Student Spotlight: Evan and Eric Carthen

Evan and Eric Carthen

Evan and Eric Carthen

SAN BERNARDINIO, CA- Evan Carthen, known on Cal Lutheran University campus as “Mr. President,” will be graduating with a dual major, BA in English and a BS in Political Science on May 14, 2016 along with his twin brother Eric Carthen who will be graduating with a BS degree in Criminal Justice.

Evan will be attending law school in the Fall. He has been accepted to several major universities with scholarships, including Ohio State University and Pepperdine University.  His decision will be announced soon.

The Future Alumni of California Lutheran University, who both will be graduating with honors, have a bright future ahead of them.

 

Excellence by Design Brings Empowering “Gurl…Ask Me Anything” Conference to Riverside

RIVERSIDE, CA-  “Gurl…Ask Me Anything!” is an evening of storytelling and sharing, all part of a dynamic conference aimed at building authentic relationships to help women break free from the fears that hold them back from doing what God has purposed for their lives.

On Saturday, March 19, at the Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church located at 5320 Victoria Avenue in Riverside, this amazing girls’ night out will feature soul-stirring praise and worship, spoken word, dance, a vendor expo, and inspiring stories by three women who will share how they moved from fear to freedom (#FromFearToFreedom).

Conference goers will hear from former professional soccer player, motivational speaker and author Jasmine Henderson. Her first book, A Broken Vow, was inspired by her life changing journey from virgin to single motherhood at age 25. Josie Aiello, a national recording artist, will share how she chose to leave a successful yet unfulfilling singing,songwriting career to answer “The Call” to sing for the Lord; and Dr. Sally D. Williams, an educational psychologist, author, and life coach, will speak on the importance of keeping your integrity when faced with fearful decisions.

“It’s time to have safe, open, relevant and needed conversations between women of all ages,” said Desiree Foster-Collins, president and co-founder of Excellence by Design.

“Gurl…Ask Me Anything” is open to women from ages 16 and up. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for general admission and 5:30 p.m. for VIP premium ticket holders. VIP guests will be treated to a Meet and Greet with the featured guest speakers, an “Hors d’oeuvres Hour” before the conference, reserved seating, a special VIP gift and more. The program begins at 7 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $10 for students (ages 16-22 years) to $40 for the VIP package. There is also a special pricing for groups of 10 or more and an early bird ticket price of $20 that is available through March 12. After March 12 general admission ticket prices will be $25 per person. Vendor opportunities are also available. Child care will not be provided, and nursing mothers are welcome. For more information, to register as a vendor, and to purchase your tickets online visit excellencebydesign.us.

If you have questions about the conference, or want to know more about Excellence by Design (EBD) call 951-888-0398 or send an email to info@excellencebydesign.us.

What It Do With the LUE: Youth Showcase

By Lue Dowdy

Sing! Dance! Rap! Act! Recite a poem! Play an instrument! Looking for talented youth to showcase is What It Do With LUE this week!

The PAL Center is hosting their 1st Annual Resource Fair and Youth Showcase and LUE Productions has the honor of coordinating it. We’re looking to feature 10 to 15 talented individuals or groups. All information on how to register for this FREE event is located below.

The event is Saturday, April 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2450 Blake Street in San Bernardino. To participate, youth must be 19 and under. Check-in time is from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Each act will be allocated a total of 10 minutes to perform. All performers must have a performance wavier form signed by their parent or guardian and music must be clean and edited.

To sign up, please visit www.lueproductions.org.

The Provisional Accelerated Learning Center (PAL Center) is a community-based organization established to compliment the activities of the structured educational system and provides education and employment services in a non-threatening environment that is easily assessable to residents.

Linda Jackson, Encourages Women to Consider Financial Legacy in Celebration of Women’s History Month

Linda Jackson

Linda Jackson

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – In celebration of Women’s History Month, Linda Jackson, a senior certified housing counselor and branch manager of NID Housing Counseling Agency of the Inland Empire, is encouraging women to make personal financial matters a priority. Seasoned financial counselors like Jackson agree that one of the first steps towards financial freedom involves reviewing one’s credit report for items that need to be addressed such as errors or even unflattering information like late or missed payments. In response, Jackson offers a free credit education class that teaches consumers how to improve their credit score, avoid costly loan products, and enforce their consumer rights when dealing with debt collectors. The class also teaches consumers how to spot identity theft. One of the first places to discover identity theft is on one’s credit report. Research indicates that women are more likely to be victims of fraud than men.

