LOS
ANGELES, CA—- The NAACP recently announced that global music and fashion
icon, business entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Rihanna, will receive the
prestigious President’s Award during the 51st NAACP Image Awards. The
President’s Award is presented in recognition of special achievement and
distinguished public service, with previous recipients including last year’s
recipient Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Jesse Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Soledad
O’Brien, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Muhammad Ali among others. NAACP
President Derrick Johnson will present the award to Rihanna during a LIVE TV
special on BET on Saturday, February 22, 2020, from Pasadena, California.
“Rihanna has not only enjoyed a groundbreaking
career as an artist and musician but has also distinguished herself as a
stellar public servant,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the
NAACP. “From her business achievements through Fenty to her tremendous
record as an activist and philanthropist, Rihanna epitomizes the type of
character, grace, and devotion to justice that we seek to highlight in our
President’s Award.”
Alongside her incredible musical achievements, which
include nine GRAMMY awards, Rihanna continues to add more credits to her
burgeoning resume: executive producer, fashion designer, actress, business
entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Rihanna never stops breaking barriers and has
built beauty and fashion empires with global beauty brand FE?TY Beauty,
lingerie brand SAVAGE x FENTY, and the recently launched luxury fashion brand
FE?TY, which saw her become the first woman of color to partner with LVMH and
the first woman to start an original brand for the world’s largest luxury
group.
Rihanna has also used her
influence for good through philanthropic efforts. Chief among these is her own
Clara Lionel Foundation. The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) was founded in 2012
by Rihanna in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. CLF
supports and funds groundbreaking and effective education and emergency
response programs around the world. With the voices of Rihanna and her fans,
CLF also engages in global advocacy with the goal of improving the quality of
life for young people everywhere.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- In celebration of Black History Month,
San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) will offer a variety of events throughout
February to educate, engage, and inspire students and the public.
The Black History Month Breakfast
will take place February 21 at 9 a.m. in the SBVC Sunroom, Campus Center.
Attendees will celebrate the cultural contributions and deep history of the
African American community by hearing guest speaker La Quette Bush-Simmons and
recognizing the contributions of honorees Jerry Mason, Kim Epps, Pat Nichols
and James Ramos. This annual event is hosted by SBVC, San Bernardino Community
College District’s Black Faculty and Staff Association, and the SBVC Arts,
Lectures, and Diversity Committee. Parking and admission are FREE.
SBVC Arts, Lectures and Diversity Committee will partner
with the Precinct Reporter Newspaper to present a dance performance of Black
Butterfly, featuring Project21Dance on February 27 in the SBVC Auditorium. A
community reception will begin at 6 p.m., and the performance will follow at 7
p.m. This event will prove to be an evening of eclectic modern dance, profound
spoken word and exquisite Songs of the African Journey. Parking and admission
are FREE.
Wrapped in Royalty is a workshop
on traditional African head wraps and will be offered February 28 at 1 p.m. in
the SBVC Business Building, Room 100.
ONTARIO, CA— Redlands High School is back on top
in the San Bernardino County Academic Decathlon competition, winning its first
title since 2011, after results were announced tonight at the banquet for the
37th annual event.
With 45,395 points,
Redlands (White) slipped past defending champion Rancho Cucamonga (Purple),
which had 44,463.1 points. It was the second-closest finish in the competition
in the past 12 years. For Redlands, which is coached by Donna St. George, this
was the school’s record 14th Academic Decathlon crown, but first since the
2010-11 school year when it defeated Chaffey High School.
By winning the county
title, Redlands advances to the state championships for the sixth consecutive
year. The state championships will be held March 27-28 in Sacramento.
In this year’s county
competition, the rest of the top five finishing schools behind Redlands and
Rancho Cucamonga included Etiwanda (42,173.2 points), Chaffey (41,860.1 points)
and Rialto (38,647.7 points). Joining Redlands in qualifying for the state
competition will be Rancho Cucamonga, Etiwanda and Chaffey.
