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BALTIC SEA—- Logistics Specialist 1st Class Joseph White, from San Bernardino, Calif., takes inventory in supply support aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) during BALTOPS 50, June 15, 2021. The 50th BALTOPS represents a continuous, steady commitment to reinforcing interoperability in the Alliance and providing collective maritime security in the Baltic Sea.

LOS ANGELES, CA—- The UOMA Pride Month & Juneteenth Celebration Launch Event for UOMA by Sharon C for WALMART was produced by CEO, Founder & Creative Director of the black-owned beauty brand, UOMA Beauty, Sharon Chuter, and was attended by celebrities and the biggest names in beauty and social media at Hyde Sunset. The event took place on Friday, June 18th, and featured a surprise musical performance by legendary music artist Wiz Khalifa.

Celebrity attendees included Wiz Khalifa, Ashlee Simpson, Jordyn Woods, Elizabeth Woods, Slick Woods, Mario Lopez, Jasmine Tookes, SJ Bleau, Mario Lopez, Evan Ross, Cassie Scerbo, Madison Pettis, Dartes Kelly, Khaneshia “KJ” Smith, Jasmine Sanders, Skyh Black, Sarah Jones, Todrick Hall, Shaun Ross, Jackie R. Jacobson, Lindsey Shaw, Shahd Batal, Marcela Iglesias, Aaliyah Jay, Hayley Herms, Nazanin Kavari, Samantha Ware, Joy Osmanski, Melissa L. Williams, Alex Meneses, Lisa Yaro, Aysha Harun, Brendan Jordan, Mea Wilkerson, Shelby Jaems, Michael Franklin, Alonzo B. Slater, Reagan Yorke, Margie Plus, Broderick Hunter, Carrie Bernans, Riley Hubatka, Mhair Zeitounian, Kathy Kolla, Laila Odom, Legendary Damon, Richard Nevels, Norman Towns, Johnny Kritsberg, Jordan Huxhold, Maddy Crum, Zoi Lerma, Peyton Jordan, Chel, Nyesha Arrington, Donny Savage, Tara Mirshokraei, Sav Palacio, Terrell Ransom, Darius Marcell, Cas Jerome, Coco and Breezy, Karlee Perez, Tati Mitch, Kinya Claiborne, Kanou AWTA, Emmy Combs, Autumn Swinbank, Sadaf Beauty, Wizard Kelly, Siobhan Bell, Auti Angel, Ethan Shiri, Adolfo Sanchez, Angel Moret, Jayden Robison, Kyle Shaffer, Maad, Mehki Letreigh, Pablo Kaestu, Max Talisman, Alyssa Ljubicich, Kinya Claiborne, Ben Elkayam, among many others. 

Guests arrived at HYDE SUNSET in Los Angeles, CA, for cocktails and were transported into an amplified sustainable environment as they were greeted with a plethora of greenery and bold activist imagery. The carbon-neutral event opened with an eco-friendly carpet to celebrate PRIDE Month and to kick off the Juneteenth celebration, an HBCU marching band played. Guests enjoyed carnival dancers, free product giveaways, a station with jewelry artists who created bejeweled installations on guests’ faces and wrote personalized messages paired with a tree sponsored by UOMA. The event was sustainable and addressed social and environmental issues while positively impacting the community. Glowing hot pink lights inside the venue created an immersive and visually powerful setting. 

The event featured the sharing of food, Covid-19 supplies, and clothing to over five hundred members of our community

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- On Saturday, June 12th, Time for Change Foundation, and our community partners held a Community Action Fair.

An opportunity to do our part, and help those in need, we gave away $100 dollar bills to the first two hundred and fifty people in line when a utility bill was provided. Additionally, $50 dollar Food for Less gift cards were handed out to over five hundred people. Together that is over $50,000 in aid to the community, with half being direct cash assistance.

Vendors from a variety of local organizations were on hand with groceries, hot meals, clothing, and Covid-19 supplies for anyone who came out.

Since late August 2020, the Household Pulse Survey has provided data on the overall number of adults struggling to cover usual household expenses such as food, car payments, utilities, medical expenses, or student loans. Some 61 million adults—26 percent of all adults in the country—reported it was somewhat or very difficult for their household to cover usual expenses in the past seven days, according to data collected May 12–24.

