarves, Gloves, Blankets, and Hygiene kits. Shout to the following: Black Collar Entertainment for donating all the mash potatoes and water; 4ETE for donating all the green beans; Mama Loretta Smith for volunteering to cook turkeys and dressing; OWFO for volunteering to donate all the food containers; Sirr Jones for volunteering to donate Turkeys; Yawnie for volunteering to donate Turkeys; Moon Bush for donating hygiene kits; and Amanda Tatum for donating dressing mix.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

What can we do to get people who disagree to actually talk to each other? We must find common ground! My grandfather said, “It takes two fools to argue without seeking a solution.” My problem…When I ‘catch you in a lie’, I am left to wonder ‘how may did I miss?’

My Drug Counselor friends have suspiciously questioned the Trump Nose-sniffle that was so distractingly obvious during the opening portion of the debate, suggesting that while Hillary fortified herself with study, Trump was putting something in his nose to prepare himself for debate!

Both of the candidates apparently think my friends and I are more concerned about where they think Obama was born than what happens to the 25% of Blacks that desperately need jobs. Hillary and Donald spent too much time trying to make Black Folk be mad and scared, instead of describing plans that are encouraging and inspirational. Neither candidate spoke with passion about improving urban conditions with business development and job creation that can improve urban children’s prospects. Young people with bright futures do not seek out gang membership!

My final inspiration from the debate was to remember that while we know “a change is gonna’ come”, that the best way for us to speed the change is to ‘read to our children’ and ‘support and spend with Black Owned Businesses’ when possible. “Walk together children, and don’t you get weary”!

I would love to talk with someone who disagrees. Please call me at (909) 384-8131!

Jon Eady

SANTA MONICA, CA- Santa Monica College (SMC) is pleased to announce that SMC grad and Santa Monica native Jonathan Eady has been awarded a Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The scholarship supports students who are pursuing a degree in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.

Upon graduation, all SMART scholars are placed in civilian jobs in a DoD lab or facility. The DoD developed its SMART program to increase the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at DoD laboratories. In addition to covering tuition and other educational expenses, SMART recipients receive a generous cash award and health insurance allowance, as well as a monthly stipend. Summer internships are also included.

Eady is an Army National Guard veteran who completed six years of service at the end of July. He was a fire finding radar operator, “which is basically using a radar to track artillery firing around the area,” said Eady. He also served as a liaison with the National Guard’s efforts to help the homeless in the Santa Monica and Los Angelesarea. During his time in the National Guard, Eady said he often struggled to juggle his studies with his military duties, and even had to drop classes at times to meet his military obligations.

Despite the delays in his educational pursuits, Eady earned an Associate degree at SMC in General Science-Mechanical Engineering preparation this June. He transferred to California State University-Northridge (CSUN), where he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Mechatronics and Robotics, and minoring in Automation and Computer Design. Eady says he chose CSUN because it has a “more robust robotics program than they have at UC,” adding that he is “proud to be CSUN’s first SMART scholarship participant.”

For Eady, who grew up with the struggles and wants of poverty, one of the many benefits of the SMART scholarship is that it includes a paid internship, with a direct path to a career. He called the scholarship “liberating, just knowing that I can take care of my mom now.” Eady recently learned that his mother had been diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia.

The internship also gives him the opportunity to become familiar with working at a DoD facility. “It’s basically like a trial period to see how things feel,” he said. For his internship site, Eady selected the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme. He will be working with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. The LCS is a fairly new type of small, but very agile, high-tech surface vessels designed to operate in coastal waters close to shore.

Eady is a former President’s Ambassador of Santa Monica College and participant in the college’s STEM Science Research Initiative. He is also the founder of the STEM Club at SMC, and was elected by the student body to serve as student trustee on the SMC board for 2015-16.

Eady credits several of his SMC instructors for his success, especially Professor Muriel Walker-Waugh, who “got me into the STEM program and got me started on this path of success that I didn’t know was there.” SMC Academic Computing Instructional Specialist Lee Peterson, who runs the student computer lab in Cayton Center, has been “instrumental in everything,” said Eady. “His mentorship is a huge reason why I was successful.” Eady added that SMC’s trustees were all very supportive and he benefited especially from being “actively mentored” by board member Dr. Susan Aminoff.

Gaining the engineering knowledge to go into robotics is one of Eady’s dreams. “I want to understand how all this technology works, so I can have that little bit of information and the scientific literacy that’s necessary for the future,” he said. “I want to use technology to help people in some way. I’m going to try to be that person who says, ‘Let’s make our priorities our people, education, and making sure we advance ourselves technologically.’” In the end, added Eady, “It’s all public service. That’s where I’ve been my entire life.”