In this year’s county
competition, there were 43 teams representing 25 high schools that
participated. Teams, as well as about 330 individuals that participated in the
competition, were recognized with certificates, trophies and gold, silver or
bronze medals at the awards ceremony tonight that was held at the DoubleTree
Hotel in Ontario.
The academic competition
took place on two consecutive Saturdays on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 at Los Osos High
School in Rancho Cucamonga. The scholastic contest pitted students against one
another in 10 subject areas.
Sugar and Spice and Everything nice is WHAT IT DO Folks. Girls rule the world in my- Beyonce Voice.
Congratulations to Kimberly Woods and the entire team of ‘I’m A Diva And Fabulous Youth Foundation’ for hosting the very first ‘Miss Teen Rialto Scholarship Pageant ’ that took place this past Saturday on February 1.
I had the pleasure of participating on the judges panel, which wasn’t an easy task. All of the young ladies looked so beautiful and did such an amazing job. The contestants had to go through intensive training which prepared them for the competition.
It was a beautiful evening! The pageant took place in the City of Rialto at Wilmer Amina Carter High School, Hosted by the beautiful ‘Melinda A. Clarkson’, former Mrs. Utah International 2003-04. The competition consisted of three different divisions (Princess Diva ages 2-4 , Jr. Pre-Teen Diva ages 8-9, and Miss Teen Rialto Diva ages 10-18).
Pageant Director and Founder of ‘I’m A Diva and Fabulous Youth Foundation’, Kimberly Woods, explains her reason for putting on the pageant, “I did this event because I love our young girls and want to see them successful in life and to know that they can achieve anything they put their minds too”.
I salute all the young ladies and their support team. Competition in any field of life can be stressful and hard but as we all know, there can only be one Queen Crowned. Congratulations to all!
For more information on how you can support the pageant or get involved, please call (909) 200-7591.
Kobe
Bryant was the only man in history to win five NBA championships, two Olympic
gold medals, four All-Star Most Valuable Player Awards and an Oscar. And he
could speak four languages. A Beethoven fan, he was a genuine man of many gifts
and interests.
Many
measure Bryant’s life by the numbers, but his humility, sacrifice and tireless
work ethic shone through. He was the youngest starter in NBA history, at 18
years and 158 days old. Bryant became the first guard to play 20 consecutive
seasons and all with the same team. When he retired in 2016, he had scored more
than 30,000 points.
The
greatness of Kobe’s athletic career merited a first-ballot selection to the
Hall of Fame, as the basketball world unanimously agreed. He would have been
inducted into Hall this year even if he had survived the helicopter crash near
Los Angeles that killed him, his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people on
Sunday.
But
the world lost more than a hardworking phenomenon known for a picturesque
jump-shot and graceful style of play. Lost was an honest voice that shared a
lot. He told his mercurial story in heartening detail. He shared his uneasiness
with life, and people who were not hardcore NBA fans felt a connection to him.
“When I was growing up in Italy, I grew up in isolation,” Bryant said in 2015. “It was not an environment suited to me. I was the only black kid. I didn’t speak the language. I’d be in one city, but then we’d move to a different city and I’d have to do everything again.
“I’d make friends, but I’d never be part of the group,” he added, “because the other kids were already growing up together. So, this is how I grew up, and these are the weaknesses that I have.”
Bryant’s
plainspoken humanity and link to the outside world are not typical in
professional sports. He donated at least $1 million to the National Museum of African
American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. In Los Angeles
he backed My Friends Place, a safe haven for homeless youth, and Stand Up on
Second, which offers job training and finds jobless Americans housing.
“The most important thing is that you try to inspire people so they can be great in whatever they want to do,” Bryant said.
Part
of his message, however, was centered on the sort of sacrifice he made during
every off-season—working out at 3 a.m., spending countless hours in the gym
perfecting his artistry. . . instead of enjoying his wealth and down-time with
his wife and daughters.
“We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice,” Bryant said. “What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that: family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.”
Bryant
won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, one short of his idol, Michael
Jordan, but more than most. In times of duress, he wanted the ball, seeking the
responsibility of a game’s biggest moment. Often he delivered.
