SAN BERNARDINO, CA- BLU Educational Foundation (BLU) will  host its second annual Soul Sisters Leadership Academy starting Monday, July 18 at San Bernardino Valley College.  The four-day, intensive training program is designed for young Black women ages 14 to 21.  The purpose of the academy is to help young women connect with the historical legacy of Black women who have made, and are making, significant contributions throughout society and the world.  In addition, the program is designed to help young women develop a strong sense of self, cultural identity, and a connection to the importance of civic engagement and the positive impact they can make on their campus and in their community.  

Believing that service is key to civic engagement, BLU utilizes program alumni, college interns, and volunteers to help design and facilitate the trainings thereby developing valuable transferable skills and giving program participants real-world creative and project implementation experience.  Program attendees are encouraged to take their experience back to their respective centers of influence and continue to create and lead.  Last year’s academy consisted of 36 young women from 14 local cities and representing 23 high school and college campuses.

  The Soul Sisters Leadership Academy is one of the many leadership trainings BLU is conducting as part of their ongoing African-American Civic Engagement (AACE) Project. 

RIVERSIDE, CA- History and art enthusiasts from near and far will visit Riverside next month for the Association of African American Museums Conference (AAAM) taking place August 3 to August 6. The AAAM conference will take place at the Riverside Convention Center, but a host of activities including some receptions are planned in various locations throughout the Inland Region.

A Gospel Concert will take place Thursday, August 4 at Riverside Community College Landis Auditorium, led by Gregory Thomas as well as accomplished musician, singer and song writer Tony Wilkins. A mass community choir of 100 voices under the musical direction of clinician Thomas will joyously lift up praises together at this special event. The mass community choir rehearsals will commence at a week-long gospel workshop, open to anyone who wishes to participate: Monday, July 25 through Friday July 29 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Park Avenue Baptist Church located at 1910 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Riverside. The workshop fee is $10. For more information contact (951) 807-5066.

In addition to the gospel concert, Visual Voice art exhibit co-curated by renowned artists Charles Bibbs and Bernard Hoyes with assistance by curator Lisa Henry will take place Friday, August 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Riverside Art Museum. This exhibit covers Southern California Black artists’ ascent to the mainstream, culminating with the Black art scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 90s. Works of 19 masterful artists who played an integral role in what is to become the first full African American Art Movement over the last three decades includes: Ernie Barnes, Varnette P. Honeywood, Bernard Stanley Hoyes, Charles Bibbs, Nathaniel Bustion, Synthia Saint James, Kathleen Atkins Wilson, Kenneth Gatewood, Charles Dickson, Joseph Beckles, Charles White, Samella Lewis, William Pajaud, Richard Mayhew, Artis Lane, Jacob Lawrence, Noah Purifoy, Barbara Wesson and John Outterbridge.

In conjunction with the Visual Voice art exhibition, a Block Party with a stage of live entertainment will take place Friday, August 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Mission Inn Avenue near the Riverside Art Museum. Blues, Jazz and R&B performers will give a musical tribute concert to celebrate the early century era with special guests to be announced. Both the Block Party and Visual Voice art exhibition are free and open to the public.

If you are interested in being a vendor, volunteering, or for general information about registering for the conference visit www.blackmuseums.org.

By Chairman Matthew Nelson Statement

It is with a heavy heart that I offer my first official communication as the national chair of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). I find myself in a difficult situation when responding to recent instances of social injustice. A significant portion of the revenue used by NSBE to fund scholarships and programs for aspiring, young black minds comes from corporations seeking to increase their diversity through their relationships with our organization. I hope this letter does not estrange them. However, our mutual goal of a diverse engineering workforce is unattainable when black students are more worried for their lives than about their lectures, and when black employees lose productivity over concerns of prejudice.

Over the past few days, the deaths of Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling have peeled back the scab that covers the septic state of race relations in America. These incidents are especially concerning given the manner in which they occurred: Sterling shot while being pinned to the ground, Castile while reaching for his wallet at an officer’s command. Although both officers will face investigations to determine legal culpability, the visceral reaction evoked is one of shock, fear and fury. The most frightening notion is that our compliance with law enforcement officers may no longer be sufficient for survival. Recent events have caused individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science, technology, engineering and math to question the relevance of their education in a society that undervalues their lives.

