Local

By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

After a teacher at a Moreno Valley elementary school allegedly referred to a student as a slave, a local group of black men decided to hold an impromptu “men’s mob,” on Monday, May 24, to show support for students and emphasize the importance of education.

Moreno Valley is located about an hour and a half east of Los Angeles in a region called the Inland Empire. The city is about 20 percent white, 30 percent Latino and 20 percent black.

The Men’s Mob gathered at Edgemont Elementary School and formed a welcoming line to encourage and support students. A women’s group held a similar event on Tuesday morning.

“The goal was to show the administration that we, as black men, support education,” said Jerry Green, a community advocate and member of the group.

The group was also joined by Moreno Valley School Superintendent Dr. Martinrex Kedziora and Moreno Valley School Board President Cleveland Johnson. Kedziora said he was appreciative of Green and his group. 

Kedziora said he attended the event to show students that adults care about them. He added that children absorb a lot of the negativity they see in the media, and it’s important for them to know that adults value their welfare.

“It (the men’s mob event) sends a valuable message to our community,” said Kedziora. “I wish it happened more often.”

According to Green, the teacher in question has been put on administrative leave while the issue is being investigated. The situation will also be addressed at a school board meeting on Wednesday.

“The district handled it correctly,” said Green.

A school district representative said he couldn’t comment on the situation while it was being investigated.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA– Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (CAPSBC) is celebrating National Community Action Month, dedicated to recognizing the success of the National Community Action Network that fights poverty across the United States. This month, CAPSBC will be conducting healthy food cooking workshops at partnering soup kitchens to educate their staff on the importance of healthy food preparation.  The project, funded through a grant from Kaiser Permanente, is focused on educating our communities on how to prepare and consume healthful food.  The cooking demonstrations will be done by Graduate students of the Loma Linda University School of Public Health.  Nutrition education resources and healthy food preparation tips will be shared with the staff.

“Community Action Month is a wonderful time to honor and celebrate the impact Community Action has in the lives of families and communities across the country.  Agencies are successful every day in helping families achieve economic security. Given that the needs of each family and community are unique, Community Action can use a range of resources and programs to meet local needs in creative and impactful ways.  This month we are pleased to showcase the fantastic work of our Food Bank in helping our partner soup kitchens who serve food insecure families and individuals who need nutritional assistance,” stated Patricia L. Nickols-Butler, Chief Executive Officer of CAPSBC.

COLTON, CA- Smart & Final Stores, Inc. opened their doors on last week on Wednesday, May 10 in Colton. The new store is located at 1023 N. Mt. Vernon.

The day before the public opening, representatives from Smart & Final and leaders from the Colton civic, business and non-profit communities participated in a ceremonial ribbon cutting during an in-store preview event for business customers. Representatives from the Smart & Final Charitable Foundation also presented checks, each in the amount of $2,500, to the Ken Hubbs Memorial Little League and Seeds of Hope. The donations are part of Smart & Final’s corporate commitment to supporting organizations and causes in the communities where it operates stores.

“We’re excited to bring Smart & Final’s high-quality products at warehouse prices to the Colton community,” said James Christie, Store Manager at the new Colton store. “I’ve had the opportunity to work in a few Smart & Final stores before joining to open Colton, and to see our new Colton store built from the ground up has been incredible. We look forward to welcoming our new friends and neighbors of Colton to visit us. Whether they’re shopping for their family, an event or a business, they’ll discover we offer club-sized products, the quality of a grocery store, and prices that are 25% lower than supermarket.”

The Smart & Final Extra! store in Colton is approximately 27,000 square feet and offers products in both household and club sizes at warehouse prices – without the membership fee. Compared to traditional Smart & Final stores, the new Extra! format Colton store provides an additional 6,000 club size items; high-quality perishables; and expanded frozen, deli and meat sections. Additionally, the Colton store will feature unique products such as cut fruit, floral arrangements, oven-roasted chicken and self-serve dry bulk goods by the pound.

