The cast of “Underground” gather for a photo outside of the White House. Pictured left to right: Alano Miller, Amirah Vann, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Jessica de Gouw, Christopher Meloni (PRNewsFoto/WGN America)

LOS ANGELES, CA- In celebration of Black History Month, the White House Office of Public Engagement hosted a panel and screening event for WGN America’s “Underground,” the upcoming original series, produced by Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios, set to premiere Wednesday, March 9 on WGN America. The February 22 White House event was attended by Senior Administration Officials including Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States of America, who welcomed attendees with opening remarks about the powerful and gripping new series being a perfect fit for the Black History Month event entitled “These Hallowed Grounds and Underground Screening.”

Cast and creative team from WGN America’s “Underground” participated in two panel discussions that included executive producers John Legend and Akiva Goldsman, creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski and director and executive producer Anthony Hemingway, and cast including Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Christopher Meloni, Alano Miller, Jessica de Gouw and Amirah Vann, along with president and general manager, WGN America/ Tribune Studios, Matt Cherniss. The event was also attended by Peter Liguori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Media Company and Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, Presidents, Programming & Production, Sony Pictures Television, as well as leadership from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Young Women Empowerment Foundation will host their fourth annual Spring Event, “Girl Talk IV” at San Bernardino Valley College, 701 South Mount Vernon Avenue San Bernardino, CA 92410, on Saturday, March 19th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. YWE invites schools, faith based and community supporters to empower girls, age 12-21, to realize their purpose in life. This is a free event for young women in the Inland Empire.
This year’s theme is “My P.U.R.P.O.S.E., My Plan.” P.U.R.P.O.S.E means Passion, Uniqueness, Resilience, Perseverance, Opportunities, Self-Worth, and Empowered. The young women will have the opportunity to participate in workshops based on each area of P.U.R.P.O.S.E. There will also be a free continental breakfast, lunch, entertainment, give-a-ways, and opportunity drawings.

The guest speakers for Girl Talk IV will focus on issues that are important and relevant. Topics such as Human Trafficking, Self-Care, Digital Foot Prints, Life Challenges, Personal Decisions, and Choices will be discussed. The keynote and guest speakers are as follows: Danielle Willis – Passion; Porshe McCoy-Nichols – Uniqueness; Trinity Wallace-Ellis – Resilience (Keynote); Jazmin Garcia – Perseverance; Alise Clouser – Opportunity; Amber Thorney-Croft – Self Worth; Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation (C.A.S.E.) – Empowered; and Carletta Lofliin – My Plan (Vision Board)

The first 100 girls who register online will receive a free t-shirt when they check in. Please register on Eventbrite under “Free Young Women’s Empowerment Foundation (YWE) Girl Talk IV Annual Spring Conference My P.U.R.P.O.S.E My Plan.” Also, please encourage and invite family and friends to register and attend this noteworthy opportunity focused on empowering young women.

All inquiries, pre-register individual or groups, please email Devona Robertson or Tiffany James at ywefoundation@gmail.com.Visit their website at www.youngwomenempowerment.org.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

Congress is preventing Medicare from performing one of the basic elements of cost savings. An element that is critical to the profit line and in some cases critical to the survival of a business. Negotiating based on all of Medicare’s clients creates a lower cost per unit than if each individual insurer negotiates its own price. Bulk negotiation and purchasing is the answer! Bulk purchasing via direct negotiations with drug manufacturers by Medicare could save billions of dollars.

The 2003 overhaul of Medicare included a concession to the pharmaceutical industry that prevents Medicare from negotiating drug prices directly with the manufacturers… Instead, the individual insurers pay for drugs based on their individual fragmented negotiations, a process which guarantees higher prices.

The drug prices for the Veterans Health Administration and Medicaid, which are negotiated by the federal government, are much lower than those paid by Medicare. A recent study by Carlton University and Public Citizen, an advocacy group, found the negotiated prices are generally 1/3 less than those paid by Medicare. Medicare pays the highest prices on the planet, for drugs manufactured in the USA. The same drugs are exported around the world and delivered for prices that are more often than not, one-tenth of prices in the USA. The same study estimates that negotiating Medicare’s cost could save 16 billion dollars per year.