“The importance of a good credit rating cannot be underestimated,” said Jackson. “As we celebrate the lives of extraordinary women this month, I believe this is the perfect time for all women to consider their financial legacy by becoming educated on how credit works. We teach valuable information that should be passed on to one’s children and grandchildren.”

Linda’s credit education classes are held in two Inland Empire locations. Pre-registration is encouraged by calling the NID office at (909) 887-8700 or by visiting Eventbrite and searching, Financial Fitness with NID. The classes are on Thursday, March 10 and Thursday, 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Realty One Group located at 325 W. Hospitality Lane, Suite 100 in San Bernardino. On Wednesday, March 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. the class will be held at Faith Church located at 9239 Utica Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

Sacred Sistahs, Inc. to Honor Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers, Dr. Melina Abdullah, Kim Carter at Scholarship Fundraiser

Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers

Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers

ONTARIO, CA – Sacred Sistahs, Inc. will host its 8th Annual Awards Recognition and Scholarship Fundraiser on Saturday, March 12 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel Ontario Airport located at 2200 East Holt Blvd. in Ontario.

Sacred Sistahs will honor three high school seniors with a scholarship. Akua Adeneke McLeod of The Webb School, La Verne, CA, Kennedy Jordyn Parker Tucker of Colony High School, Ontario, CA, both of whom have each completed the Sacred Sistahs, Inc. rites-of-passage program, and Nia Lynn Rasshan, also of Colony High School, Ontario, CA will receive scholarships at the start of their fall semester in college.

Sacred Sistahs will also honor several outstanding African American women who have significantly impacted the lives of others in the community including Dr. Melina Abdullah, Professor and Chair of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and Black Lives Matter Organizer, Shannon Kim Carter, Founder and Executive Director of the Nationally recognized Time for Change Foundation for her commitment to helping women and children, and Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers, Founder and President Emeritus Young Women’s Empowerment Foundation and governing board member of the San Bernardino City Unified School District, for her outstanding contributions in the field of education. Carolyn Tillman, Special Assistant to the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, will deliver the keynote address.

Sacred Sistahs, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is to empower, serve, and improve the overall health, well-being, spirit, and vitality of African American and African women and children by nourishing and elevating the mind, body, and spirit. For information on how to register, please visit www.sacredsistahsinc.org/news_and_events or call (909)910-7564.

Obama Administration Commits to School Diversity with “Stronger Together” Initiative

President Barack Obama signs an executive order for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama signs an executive order for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By Gina Chirichigno and Philip Tegeler
America’s Wire Writers Group

Addressing a crowded room of magnet school educators and supporters last week, Acting U.S. Secretary of Education John King explained his personal commitment to school diversity and the importance of reducing racial isolation in schools.

“I was a kid who benefited from intentional school diversity, and I’m a parent who prioritizes that in how I think about the education of my children,” he said, describing his experiences at two intentionally diverse schools in New York City (P.S. 276 in Canarsie and Mark Twain Junior High in Coney Island). “Teachers at those two schools saved my life,” he declared. “They are the reason I am standing here today.”

King’s children both attend diverse public schools in Montgomery County, MD, which, as he noted, has been working to implement intentional strategies to integrate both housing and education for decades. Now, he wants to encourage other communities to adopt that approach.

Thanks in large part to Secretary King, the Obama administration has now made a meaningful commitment to reducing racial and socioeconomic isolation in our nation’s schools, by proposing a $120 million request in the 2017 budget to fund the “Stronger Together” initiative. The new competitive funding program would offer planning and implementation grants for voluntary, community-developed socioeconomic integration plans. The proposed 2017 budget also includes an increase in funding for the Magnet Schools Assistance program, another school integration program.