“If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail,” said Bryant. “My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure, because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’ … I think that’s almost worse than death.”
He was a constant thinker, a musing adventurist who won his 2018
Oscar for an animated short, “Dear Basketball,” with music by “Star Wars”
composer John Williams. He patterned the pace and momentum of some games on
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. He thought of himself as a symphony conductor,
leading the Lakers and their global legion of fans in one orchestrated aria
after another.
And the ensemble of his opponents never intimidated him.
“The last time I was intimidated was when I was six years old in karate class,” he said. “I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s**tless. I mean, I was terrified, and he kicked my *ss.”
“But then I realized he didn’t kick my *ss as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of,” Bryant said. “That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.”
He shared that mantra with his daughters,
including his basketball-loving 13-year-old Gianna, who perished with him on
Sunday. He coached her team, basked in her passion for the game, and was proud she
adopted his assertive attitude.
“The best thing that happens when we go out,” Bryant said, “fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, you gotta have a boy! You and [wife Vanessa] gotta have a boy to have somebody to carry on the tradition and the legacy.’”
And Gianna, he said, replied: “Hey, I got this! You don’t need a boy for that.’”
Kobe
smiled a daddy’s grin, broad and knowing. It was a proud moment for him.
“Have a good time,” he said. “Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.
“It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you or don’t. So, don’t take it lightly.”
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Provisional Accelerated Learning (PAL) Charter Academy celebrates 20 years of providing educational and community services in Muscoy.
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, PAL Charter Academy (PCA) received its fourth consecutive charter school renewal from the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD). The board vote was unanimous. The PCA, chartered in 2000, was the first charter school in San Bernardino to be approved by the SBCUSD.
The tentacles of PCA’s Founder, Dr. Mildred Henry, retired CEO and Professor Emeritus at California State University, run deep throughout Muscoy and San Bernardino. The SBCUSD honored her with a namesake school, the Dr. Mildred Dalton Henry Elementary School, several years ago.
PCA has two campuses. The school’s main campus is nestled in Muscoy, a rural unincorporated area of San Bernardino County. PCA Muscoy campus is home to over 250 students and parents. The second campus is located in the heart of the City of San Bernardino and serves over 150 students, which come from all areas of the Inland Empire. Most are in search of an opportunity to recover credits and graduate from high school. Others come to embrace the small classroom sizes, one-on-one instruction, and the family-like environment PCA provides.
The PAL Charter Academy’s CEO, Dwaine Radden, Sr., states, “We have some great students; however, with most schools that provide students the opportunity to close achievement gaps, their state test scores are impacted. We have taken a 21st-century approach to help us curtail our academic gaps and improve test scores. We have invested in technology, integrated testing curriculum into student’s classes and schedules, and partnered with programs that can provide our students with support.”
The PAL Academy has graduated thousands of students over the years. The school received the highest WASC accreditation possible from the governing agency. The motto is, ‘Education with an Individualized Approach’. PCA’s holistic approach to help students academically, socially, and emotionally has elevated them to be a school of choice for communities and local districts.
In addition to the customized Independent Study approach to education, the school offers all the benefits and opportunities of a traditional setting. These include, but are not limited to: College prep, CTE classes, CIF sports, Concurrent enrollment with a Community College, Grad-nite, Prom, AVID, College Expos and visits, Mock Trial, Accelerated classes, vocational training, student transportation, and Adult High School. The PAL Center also has an Upward Bound program that provides college preparation services and training to 65 students at San Bernardino High School and the PAL Academy.
The Muscoy campus is currently installing a football field, soccer field, and indoor gymnasium to support their sports program for the students and community.
The school is a subsidiary of Provisional Educational Services, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been providing a variety of services in the community for over 35 years.
About 60 strong, the group of mostly African American men walked the streets of East Baltimore on Saturday, talking with residents on porches, greeting drivers at stoplights, handing out flyers about jobs, drug treatment and family support. They invited passers-by to join their growing ranks.
“We’re all we’ve got,” they chanted as they left Faith United Baptist Church on The Alameda. “We’re all we need.”
