For thus saith the Lord, “My hands have made both heaven and
earth; they and everything in them are mine. LET IT GO – NOW! “See I am doing a new thing! Now it
springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and
streams in the wasteland” [Isaiah 43:19]. “For I am the LORD your
God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, ‘Don’t be
afraid, I am helping you.” [Isaiah 41:13]. LET IT GO – NOW!
I tell you, the joy of leaving
everything in the Lord’s hands is seeing the Lord’s hand in everything. Listen,
God will never take something away from you without the intention of replacing
it with something much better! The crucial thing for us to remember is that all
that God does for us as his children is for our good. He is blessed in both the
giving and the taking away because both are for the sake of our joy. [Ephesians
3:20] tells us that He wants to do abundantly above and beyond ALL that we
could ever ask or think. And if we trust Him enough to take Him at His Word, we
will find ourselves on a journey toward the fulfillment of whatever we need.
Therefore, humble yourself and seek to understand what the Lord is doing around
you. For God has written a destiny over
your lilfe, and if you trust Him enough to take Him at His Word, you will find
yourself on a journey toward the fulfillment of that destiny. Take your hands
off the wheel and let God have His way in your life. LET IT GO! Total surrender
everything to Him. For now is the time to release all control of your destination
over to Jesus -whether you understand or not. Because as long as you hold on
and try making sense of everything and of where He is leading you His will
can’t prevail. LET IT GO – NOW!
You see, when you finally put your complete trust in Him -blinded by
faith- Jesus will bring you beyond the troublesome and cumbersome same old same
old and thrust you into a bright new place. So close your eyes and release it
all into the hands of God. Get out of the driver’s seat and stop trying to find
your own way. Stop trying to understand the path that He’s taking you. He will
restore what has been lost. He will resurrect what has died. He will give
beauty for ashes. Just give up and let Him take over. LET IT GO – NOW! And let
Jesus take the wheel.
“In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths
straight. [Proverbs 3:6]
“We need to take the stigma away from mental health issues in the Black family.”
There is a tradition in Black families that says mental health problems are really a “demon” inside the person and all you need is prayer to get better. “You don’t have demon, you need help,” says Cathedral of Praise International Ministries, Bishop Craig W. Johnson last Sunday as he introduced mental health day with the Broken Crayons Still Color Project created by the Healthy Heritage Movement.
Bishop Johnson’s comments introduced one of the nation’s leading clinical psychologists Dr. Gloria Morrow and the Broken Crayons Still Color Project to the Cathedral of Praise congregation in two services discussing the need for professional mental health in the Black Community.
Broken Crayons Still Color Project is an eight-week program created and presented by the non-profit Healthy Heritage Movement at churches in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. It is taught by Dr. Gloria Morrow and Dr. Candance Walters.
“This program is designed for African American women to learn effective strategies to cope with and identify signs of depression, stress, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, and other mental strains,” said Dr. Morrow.
“Broken Crayons Still Color Project is important to implement in the faith community because churches are one of the central institutions for African Americans; and when they are able to integrate spirituality with some of the psychological concepts that are important for them to learn, it really makes a difference,” said Dr. Morrow.
“Our Mission is to decrease health disparities and increase health equity in the African American Community”, said Healthy Heritage Movement founder Phyllis Clark.
“Some people in church don’t just need prayer, they need a pill, or they need therapy, or pastoral guidance. We do our best to distinguish between them,” said Bishop Johnson. “We need to take the stigma away from mental health issues in the Black family.”
Bishop Johnson understands the need for mental health support. Before becoming a pastor, he served as a Peer Group Counselor, Probation Group Counselor, Employment Services Counselor, Social Service Worker, Independent Living Skills Program Coordinator, Service Program Specialist, and Social Services Supervisor.
For a list of Black mental health professionals in the Inland Empire, for a class near you or more information visit BrokenCrayons.org or call (951) 682-1717 or email: pyclark@healthyheritage.org
The Broken Crayons Still Color Project is made possible by the California Reducing Disparities Project – Office of Health Equity.