However, the value of life is not exclusive to one race or one profession. The solution to addressing the concerns of our community certainly does not reside in the assassination of public safety officials. Incidents like the recent shootings of police in Dallas during a peaceful protest make a hazardous atmosphere even more toxic. Just as we are praying for the families of the black men slain, we pray for the families of the police officers who were struck down while in the line of duty.

The issues plaguing the black community extend far beyond police brutality. Unemployment, lack of access to services, underfunded educational systems, the prison-industrial complex, black on black crime, etc.: all of those concerns need to be addressed. However, we must not avoid confronting the ugly truths around policing in America. We must hold our elected officials responsible for the conduct of the officers who work on their behalf. A sheriff is typically an elected official. A police chief or commissioner is usually appointed by a mayor or city council. Research your candidates for government offices, and continue to voice your concerns once they begin their terms.

In addition, leverage your economic power to influence policy. Choose wisely when deciding where you will live and pay taxes. Make the choice to shop and dine in areas where black consumers are welcomed and appreciated, not labeled and harassed. Take note of the response from the LGBT community to North Carolina House Bill 2 and the effect of that response on that state’s economy. Circumstances will not change until the message is made clear: the unjustified use of force against blacks will be met with swift political and economic repercussions.

Times like these challenge our belief in justice and our faith in humanity, yet we still must march on, carrying the burdens of oppression, discrimination and hatred in a country that often fails to acknowledge our contributions, our place in society and our rights as citizens. Although these events have obviously rocked us to our very core, emotionally and spiritually, this is not the time for us to lose sight of our mission. It is imperative that we continue to expose our people to opportunities and encourage each other to strive for excellence, while engaging in meaningful dialogue about how to navigate today’s world. Cultural responsibility must prevail. For additional resources to help you focus your frustrations on positive outcomes, read the post “STEM and Social Justice: Applying an Engineering Lens to Social Change,” located on NSBE’s website (www.nsbe.org) in the Blog section.

If you take nothing else from this letter, please understand that as the leader of NSBE, I feel the same pain, anger, confusion and hopelessness you may be feeling. When one of us is hurting, we all feel the effects. I realize that NSBE cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of the black community. We may not be able to address them all, but we must be cognizant of their impact.

Toward this end, I have activated NSBE’s Culturally Responsible Task Force for our 2016–2017 program year. The purpose of this entity will be, in part, to respond to issues that affect black communities; to create a safe space online where our members can express their frustrations about racism without fear of repercussions; and to write reports that capture concerns about racism on college campuses that have active NSBE chapters.

We also encourage you to use social media and the hashtag #NSBESpeaks to continue the conversation about social injustice.

I pray for your understanding of the constraints placed on our Society with regard to activism, and I hope for the day when Black Lives Matter is a historical reference and no longer a current cry for justice.

RIVERSIDE, CA-Last Thursday, after days of rallied in the Inland Empire decrying perceived police brutality in the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, protestors marched through Riverside demanding not just justice being brought to the system, but unity.

Riverside residents Jeff Luckey, 22, and Anthony Curtis, 23, said that was the goal in organizing the march, which started at noon outside City Hall, continued with a march toward Riverside Plaza about 2 1/2 miles away and ended about 3 p.m.

“Right now nobody’s together,” Luckey said. “We don’t want this to be a black thing or a white thing, we want to develop a solution.”

There were approximately 75 people that attended the protest at the plaza. Some held signs and many chanted as they walked saying, ““Hands up, don’t shoot,” a slogan that has become a rallying cry for those protesting police shootings of black men.

Hennesy Brown, of Ontario, attended the march with her 1-year-old son King and her 9-month old son Angel. Brown chose to participate in the event to raise awareness in the community so that her sons won’t share the fates of Sterling and Castile.

“I don’t want my sons to become a hashtag,” Brown said.

