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A special reading of the Ted Lange’s play, “The Heart of Biddy Mason” took place in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles at The Pico House at El Pueblo Historical Monument. The reading was conducted by musicians who were part of the Barbara Morrison Trio.

ABOUT BIDDY MASON:
Biddy Mason was a former slave, nurse/ midwife, successful entrepreneur, humanitarian and founder of Los Angeles’s first African-American congregation. Bridget “Biddy” Mason was born a slave in Aug. of 1818 on a Georgia plantation owned by Robert Marion Smith and his wife Rebecca (Crosby) Smith. Mason had three daughters, Ellen, Ann and Harriet, whose father was reputedly Smith himself. In 1847, Smith became a Mormon convert and decided to move to the Utah Territory with his household and slaves. In the strenuous two-thousand miles cross-country, Mason was responsible for herding the cattle, preparing the meals and acting as mid-wife along with taking care of her own children. It is said that Mason walked behind her master’s 300-wagon caravan from Mississippi to Southern California. In 1851, Smith moved his household again, this time to San Bernardino, Ca. Smith sensed that Mason and her three daughters might seek their freedom in California, therefore he planned to take them back South. Luck came for Mason and her daughters after arriving in California, discovering that slaves were free in that state. She petioned a court in 1856 for her and her daughters freedom. A Sheriff asked Smith to appear in court to prove ownership of the family. He failed to appear in court and Mason won freedom for herself and her daughters. She and her daughters moved to Los Angeles where she found employment as a nurse and midwife. Hard work and her nursing skills allowed Mason to become economically independent. She later bought a site in what is now downtown Los Angeles on Spring St. for $250, becoming the first African-American woman to own land in Los Angeles. In 1884, Mason sold a parcel of her land for $1500 and built a commercial building with spaces for rental on the remaining land. She continued making wise decisions in her business and real estate transactions and her financial fortunes continued to increase until Mason had accumulated a fortune of almost $300,000. Mason gave generously to various charities and provided food and shelter for the poor of all races. She also remembered those in prison whom she visited often. In 1872, she and her son in-law, Charles Owens, founded and formed the Los Angeles branch of the First A.M.E. Church, Los Angeles’s first African-American congregation which began having services in Mason’s living room. Bridget “Biddy” Mason died in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 1891 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Evergreen Cemetery. By the time Mason had died, the property, she owned had become the heart of Los Angeles’s financial district and was worth $250,000. On March 27, 1988, nearly a century after Mason’s death, a tombstone was unveiled at a ceremony which marked her grave for the first time. The ceremony was attended by Mayor Tom Bradley and about three thousand members of the First A.M.E. Church. On November 16, 1989, the citizens of Los Angeles declared a Biddy Mason Day and a memorial of her achievement was unveiled at the Broadway Spring Center located between Spring St. and Broadway at Third St. in Los Angeles.

The Story Behind Why Black History Month Is In February

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK–ENN)— The month of February serves as Black History Month; it’s a point in the year where we observe the difficult circumstances that Black people have faced throughout history as well as celebrate all their accomplishments. But why exactly is Black History Month in February? Many people have recognized the lack of representation Black people have within textbooks and school curriculum across America. Below, we outline the interesting and important story of why Black History Month is in February.

Carter G. Woodson: The Pioneer

In the early 20^th century, historian Carter G. Woodson saw first-hand the underrepresentation of Black people in the various books and conversations that shaped the study of American history. To try and fix this, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

ASALH was and still is an organization that promotes the continuous study of Black history. Dr. Woodson believed this was essential because “if a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” Due to his determination to emphasize the importance of celebrating Black accomplishments, Dr. Woodson pioneered the field of African-American studies and set the foundation for Black History Month.

Douglass and Lincoln: The Abolitionists

In 1926, Dr. Woodson and the ASALH brought about “Negro History Week”—the purpose being to further their mission of getting Black history into more schooling systems. They chose the second week of February to honor Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln since their birthdays are within that week. This initiative spread quickly, and soon people everywhere were celebrating this week.