For many, this event was the rope needed to pull themselves up from a cliff. One attendee expressed her gratitude for the event. “Especially right now… a lot of people are having hard times, so every little thing helps.”

Another, spoke on his observations and the importance of this event, “for those who are down on and out…with the pandemic, loss of wages, homelessness. There were a lot of kids here early with their parents, so things for some seem to dire.”

We wish to thank our partners in this event, Young Visionaries, Catholic Charities, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. They continue to outdo themselves in their efforts to service those in need.

We are extremely grateful for all whom donated and volunteered. Community becomes powerful when all members pull together for a united cause. The change, or transformation, that occurs when we act together is something we all must continue to strive for.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- For over 30 years, Provisional Educational Services, Inc. (PESI) has been an active leader in serving the disadvantaged community of San Bernardino. In an effort to expand on this work, Chief Executive Officer, Dwaine Radden Sr. recently applied for a grant through YouthBuild. The US Department of Labor describes YouthBuild as “a community-based pre-apprenticeship program that provides job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth ages 16-24 who have previously dropped out of high school.”

The $1.3M grant would be used to address disparities of unemployment and homelessness within San Bernardino. PESI looked to partner with YouthBuild to mitigate these concerns by serving 74 low-income and/or homeless 17-24-year-olds in the city, through a project that would provide secondary education and construction trade training for youth in a classroom setting. It would also provide hands-on construction work experience, building and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for low income or homeless families in San Bernardino.

On June 10, 2021, it was announced that PESI was awarded the grant for its project. This was a nationwide grant which covered states like New York, Atlanta, Chicago and even to Puerto-Rico to name a few. They were selected with three other California agencies in Los Angeles and Riverside.  Radden said, it took an incredible and dynamic grant team to tell the story of San Bernardino in this grant. He thanked God for his grant team, Bill Clark and Geddes Mohammed.  The YouthBuild grant is likely to be a remarkable step forward for the community of San Bernardino. The city of approximately 215,000 has about one-third of its population living below the poverty line. The city’s employment rate was dampened by the recent pandemic but is expected to climb during the second half of 2021. This partnership between PESI and YouthBuild will help to increase the employment rate that was recently affected by the pandemic.

The city can expect PESI’s new community-based project to include construction trades training and other job sectors throughout the region, re-entry secondary education, counseling case management services, personal and academic support services and more. Additional details on the project and its services will be released soon.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Board of Education is fulfilling a promise made to the Class of 2020—an in-person commencement ceremony has been scheduled for all SBCUSD members of the Class of 2020.

A combined SBCUSD Class of 2020 graduation ceremony will be held Friday, June 18, 2021, 6 p.m., at Glen Helen Pavilion. Any members of the Class of 2020 who are interested in participating must complete the online interest form before June 14, 2021, at 5 p.m.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the SBCUSD Board of Education made the decision to close physical schools and move to a distance learning model for the remainder of the 2019–2020 school year in order to protect the health of students, families and staff.

At the time the decision was made to cancel commencement and hold drive-thru ceremonies instead, the Board of Education committed to holding a make-up graduation ceremony when it became possible.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (June 2, 2021) – Iconic Superheroes Captain America, Black Panther and his guards Okoye and the Dora Milaje, plus many more assembled alongside actors Anthony Mackie and Paul Rudd with Disney CEO Bob Chapek to celebrate the momentous dedication of Avengers Campus Wednesday night in an epic ceremony at Disney California Adventure Park. The new land opens to the public at the Disneyland Resort on June 4, 2021, featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their allies.

Avengers Campus is an entirely new land dedicated to discovering, recruiting and training the next generation of Superheroes at the Disneyland Resort inside Disney California Adventure Park. This new land brings together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the common good and allows guests to team up with the Avengers and their allies, sling webs with Spider-Man, taste-test inventive food and drinks and become part of a bigger universe. Kids and guests of all ages will find their powers as they unite with family and friends to take an active role alongside some of their favorite Superheroes, with a chance to live out their own heroic story.

In Avengers Campus, Spider-Man soars high above the rooftops with incredible acrobatic feats, a first for a Disney Park. Guests may also notice that their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is  wearing a Disney Parks exclusive WEB Slinger suit. Recruits will discover many more surprises, from day to night.