By 2 p.m., the crowd at the plaza had grown to about 100. People were initially standing in the street in front of the movie theater, blocking traffic and forcing cars to turn around, but they moved when requested by police. “I love the diversity, it shows that its not just black people who are affected,” Brown said.

“I’m glad to see that Riverside does care about its people,“ May said. “The city has a lot of heart.”

By Naomi K. Bonman

The week of July 5 was a very emotional and overwhelming time for not just our Black community, but for the Nation as an entirety. With the shootings of two unarmed Black men and then the event in Dallas, Texas, as a Black community we have become fed up.  We are tired. Tired of the same cycle that keeps happening and has been happening for decades with no hope of ever changing.

From protest after protest, stand-in after stand-in, and boycott after boycott, nothing is changing. It is like we are working hard to seek justice and for equality rights, but constantly being ignored by the system. We feel alienated from society, as well as used and abused. Our culture in America has constantly been mocked, mocked for centuries.

Since the 1960s Civil Rights Movement very little change has happened. Racism in America has taken a reverse turn. So what is the solution? What have we as a community been doing wrong and what do we need to do to start seeing REAL change? Three Black millennial entrepreneurs have spoken up on the issues that have seen in the years and what they feel needs to be done in order for change to prosper.

“When you do not know who you are anyone can come along and give you an identity! It’s time for us to know who we are, be proud of who we are, stop shaming,” Author T’ana Phelice states. “It’s time for Black men and women to begin to celebrate one another again. It’s time to raise our children as a village and take pride in having a disciplined community. It’s time to mend fences and break chains that are meant to separate us. It’s time to unite! It’s time to make God popular again!“

Author and playwright, T’ana Phelice (31), from San Bernardino feels that in order for us to do better and make permanent changes that our community needs to be honest. We need to start being ashamed. We need to start being persistent. We need to educate ourselves on historical information; things that affect us and our children.

Marketing guru, Jay Parnell (33), of Perris speaks on the desensitization of our children. He believes that the current generation has been desensitized by how they are being marketed to through music, television, and social media. These media outlets have the power to develop and alter a person’s ideology.

Starh, owner of Fancy Cartel, from San Bernardino sums everything up with in order for change to come, the issues at hand need to be addressed. Once the current issues within our community are addressed we can then come to an agreement to start seeing the change that we all have longed for.

To listen to the full commentary, click below:

By Ronda Racha Penrice, Urban News Service

When Jeff Friday traveled to his first Sundance Film Festival to catch Love Jones in 1997, what struck him most is what he didn’t see.

“I returned from Sundance very inspired by what I saw there, but what I did not see was filmmakers of color,” says Friday. “So I came back to New York inspired to create something like it that really served as a platform for black filmmakers.” That’s when Friday first envisioned the American Black Film Festival.

Back then, the Newark native and Howard University alumnus — who holds an MBA from New York University — worked as a high-ranking advertising executive at the black-owned UniWorld Group. There, he oversaw marketing campaigns targeting African-American moviegoers. Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism, a UniWorld client, loved the concept and hosted the event in Acapulco.

Ninety people, including longtime supporters Bill Duke and Robert Townsend, attended that very first Acapulco Black Film Festival. Nearly 800 arrived the next year, and 3,500 attended in 2001. The festival moved to Miami Beach in 2002 and domesticated its name to the American Black Film Festival. From South Beach to L.A. and New York City, the site of 2015’s gathering, between 5,000 and 10,000 regularly attend.

While there are many other black-oriented film festivals, Friday’s uniquely integrates black Hollywood veterans, new talent and numerous corporate partners.

“The artistic community, the actors, the writers, the producers, the directors, they all support us, and the corporate community,” says Friday. “You need companies to support [the festival], so we’ve been very, very successful at getting companies to understand the importance of the mission, the importance of diversity. This was before #OscarsSoWhite, so it was a little more difficult getting companies to understand the importance of inclusion in film and TV.”

Founding partner HBO, known for its signature HBO Short Film Competition, got it from the start. The festival also has welcomed, among others, Fox Searchlight, Starz, TV One and Universal. In addition, it has sought non-traditional partnerships. Cadillac has been a long-term partner. And, this year, McDonald’s sponsored the “My Community” national video competition for aspiring black filmmakers, giving them a chance to be mentored by The Best Man writer/director Malcolm D. Lee. Prudential presented a seminar with Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth E. Carter (Malcolm X, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Black Panther).