About Healthy Heritage
Healthy Heritage Movement, Inc. was founded in 2007 by Phyllis Y. Clark in Southern California. Created to target and address health disparities within the African American community, Healthy Heritage Movement focuses on the wellbeing of African Americans through health education, policy change, and community outreach. For more information on Healthy Heritage go to: www.HealthyHeratige.org.
About Bishop Johnson Bishop Johnson is a graduate of California Baptist University with a BA in Religion and a BA in Behavioral Science, he studied Social Work and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino and a Doctor of Theology from Pentecostal Bible College. For more information on Cathedral of Praise church and Bishop Johnson go to: http://copim.org
About Dr. Gloria Morrow
Dr. Morrow has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Azusa Pacific University, and a BS degree in Psychology from the University of La Verne. For more information on Dr. Morrow go to: http://www.gloriamorrow.com/bio.html
The 35th Congressional District is one of the
hardest to count in the country
The town hall brought together representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau, local elected officials, community-based organizations, educational institutions, the business community, and members of the public
ONTARIO, CA — U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres
(D-Pomona) recently convened a town hall at the Southwest Regional Council of
Carpenters, Local 909 to discuss the importance of the upcoming 2020 Census
with representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau, the NALEO Educational Fund,
the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the County of Los Angeles, The
Community Foundation, the Warehouse Workers Resource Center, First 5 San
Bernardino, the County of San Bernardino Preschool Services Department, and
members of the public. California’s 35th Congressional District
is one of the hardest to count in the country, with approximately 231,300
people or 31 percent of the district living in hard-to-count neighborhoods.
This is the second town hall Torres has held on the 2020 Census. The first
forum connected community partners with resources to promote participation in
the 2020 Census.
During the town hall, Torres and the participants
discussed how information collected by the Census is protected under U.S. Code
Title 13. In light of concerns over the Trump administration’s proposed
citizenship question in the census, U.S. Code Title 13 requires the Census
Bureau to keep any information collected from respondents confidential and
strictly used only for statistical purposes. This information may not be shared
with any government agencies, including law enforcement. The town hall also
touched on challenges surrounding the undercount of children, resources to
increase access to online questionnaires in Los Angeles County and the Inland
Empire, and employment opportunities available with the Bureau.
“I’m committed to making sure that every person in our
community is counted in the census—just as the Constitution mandates. The
census determines so much for the hard-working families in my district and
throughout the Inland Empire. From how many federal dollars go to improving our
schools, to access to affordable, quality healthcare and strengthening the
roads we drive on and the availability of affordable housing,” said Torres. “This town hall helped connect
residents with the resources and knowledge they’ll need to be prepared and
engaged for the 2020 Census. I’m grateful to all of our partners for their
participation. It’s up to all of us to make sure every Californian is counted.”
“The 2020 Census is important, and partners are critical to
its success. The goal of the Census is to count everyone once, only once and in
the right place,” said Julie
Lam, Census Bureau Los Angeles Regional Director. “By mid-March 2020,
every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census with
three options for responding: online, by phone, or by mail. It’s against the
law for us to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify
you or your household.”
“Latino children suffered a 7.1% undercount rate, which is
significantly higher than the 4.3% rate among non-Latino children. San
Bernardino county had the fifth largest percent of undercounted very young
Latino children of any county in California during the 2010 Census,” said Adan Chavez, Regional Census Campaign Manager in the
Inland Empire for the NALEO Educational Fund. “When young children are
not counted, our families and communities cannot get important resources and
services like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Head Start, and
the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program. NALEO
Educational Fund’s Hazme Contar campaign will help our communities avoid a
devastating undercount of Latino children and we are going to continue to work
closely with NALEO Member and Congresswoman Norma Torres to ensure the best
count possible.”
“The Southwest Carpenters want to thank Representative
Torres for her leadership on this important issue,” said Dan Langford, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Southwest
Regional Council of Carpenters. “Representation matters for working
people, and the Carpenters will continue to be part of the solution by
educating our members and their families about the importance of participating
in the 2020 Census.”
Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires
the Census Bureau to conduct a census every ten years to count every resident
in the U.S. The data collected by the census determines how billions in federal
funds are distributed to local communities, as well as the number of seats each
state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2020 Census will begin on
April 1, 2020.
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Torres
helped pass legislation that blocked the Trump administration’s proposal to add
a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. She also worked to increase funding
for the Census Bureau to $8.45 billion in the Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations
Funding Bill to ensure that the Bureau can conduct a thorough and accurate
census that counts all persons, as required by the Constitution. This funding
enables the Bureau to carry out the largest and most technologically advanced
decennial census in its 230-year history.
ONTARIO, CA— – The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) will be hosting the 2019 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards Judging reception on, Wednesday, September25th where our official 2019 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Semi-Finalists will convene with our judges face-to-face at the Spirit Judging reception (by invitation only). From this event the finalists will be determined. Once they have been determined, the 2019 Spirit Finalists will be featured at the Spirit Awards gala on November 13th at the Riverside Convention Center. Finalists to be announced September 26th, 2019.
The Spirit judging reception event is generously sponsored by Roorda, Piquet & Bessee, Inc. (http://rpbcpa.com) who have been providing tax, audit, and accounting and advisory services in the Inland Empire area for over 35 years.
All nominees are initially screened and evaluated by the Spirit of
the Entrepreneur awards staff to ensure that they meet the basic eligibility
requirements. Those companies that pass the initial screening are eligible to
participate in the judging reception.
Judges for the event are selected by the Spirit of
the Entrepreneur producers and work independently, evaluating each
nominee. Each judge is chosen based on their prior business
experience, integrity and willingness to dedicate a significant amount of time
to review and evaluate the nominees. The judging panel is almost exclusively
made up of past Spirit award recipients and business leadership professionals
that have been vetted to serve as our esteemed judges.
Each
eligible nominee provides extensive company information that is used in the
judging process. Judging is based on financial metrics as well the nominee’s
accomplishments, innovative approaches and their entrepreneurial spirit.
This year selecting the 2019 finalists from a vast field of over 220 entrepreneurial nominees will be a very difficult task!
More information about sponsorship & volunteer
opportunities please contact Mike Stull (909) 537-3708 or via email mstull@csusb.edu.
Ticketing
Attendees can book tickets online with direct seat
selection for the 2019 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards gala event at https://spiritawardsie.com/content/ticketing. Attendees have the selection choice of pre-show
standard reception or our VIP reception Ticket prices for the black-tie event
range from $135 to $175 each. Full-table discounts are available. Details are
located below:
Spirit Awards Event Features:
Commencing at
5:00 p.m. on November 13th, attendees can experience either a Gala or VIP
reception, three course dinner, stellar event entertainment, awards
presentations, and for select parties, an exclusive after party! (https://spiritawardsie.com/content/spirit-schedule)
The “Best of
the Best” award. Sponsored by Best,
Best & Krieger (https://spiritawardsie.com/content/best-of-the-best-award)
One company from among
the award recipients that best exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit will
take home the additional 2019 Best of the Best award.
The Garner Holt
Student Fast Pitch Competition (https://spiritawardsie.com/content/garner-holt-fast-pitch-competition)
Witness featured business pitches from the Top 5 student
finalists. Audience members cast their votes for the best business
idea through a live voting poll to determine which students will win the
cash prizes. These Top 5 students will have competed in a semi-qualifying
event that is held one week prior to the Spirit Awards gala in order to
gain those top positions. A truly unique aspect to our awards program that
celebrates and supports student growth and involvement.
Entertainment
Upcoming entertainment guest stars are always an anticipated reveal during
the gala. Past events have included top flight entertainment such as: Rock
Legend Eddie Money, Ekenah Claudin-Transcending Box, and Greg
Adamson- Facing the Music Performance Art.
VIP
Reception Sponsored by
City National Bank, an RBC Company (https://spiritawardsie.com/content/vip-seating) Treat yourself to a luxurious
experience only available to VIP ticket holders. The 2019 Spirit VIP
Experience includes access to the exclusive pre-show VIP reception with
hosted wine bar, hors d’oeuvres, entertainment, and preferred access to showroom seating for the gala
presentation as well as top section seating for the main event while you
enjoy specialty selected cuisine for your 3-course dining experience.