While guests have connected with the Super Heroes of Wakanda on screen, Avengers Campus gives visitors the chance to not only see the icons come to life, but also learn from them directly through interactive encounters. New recruits can train with Black Panther’s loyal bodyguards, the Dora Milaje, to learn wisdom from Wakanda and what it’s like to be a member of this elite royal guard. Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje, makes her global debut at Avengers Campus as she leads this training encounter. When trouble ensues, out of nowhere Earth’s Mightiest Heroes arrive to save the day. Guests may see Black Panther, along with other Heroes, spring into action as they head off the threat from their foes at Avengers Headquarters – located in the heart of this new land.

“On behalf of our Cast of Super Heroes, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome our guests to this epic new land,” said Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort. “Just as Avengers come together for the common good, the Disneyland Resort is ready to power up with Anaheim and Southern California to drive tourism, rebuild businesses and strengthen our communities.”

Guests discover their own powers in Avengers Campus.

WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure is a new, action-packed escapade that invites guests to put their web-slinging skills to the test, a feat accomplished with innovative technology adapted specifically for this attraction. The mission: team up with Spidey and help capture the out-of-control Spider-Bots before they wreak havoc on the Campus. This family- friendly attraction blends physical sets and virtual environments to take new recruits on an interactive adventure. There is no height requirement for this attraction, allowing aspiring young heroes to join the fun.

Looming high above the land is the towering citadel of Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, a fan-favorite that opened in Disney California Adventure in 2017. Guests are the protagonists of this rockin’ adventure as they help rescue a cosmic gang of misfits. Taneleer Tivan, a.k.a. the Collector, has brought his unique collection of fantastical fauna, relics and species from across the cosmos to Earth. To their misfortune, Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot were recently made a part of Tivan’s “collection” and are being held captive within his Fortress. It takes some raucous mayhem, music inspired by the soundtracks from the movies and thrilling free-fall drop sequences for this adventure to break out the Guardians.

When it is time to take a break from the heroics, new dining spots will offer sustenance.

Just as Ant-Man and The Wasp used “Pym Particles” to grow and shrink just about anything, Pym Test Kitchen featuring Impossible™ Foods applies this innovative science to the food creation. This unbound potential allows Pym Test Kitchen to showcase normal foods at unusual scales, including shareable bites, inventive-sized entrees and tiny treats. As guests watch the Pym food scientists at work in the kitchen lab, they will see a regular-sized pretzel transform after going through a quantum tunnel – it comes out big or small. Guests will also enjoy shawarma at the Shawarma Palace near the heart of the land; or indulge in a weird and wonderful menu of intergalactic eats at Terran Treats – a cart near Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!

Disneyland Resort theme parks reopening

Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure reopened to the public on April 30, 2021, with limited capacity. To visit a theme park, guests (ages 3 and older) must purchase a valid ticket and make a theme park reservation for the same day and same park they want to visit. Other important details are at Disneyland.com/update. Guests are encouraged to check the site for the latest updates as they become available.

The health and well-being of guests and cast members remain a top priority. Enhanced health and safety measures and operational changes will be in place at the theme parks based on guidance from health authorities and learnings from Disney parks around the world. Cast members throughout the resort will assist with questions, and guests may check Disneyland.com/update for current health and safety measures, including required face coverings for guests ages 2 and older.

Guests may learn more about Avengers Campus at Disneyland.com/AvengersCampus.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The Social Lites, Inc. celebrated its 54th Beautillion, “Footsteps Toward the Future” virtual program on Saturday, May 22, 2021, under the leadership of Mrs. Lisa Blacksher-Owens, President and Mrs. Tina Darling, Beautillion Chair.  

Congratulations to Sir Knight 2021 Mr. Chahn JhuMaani Chess who was awarded approximately $7,700.00 in scholarships and gifts.  Awards included a $3,000.00 academic scholarship and $3,000.00 for the fifth annual “Evan T. Carthen Emerging Leader” essay scholarship. 

Various community supporters, friends, and family members witnessed this virtual event moderated by Beautillion Alumni Knight, Mr. Russell Ward.   The late Mr. Jesses James Nichols former King of San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation was presented the Social Lites, Inc. Community Service Award for his contributions to the community and the Social Lites, Inc. Beautillion program. Inspiring messages delivered by various Beautillion Alumni and keynote speaker Sir Knight 2004, Mr. Raafi Bell.