The Stronger Together program would supply four implementation grants (averaging $25 million each) for up to five years to support communities currently implementing strategies to improve racial and socioeconomic diversity. Stronger Together would also award 10 one-year planning grants (averaging $2 million each) to help support activities such as: fostering family and community engagement; assessing economic stratification; evaluating the adequacy of transportation infrastructure; increasing capacity for data collection, etc.

As members of the National Coalition on School Diversity (www.school-diversity.org), we have been advocating for a clear, courageous investment in integration from the beginning of President Obama’s administration. Our country is long overdue for government-supported innovation in school integration. And, while Congress is unlikely to pass the 2017 budget in its current form, we are confident that the commitment to school diversity will remain in some form in the final budget.

Studies consistently show that school integration by race and socioeconomic status is strongly associated with a range of short and long term benefits for all racial groups. As a whole, however, our nation’s schools remain overwhelmingly isolated by race and class, even as our country becomes increasingly diverse. Such isolation is not benign; rather, it fuels a vicious cycle of structural educational inequity and, too, strips us of opportunities to build community across lines of difference.

Justice Thurgood Marshall’s observation that, “Unless our children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will ever learn to live together,” is now supported by a strong research base demonstrating the benefits of racial integration—not just for student achievement, but also for reducing interracial prejudice and strengthening relations between racial groups. This research should encourage us all to take integration strategies more seriously.

We are particularly pleased to see such a strong emphasis on community engagement and involvement in the Stronger Together program—voluntary school integration efforts are most effective when communities come together to develop the political will to co-create and implement strategies that respond to their unique context. We can readily point to examples of remarkable community-led integration efforts in progress, in cities such as Hartford, CT; Richmond, VA; and New York, NY. But the lack of federal, state, local, and foundation support for this work makes it extremely challenging to initiate and sustain, even when there is strong interest. Programs like Stronger Together would help change that.

Stronger Together would afford communities across the country the opportunity to come together and co-create learning environments where, truly, every student can succeed. It is now up to people on the ground—educators, parents, students, and community leaders—to ensure that the administration’s newly-ignited commitment to school integration receives the funding we believe it deserves.


 

Gina Chirichigno is outreach coordinator for the National Coalition on School Diversity, www.school-diversity.org. You can reach her at gchirichigno@prrac.org.

Philip Tegeler is executive director of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, www.prrac.org. You can reach him at ptegeler@prrac.org.

America’s Wire is an independent, nonprofit news service run by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Our stories can be republished free of charge by newspapers, websites and other media sources. For more information, visit www.americaswire.org or contact Michael K. Frisby at mike@frisbyassociates.com.

“You Still Don’t Get It…!”

Lou Coleman

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Nobody… gets away with Sin! [Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4]. It is a warning… And it is a warning to the sinner! “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” [Galatians 6:7]. You reap sin; you will reap the results of sin. Every sin has its price and payday is coming! Woe unto you… “For if [you] go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, for there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment…”[Hebrews 10:26-31]. I tell you, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God’s warning is clear. Repent of sin at once! Don’t wait until sin has battered, bruised, arrested, imprisoned, condemned, drove you to despair, and almost killed you before you get it. Sin is no joke! You play with fire, you will get burnt… Make no mistake about it! Living Sin means playing a game that you cannot win!

Listen, God did not save you to leave you defeated, beaten, and enslaved by the flesh. He saved you to set you free, to enable you to walk in the victory that He gives to all those who walk according to His Word and His Will. You don’t crucify the flesh by gratifying it. You cannot feed every lust that enters your mind and claim to be living a life that is pleasing to the Lord [Romans 13:14]. The flesh must be reckoned dead every day we live. For we are no longer slaves to sin, the flesh, nor the devil [Romans 6:14]! We have been made “new creatures” in Jesus Christ [2 Cor. 5:17]. We have been given the “divine nature” [2 Peter 2:4]. We are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, who teaches us about the dangers of sin and about the blessings of holiness [John 16:13]. Study to show yourself approved!