Proceeds from the Spirit of the
Entrepreneur event benefit the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Scholarship
established by Dr. Mike Stull, Director of Inland Empire Center for
Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino. (https://spiritawardsie.com/content/spirit-scholarship)
Established
in 1999, the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) supports and
celebrate Entrepreneurship & Small Business through innovative programs and
educational resources. IECE coordinates academic programs that lead to business
degrees in Entrepreneurship for undergraduate and graduate students as well as
delivering experiential learning and student support programs such as the Fast
Pitch Competition. In the local community, IECE offers existing and
aspiring entrepreneurs a wide array of business advisory and mentoring services
and entrepreneurial training programs that help them achieve greater levels of
success in their business ventures.
IECE
was recognized internationally by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools
of Business (AACSB) and received the Entrepreneurship Spotlight Challenge award
for demonstrating leadership in creating (and incubating) cutting-edge business
innovations through enriched student learning and experiential education; which
ranked them among the top 35 entrepreneurship programs globally.
California
State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and
cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the
foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university serves more
than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
CSUSB offers 48 undergraduate, 35 graduate, and 1 doctoral degree programs and
14 academic programs with national accreditation.
The Upland Unified School
District will tap into a $140,000 grant to create a teacher-residency model in
partnership with Cal Poly Pomona.
The district received the funding
from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and will work on
developing the model with the College of Education and Integrative Studies’
Educational Specialist Credential Program, which prepares teachers to work with
students with disabilities.
Associate Professor Joanne Van
Boxtel, CPP’s project lead, said the grant will provide financial assistance to
education specialist teacher residents and their mentor teachers as they
participate in a one-year residency program with UUSD. The candidates’ time in
residency will satisfy their clinical practice requirement.
“I am thrilled to partner with Upland Unified School District to design an innovative and effective model for teacher preparation,” said Van Boxtel. “Through the residency model, education specialist candidates will engage in powerful hands-on learning in the field from experienced and supportive mentor teachers—it’s a perfect fit with Cal Poly Pomona’s learn-by-doing philosophy!”
The teacher-residency program
will formally launch in Spring 2020. Van Boxtel, along with co-project lead Associate
Professor Heather Wizikowski, will be working with UUSD to recruit residents until
then.
“One of the most exciting
features of this grant is the ability to work with Upland to train teachers
right in the district’s own classrooms. It’s a win-win in that Upland is able
to train high-quality special education teachers and CPP is actively involved
with meeting the needs of our surrounding communities,” said Wizikowski.
In order to qualify, candidates
must hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field and be accepted into the
Education Specialist Credential Program. All qualified applicants will be
considered for the residency program through a joint vetting process with
Upland USD. Each candidate must commit to teach in Upland once they complete
the program.
North Carolina passed a law prohibiting Black slaves from reading and writing during the state’s 1830-31 legislative session.
The law read in part, “That any free person, who shall hereafter teach, or attempt to teach, any slave within the State to read or write, … or shall give or sell to such slave or slaves any books or pamphlets, shall be liable to indictment in any court of record in this State…not exceeding thirty nine lashes, nor less than twenty lashes.”
When the emancipation proclamation freed African-American slaves some 32 years later, slave-holding states like North Carolina did not automatically throw out the harsh anti-literacy legislation they had been using to oppress slaves. Those laws, the Jim Crow ones that followed, segregated schools, under-funded school districts – as well as other economic, political and social factors – all played a role in erecting barriers to a quality education for African Americans over the decades that followed.
Now almost 150 years later, Black students, especially African-American boys, are failing in the American education system at alarming rates. Social scholars are saying it’s an epidemic in need of a remedy now.
“Since we entered this country, there has been a system in place with the explicit expectation that our humanity will be robbed from us,” said Steve Perry, an African-American educator, school choice advocate and head of Capital Preparatory Schools in Connecticut and New York.
