What it do with Lue

The Legacy of a Pivotal Community Leader: Dr. E. Abdulmu’min Will Truly Be Missed

Edited By Naomi K. Bonman via CAIR-Greater Los Angeles

On Monday, May 18, 2020, the community lost one of its pivotal leaders, Dr. E. Abdulmu’min. He was also a was a pillar of the American Muslim community in the Inland Empire.

“My father Dr. Abdulmumin was something to everyone. He was a pillar to his community, always giving to others, a mentor and a father figure to many,” Rabyya Abdulmumin, daughter of the late Dr. Abdulmumin stated. “He always had a smile on his face, he laughed and made others laugh. He more than anything loved Ramadan. For as far my memory goes back my dad spent every Ramadan feeding others. He spent every Ramadan night at the front row praying taraweh prayer. May Allah reward him for his good deeds and give him the highest level of Jannah.”

Dr. Abdulmumin with his daughter Rabyya
Dr. Abdulmumin with his daughter Rabyya

In 2000, Dr. Abdulmumin established the DuBois Institute which specialized in nurturing and empowering youth and families, especially within the underserved African American community in Riverside’s Eastside community.

Dr. Abdulmumin was a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and professor with more than 35 years of university teaching experience and working with youth and adults in the community, educational, mental health and juvenile/criminal justice settings.

He was a compassionate, respected, and loved servant leader within the African American, Muslim, and larger communities.

Dr. Abdulmumin (right) and Keasuc Hill (left)
Dr. Abdulmumin (right) and Keasuc Hill (left)

“Imam/Dr. E.M. Abdulmumin is the man that found me Wayward and full of Rage and introduced me to Islam. When I wasn’t even allowed to attend school along with general population, he encouraged me to attend college where I would later earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Laverne in behavior science,” Keasuc Hill explained. “He saw in me a leader of people when I had forgotten that I was even a person. He flipped the prison industrial complex by doing the undoable; he transformed a population of juvenile delinquents into grown men. He was my Mentor.”

We are saddened by his loss. We pray Allah has mercy on him for he has returned to his Lord during the blessed month of Ramadan. We also pray that Allah makes these difficult times easy on his family and we offer our sincere condolences to them and to the many people who loved Dr. Abdulmumin.

Verily, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

Outraged Over Ahmaud & Breonna? Channel That Energy into a Vote

We must honor them with clear political action vs. the impatience of a microwave movement

As outrage, fear and angst bubble up in Georgia and, now, Kentucky over the grisly murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, one question fails to appear in the broader dialogue: How will these tragedies impact the 2020 elections?

We can’t do anything for “the culture” about either case if we’re not engaged in a targeted political strike on three Senate seats, helping Democrats retake the Senate and (just maybe), grabbing 24 electoral college votes that flip two Southern states from reliably red to blue in an end to the current White House madness.

To the novice political observer or those folks who detest politics altogether, the question seems irrelevant. To some, it may seem off-putting, if not disrespectful: “WTF you mean politics?”

But, it’s very relevant.

In fact, it absolutely determines the path and outcome of these cases, and where the rest of us end up in the meantime. Whether we accept it or not, the political dimensions are there, the very raw emotional elements in these conversations are already tipping off a general outcry for justice and retribution.  We can’t arrive at either with just hashtags, protest tears or fist pumps in the lockdown confines of our homes. Achieving both will be the result of pressures applied from an aligned mix of strategically calibrated protest, mass voter mobilization, and decisive election wins that lead to the dramatic policy (and personnel) changes needed for redress.

Assemblymember Reyes Statement on Governor’s May Revise

Sacramento – In just over eight weeks the state of California went from a $6 billion projected budget surplus to an over $50 billion budget deficit.  The Governor’s May revise reflects the harsh realities of the impact of Covid-19 on our state’s finances and the financial stability of each and every Californian. 

Over the past several budget years the California Legislature led the nation by building up the largest budget reserve of any state in the nation to mitigate a potential recession.  However, even with our prudent planning the scope and size of this Covid-19 caused deficit means that California still needs federal assistance to prevent devastating budget cuts that would have long term implications for education and our social safety net programs.

In the coming weeks the Assembly, along with the Senate will work to meet our Constitutional budget deadline of June 15th to fine tune the budget proposal so that we can minimize cuts and began the process of building a strong future.