Supply/Invest in low or no-cost education for students who contract to repay with a commitment to social service, such medical school med, in exchange for five years of low-cost service to be provided over a 20 year period.

Ben Jealous

By New America Media, Question & Answer, George White

From 2008 to 2012, you served as president of the NAACP, an organization that does not endorse political candidates. As a public figure, you’re now free to make an endorsement. Why are you endorsing Senator Sanders? 

My generation was the first targeted in an era of mass incarceration that accelerated as a result of laws enacted in the 1990s. Our national priorities should include an effort to move us away from a society of mass incarceration to a country that provides better education and an economy that produces good-paying jobs. Senator Sanders is pushing for that shift.

Regarding my criteria, I look at the litmus tests that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provided. He said the first test of genuine leadership is whether the candidate is a follower of consensus or a molder of consensus. Senator Sanders is a molder. The other consideration is the candidate’s stand on issues related to what Dr. King called the giant triplets – racism, militarism and greed. Bernie has been the most consistent opponent of the policies and politics that promote those anti-progressive attitudes.

After Iowa and New Hampshire, the presidential campaigns move to states that are more racially and ethnically diverse – South Carolina among them. Some say Senator Sanders will not garner enough votes from communities of color to get the nomination. What are your thoughts?

The mainstream media continues to tell us that African Americans will vote en masse for Hillary Clinton. However, I see a different trend – African Americans are increasingly turning to Sanders. As a volunteer surrogate, I will campaign for Bernie in South Carolina and other states. In the world of politics, the time we have to win more support in South Carolina is an eternity.

African Americans and Latinos have higher unemployment rates and studies show that black and brown communities have not benefitted as much from the recovery from the Great Recession. How would Senator Sanders address those disparities? 

Historically, a leading cause of bankruptcy among African Americans is the cost of health care. Also, Latinos are among those more likely to be uninsured. The cost of medical care continues to be a threat to our communities. Bernie Sanders, through his advocacy of a national health care plan, will do more to reduce those costs. Also, education is a key to achieving the American dream and Bernie would make college free…He’s identified the primary political obstacle to a fairer economy that would help more people realize the American dream: unrestrained Wall Street spending on political campaigns.

As you know, there are millions of undocumented people in the U.S. living in the shadows – many of them Latino and many are Asian, the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S. One Republican candidate says they should be deported and some candidates say the undocumented should never have a path to citizenship. Tell us about Senator Sanders’ views on immigration. 

Senator Sanders supports comprehensive immigration reform. As a believer in the dignity of every person in this country, he would be the greatest champion of immigration reform we’ve ever seen in the White House.

We’ve all seen the spate of videos of black men being killed by police officers in situations that – in the view of most – did not require the use of deadly force. Policing is a local issue. What can a president do about this issue? 

Senator Sanders is the only candidate who supports the creation of a national standard for the use of force. Others want standards to be defined on the local level – the status quo.

Senator Sanders has been outspoken about the threat of climate change. As you know, the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program says contaminants from power plants and factories in or near communities of color are also a threat. In addition, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission recently announced it is investigating whether discrimination was a factor in state decisions that led to the Flint water crisis. Is environmental justice a Sanders priority?

Yes. He is a fierce defender of a clean environment for all. As president, he would take action to preserve our planet and would urgently address environmental injustices such as industrial contamination and infrastructure failures that are poisoning black and brown communities. With regard to Flint, he has called for the resignation of the governor of Michigan.

You’ve organized campaigns against voter suppression measures in a number of states. Senator Sanders says our political system is corrupt and rigged. If Sanders is elected, what would he do about these political participation issues?

There’s a connection between voter suppression and big money in politics. Senator Sanders is not just talking about the growing imbalance between the haves and have-nots – he’s also talking about reining in greed. The Koch brothers and other industrialists are making huge campaign donations as they contribute to the destruction of the environment. Bernie wants campaign finance reform and won’t take special-interest money. The average contribution to the Sanders campaign is $27. That’s why bankers fear Bernie. He’s shown that the people will fund a campaign when they’re concerned about our democracy.