Perry was participating in a panel discussion on charter schools and school choice that took place during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference, held in Washington, D.C., September 11-15 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Journalist Roland Martin leads a traveling town hall called “School Choice is the Black Choice.” This month, he brought the town hall to the Black caucus convention with a panel of educators. On stage, Perry joined Elizabeth Davis, president of the Washington Teachers Union; Shawn Hardnett, founder and executive director of Statesman Preparatory Academy for Boys in Washington, D.C.; and Margaret Fortune, President and CEO of Fortune School, a network of California charter schools based in Sacramento.
More than 100 guests showed up for the talk focused on discussing ways to improve African American educational outcomes.
“To keep Black children in a failing school system is absurd, and should be illegal,” said Fortune, who shared personal accounts with the audience about her experience going through the authorization process to open a charter school and running her system of K-12 college prep schools.
She also recounted highlights of her grueling fight this year against three bills in California – supported by the NAACP – that would have restricted the operations and growth of the taxpayer-funded independent schools in her state. Most of them operate in poor minority communities.
“I challenge Black education leaders to come together for the benefit of Black children,” urged Fortune, who also shared data with the audience about the progress her school has made since first opening in 1989.
She said students at Fortune schools in Sacramento – mostly poor, Black and Latino – are excelling above state averages. Three of them are among the top 10 achieving schools in all of California
“In my flagship school,” she said,”66 percent are reading and doing math at grade level.”
Across the United States, African-American students are performing at 24 percentage points below their White counterparts in math. In English and language arts, they are trailing White students by almost 30 percentage points.
In California, 68 percent of all African American students perform below their grade level in English and language arts. In math, about 80 percent of Black students fail to meet the state’s proficiency mark.
According to an EdSource report, only 73 percent of African-American high school seniors in California earned a diploma in 2017, compared to 93 percent of Asian students, 81 percent of Hispanics and 87 percent of White students.
The only sub-group Black public school students outperform in California is students with disabilities.
Many teachers unions across the country, including the National Education Association (NEA) and the California Teacher’s Association (CTA), say they are concerned about dwindling financial resources to provide a quality education to all students. They say charter schools siphon away the limited funding for public education that governments allot to school districts, especially in low-income neighborhoods across the United States.
“I was a supporter of charters,” said Davis. “We’ve had some bad public charter and (non-charter) public schools and they should be closed if they aren’t up to speed, but I’ve noticed there is a pattern of systematically starving public schools in certain parts of the city.”
Davis argued that charter public schools, particularly in Washington, D.C., where she is based, need more oversight as well; that they need to be more transparent about how they spend taxpayer dollars.
The group agreed that it is a mistake to look at the charter-school-verses-traditional-public-school debate as a national issue because education policy is decided at the state, county or municipal level.
“Education in America is a local issue,” said Martin. “You have different rules in different states.”
In California, Gov. Newsom signed SB 126 into law in March. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) and Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), holds the more-than 1,300 charter schools in the state to the same rules around open meetings, public records and conflict of interests that govern traditional public schools.
During the back-and-forth, several of the school choice advocates on the panel pointed out that the national conversations that relate adequate funding to student performance are misleading. That thinking, they argued, leads charter school educators to believe that their traditional public school peers are only concerned about their salaries, pensions and contracts – rather than the academic achievement of the children they educate.
Assembly Bill 1505 in California initially required authorizers to evaluate the financial impact a charter school would have on a school district in order for its license to be renewed. For many charter school proponents in California, they won a victory by convincing the author of the bill to add academic performance as a factor.
Gov Newsom is expected to sign the bill into law.
Davis, the only educator on the panel defending traditional public schools, was outgunned 3-1 by the other panelists and Martin, who was the moderator. Martin admitted he uses his voice and platform to “elevate the issue” of school choice and spell out to African Americans around the country how it benefits poor Black children and create job opportunities in their neighborhoods.
Fortune chimed in, too.