For more information on the SMART scholarship, visit smart.asee.org.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

God says, “Don’t do that or you will go to Hell!” But then Satan whispers, “It ain’t true… God loves you too much to send you to Hell. It’s alright, go ahead and do what you want; besides you can always ask for forgiveness later.” Listen; don’t let Satan deceive you…. God will not be mocked!  Anyone who disobeys God’s Word has crossed the line over which the Lord says if a man goes, he has sinned. And we know that Sin equal Death! Now you wouldn’t be so foolish as to put a bullet in the chamber of a hand gun and put it to your head and pull the trigger, would you? Yet, in reality that is what you do every time you choose to willfully disobey the Word of God, leaving no sacrifice for sin [Hebrew 10:26]. Don’t let Satan’s lies deceive you into compromising your obedience to God.

You know God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and warned of the dire consequences if they choose to disobey His Word, [Genesis 2:15, 16]. But afterwards, Satan strutted into the Garden and deceived Eve into believing that God was all talk; “He’s bluffing, He just wants to be God. He just wants to be a dictator. Don’t worry about Him; eat, drink and be merry…..” I tell you Satan is a liar! Disobedience to God is very consequential by nature. In many cases, it may end up costing you far more than you’ve ever thought. The consequences of disobedience are plain all throughout Scripture from the book of Genesis to Revelation. Oh, I say and I say it again, if you believe the lies of Satan, “Ya been had! Ya been took! Ya been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok” [Malcom X]. This is what Satan does. Satan purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. He doesn’t care about you. He’s mad that God loves you so. You mean nothing to [Satan] He wants to chew you up and spit you out! You better know that you know!

Now the apostle Paul, in [2 Corin 2: 11], says that we are not to be ignorant of the schemes, or the plans, or the stratagems, or the tricks of Satan.  We need to know how he works.  We need to know something of his character, something of his person, something of his approach.  And since we have the Word of God, which unmasks Satan’s disguises, and which reveals his schemes, there’s really no reason to be ignorant.  Satan is a con artist and he will con you straight to Hell. Believe that! I tell you to be forewarned of Satan’s strategy is to be forearmed. His pattern for tempting Eve is essentially the same approach he uses today. But by studying and learning to recognize that pattern, you will not be ignorant of his schemes [2 Cor. 2:11]. Satan is crafty and deceptive, not straightforward. His methods involve deceit, schemes, lies, and trickery [John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14, 15; 1 Tim. 2:14] His number one weapon against you is a lie, and if you believe that lie, your onward progress will stop with God.

I tell you, our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone whom he may devour.” He is not to be joked about; he is not to be made fun of. He is a serious, formidable foe. The Bible describes him as the prince of this world who opposes God and lies to you, to appeal to the appetites of your flesh. The truth is this – obedience is costly! And I’m not going to tell you it’s not hard. Obedience is costly, but here’s the reality—it is not as costly as compromise! Disobedience is devastating. It stops your progress with God! That’s why some of you are not moving onward with God, because you’re playing around with things that are designed to defeat you. God’s Word is the only word that can be trusted. If you try to live your life by any other counsel, you will be defeated and the consequences are not going to be well with you; because disobedience brings a wide variety of consequences; spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental. With spiritual being the worst form of consequence that can ever fall upon an individual since it determines where people will spend their eternity. Careful in your choosing, because your eternity is at stake! Now “Who report will you believe?”

Karla Quebec

ONTARIO, CA- San Bernardino Author T’ana Phelice has accomplished a lot in the past two years with three book releases, and now is she gearing up to expand her brand by bringing her books to the stage. “The Diamond Monologues” will debut on Saturday, October 1 at 2455 E. Riverside Drive in Ontario, California 91761 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“A Woman is something precious to this world, but you have to decide if you’re a pig or a pearl,” T’ana Phelice quotes.

This heart-wrenching, dramatic, and touching stage production will go into the lives of five dynamic young women. Veronica, Precious, Nicki, Tia, and Samantha are used to beauty and scandalous behavior in a means to get them ahead, but God has other plans in mind. Twisted affairs leave a few of the ladies praying for redemption, while true love leaves one facing tragedy and another with what she has finally become worthy of. Each of these ladies are at a crossroad that will either test their faith or restore the strength that they didn’t know they had. Some will make reality of their dreams, while others refuse to face reality all together.

To compliment the message of the stage production, there will be a special keynote speech from Karla Quebec of the Inland Empire Black Chamber of Commerce, in addition to other young, dynamic women speakers. The evening will also consist of spoken word, photo op opportunities on the red carpet, and light refreshments will be served for a small fee.

Early bird tickets are on sale on for $20 and after Saturday, September 24 they will be $25. Grab you tickets and your seat now at www.tanaphelice.com. Seating is limited.

RIVERSIDE, CA— More than 60 middle and high school students from California and Arizona came to the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering on Saturday, Sept. 10, to learn how nanotechnology and biology are increasingly being brought together to address important problems in a variety of fields. The event was hosted by UCR and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, or CTY.

The workshop was part of CTY’s Science and Technology series, which offers one-day experiences that connect academically gifted students and their parents with scientists at leading research institutions across the country to encourage their interest in science, technology, engineering and math majors and careers.