We’re also going through the biggest wave of voter suppression since the Jim Crow era. It’s an attempt to suppress large numbers of progressive voters. Bernie’s campaign is creating the kind of enthusiasm we need for a large voter turnout. He’s showing how we can bring people together and change the system.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Running around thinking you are running things, and ain’t running nothing! [Satan] has fed you so many rotten apples with worms that you think they taste good. Sorry boo-boo… hate to burst your bubble, but you have been bamboozled, conned, led astray , run amok, dupe, tricked, fooled, swindle, hoodwink; you have been deceived… You see, Satan has been pimping from the third chapter of the Bible onward. He has opened up God’s Word to us, seeking to interpret it, to apply it, and offer an invitation; and you bought into his lies; you ate the apples; you took him up on his invitation; knowing that he is the master destroyer of the souls of men; knowing that he is the one who tempts, lies, deceives, murders, sins, and who is the author of every wicked act that has ever been committed. The pimp of all pimps and you want to hang out with him! Slap yourself awake! My bag…. He just did it for you!

Satan, prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour [1Peter 5:8]. His M.O. [Method of operation or Modus operandi]. It is all very simple. He cannot have his office in heaven back, and he cannot stop Jesus from doing his work [Matthew 16:18]. So, all Satan has left to do is to destroy people by tying them up so well in sin that they cannot reason and understand the Gospel. But the apostle Paul, in [2Corinthians, chapter 2 and verse 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.

I want you to know that Satan is deadly, defeated, damned, and without hope. In this state he craves company in a morbid bid for revenge. And you and I are the top priority in Satan’s eyes for attack and conquest. But he has no power in the life of a believer, unless we give it to him. That’s right! Jesus freed us from Satan’s power, and as long as we abide in Him, the devil has absolutely no power over us. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1) Refuse to make deals with Satan, no matter how attractive the trinkets. Refuse to be a commodity that is for sale to the highest bidder. Refuse Satan’s insistence to relax in the passenger seat of your life. Don’t be like Esau; so driven to satisfy his craving that rather than endure the few unpleasant minutes that restraining himself would entail, he made the biggest mistake of his life. He thought every minute he denied himself would seem an eternity, but the real eternity was his never-ending regret over having sold his future for a mouthful of pleasure. He could never undo his devastating loss (Hebrews 12:16-17). Don’t eat the apples!

So how can one keep from being deceived? Listen to Paul’s advice to Timothy in [2Timothy 2:10-26]. Deception comes when we are not grounded in the Word of God. Some simple ways to get grounded in the Word of God; Read the bible, or listen on Audio CD’s, watch and listen on DVD’s. Find a bible believing church, worship and get connected. Join a small group who are Christ followers and process life together. Allow a person of faith, good character and integrity, to mentor you, to become your accountability partner. Get involved in a weekly or daily devotional. Learn the importance of prayer, and practice it.

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” [Ephesians 3:14-19]

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

“You fool!” Those are words I would never want to hear God say to me. Don’t you know that grace is God’s love which we do not deserve but yet are given? Grace is what keeps us alive [Ephesians 2:1-2]. What’s wrong with you? Prostituting God’s grace. Taking His goodness for granted.  Without grace, you will burst Hell wide open [Romans 6:23]. God wants you to know that He will not allow you to become complacent or neglectful concerning Him. He will not allow you to take Him for granted. He does not take it lightly!  Beware of taking God’s grace for granted!

Listen, when God learned of what Israel had done to His servants; when He learned of how Israel had over and over again, betrayed His love and taken His grace for granted, God became furious. His patience had been tested by His very own people – Israel. And so God’s wrath came upon Israel. God used the Roman armies to destroy Israel and its Temple. “What shall you say then? Shall you continue in sin, that grace may abound? If you understand what Paul has written in [Romans 6: 2, 15] …then you will cry out with him:  “Certainly not! – It is not to be thought of! – Not at all! – May it never be! – Never!  

I want you to know that Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are the “Blessings and Curses” chapters of the Bible. And in [verses 14-29 of Leviticus] God says, “But if you do not obey Me [take Me for granted and treat Me neglectfully], and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me [if you still take Me for granted and if you still neglect Me], then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. ‘Then, if you [still take Me for granted] and walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate. ‘And if by these things you [still take Me for granted] are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me [if you still are complacent and you continue to neglect Me and take Me for granted], but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. But, “If you turn your heart around; if you accept your guilt and change (repent), I will remember My covenant.