“I don’t want to have to apologize for the fact that I’m starting schools to close the Black achievement gap. I do that without apology,” she said.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— Last week, Gov. Newsom signed AB 5, the “Employee Misclassification Bill,” into law. The legislation changes the classification of more than one million jobs in California from “contractor” to “employee.”
The week before, the California Senate voted 29-11 to pass the bill. For the last 10 months, various industries across the state have been pressing legislators, begging for an exemption to AB 5.
On Friday, before AB 5 made its way to Gov. Newsom’s desk for his signature, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers stood up to defend the newspaper industry in California, which includes more than 20 African American-owned publications.
“It has to do with the hundreds in my district – and other Senators’ as well – weeklies and small papers, the ethnic press,” said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), explaining why she supported AB 170 in a Senate Labor committee hearing last week. “The various weeklies that many mono-lingual constituents of mine rely on for information. The information we rely on, too, as public servants.”
Senate Republicans pushed 12 amendments to AB 5 last week, including the one that provides temporary exemption for newspaper carriers and distributors. After bitter fights, passionate speeches – and even a few tears – a majority of Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly pressured Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), who authored AB 5, to introduce AB 170 as a condition for their votes.
Finally, the Senate approved AB 170 with a 38-1vote count. The Assembly voted 66-6 in favor of it.
Newspapers across California now have until January 2021, a year after the law takes effect, to hire the drivers who deliver their papers as W-2 employees. Or else, they would have to create a new model for distributing papers that complies with the restrictions in AB 5.
“Thanks to the lawmakers who understand the crushing impact the internet has had on our bottom lines. Those legislators who value the role the press plays, particularly the ethnic media, in strengthening our democracy here in California,” said Regina Wilson, executive director of California Black Media. “AB 170 now buys us time to figure out a solution for delivering our papers that, hopefully, the couriers can embrace, Labor Unions can accept and that the newspapers can implement without going bankrupt.”
At a Senate committee hearing for AB 5 last week, Gonzalez expressed her disappointment.
“This is the first time I’ve carried a bill that I’m vehemently opposed to,” said Gonzalez. “But in the spirit of good faith I will bring it forward.”
Although Gonzalez introduced AB 170, she voted against it during the Assembly floor vote.
“This is going to give some breathing space to newspapers to find a way, within their means, to provide systems that comport with the values of the author and proponents of AB 5,” said Jim Ewert, general counsel of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Republicans in the Senate and Assembly opposed AB 5 since it was introduced in December last year.
“Over two million Californians choose to work as independent contractors and AB 5 only protects certain industries,” said Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield).
Exempted categories include architects, engineers, veterinarians, private investigators, psychologists, commercial fisherman, dentists, podiatrists, travel agents, editors, marketing professionals photographers, cartoonists and more.
“I am proud to have stood with my Republican colleagues in offering better solutions to protect workers in industries such as healthcare, transportation, and newspapers carriers and distributors,” Grove continued. “If the governor truly believes in supporting a California for all, then he needs to do the right thing and veto AB 5.”
In her closing statement, Gonzales took a shot at newspapers.
“The entire news service in California weaponized their editorial pages against this bill based only on newspaper carriers. Its hypocritical,” she said.
After the bill passed, Grove issued a statement on behalf of Republicans in the legislature.
“Democrats rejected Senate Republicans’ amendments to AB 5 which would have leveled the playing field for all independent contractors and helped industries that were excluded,” she said. “Democrats, labor unions, and Governor Newsom, picked winners and losers with AB 5.”
AB 170 is still waiting the governor’s signature as of press time.
On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, at the age of 107 years old the Lord called Emma Shaw home. She’s had her bags pack since she was 90, so 17 years later the matriarch of the Shaw family has finally moved to her eternal address.
Emma was the second born to James and Gertrude Armstrong on August 9, 1912 in Tallulah, Louisiana. Emma was raised by her aunt and uncle and attended Madison Parish Training School. Emma was not able to complete school because the family needed her to help in the cotton fields. At the tender age of 15 she met the love of her life, George Bernard Shaw.