Hip-hop legend Warren G treats SBVC football players struggling during pandemic to barbecue feast

By Brian Robin via The San Bernardino Sun

SAN BERNARDINO – DeJuan Moon came back for seconds, heaping his foam clamshell container with chicken thighs, beef ribs, macaroni and cheese and baked beans. It would disappear into Moon’s 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame as quick as it appeared.

And as soon as any of the items disappeared off the foil containers, more reappeared. Because no containers and no trays were allowed to stay empty for long. And no San Bernardino Valley College football players were allowed to leave hungry.

“Take more. We’ve got plenty,” boomed a familiar voice from behind a large barbecue trailer.

The voice, along with the barbecue trailer attached to a pickup, belonged to rapper Warren Griffin III — better known as Warren G — who spent his Saturday afternoon feeding SBVC football players the best meal most of them had since the coronavirus pandemic shut the world down.

For at least one day, one of the architects behind the hip-hop masterpiece “Regulate” was going to eliminate the hunger of college students – some of whom were marooned thousands of miles away from home.

Griffin heard about the situation from SBVC assistant coach Merle Cole Jr., the former Long Beach Poly mainstay and mentor to the likes of former Jackrabbits football standouts Leonard Russell, Hershel Dennis, Chris Lewis, DeSean Jackson and Darrell Rideaux, among hundreds of others. Griffin and Cole go back more than 30 years and talk every week.

Rapper Warren Griffin III, who goes by the name “Warren G,” barbecued 50 pounds of chicken for members of the San Bernardino Valley College football team Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Brian Robin)

When Cole told Griffin that coaches were buying their players groceries -– when they weren’t standing in food-bank lines -– Cole said the next words out of Griffin’s mouth were, “Hell, no. I’ve got to do something for these guys. Can you make it happen?”

Cole, along with SBVC head coach Daniel Algattis, made it happen. Algattis said Cole called him and texted him at 6:02 a.m. on a recent morning to explain his plan. Algattis said after calling SBVC athletic director Dave Rubio and explaining how this could happen “in a responsible way,” Rubio signed on. Within an hour, Algattis had the approval of SBVC president Diana Rodriguez.

“We have a food bank on campus that does a great job helping out our students in general, and thank goodness we have that,” Algattis said. “Warren said he has this barbecue rig and some food and let’s get some things together and help some families in the area. Let’s start with your team and your boys.”

Along with the barbecue trailer, Griffin came with 50 pounds of chicken, 40 pounds of beef flank and short ribs and mountains of beans and mac-and-cheese. He also came armed with a foodie’s nature instilled by his father, a former Navy cook who spent his off time creating dishes.

Enough of the spices rubbed off on Griffin, because he created his own barbecue business, Sniffin’ Griffin’s BBQ, that keeps him occupied when he’s not touring or in the studio. Cole said Griffin was so eager to help that he volunteered to drive his barbecue rig to individual homes.

“These kids are out here from out of state and they can’t get home because of the current situation with this pandemic. They can’t get to their families and eat good meals,” said Griffin, who lives in Lake Elsinore. “Coach Cole hit me up and we were talking about how the kids have to go to food banks and the like. I said ‘Let me come over here and feed them. I want to cook for them and feed them, fill their tummies up and let them know they have support here.’

“This is very important to me. I’ve been in positions where I couldn’t eat like I wanted to or do things like I wanted to because I didn’t have help. Just to be able to help people going through that same situation is very important to me. Just to show them you have support and it’s out of love.”

Freshman defensive back Tre Williams, who is from Apopka, Fla., felt the love with every bite.

“I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in so long,” he said. “I’ve been eating out, McDonald’s, Burger King, using my food-stamp card. This is a really nice meal.

Rapper and barbecue pitmaster Warren G talks life lessons with members of the San Bernardino Valley College football team Saturday. He fed them more than 50 pounds of chicken, 40 pounds of ribs, along with baked beans and macaroni & cheese. (Photo by Brian Robin)

Remembering ‘The Clean Up Woman’: The Legacy of Betty Wright

Via The Guardian

The singer and songwriter Betty Wright, who has died of cancer aged 66, occupied a significant position in African-American music across six decades, beginning with powerhouse gospel in the 1950s and settling on an R&B, soul and funk groove from the 60s onwards that eventually led to work with superstar rappers of the 2000s.