The players may change, but the festival’s primary mission never does. “This was always about empowering people of color to make movies and being a platform for supporting the next generation,” Friday says.

Actress Emayatzy Corinealdi remembers this support the most. “They’re about nurturing you and giving you opportunities,” says Corinealdi, winner of the 2010 Rising Star award, a festival honor first given to Halle Berry. Corinealdi’s recent credits include Roots and Miles Ahead.

Producer Will Packer (Uncle Buck, Think Like a Man) and actor/director Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, Red Tails) are other talents whom this festival embraced early on. And they give back. At this year’s gathering, Packer hosted a “first look” for his latest film, Almost Christmas. Parker did the same with his highly anticipated Nat Turner slave-rebellion film, The Birth of a Nation. Corinealdi was a “Black Women in Hollywood” panelist.

Serving the black film community beyond the festival is very much on Friday’s mind these days. To honor black Hollywood pioneers and welcome new talent, Friday and his team conceived the ABFF Awards as a private dinner long before the #OscarsSoWhite firestorm resulted in BET televising the affair this past February. That successful partnership led to the inaugural ABFF Encore during the 2016 BET Experience, which supports the BET Awards. Standouts included a master class with Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and indie pleaser Destined from this year’s festival.

Other efforts include the short film showcase ABFF Independent on the Magic Johnson-owned network Aspire, as well the series For the Love on Comcast/Infinity, featuring industry interviews with such shakers as Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, the husband-and-wife team known for Being Mary Jane and The Game.

Friday is also confident that a more embracing Hollywood vanguard — like the Oscar-granting Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ recent membership invitation to a record number of black film professionals — won’t drop the curtain on the American Black Film Festival.

“The general market can’t possibly serve our community like we can serve our own, and I promise that won’t change,” Friday says. “We will always have a space to focus on our own.”

By Edmund Andrews

By analyzing data from 4.5 million traffic stops in 100 North Carolina cities, Stanford researchers have found that police in that state are more likely to search black and Hispanic motorists, using a lower threshold of suspicion, than when they stop white or Asian drivers.

The empirical study found that while blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be searched, those more numerous searches are less likely to uncover illegal drugs or weapons than searches of vehicles with white or Asian drivers.

Studies based on the incidence of searches by race, and the outcomes of those searches, have been done in the past, forming the basis for concerns about racial profiling by police.

But the Stanford team – graduate students Camelia Simoiu and Sam Corbett-Davies, and assistant professor of management science and engineeringSharad Goel – developed a third, entirely new measurement called a threshold test.

The researchers show that this new measure offers a statistically rigorous way to quantify how suspicious officers were to initiate a search. For example, did officers conduct searches when there was a 15 percent probability of finding weapons or drugs, or was a 5 percent inkling enough? They correlated these threshold assessments to the race or ethnicity of the subjects across the entire dataset of 4.5 million motor vehicle stops.

“Our threshold test suggests that officers apply a double standard when deciding whom to search, with black and Hispanic drivers searched on the basis of less evidence than whites and Asians,” said Simoiu, adding, “We consistently observe this pattern of behavior across the largest 100 police departments in the state.”

The study marks a new milestone in Stanford’s Project on Law, Order and Algorithms, which has already collected data on 50 million traffic stops in 11 states and is aiming to expand the database to 100 million stops from at least 30 states and every region of the Unites States. The purpose of the database, which the researchers plan to make publicly available, is to shed light on the prevalence of racial profiling and to identify techniques for improving police practices.

In the case of North Carolina, the researchers obtained records for traffic stops in the state from 2009 through 2014. The records included information about the ethnicity, age and gender of the people being pulled over and at least some information on the rationale of police officers for searching particular people and vehicles.

Racial differences

Until now, analysts have used two fairly simple statistical tests to look for patterns of racial profiling.