As the years went on, even after Dr. Woodson passed, people continued to celebrate this week. It wasn’t until the 1960s that people started to expand the week to a month-long celebration. Part of the reason for this expansion was the fact that “by the mid-1960s, the most popular textbook for eighth-grade U.S. history classes mentioned only two black people in the entire century of history that had transpired since the Civil War.” People knew there was so much more than that; therefore, colleges and universities across the country transformed to celebrate Black History Month instead of Negro History Week.

President Gerald Ford: The Solidifier

As the Civil Rights Movement spread across the country, it helped to snowball the initiative even further. By 1976, President Gerald Ford decreed Black History Month a national observance: “In celebrating Black History Month,” Ford said in his message, “we can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Although the 20^th century was a tumultuous time, it resulted in massive steps forward for the Black community.

Black History Month: The Theme

Black History Month is a celebration of an underrepresented and abused people and their accomplishments. However, in 1976, the ASALH designated a theme to each year’s Black History Month. Every year since, there has been a theme. This year’s theme is Black Migrations, which emphasizes the movement of African people to new destinations and new social realities.

Akoma Unity Center has partnered with Empowered Mindz Stem Academy to bring a free, rigorous, robotics classes to Young Engineers. Students from all over the Inland Empire and Orange County attended this program.

According to Jennifer Xicara, the center’s operations manager, “Akoma is excited to inspire the next generation of Engineers with 5 more sessions to go”.

Akoma Unity Center is located on the West Side of San Bernardino at 1367 N. California Street. The phone number is 909-217-7956.

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By Tanu Henry California Black Media

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— Riverside-based publisher of the Black Voice News, Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, was recently sworn in as the first African-American president of the California News Publishers Association (CNPA). The 131-year-old organization, headquartered in Sacramento, represents more than 400 newspapers across the state.

The CNPA installed Brown-Hinds at its annual conference on February 6, 2019. Over a hundred California media professionals – from major big city dailies and small campus weeklies to historical Black, Latino and Asian outlets – attended the gathering. This year’s discussions touched on issues facing minorities in the upcoming 2020 Census. It also tackled sticky, longstanding media industry problems and pulled apart laws that could impact news operations across the state in the future.

“We have always valued the work CNPA has done on behalf of the industry,” Brown-Hinds told her colleagues in her inaugural speech as President.  “The work that the Black Voice News has done over the years is impactful work in the community that changed lives, policy. I knew it was important for me to do this as well.”

Taking the helm of the CNPA is history-making not only because Brown-Hinds is the first African American and ethnic minority to lead the influential statewide organization. Her personal and family history of advocacy and community service brings a certain grassroots heft that has the potential to benefit the organization as it takes on major legislative issues facing the media across the state in 2019. She is also a professor at the University of California Riverside, and board member of the James Irvine Foundation.

“[Paulette] is a fearless leader. She’s not afraid to confront complex issues. She never stops working and is a shining example of diplomacy,” said Ron Hasse, immediate predecessor.

 “Part of our mission,” she said.  “is giving voice to the voiceless. That is why I appreciate the press, in particular the Black press, because it is rooted in advocacy.”

As Brown-Hinds takes the helm of the CNPA, she faces a number of important policy issues that California newspapers have the responsibility to unpack for their audiences across the state. One of them is the upcoming 2020 Census. 

This years CNPA conference dedicated a panel discussion to exploring the details of the decennial census.  The Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 national population count was a hot topic. Panelists explored how that decision may or may not impact the participation of minorities, immigrants and undocumented people in California.

 The panelists also talked about how Census enumerators in the past have undercounted ethnic minorities and other “hard-to-count” populations in California and other states by millions of people. Those inaccuracies could result in the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding and even cost California a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the,2010 Census, about 200,000 minority children in California alone were undercounted.