Emma and George were married on February 6, 1929 and to
this union God blessed them with 13 children; six sons, five daughters and two
children who died at birth. Six of their children; Cleveland, Luretha, Johnny
B, Joyce, Wiley and Mary were born in Tallulah. Emma and George were married
for 62 years until he passed away.
In 1942 George saw potential for advancement by moving his
family from Louisiana to Las Vegas, Nevada. While in Las Vegas, Emma was an
employee at the El Rancho and Frontier hotels. Emma gave birth to Donell and Ronell
before leaving Nevada in 1944.
As times began to change, George had the foresight again to relocate his family to San Bernardino, California in 1944. Emma began working in private homes as a maid. She then found new employment at Norton Air Force Base. After leaving Norton, Emma began doing seasonal work at the National Orange Show. Once the seasonal work was done, Emma found employment in Palm Springs where she worked for 16 years. While in California Barbara, Vernon and Valerie were born.
Though their resources were limited, that did not prevent
Emma from sharing with those who were even less fortunate whenever they stopped
by. She was an amazing cook and was known for her homemade biscuits, fried
chicken and her peach cobbler.
Emma joined New Hope Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Reverend David Campbell. After the passing of Reverend Campbell, Mother Shaw changed her membership to Greater New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ, which was then under the leadership of Elder Herbert C. Pugh. Mother Shaw grew spiritually at Greater New Jerusalem where she became the Church Mother. She served as Church Mother for over 40 years and in recognition for this service Mother Shaw was appointed Church Mother Emeritus.
Everyone who knew Mother Shaw has heard her testimony and
can repeat it verbatim as she starts to say…”Early one Saturday morning I was
in my bathroom when I heard a loud voice saying, ‘Be ready, I’m on My way back’…”
and from that time until she went home, Mother Emma told everyone that she would
encounter to be ready, the Lord is on His way back.
Emma Shaw was a local legend, living to celebrate her 107th
year of life here on this earth. She was still so full of wisdom, discernment,
encouragement and honesty. She had a no nonsense attitude when ‘stuff ain’t
right’, and she would speak her mind and let you know. When you heard ‘now
looka here’, you know something of importance was about to follow.
Emma was preceded in passing by her husband, George; Sons, Cleveland, Johnny B, and Ronell and Daughter, Luretha Johnson. The matriarch of six generations Emma leaves to cherish her memory; Joyce, Wiley (Alexis), Mary (Charles), Donell, Barbara and Valerie. Granma Emma also leaves well over 300 grand; great; great great; great great great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.
Mother Shaw’s Wake will be held at New Jerusalem Church of
God in Christ, 1424 W. 21st Street, San Bernardino, CA on Thursday,
October 3, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Her Homegoing Celebration Service will be held at
Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, 1314 E. Date Street, San Bernardino, CA on
Friday, October 4, 2019 with the viewing at 10:00 a.m and the Service at 11:00
a.m. Hallelujah for the time He blessed us with her presence.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— LOS ANGELES, CA—- The publisher of LA Focus, Lisa Collins, hosted its 22nd First Ladies High Tea on September 14 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The afternoon tea attracted over 1000 patrons where they were served with a traditional Afternoon Tea Menu.
Sponsors of the event included: Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, 2nd District, Prudential, Walmart, BLACC and AHF. The First Ladies High Tea awarded scholarships to at-risk girls.
Legendary Actress Marla Gibbs received the Legacy Award at this year’s event. Other honorees included: LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Erica Campbell, Grammy-winner of Mary Mary, R&B music artist and radio host, Actress Essence Atkins, starring in OWN’s Ambitions, and renowned Dr. Kristi Funk, MD, breast cancer surgeon, First ladies honorees Melinda Campbell from First AME Pasadena, Junita Edwards from Pasadena Community Christian Fellowship and Barbara
Hendricks from Church of the Living God. Performance by multi Award-winning Anthony Brown & Group therAPy.
This year co-hosts included Actress Wendy Raquel Williams starring in ABC’s Grand Hotel and Apostle Beverly “BAM” Crawford, Pastor, Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church.
Several political leaders as well as activists in California shared their reactions to U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ criminal justice reform plan.