Wright’s career began as a young child in a gospel group in Florida, and her signature song, Clean Up Woman (1971), was recorded when she was only 17, epitomising what became known as “the Miami sound” – Floridian soul music shaped by the many facets of her home city’s cultural melange.

After years of solid achievement in the US as a singer and songwriter, in the mid-80s she set up her own record label and, although she continued to record her own material, began to make a new name for herself as a producer and songwriter, collaborating with the likes of Gloria Estefan and Joss Stone. Later still her material was much sampled – including by Beyoncé – and she was able to undertake projects with rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne.

She was born in Miami, to Rosa (nee Braddy-Wright) and McArthur Norris. The infant Bessie – as Betty was christened – was co-opted into the family gospel group, the Echoes of Joy, at the age of two. The Echoes worked the Southern US gospel circuit and Bessie proved to be a vocal prodigy – so much so that by the time the group split in 1965, she was confident enough to start singing on her own, in a new R&B vein, and with a new name – Betty Wright.

Willie Clarke and Clarence Reid, two Miami-based musicians, were so impressed by the young girl that they signed her to Deep City, the only African-American record label in Florida. Wright’s debut 45, Paralysed, was released in 1965, and it sold well locally. However, Deep City lacked the resources to promote records properly, and so Reid and Clarke eventually passed Wright on to Henry Stone, a distributor with experience and contacts who was launching Alston Records in Miami.

Aged 14, Wright recorded her debut album for Alston, My First Time Around (1968), which not only revealed her to be a formidable soul singer but generated a single, Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do, that reached the Top 40s of the US and Canadian pop charts.

Although subsequent singles failed to make much of an impression, Wright continued to sing in the Miami clubs on the weekends, building up valuable contacts in the music business. Then chart success returned in 1971 with Clean Up Woman, written by Clarke and Reid, which got to No 6 in the US. Based around a distinctive guitar lick played by Willie Hale, Clean Up Woman’s breezy, danceable funk ensured that Wright would be one of the few school pupils ever to have turned 18 with a million-selling hit record behind her.

The song also helped to launch the Miami sound, whose origins Wright associated firmly with the city’s vibrant and fluctuating cultural scene. “You’ve got a little Cuba, a little Jamaica, and a little Haiti; you’ve got a large Jewish culture and you’ve got calypso,” she told Billboard magazine. “Then you’ve got people who were born here or came from South Carolina, where they’ve got a heavy African culture too. It’s a very rhythmic roots music. Even the white acts that come out of Miami tend to be very soulful. We’ve got that serious, serious conga rhythm.”

Wright continued to produce popular songs across the 1970s – Baby Sitter, Let Me Be Your Lovemaker, Secretary, Where is the Love?, Tonight is the Night – although none quite matched the success of Clean Up Woman and generally made more of an impact on the US R&B charts than in the pop sphere. A prolific songwriter, she won a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1976 for Where is the Love?, a song she had co-written.

Signing to Epic Records in 1981, Wright quickly grew disillusioned with the restrictions of being with a major company, and so launched her own Ms B record label in 1985. With her 1987 album Mother Wit she became the first African American woman to achieve a gold album on her own label.

From that point onwards, however, Wright began to achieve greater success by working with other artists. Estefan’s US No 1 single Coming Out of the Dark (1991) featured Wright’s vocal arrangements, and Wright co-produced and co-wrote every track on Stone’s 2004 album Mind, Body & Soul, which reached No 1 in the UK.

In 2006 she appeared as a mentor on the US reality TV talent show Making the Band, and in 2008 produced two songs on Tom Jones’s album 24 Hours. Her 2011 album, Betty Wright: The Movie, featured Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne, and was praised by reviewers as her best effort in 30 years.

Wright continued to tour almost up to her death – she sold out the Barbican Centre in London in July 2019 – and earned considerable amounts from her back catalogue. Clean Up Woman has often been sampled, while Beyoncé used a section of Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do for her 2006 single Upgrade U.

In 1985 Wright married Noel “King Sporty” Williams, a Jamaican musician who had co-written the song Buffalo Soldier with Bob Marley. Noel died in 2015; Wright is survived by three daughters and a son. Another son, Patrick Parker, was murdered in 2005.