The Social Lites, Inc. is underway in planning for the 55^th Beautillion season.  High school students interested in participating in the Beautillion program may contact knight.beautillion@gmail.com      

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom called Los Angeles community organizer Isaac Bryan on Saturday morning to congratulate him for winning the 54th Assembly District special election.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office reported that, as of Friday, May 21, Bryan was leading with 50.7% of counted ballots (21,388 votes) over his closest opponent, fellow Democrat Heather Hutt.

Hutt was trailing Bryan with 24.9% (10,489 votes).

Hutt served as the former state director for Kamala Harris when the current Vice President of the United States was California’s junior United States Senator.

Bryan’s projected victory – pending final certification by authorities – would push the California Legislative Black Caucus’s (CLBC) membership back up to 10.

The CLBC – the body of African American elected officials serving in the State Legislature – recently lost two members. In December, Gov. Newsom appointed former Assemblymember Shirley Weber, who represented the 79th District in the San Diego area, California’s 33rd Secretary of State. And last year after the general election, former state Sen. Holly J. Mitchell resigned to serve on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The race Bryan won was announced after Sen. Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) won a special election to represent the 30th District in the upper house of the California Legislature, replacing Mitchell.

“The Governor called this morning. We really did this,” the 29-year-old Bryan posted on his Twitter account, expressing gratitude to Newsom for reaching out to him.

“My name is Isaac Bryan, but my friends call me Mr. Assemblymember- elect,” Bryan tweeted before that in a separate post on May 21.

Bryan’s commanding lead puts him comfortably above the 50-plus percentage mark required to avoid a runoff with Hutt.

The special election was held May 18. By the end of the night, Bryan had locked in 49.62% of the votes. Hutt’s tally stood at a distant second with 24.61% of the vote. None of the other four candidates in the race — Cheryl Turner, Dallas Fowler, Bernard Senter and Samuel Robert Morales — won more than 10% of the vote.

“Can’t wait to have you up here on the green carpet @CABlackCaucus,” Kamlager tweeted, congratulating Bryan and welcoming him as a state lawmaker and new member of the CLBC. Kamlager is vice chair of the CLBC.

Before Bryan’s win, the CLBC welcomed another member, Dr. Akilah Weber (D-La Jolla), who won her mother Shirley Weber’s former Assembly seat in another special election in April.

Bryan is the founding director of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Black Policy Project (BPP). The BPP is a research initiative housed within the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

The project says its primary focus is producing community-centered research that helps ignite policy change, serving as the bridge between Black scholarship generated at UCLA and the ideas that inform policymaking.

Bryan’s supporters praise him for leading efforts to pass Measure J in Los Angeles County. The ballot initiative now mandates LA County to dedicate no less than 10 % of its general fund to spending on racial equity programs, including investments in youth development, supportive housing, alternatives to incarceration, job training, small business development, and more.

U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA-37), Mitchell, and Kamlager all endorsed Bryan.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Nearly three years after her successful run for a seat on California’s Board of Equalization (BOE), Malia Cohen now has her sights set on a higher office: State Controller. The election for State Controller will be held in November 2022.

Cohen is one of two women — and the only African American — serving on the BOE, the state agency responsible for representing taxpayer interests and making county-by-county tax assessments and adjustments across the state.

She announced her candidacy for State Controller during the California Democratic Party (CDP) 2021 convention, held online from April 29 to May 2.

“I am running because I am committed to equity, empowerment, hope and opportunity for all Californians,” Cohen told California Black Media.

During the Democratic Party convention, current State Controller and BOE member Betty Yee gave her blessing. She endorsed Cohen to occupy the seat she was first elected to in November 2014. Yee was re-elected for a second term in 2018.

Yee, who is termed out from running for State Controller in 2022, was elected vice chair of the CDP at its recent convention.

Taisha Brown, chair of the California Democratic Party Black Caucus, said she’s ready to support Cohen and see more African American women, the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic Party, in leadership roles.

“I’m happy to see more Black women moving in the direction to lead California as statewide officers. We have always been capable and have put in the work. I’m excited and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for Malia Cohen to be our next State Controller,” Brown said.