The first test, known as benchmarking, involves comparing search rates for people of different ethnicities. If blacks account for 10 percent of the local population but 30 percent of searches, that higher incidence would be evidence of discrimination. A second test examines the “hit” rate or outcome – the percentage of searches that actually lead to the discovery of weapons, drugs or other illegal contraband.

In North Carolina, both statistical tests provided strong evidence of unfounded racial discrimination. Police searched 5.4 percent of blacks and 4.1 percent of the Hispanics they pulled over, but only 3.1 percent of whites. In many cities and towns, however, searches of blacks and Hispanics were actually less likely to uncover contraband than searches of whites.

But even when both tests converge, this analysis has limitations. If a higher percentage of people in one ethnic group actually do carry illegal drugs or weapons, for example, a higher search rate for that group may not reflect racial discrimination.

So the Stanford researchers went further than prior studies to get a more accurate view of the presence or absence of unfounded discrimination.

They did this by developing a complex statistical tool they call a threshold test. It analyzed four variables for each of the 4.5 million stops:

• Race of the driver
• Department of the officer making the stop
• Whether the stop resulted in a search – and, if a search occurred,
• Whether it turned up drugs, guns or other contraband

These four variables provided a statistical snapshot of an officer’s threshold of suspicion before searching a person of a given race. As the authors wrote: “In nearly every one of the 100 departments we consider, we find that black and Hispanic drivers are subjected to a lower search threshold than whites, suggestive of widespread discrimination against these groups.”

Specifically, the study found that police decided to search black drivers based on a 7 percent certainty that they might be hiding something illegal. If an African American driver looks nervous, for example, police might interpret the nervousness as a sign of possible guilt and insist on a search.

For Hispanics, the search threshold was 6 percent certainty. But police in these 100 North Carolina cities wanted a 15 percent certainty before searching the vehicles of white drivers. The threshold for searching Asians was about the same as for whites.

Suspicions and searches

The finding has important implications, the researchers noted.

Had North Carolina’s police applied the same standard of suspicion to blacks as whites, the researchers estimate that they would have searched 30 percent fewer black drivers – about 30,000 people over the six years they study. Hispanics would have experienced a 50 percent reduction in searches affecting 8,000 drivers.

But while the new test reveals that the threshold of suspicion varies by race, the authors note a caveat.

“We cannot, however, definitively conclude that the disparities we see stem from racial bias,” they wrote. “For example, officers might instead be applying lower search thresholds to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, a demographic that is disproportionately black and Hispanic.”

The Stanford researchers are collecting traffic stop data from other states to see what patterns are revealed by their analyses. They are also considering ways to apply their new statistical methods to other settings where race or ethnicity may be a factor, such as mortgage lending and hiring.

“We hope our results spur further investigation into allegations of police discrimination, and help improve public policy,” Goel said.

SACRAMENTO, CA – AB 1584 by Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee after receiving unanimous support in the Senate Human Services Committee. The bill would reinstate the cost of living adjustment for the Social Security Insurance/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) grant, and lift an estimated 1.3 million Californians out of poverty.

“I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for their advocacy on behalf on of California’s seniors,” Assemblymember Brown said. “This legislation will lift over one million seniors and adults with disabilities out of poverty.”

SSI/SSP grants assist seniors and other disabled Californians who are unable to work.  These benefits, administered by the Social Security Administration, provide income support to individuals who are over 65, blind or disabled. These grants are also available to qualified blind or disabled children.  Starting in 2008, cuts made by the Legislature and the Governor reduced grants to amounts well below the federal poverty level.

“As a society, we have a responsibility to ensure that our seniors can age with dignity,” Assemblymember Brown said.  “AB 1584 is a small step toward the full restoration of recession era cuts to the SSI/SSP program, as well as preparation for the upcoming silver tsunami.”

LOMA LINDA, CA- A joyful and emotional celebration marked the completion of Loma Linda University Health – San Bernardino Campus.

“This day is a dream come true,” said Loma Linda University Health president Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH. After years of planning and18 months of construction, the completion of the project brought Hart to tears as he spoke.

Over 500 members of the community came out to be a part of history for the City of San Bernardino as officials held the ribbon cutting ceremony for the campus Wednesday, June 22.