Listen; as the Spirit continues to give utterance; there are some of you reading this who have been imprisoned by your sins. You have allowed certain actions and ways of living dominate you so long that you have lost your will and ability to fight against them. You are a prisoner in your own life and you hide in fear from actions YOU THINK you cannot control. If you want to be free, you must deal with your sin. You must confess it [Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9]. You must repent of it [Luke 13:5]. You must forsake it [Job 11:14]. If you don’t take control now, the devil will take over totally. He will continue to wreak havoc in your life, and everywhere he is allowed to. I want you to know that Jesus has delegated authority to use His Name to those who believe in Him. If you believe, then exercise that authority. Its authority, which if used, will insure that nothing shall by any means hurt you. It is a choice, and it is your choice!

With that being said, when you get tired of being tied; when you get tired of being battered and bruised; when you get tired of going in circles; doing it your way and getting nowhere; when you get tired of doing the wrong thing; I want you to know that Jesus is standing by. What a disaster it would be to come before Christ on Judgment Day and discover you are sentenced to Hell. It is a dangerous thing to be hardheaded. To know God and to choose to think, act, or behave outside of the Word, Will, and Way of God is very dangerous. Don’t do it! Look at the prodigal son – because of hardheadedness, he paid the fare – loss everything even his dignity. The children of Israel left Egypt and because of rebellion they wander 40 years- a whole generation died because they were hardheaded. Adam got kicked out of the Garden because he was hardheaded – he knew what God said, but he choose to listen to his wife. Don’t do it…. Detour off of the Road to Hell! Today I have set before you life and death… Choose life!

Have Lunch with Women’s Empowerment Author, T’ana Phelice

T'ana Pigs and PearlsSAN BERNARDINIO, CA- Love meeting new people? Do you love to eat and read? Do you need some inspiration in your life? The come out on Saturday, March 5 to the Denny’s at 702 E. Highland in San Bernardino for a day of inspiration with author T’ana Phelice. Come purchase and get your book signed, take photos, engage in empowering topics, watch a monologue performance, and of course network and grub! The following day, Sunday, March 6, T’ana will be a guest on Empire Talks Back with Wallace Allen at 10 a.m. You can tune in by calling 800-982-3197 (#100766589), logging onto www.kcaaradio.com, or tuning your dial to 1050 AM.

What It Do With The LUE: MARCH MADNESS

12439384_10209093375795981_3640301308426935806_nLUE Productions in conjunction with DRAC Entertainment is at it again providing platforms for Indie Artists. This Saturday, March 5, come out and network at our bi-monthly mixer while enjoying an entertaining show from some of the most talented artists in the game. The event will be held in the City of San Bernardino at the American Legion located at 2181 West Highland Avenue.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the comedy part of the evening starts at 7:30 p.m. sharp and will be hosted by Comedian “Anthony Stone.” Directly after the comedy show prepare to get funktified with the funk master, “NoFace The Shadowmen.” For our Rap and Hip-Hop lovers we have rapper “Radio Base” and that Inland Empire group “Gwaap Fam” live with other dope artists. Show start at 9 p.m. sharp hosted by the legend, “The Real Dirty Birdy.” No gang attire and security will be enforced. We hope to see you there. For ticket information please visit our website at www.lueproductions.org. Until next week L’z!

Affirmation and Appreciation to the Birthday Man… Mr. Wallace Allen IV

Breathing Words/Actions of Life that has Empowered People to Excellency!”

Wallace Allen IV

Wallace Allen IV

By Lou Coleman

Of all the gifts that we could every give to another person, none holds more potential than giving life itself. The idea that every interaction we have with another human being offers us that grand opportunity… to brighten another’s existence by breathing life into theirs. You may not see it or even realize it, but you have impacted many lives. Just by existing at this time and place, you’re changing what’s around you.Wallace allen l

Words cannot describe and actions cannot do justice to the gratitude we feel when we think of all you have done. You challenge people to think about life differently. You challenge the world to think about life differently. When you read about injustices in our country and throughout the world, you show a righteous anger that is so pure and raw that it reminds us of what really should matter. Your work is essential, not only for the people you care for, but also for the society as a whole. Every effort you make, small or big, adds to people’s improved quality of life, and that is something to admire.

It is truly a great experience to be a part of your team! Thank you for the contribution that you have made in our lives! From all of us here at Westside Story Newspaper to you… Happy Birthday to our mentor and true leader… Much love!