“Power comes from numbers. Power comes from data. If your numbers are wrong and your data is wrong, it undermines your power,” said Arturo Vargas, the Chief Executive Officer of NALEO Educational Fund. His organization is a national non-profit that promotes the participation of Latinos in civic life. 

The way the Census Bureau will categorize and sub-categorize people by  race  on next year’s questionnaires may also pose problems for some Asians, Blacks, Latinos and other minority groups. For example, People of Arab descent from places in North Africa and the Middle East like Egypt, Syria and Morocco will be counted as White. Afro-Latinos from places like the Dominican Republic will only also be able to only identify as Latino – with no option to choose Black. 

The NAACP has filed a lawsuit in Maryland arguing that the 2020 Census is designed purposefully to undercount Blacks, Vargas told the media professionals in the room.

DitasKatague, the Director of the California Complete Count Office, was a panelist as well. She has also served on the U.S. Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicities and Other Populations.

Having worked on three censuses in the past, Katague sees the problems looming with next year’s count in California. She approaches them, though, with a surprising sense of confidence. She is familiar with the process and has decades of experience working with minorities and the media across the state to successfully increase participation.

After the 2020 census, she told the journalists in the room, “What I want to see is that California achieves a complete and accurate count and we outpace the entire country.”

In an effort to reach that goal, Katague’s organization plans to spend tens of millions of dollars partnering with California media, including ethnic media who she says “hard-to-count” minority populations trust.

“Locally created messages resonate. Understand your audience. Educate your audience,” she told them. 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)—ALEXANDRIA, VA— In celebration of its 25^th anniversary, Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization, has awarded a $25,000 “Silver Anniversary” grant to two Redlands-based agencies – Building Resilient Communities (BRC) and Redlands Area Interfaith Council (RAIC) – to help develop a new platform for emergency management.  

The two organizations will work together on the Emergency Preparedness and Response Collaborative project. For the project, the organizations will partner with the Redlands Emergency Management and Human Relations Commission to give different faith groups (Muslims, Catholics, Mormons, Christians, among others) the opportunity to work together. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide toolkits and train 45 volunteers from the various RAIC member agencies to become cultural liaisons who will work with first responders and establish an emotional and spiritual care team.

“Building Resilient Communities (BRC) was established to help community and faith-based organizations prepare for that inevitable moment when they are called upon to build, repair and restore their community,” said Debra J. Williams, president of Building Resilient Communities. “This project is a wonderful opportunity for the entire faith community to come together to learn and collaborate for a common cause.  The relationships built through this project will go far beyond preparing for a disaster.  Building Resilient Communities is proud to be a part of such an important endeavor and we truly thank Islamic Relief USA for recognizing the value of our project.”

“This Islamic Relief USA grant will allow Building Resilient Communities, Redlands Area Interfaith Council, the City of Redlands Emergency Management and other groups to collaborate on providing disaster preparedness and response services that incorporate and respect cultural and religious norms,” said Dr. Shaheen Zakaria, M.D., vice president of the Redlands Area Interfaith Council (RAIC) and a commissioner of the Redlands Human Relations Commission. “An intricate tapestry of individual values, norms and culture tie every community together. To understand their culture is to understand them. This will be a great way forward towards understanding and building bridges among various community groups in Redlands”.

The “Silver Anniversary Community Bridge-Building” program is an initiative designed to bridge the differences that frequently divide communities – such as religion, race, or political opinion. The grant announcement generated 175 formal inquiries from organizations working in 36 states and the territory of Puerto Rico. That response demonstrates that people all across America are interested in finding common bonds and are committed to a common mission for the sake of their communities. 

“The tremendous response from grassroots, community-based and national organizations shows that people who on the surface have little in common can come together to make the world a better place – a place where there’s more unity, more sensitivity, and an endless amount of potential and promise,” said Anne Wilson, director of programs for IRUSA.

Inland Empire Company Taking Applications 500 Jobs!