The workshop at UCR highlighted how nanotechnology—science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale—is being used to enhance biological systems, as well as the inverse situation, where biology is providing new means for addressing critical challenges in the field of nanotechnology. The event included faculty seminars and hands-on demonstrations, an undergraduate research panel discussion, and tours of UCR’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering Nanofabrication Facility and Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis.

“We wanted to transform our guests into nano-bioengineers for the day so they could experience firsthand how research in this area is addressing many unmet needs, not only in biology and medicine but also in energy, electronics, the environment and numerous other fields,” said Masaru Rao, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering at UCR. “The students were extremely talented, very engaged, and we hope that some of them are inspired to consider pursuing educational paths and eventual careers in nanotechnology and biology.”

“This is the first time UCR has hosted a CTY event, and based on its success, we look forward to the opportunity to do so again in the future.”

Rao hosted the workshop with fellow BCOE faculty and staff, including: Victor Rodgers, professor of bioengineering; Elaine Haberer, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Hideaki Tsutsui, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Monica Wilhelmus, assistant professor of mechanical and chemical and environmental engineering; Jun Wang, director of student development and international initiatives; and Rosie Zhang, professional development officer. The workshop also involved the efforts of more than a dozen BCOE graduate and undergraduate student volunteers, who served as guides, demonstration leaders, and discussion panelists.

Established in 1979, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth is a non-profit center that identifies and develops the talents of academically gifted K-12 learners worldwide. CTY identifies young people of great academic promise through its annual talent search and nurtures their intellect and personal growth through summer programs, online courses, and other services and resources.

Support for the event was provided by CTY, UCR BCOE, and National Science Foundation grants CMMI-1254999, OISE-1545852, ECCS-1406795, and CBET-1606181.

LOS ANGELES, CA- Real To Reel Global Youth Film Festival showcases works of youth filmmakers ages 14-23 and is spearheaded by 22-year-old co-founder Johna Rivers, an emancipated foster youth from the community of Watts, CA.  Better Youth, a mentoring and creative development agency will host its “2^nd Annual Real to Reel Global Youth Film Festival” from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Los Angeles Film School on Saturday, October 8, 2016. Actress Monique Coleman (“High School Musical”) will serve as a featured speaker for an audience of future youth filmmakers from local media literacy and media production training programs, Actor Melvin Jackson Jr. (BET’s “The New Edition Story”) and Johna Rivers (Real To Reel Youth Producer) will serve as co-hosts.

The festival will screen a diverse slate of short films by youth filmmakers from different countries. In between screenings will be acting workshops, filmmaker panels featuring industry professionals, producer and film financing panels featuring industry experts. This year’s panelists include Meg DeLoatch (Creator of Eve), Shawn Boxe (HBO’s Silicon Valley), and many others.

The festival is created for youth by youth providing an amazing platform for youth filmmakers to showcase their latest work and to receive direct feedback from the film community. The festival is free and open to the general public thanks to its sponsors The National Endowment for the Arts, The Los Angeles Film School, Final Draft, NAMAC, Girl Up, Trader Joe’s and Film Freeway. For more information, visit www.betteryouth.org.

RIALTO, CA- Youth Action Project as part of their role in the Rialto Summer Bridge to Success presented 46 Rialto youth and their parents each with $150 as an incentive/reward for completing four of a twelve week long summer incentive youth and parent development program.

Each family had the opportunity to earn the cash incentive if they agreed to complete each of YAPs youth and parent sessions facilitated by Edward Brantley and Keith Hosea. As part of the agreement each family demonstrated understanding of 7 specific habits of effectiveness and developed and presented a family vision board.

Youth Action Project is a youth development agency founded by Rialto resident Joseph Williams; its mission is to empower youth and young adults in the development of the skills and habits needed to experience economic and social success. Williams also represents the city of Rialto and Muscoy as a member of the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees. 

“The Rialto Summer Bridge program was both fun and inspirational, being able to see not only these young students but their parents also learning how to become more productive in different aspects of their lives.” YAP Member and youth specialist Marisa Gomez

The Rialto Summer Bridge to Success is a 12 week intensive program that targets youth between the ages of 7-16. The program is in its second year of a planned three year initiative. Resilience, culture, discipline and character development are the main tenants of the program.

“This program was great to myself and children, and I will be brining my kids back to participate until they graduate from high school” Alana Rialto Parent

The Rialto Summer Bridge is a collaboration between the City of Rialto, Rialto PD, MHM and Associates, Young Visionaries, Black Voice Foundation, The Bethune, Big Brothers and Sisters, Serge and Youth Action Project.

Joseph Williams stated, “This year’s program was so powerful; youth along with their parents were exposed to habits of effective, they had the opportunity to develop family vision board together. The whole effort was invest in building families capacity to support one another”

 For more information on the next summer session contact MHM and Associates at (951) 682-4MHM(646)  Ext.100.