The men — pastors, activists, residents and others — have been walking three times a week for several months now through different parts of the city. It’s not a march, they say, but a movement. Their mission is to save lives in a city beset by violence.
They see themselves becoming a consistent and trusted presence in neighborhoods where shootings and homicides have become all too common, making connections, mediating disputes, helping residents feel protected and safe. The city ended the year with 348 homicides and the worst homicide rate on record.
“We have to be at the center
of the change of saving lives,” Dr. Andrey Bundley, an organizer and director
of African American Male Engagement, a division of the Mayor’s Office of
Children and Family Success, told the group setting out from the church. “If
the state of black men is going to change, it’s going to take black men to
inspire and guide black men, first, and then other people of good will.”
The group is calling for
1,000 men to march during the city’s 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
parade on Jan. 20. If their ranks can swell to 1,000 men, they eventually can
reach a goal of 10,000, organizers said.
Their efforts are beginning
to bear fruit, said Donnell Eley, associate pastor of Faith United. He said 80
people they have met along the walks have been able to find jobs.
The men also are looking to
help mediate disputes that can escalate into gun violence.
“The stuff that happens in
our city as it relates to the violence, a lot of it is foolishness,” said
Andrew Muhammad, one of the organizers. “You’ve got people saying things and
then getting murdered about stuff that they said, not about stuff that they’re
doing. … It’s mandatory that we engage everybody in the streets. I don’t care
if they’ve got two guns on them.”
Dozens of participants on
Saturday headed along The Alameda, then down Harford Road. Some climbed porch
steps or went in and out of local stores to hand out flyers. A man walking his
dog took the dog home and returned to join the walk.
Selena Weatherby, an East
Baltimore resident, heard about Saturday’s “call to action” on Facebook and
came with her 11-year-old son.
“I hope that we can have some type of unity,” said Weatherby, one of the only women on the walk. “This is definitely something I want to expose my son to and I want to be part of myself.”
Franklin Blackmon, a pastor
of Eastside Baptist Church on Preston Street, said he had been a victim of a
stabbing near his home. Still recovering and unable to make the entire walk, he
followed the parade of participants in his car.
“We’ve got to do what we need to do to make a change,” Blackmon said. “Change is inevitable, but we’ve got to make sure to be out and be visible, so that people can see.”
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—On Monday, January 20, at Arroyo High School in San Bernardino, the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with several other community organizations, held the first annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Expo. The parade started and ended on time which was another accomplishment.
“History was made today on the beautiful Westside of San Bernardino,” Lucrierta Dowdy, MLK committee member, stated. “We came together for the very 1st San Bernardino MLK Day Parade and Extravaganza. Special thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success.”
This is just the beginning for more to come to the City of San Bernardino.
By Joseph Hammond, Urban News Service (A Division Zenger News)
Claressa Shields made boxing history in Atlantic City on January 10th when she earned a third world title becoming the quickest fighter ever in the sport to win world titles in three different weight classes in just 10 fights. The Michigan pugilist is set to have a breakout year with a Hollywood biopic and cross-over fights in the UFC set to take place.
Recently, Shields earned a dominate win over Croatia’s Ivana Habazin to earn the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles. Shields had promised to knockout Habazin but, had to settle for an unanimous decision victory. Earlier she won the middleweight and super-middleweight titles.
“Congratulations to Clarissa Shields, the 2019 Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, and now the quickest fighter, male or female, to win world titles in 3 different divisions,” tweeted Tennis icon Billie Jean King.
The Urban News Service caught up with Shields in London earlier this month, where she was doing her final training for the the Habazin fight.
London has been good to Shields where she became the youngest Olympic boxing champion since 1924 when she won a gold-medal there in 2012 at the age of 17. In 2016, she won a second Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympics becoming the only American boxer to win multiple gold medals in the sport.
During an interview at a fight card held at York Hall, a historic venue dating to the 1929, which is the heart of the London boxing scene, Shields acknowledged her close ties to the United Kingdom.