Let us not take God’s grace for granted! The Holy Spirit cries out for you who are Christians to take your Christian faith seriously, not to neglect it, not to take it for granted, and certainly not to despise it. You have been called out of darkness into the marvelous light of Christ. You have been baptized into Christ and called out of Satan’s kingdom and into the kingdom of Christ. Do not be deceived! Do not take God’s grace for granted!

Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The San Bernardino Public Library is presenting an African-American History program with Dr. Dennis Morgan Brown on Tuesday, February 23 at 10 a.m. In this musical presentation, attendees will learn about significant African-Americans, including activists, leaders, and recording artists. From Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King to Muhammad Ali, learn how these individuals molded a generation.

Dr. Brown has presented his programs all across the country and has spoken before the State Assembly, the Senate at the State Capitol, the Mayor’s mansion in Los Angeles, and at the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia.

This free program will be located in the Bing Wong Auditorium at the Feldheym Library at 555 West Sixth St., San Bernardino.

Contact Linda Adams Yeh at (909) 381-8238 or visit www.sbpl.org for more information.

Participants of the 2016 Alpha Phi Alpha/Alpha Kappa Alpha Oratorical contest, with committee members Samantha Dotson, Kevin Eastman, and AKA chapter President, Linda Gaines-Brooks.

HEMET, CA- Students from Inland Empire schools converged on West Valley High School, for the 27^th annual Alpha Phi Alpha/Alpha Kappa Alpha Oratorical Contest, sponsored by the Mu Xi Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the Eta Nu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.  The contest was co-chaired by Kevin Eastman, of Alpha Phi Alpha, and Samantha Dotson, of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Twenty-five students, in grades 2 through 12, delivered oral presentations on pre-determined topics.  They took full advantage of the opportunity to dazzle the panel of judges, with breath-taking speeches on the importance of education, the effects of bullying, and how modern media affects today’s society.

Members of Alpha Phi Alpha, and Alpha Kappa Alpha served as judges.  The judges were: Educators Linda Gaines-Brooks and Charlotte Black, City of Perris’ Mayor Pro Tem Tonya Burke, and Actor/Author Joseph C. Phillips.  The City of Rialto’s IT and Purchasing Manager William Jernigan served as the Head Judge.  At the competition’s conclusion, Mr. Phillips commended the participants on their efforts, and offered some personal coaching on public speaking.

Each participant received a certificate from California State Assembly Member Cheryl Brown.  The 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place finishers in each grade group each received a trophy and a cash prize.  The winners were: in the elementary school group (grades 1 through 5): 1^st place – Aisa John-Niece Ingram, 2^nd place – Jennifer Aravelo, and 3^rd place – Asia Ingram.  In the middle school group (grades 6 through 8): 1^st place – Kiana Martinez (the only competitor).  In the high school group (grades 9 through 12): 1^st place – Fiona Monte, 2^nd place – Annika Kim, and 3^rd place – Cynthia Gould.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s Mu Xi Lambda chapter, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s Eta Nu Omega chapter, are community service organizations in the Inland Empire, and are involved in social activities and causes throughout the region, such as voter education and registration, and mentoring programs for young adults.  For more information on Alpha Phi Alpha, visit the fraternity’s website at: www.apa1906.net.  For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha, visit the sorority’s website at: www.aka1908.com.

By Eric Easter, Urban News Service

The world’s first African-American Rolls Royce car dealer got there through hard work and perseverance, but only after disappointing his family. Thomas Moorehead’s parents thought the key to respectability was a Ph.D. Both teachers, they lived by an old-school axiom that the one thing you never can take away from a man is an education. Yet, with just a few credits and a dissertation to go, Moorehead abandoned his doctoral program, and his parent’s wishes, for an uncertain shot at learning the automobile business from the bottom up.

It was a leap of faith, an offer from a fraternity brother and mentor, James Bradley of Bradley Automotive Group, who promised to make Moorehead a millionaire in five years — if he took the risk. But it wasn’t the promise that attracted Moorehead: “Teaching was a guarantee of a long career, but I always had a passion for business,” he says.