Betty Wright (Bessie Regina Norris), singer and songwriter, born 21 December 1953; died 10 May 2020

Pastors Breakfast 2020 canceled – New Date May 8, 2021

While it was a difficult decision, Decently & In Order Ministry will not be able to host a 2020 Pastor’s Breakfast after receiving updates from the National Orange Show Events Center due to concerns with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While we know this is disappointing, we hope you can understand the steps we’re taking to help keep our friends in ministry and attendees safe.

The new date for the 20th Annual Pastors Breakfast has been scheduled for May 8, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.at the National Orange Show Event Center.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. The health and well-being of our friends in the ministry are of immense importance to us and our top priority is to protect your health and the public’s well-being. Thank you for understanding during these difficult and unprecedented times.

In His Righteousness,

Cyndie Smith-Barnes for 
Evangelist Jerry Musgrove

Decently & In Order Ministry

P.O. Box 672

Highland, CA 92346

Outbreak of Covid-19 at CIW After Prison Officials Ignored Calls for Prevention

CHINO, CA––On May 13th, CDCR released a statement identifying a new outbreak of Covid-19 at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California. Less than five miles away, at the California Institution for Men (CIM), the disease has swept through the population, with 398 confirmed cases and at least five deaths. 

While CDCR has yet to release the number of new cases in the women’s prison, advocates at the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) have heard from incarcerated individuals that more than 50 individuals have been made aware of their positive statuses, as hundreds more wait to hear their results. One incarcerated individual who tested positive stated: “Almost my entire unit just tested positive. Some of them are canteen workers, kitchen workers, and workers who have been sewing masks. People who interact with everybody. We are terrified. This entire prison needs to be tested.”

Since mid-March, advocates have been demanding action to prevent an outbreak at CIW. In letters to prison and state officials, CCWP exposed dangerous conditions at CIW, including a lack of access to protective and preventive supplies and a blatant disregard by prison staff of CDCR’s own policies. Further, the state refused to listen to advocates and public health experts who warned that the only way to prevent outbreaks in prison is to reduce population density by expediting releases, especially for those at highest risk of the deadly effects of Covid-19. 

While CDCR claims it instructed prisons to “conduct additional deep-cleaning efforts in high-traffic, high-volume areas” and to institute social distancing practices “wherever possible,”  incarcerated people indicate that CIW staff failed to implement such policies and that social distancing is impossible in prison. In California’s overcrowded prisons, all spaces are high-traffic areas, but people report that not even the showers at CIW are being regularly cleaned or disinfected. Similarly, while guards were instructed to wear masks and social distance, CCWP continues to receive reports of guards refusing to adhere to these policies.

The devastating, needless deaths at CIM present a dire warning for prison administration and the State of California. The state must expedite release for vulnerable populations. At the same time, elected officials must ensure that CDCR goes beyond advertising preventative measures and actually implements meaningful, life-saving policies, including widespread testing. 

Los Angeles County Beaches Reopen For Active Recreation Visitors Must Follow New Restrictions

.A. County Lifeguard PSA on Beach Regulations and B-Roll Available For Download 

Los Angeles – Los Angeles County announced the re-opening of its beaches as of May 13 for individual sports, exercise and similar physical activity. Permitted activities include walking, running, swimming and surfing. Face coverings are required at all times on the beach unless in the water and around other people, and the county urges everyone to keep at least six feet of physical distancing from other visitors. Once finished with an activity, all beachgoers are asked to head home. 

For now, parking lots, piers, boardwalks and biking paths will remain closed. Sunbathing, group sports, large gatherings, beach chairs, coolers and umbrellas are not allowed to help ensure proper physical distancing. If anyone headed to the beach feels sick or lives with someone who is sick, they are being asked to stay home.  

Download LA County Lifeguard Pono Barnes Beach Reopening PSA in ENGLISH (Credit LA County): https://vimeo.com/417827870  

Download LA County Lifeguard Marco Rodriguez Beach Reopening PSA in SPANISH (Credit LA County: https://vimeo.com/417828268 

Download LA County Beach B-Roll (Credit LA County): HERE

Find beach rules here: beaches.lacounty.gov/la-county-beach-rules/

City assistance available as County begins Phase 2 reopening

REDLANDS, CA—-

PDATE: On Tuesday, May 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom updated the state’s guidelines, adding new categories of businesses that can begin reopening.