Cohen and Yee recently participated in a discussion the CDP’s Women’s Caucus, titled “Honoring Trailblazing Democratic Women on the Frontlines.” They discussed how they have both worked hard to find innovative solutions to longstanding problems, broken stereotypes and lead while facing various challenges in their respective careers.

If Californians vote Cohen the next State Controller, she will become chair of the Franchise Tax Board and serve on the boards of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) as well.

CalPERS and CalSTRS manage financial investments totaling more than $620 billion.

The controller’s office is the state’s independent fiscal watchdog, providing oversight and managing more than $100 billion in receipts and disbursements of public funds a year. The state department also offers fiscal guidance to local governments and uncovers fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. It is also charged with protecting the state’s coastline and helping to build hospitals.

As a member of the BOE, Cohen represents 23 counties and 9.5 million constituents in the Second District, an area that stretches along California’s coast from the top of the state down to Santa Barbara County.

Before that, Cohen represented the 10th District on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors from January 2011 to January 2019. Cohen, born in the Richmond District of the “Golden Gate City,” was also president of the Board of Supervisors, succeeding London Breed, who was elected the San Francisco’s mayor in 2018.

Cohen, 43, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Fisk University in Tennessee and a Master’s in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

For more than a decade now, Cohen has been an influential figure in California state politics, taking on a number of high-profile issues.

In 2017, she introduced legislation to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including, menthol cigarettes in San Francisco. The measure was approved. She celebrated last month when the Biden administration announced its intention to make that prohibition national.

“I knew if we had a victory, it could start something big. But I did not know just how far it would go,” Cohen said. “After our ordinance passed in San Francisco, 75 other cities in California passed similar bans.”

After she was re-elected to represent the 10th District in 2014, Cohen gained national attention when she defended San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy. The ordinance shields undocumented immigrants living in the city from deportation.

Bill O’Reilly, then a conservative commentator for FOX News, took issue with Cohen and her pro-immigrant stance. He said on his show, The O’Reilly Factor, that Cohen was a disgrace and should be apprehended.

“If I were the attorney general of the United States, I would place her immediately under arrest,” O’Reilly said at the time, “That woman is a disgrace.”

The former FOX News talking head made the comment while blaming the policy for the death of a 32-year-old woman who was killed by an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

Cohen expressed horror at the woman’s death and called the incident a tragedy, but she did not shy away from O’Reilly’s attack.

“We cannot allow one event to dictate 25 years of our city’s policies towards undocumented immigrants in our city,” Cohen responded. “And more importantly, we cannot allow hateful conservative news stations to drive how we respond to incidents in our city. I’m not afraid of Fox News and they don’t influence how I make my policy decisions here in San Francisco.”

By Jordan Moreau | Yahoo! News

Paul Mooney, the comedian, actor and writer for Richard Pryor, died on Wednesday morning, his representative Cassandra Williams confirmed to Variety. He was 79.

He died at his home in Oakland, CA after suffering a heart attack.

Mooney’s Twitter account also shared the news on Wednesday morning, posting “Thank you all from the bottom of all of our hearts…To all in love with this great man.”

Mooney served as the head writer on “The Richard Pryor Show” and co-wrote some of Pryor’s material on several of his comedy albums and his “Saturday Night Live” sketches. Mooney also wrote for “Sanford and Son,” “Good Times,” “In Living Color,” “Pryor’s Place,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Chappelle’s Show” and BET’s reality TV parody show “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

In addition to his stand-up comedy, Mooney appeared in movies like “The Buddy Holly Story,” where he played Sam Cooke; “Bustin’ Loose”; “Hollywood Shuffle”; Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”; and most recently “Meet the Blacks” in 2016.

On Dave Chappelle’s Comedy Central show, Mooney played the recurring character Negrodamus, a Black version of the philosopher Nostradamus who specialized in answering questions like “Why do white people love Wayne Brady so much?” (Answer: “Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X”).

Much of Mooney’s stand-up material focused on race. His sets at the 2005 BET Comedy Awards and the 2006 BET tribute to Black History Month skewered celebrities like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Lil’ Kim, Diana Ross, Flavor Flav, Terrell Owens and more.

In 2007, he published a memoir titled “Black Is the New White,” in which he discussed his relationship with Pryor and some of his most iconic and controversial comedy sets.