His road to success required two years of apprenticeship with Bradley, the mortgaging of his home and the depletion of his savings to enter a training program, then eventually owning his first dealership, selling Buicks in Omaha, Neb. Moorehead built a strong reputation as someone dedicated to customer service, an essential value of the Rolls Royce brand. That reputation, and his sales record as owner of Sterling BMW in Virginia, sparked an invitation from Rolls Royce Motor Cars to join the exclusive club of only 33 dealers and 130 dealerships around the globe, an opportunity he accepted without hesitation. The new store, Rolls Royce Motor Cars of Sterling, is the sole Rolls Royce dealership in greater Washington, D.C. and covers much of the mid-Atlantic — from Virginia to southern Pennsylvania. It sits just across from Sterling BMW and Mini, his other successful dealership, a fact that fills him with immense pride.

“These are the best cars in the world, and I’m honored to be able to bring them to my customers,” Moorehead says as he looks across the lot.

His dealerships thrive in one of the region’s wealthiest communities, filled with prosperous government contractors, newly minted millionaires from tech start-ups and the Washington Redskins’ nearby training facility. But the opulence that Moorehead markets is a long way from his roots in Monroe, Louisiana, a town of 38,000 with a historic poverty rate twice the already poor state’s average.

During his youth, Monroe Colored High was the sole choice for black students in that segregated city. It was a time when, according to Moorehead, families like his could “offer you their good name, but not money.” That upbringing drives a sense of humility that led Moorehead to keep his own name off the dealership’s logo. “I always say the boss is the customer, not me. I don’t get caught up in having my name on the door,” he explains. “Actually, most customers who come in think I’m just another salesman, and that’s fine with me.”

In a world where demanding buyers have been known to add millions of dollars’ worth of custom details to their cars to reflect their personalities (fur-lined shoe-holders, built-in picnic baskets, crystal cufflink holders), Moorehead’s low-key manner is a studied contrast – a contrast he believes helps him sell more cars. “I can talk about the features of the cars all day but, ultimately, people are buying good service.”

At age 71, Moorehead still relies on the daily advice of mentors, who include Hall of Fame home-run great (now car dealer) Hank Aaron and former National Urban League president John Jacob. He calls them “instrumental” in shaping his business’s success. “They marked their careers by quietly getting the job done, but also being the best at what they do.”

While giving a tour of his office, Moorehead seems slightly embarrassed as he points to pictures of himself with presidents Obama and Clinton and an array of famous business leaders. That changes when he points out two items of which he’s most proud. The Laurel Wreath Award, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity’s highest honor for lifetime achievement. And then something much less distinct: a small cardboard sign that lists more than a dozen vendors who, he says, have contributed to his achievements — architects, decorators, contractors, cleaning-service owners and even the guy who printed the sign. All are African-Americans, and fraternity brothers, people for whom he has paid forward the gift that Bradley gave him.

“This is really what it’s all about, bringing other people up and giving something back.”

L/R: Twillea Evans-Carthen (Social Lites Beautillion Committee Member), Kevin Eastman, Joseph Phillips (Actor and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.), Elijah Preston Little, Edna Wade (Social Lites Beautillion Chairperson), William Jernigan; Second Row: Conlan Baker and Royce T. Rodgers

BEAUMONT, CA- Surprise guest judge for the 27^th Oratorical Contest, Mr. Joseph Phillips, well known actor and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity made it a point to share words of wisdom with participants on how to enhance their public speaking skills.  Following the contest, Mr. Phillips took time to exchange words of encouragement to the young men of the Beautillion.  The reality of choosing to participate in this contest has shown these young men they are all winners!

Participants of the 49^th Social Lites, Inc. Beautillion program under the leadership of Mrs. Edna Wade, Beautillion Chairman took part in the 27^th Oratorical Contest sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Mu Xi Lambda Chapter and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  This event was held on Saturday, February 13, at West Valley High School in Beaumont, CA.

The 49^th Beautillion Ball will be held at the National Orange Show on April 2.  For more information please contact Mrs. Edna Wade, Chairperson at 909-947-8774 or Mrs. Brenda Daniels, Co-Chairperson at 909-856-6341 or Mrs. Bettye Brewster, President at 951-204-0022.