Businesses added to participate in Phase 2 reopening include:

  • car washes
  • pet grooming
  • landscape gardening
  • office-based business (telework remains strongly encouraged)
  • childcare for those outside of the essential workforce
  • outdoor museums, and open gallery spaces and other public spaces with modifications

On Friday, May 8, the governor had allowed curbside retail, and the manufacturing and logistics sectors to open throughout the state.

The City of Redlands has provided a webpage with guidance for businesses opening and operating under the Phase 2 categories. The page can be viewed at https://www.cityofredlands.org/business-opening-and-operating-guidance.

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May 8, 2020 – The City of Redlands is working to assist local businesses as the County of San Bernardino begins implementing Phase 2 reopening of business under the State guidelines announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors late Thursday, May 7, announced some businesses can start to re-open Friday.

The City of Redlands Economic Development Office is available to assist local businesses in navigating State and County requirements and ensuring that they meet public health guidelines for Phase 2 and, later, Phase 3, reopening. The City provides a listing of COVID-19 resources for small businesses on the City’s website at www.cityofredlands.org/pod/covid-19-financial-technical-assistance-business-resources. Additional employment resources for businesses and workers are available at www.cityofredlands.org/post/employment-resources-job-shop.

Businesses may contact City of Redlands Economic Development Manager Cruz Esparza at (909) 335-4755, ext. 1, or by email at cesparza@cityofredlands.org.

“During this crisis, City staff and elected officials have been working with State and County representatives to get to a point of reopening our local businesses in as safe a manner possible,” said Redlands Mayor Paul Foster. “As we move into Phase 2, our City staff are prepared to provide assistance to those businesses who are reopening as well as businesses still under lockdown orders.”

Phase 1 has been essential businesses, which were never required to be closed. Under the initial portion of Phase 2, “lower risk” workplaces, including but not limited to bookstores, jewelry stores, clothing and shoe stores, home and furnishing stores, sporting goods stores, antique stores, music stores, and florists can begin reopening while implementing public health guidelines. Reopening efforts should be phased in, starting first with curbside pickup until further notice.

Supply chains supporting the Phase 2 businesses can also open under this early stage, specifically in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. All businesses will need to modify operations to reduce contact, ensure proper distancing, and ensure proper PPE and sanitation equipment for all employees, preferably with outdoor breakrooms and physically distant seating. When businesses eventually open their doors to patrons, a workplace should restrict entry to 25 percent capacity and slowly advance from there as health indicators are evaluated.

“This is a key step in reopening our economy responsibly and safely,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “By beginning with mostly curbside operations for early Phase 2 businesses, we are giving business owners an opportunity to begin the process of ramping up their operations and ramping up our economy while ensuring the safety of their employees and patrons.”

In the second stage of Phase 2, workplaces in additional sectors will open. Timing for this will be evaluated and announced as early as next week, and could include:

  • Destination retail, including shopping malls and swap meets
  • Offices, with physical distancing (although telework is still being encouraged)
  • Seated dining at restaurants, but with physical distancing
  • Personal services (not requiring close proximity with patrons), such as car washes and pet grooming.
  • Schools and childcare facilities
  • Outdoor museums and open gallery spaces

Under State and County guidelines, the ability to continue opening workplaces in Phase 2, and eventually higher risk Phase 3 businesses, will rely on several criteria. First, businesses must demonstrate their adherence to safety and social distancing guidelines. Second, county residents should also continue to practice accepted safety guidelines, such as the use of face coverings, six-foot distancing, and frequent hand washing.

Third, and most importantly, is the county must continue to demonstrate a flattening curve. Combined COVID positive and suspected cases must continue to go down (COVID positive cases in San Bernardino County has been relatively flat for the past month). Hospitalizations and ICU utilization have been well below projections. The use of ventilators has remained stable, and County hospitals still have significant capacity to accommodate a surge.

High-risk individuals, and anyone who is sick, should continue to follow strict safe-at-home guidelines until further notice.

Additional information and updates are available on the County’s COVID-19 web page at http://sbcovid19.com/ or at the City of Redlands COVID-19 page at https://www.cityofredlands.org/coronavirus-covid-19.

City of Redlands press releases and other information are available on the City’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityofredlands or on the City’s website at www.cityofredlands.org/.