It calls for ending mandatory minimum sentences, legalizing marijuana, expunging marijuana convictions and shutting down for-profit prisons, among a number of other proposals, that could have a positive impact on African-American communities across California.
Other policies in the plan to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system include introducing a national standard for police use of force; providing incentives for states to get rid of mandatory minimums; equalizing sentencing for possession and distribution of crack and cocaine; mandating prisons to offer educational courses, vocational training as well as mental health and addiction treatment. Harris also wants to end federal laws that prohibit formerly incarcerated people from accessing housing, loans, food stamps and other public services
“By ending mass incarceration, holding police accountable, and keeping families intact, Kamala would fundamentally transform public safety and protect our children,” said California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond who oversees the state’s 977 school districts that enroll more than 6 million students. Thurmond says he’s excited by the focus on prevention and rehabilitation in Harris’ plan because one of his own top priorities is keeping kids safe, enrolled in school, and out of prisons.
Harris announced her plan earlier this month. According to her campaign it “replicates and nationalizes” programs she introduced during her law enforcement career in California.
“This plan uses my experience and unique capability to root out failures within the justice system,” she said. “We can end mass incarceration and combat the bias and racism that fuels it. We can ensure accountability for all parts of the system to build foundations of trust in our communities. We can stop profit from incarceration and stop criminalizing poverty. As president, I’ll fix this broken system to make it fairer and more accountable for communities across the country.”
Lateefah Simon is a civil rights activist who runs the Akonadi Foundation, a social and racial justice organization in Oakland. She believes Harris is best equipped to lead reforms because she understands how the justice system works.
“As a lifelong activist, I don’t say this lightly,” said Simon. “Her career is proof that you can fight to rectify what’s broken from the inside. Her plans for our country prove that she has a lot of fight left. We need a leader like Kamala in the White House to ensure that we end private prisons and give Black and Brown families their lives back.”
Simon is also a California State University Trustee and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transportation Board Director.
Billie Mizell, former executive Director of Insight Prison Project based in San Quentin, says she’s not surprised by the progressive policies in Harris’ plan.
“Kamala Harris first earned my respect over 15 years ago when I was working for people sentenced to death,” said Mizell. “To the surprise of many of us in the abolition community back then, DA Harris refused to seek a death verdict, despite enormous political pressure. Before ‘progressive prosecutor’ was a trendy term, Kamala was fighting to be in spaces historically dominated by White men so that she could be a game-changer.”
Most Democrats have reacted favorably to Harris’ criminal justice reform plan. But other critics have been attacking her record as prosecutor and California’s top cop since she announced her candidacy for President of the United States in January.
“Time after time, when progressives urged her to embrace criminal justice reforms as a district attorney and then the state’s attorney general, Ms. Harris opposed them or stayed silent,” wrote
Lara Bazelon, a law professor, in the New York Times. Bazelon is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles.
Defending her record, Harris said “I was swimming against the current, and thankfully the currents have changed. She made the statement in an interview with the New York Times just before releasing her plan. “The winds are in our sails. And I’m riding that just like everybody else is – because it’s long overdue.”
“I know the system from the inside out,” Harris continued. . “So trust me when I say we have a problem with mass incarceration in America. Trust me when I say we have a problem with accountability. Trust me when I say we have to take the profit out of criminal justice.”
Harris points to a program she started in 2005 when she was district attorney. Called “Back on Track,” the initiative provided jobs for young people arrested the first time for drug offenses. She also hired more women, people of color and LGBTQ people in an effort to increase diversity on her staff, according to her campaign.
In the presidential race, Harris seems to be losing steam. She is polling at only 5 percent in Iowa, the first State in the Democratic primaries, according to a Focus on Rural America survey. She has dropped more than 13 points over the last two months.
Among African-American Democrats, most polls place her third after Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.“As someone who has seen the flaws in our criminal justice firsthand, I have long appreciated Kamala’s commitment to reforming it,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “Her plans to end mandatory minimum sentencing, money bail, and the death penalty exemplify why her platform is so important. She is a trailblazer through and through.”
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