“We are opening the door to better health and the opportunity to fulfill important educational dreams for many in our region,” said Roger Hadley, MD, dean, LLU School of Medicine.

The one-of-a-kind health care and education facility funded in part by a generous gift of $10 million from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will house the San Manuel Gateway College, an expanded multi-specialty medical clinic operated by Social Action Community Health System (SACHS) and a vegetarian restaurant, which will showcase the longevity enhancing benefits of a plant-based diet.

“I cannot think of a better partner than Loma Linda University Health – a relationship that goes back 110 years,” said Ken Ramirez, tribal secretary, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “We are eager to continue to serve, educate and take care of the community we call our home and our family.”

The facility will soon be busy providing health care and education to members of the community: June 27 is move-in day for SACHS; behavioral health services, and family medicine residency; and current SACHS pediatric services begin Monday, July 18.

In early August, the pediatric teaching office begins services, and internal medicine and OB-GYN and specialty clinics begin services.

“I can’t help but get emotional,” said Nancy Young, CEO, SAC Health System. “This building has been our dream for so many years and it’s finally coming true. This project will be the beginning of the transformational healing for the city we all love and are honored to serve.”

San Manuel Gateway College programs, including medical assistant, front and back office skills and certified nurse assistant, are scheduled to begin in September.

Arwyn Wild, executive director of San Manuel Gateway College explained his eagerness to give high school kids the confidence and resources to succeed. “This is not about us,” he said, “it is about the future, providing a light at the end of the tunnel for our kids.”

Coming from the San Bernardino Unified School District, Wild knows firsthand the challenges many underserved kids in our area go through and what they need to succeed. In addition to the college and medical clinic, Farmacy Fresh Café will open in the fall offering a wide variety of ready-to-eat and cooked-to-order vegetarian dishes.

BJ, founder of The Garage Dance Studio

Do you like to dance? Do you like to move? This week BJ, founder of The Garage Dance Studio, is What It Do! Living in an urban community with many talented youth, I am so happy that a positive individual like BJ is giving back. What a breath of fresh air for our youth. Not everyone sings, raps, or plays an instrument; some simply dance! With that being said here’s more about the choreographer they call BJ.

As a young child growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, BJ sat in front of his parent’s TV set constantly mimicking dance moves from artists such as Michael Jackson. He eventually received a chance to perform in front of crowds of people. From family parties, to dance competitions, and dance studios, the talented dancer impressed the public with his street choreography. Watching artists and dancers perform moves motivated him to dance and get better. By his teenage years, BJ realized that dancing could be something to pursue, so he kept going.

BJ was introduced to the dance world when he began touring doing background dancing for upcoming artists and other dance crews in need of extras. His first tour was back in 2000 and from there he has been addicted to the popularity.

He continued to push fourth and was added to a popular tour called “Scream tour” with artists that included as Bow Wow, B2K, and other big names. BJ soon began to make a name for myself in the Dance community when he was a part of the Dance show called “Dance 360,” which aired on UPN where he was called out to battle amongst five other people and won.

With his journey and experience in dance, BJ believes that if he ever had the opportunity to open his very own dance studio he would in a heartbeat and that is exactly what happened. This dude turned his mother’s garage into a mini dance studio and name it “The Garage Dance Studio.”

“Knowing that there is no source of entertainment or dance here in the Lost City a.k. Colton, California motivated me to open the dance studio,” BJ states.“For me being a dance lover, I wanted to open the facility to give youth the opportunity to come and learn dance. A lot of these kids don’t have the means to go to LA. I figured why not give it a shot and open something for them. With over seventeen years of professional experience under my belt, I provide lots of variety to students. My dance instruction involves a mixture of hip-hop, pop, and old-school dance styles.”

“All in all, I feel like I have lived up to my childhood dream by becoming a hardworking, successful dancer and I will continue to push fourth until I reach the top. There are lots of things that I have to still accomplish until I past that bridge. I will continue to bless others with my gift of dance.”

 Make sure you support this young man and his efforts. Remember to make the world your DANCE FLOOR. L’z!