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)—SAN BERNARDINO, CA— An Inland Empire based security company is planning to hire 500 people to serve as security at two large upcoming events in Coachella Valley.

According to Diligent Security Services CEO, Garran Smith, they are presently taking applications for events scheduled in April.

“We are paying $15 per hour for workers who have Guard Cards and $12 for those who don’t. We provide transportation, daily meals and we pay weekly. The minimum age is 18 and everyone needs Government ID!” Smith stated. 

Over the next month, Diligent Security Services, will hold recruitment events locations nationwide. Several upcoming events include:  February 13 and February 27 at America’s Job Center of California Job Fair located at 658 E. Brier Drive in San Bernardino 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The application is available online at www.diligentsecurityservices.com/apply.  You may also call (909) 900-7113 (909) 900-6517.   

By Hector Hernandez Jr.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre and San Bernardino County Board of Education celebrated the opening of their new administrative headquarters, named after San Bernardino educator Dorothy Inghram, on Monday, February 4.

Many in attendance remarked that opening the center, named after California’s first African-American superintendent of schools, was a fitting opening to Black History Month.

The Dorothy Inghram Learning Center, 670 E. Carnegie Drive, San Bernardino, is filled with the latest in audio-visual technology houses County Schools superintendent’s offices, the board of education chambers and offices, the county school’s cyber-security career program and the county’s Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) administration.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Richard De Nava, once the property was purchased in June 2017 the 18-month remodeling the new facilities was a complex project with a tight timeline.

Each of the project’s goals was met in time thanks to the combined efforts of several departments and partners working as a team, he said.

One of the main goals of moving to new facilities was to enable County Schools to make state-of-the-art facilities and programs available to students of all of the county’s 33 school districts whether their home districts can afford or support those type of advanced programs or not, according to County Board of Education President Hardy Brown II.

Prior to cutting the ribbon, a video as well as several guest speakers including former Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown and San Bernardino City Unified School District Board Member Margaret Hill shared the history of Inghram.

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Longtime friends and former students remembered Inghram, who died in 2012 at the age of 106, as a supremely generous woman who believed every kid had potential and who greatly valued reading and libraries. These traits led the city of San Bernardino to name a city library after her in 1977.

Hill, a Highland resident, befriended Ingrham through bowling and the decades-long friendship was further cemented by a shared passion for education.

In a life full of momentous firsts, Inghram was one of the first students to graduate from San Bernardino Valley College (she wrote the school’s alma mater), one of the first African-American students to graduate from the University of Redlands.

She then became the county’s first African-American teacher, served as principal and then superintendent of the one-school Mill Street School District in San Bernardino. She became the state’s first African-American superintendent in 1953.

“She thought children had to have a future and wanted the library to stay open so the children of the community could have a place to go to dream and find out about the world around them,” said Cheryl Brown.

Photos by John Coleman, Community Photographer

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(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)—SAN BERNARDINO, CA—   The San Bernardino Public Library will be hosting a film festival in celebration of Black History Month in February.  These screenings will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 PM in the Bing Wong Auditorium at the Feldheym Central Library, 555 W. 6^th Street.

The series includes films that cover a wide range of stories and cultures. Due to our public performance license, we are unable to list the titles of the movies. 

• Tuesday, Feb. 5: A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee. Starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.
• Thursday, Feb. 7: The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role at NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. Starring Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer.
• Tuesday, Feb. 19: A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Starring David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo.
• Thursday, Feb. 21: A working class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950’s, while coming to terms with the events of his life. Starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
• Tuesday, Feb. 26: A passionate coach helps inner-city kids overcome the racist attitudes around them and become Philadelphia’s first African-American swim team. Starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac.
• Thursday, Feb. 28: The heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda must step forward to lead his people into a new future. Starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o.

These films are free and open to the public. For more information call the library at 909-381-8235 or visit or visit www.sbpl.org,https://twitter.com/SBCityLibrary, or https://www.facebook.com/SBPLfriends/