“I love the fans – the York Hall fans, the British fans, I would love to fight here in the United Kingdom,” said Shields. “I love the atmosphere here. Maybe in 2020 or the year after she said.”
Many female boxers come to the sport from comfortable middle-class backgrounds. Shields’s life hasn’t been easy. Her life story is one of turning to tragedy to triumph. Born in Flint, Michigan, a town full of poverty, despair and though it was not known at the time, poisoned water. Her father spent time in prison for dealing drugs and she didn’t start speaking until the age of five. That same year she was molested by one of her alcoholic mother’s boyfriends.
She was picked-on at school and started boxing at age 11. She chooses the sport after overhearing her father lament he had never pursued his passion for the sport – though he initially objected to her boxing dreams. Despite that she soon joined a gym where she was the only female fighter. In boxing she found personal resilience and found further strength when at 13 she was baptized into a local church.
Not surprisingly
her rise through adversity to world champion has attracted the interest of
Hollywood filmmakers who are looking to turn the life of the 24-year-old into a
major feature film. It was announced last year that Ryan Destiny, perhaps
best known for her role in Fox’s television show “Star,” will
play Claressa Shields in Universal’s biopic “Flint Strong” which is
currently in production.
The
fight most British fans would like to see is a rematch between Shields and the
United Kingdom’s Savannah Marshal. Marshal defeated Shields in the amateurs. By
chance the two crossed paths at the York Hall event and posed for a promotional
stare down.
The
leading boxing promotional agency MTK Global released a press-release after the
encounter in which Marshal described being “amused” by the face-off with
Shields, “our rematch could 100% be the biggest fight in women’s boxing,” she
said.
As a
professional, Marshal, like Shields, is undefeated. While Shields has
accomplished more in her brief boxing career, Marshall at least according to
their professional records, could be the harder puncher. Shields has 10 wins
with two coming via knockout. Six of Marshall’s eight wins have come
by knockout.
Another
potential blockbuster fight in her future could be with UFC star Amanda Nunes.
Shields is training for a mixed-martial arts debut later this year. If all goes
well, she would like to fight a series of fights – one in the boxing ring and
one in the UFC octagon against the Nunes. Shields believes such fights could
have a cross-over appeal similar to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Connor
MacGregor fight in 2017.
“My
[MMA] debut is going to happen, and that fight is most likely going to be in
September and October,” she told Urban News Service. Shields will most likely
take a tune-up fight in the octagon before challenging Nunes.
As a
child, Shields was teased over her skinny arms and called “T-Rex” after the
proportions of that extinct dinosaur. Shields has embraced the name as ring moniker,
but her recent ring victories have led her to start using a new nickname
“GWOAT” the acronym for “Greatest Woman of All Time.”
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- A weekend of celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. life and legacy started on Saturday, January 18, 2020 for the participants of the Social Lites, Inc. Beautillion program learning from Mr. Derek Williams, Chief of Police for the City of Ontario and ending on Monday, January 20, 2020 performing community service at the 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prayer breakfast held at California State University, San Bernardino Coussoulis Arena. Dr. Anthony Blacksher professor at San Bernardino Valley College, former Beautillion Sir Knight who took time to mentor young men in the program along with Mr. Rikke Van Johnson, former Knight and Councilmember for the City of San Bernardino along with Mr. Hardy Brown II, San Bernardino County Board of Education Trustee. It takes a village to help youth become the best of the best. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
The Beautillion Knights and their court (Fairmaidens, Squires, and Pages) are participants in a mentorship program sponsored by The Social Lites, Inc. of San Bernardino. The five-month extracurricular program centered around academic and community service projects, is focused on leadership, character, life development skills and health education for students of color from elementary to high school.
The 2019/2020 Beautillion Scholarship Program is in its 53rd year. The program will commence on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the National Orange Show of San Bernardino.
For more information regarding the Beautillion Scholarship Program, please telephone chairperson, Mrs. Tina Darling at tribicu2@msn.com or Ms. Lisa Blacksher, President at lisasocialities@gmail.com or Mrs. Bettye Brewster, Business Manager, bettyebrewster@yahoo.com.
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