RIVERSIDE, CA- Starting this month, the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside and UCR Health, the clinical arm of the medical school, have been providing people with more access to medical services through a new office space in downtown Riverside. Located at Citrus Tower, 3390 University Ave., Riverside, the new space had its grand opening ceremony on Wednesday, May 10.

“This really is a milestone for the UCR School of Medicine,” said Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H, the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean and Chief Executive Officer for Clinical Affairs. “The new clinic puts a platform in place where we are not just training physicians but also treating patients in the area.”

The new office space at Citrus Tower contains a suite for UCR Health psychiatry and a second suite for UCR Health multispecialty services, which includes neurology, primary care, reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery, and more. There are also plans to add women’s health and pain management in the near future.

The new clinic anticipates 33,000 patient visits each year. Doors opened to patients on Monday, May 1.

For more information, as well as a slideshow, please visit: https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/47024.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Wednesday, May 24, the community is welcomed to come out to a parent meeting for ‘Rites of Passage’ hosted by United Nations of Consciousness. The meeting will take place at Anne Shirrells Park Community Center located at 1367 N California St, San Bernardino, CA 92411.

Rites of Passage is a rigorous program centered in traditional African values and history. Designed to strengthen, guide, and mentor young males between 10 to 14 years old and to assist them in developing character, career, and life skills. 

For more information or register, please visit uncyouth.org. To stay connected, text UNCYOUTH to 31996.

VICTORVILLE, CA- This Saturday, May 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. the National Council of Negro Women will be unveiling the ‘Dorothy Height Forever Stamp’. The ceremony will be taking place at the Hawthorne Suites located at 11750 Dunia Road in Victorville.

Dorothy Height was a civil rights and women’s rights activist focused primarily on improving the circumstances of and opportunities for African American women.

One of Height’s major accomplishments at the YMCA was directing the integration of all its centers in 1946. She also established its Center for Racial Justice in 1965, which she ran until 1977. In 1957, Height became the president of the National Council of Negro Women.

Through the center and the council, she became one of the leading figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Height worked with Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis, and James Farmer, also known as the “Big Six” of the Civil Rights Movement, on different campaigns and initiatives.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- San Bernardino Public Library will host a free performance by Kinderwise at the Rowe Branch Library at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 22. This is the first day of our Summer Reading Program and is the first program in our busy summer of activities.

Kinderwise is an interactive high-energy musical stage production that presents the topics of love, friendship, imagination, and getting along with others, seen through the eyes of Sparkelina (a magical doll), Busybee (a giant bee), and Sophie (a pink elephant).  Join the world of Kinderwise as the dynamic trio suddenly find themselves in the human world. Throughout their magical journey of singing, dancing, comedic skits, outrageous props and interactivity through the help of audience SUPERHEROES, they soon learn how to get along in this wonderful new world.

Kinderwise is the brainchild of a husband and wife team based in Los Angeles.  They noticed that much of what they taught their child could be described as the How-To’s of Life!  They wanted to present a comprehensive list of topics in a way that children would find entertaining enough to read over and over. The first three books of their bilingual emotional intelligence series are intended to help children with the development of empathy, self-awareness, and illustrate simple ways of getting along with others.  These books will be available for purchase at the show.

This free family performance is sponsored by the Friends of the San Bernardino Public Library. For more information call the library at 909-883-3411 or visit www.sbpl.org or  https://www.facebook.com/SBPLfriends/

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- San Bernardino Pastors United (SBPU) is Taking Back our Streets on June 10 at the next enormous community block party.  They are taking a stance against the increasing gang active and other senseless violent crimes in our City.  The Churches of San Bernardino stand together as a united front to REVIVE the communities within San Bernardino and the surrounding areas. “We cannot let poverty, crime or violence define us.  SBPU believes in greater works as stated in John 14:12, as it is our goal to serve 10,000 families.  SBPU is encouraging everyone to come out and join us at San Bernardino High School.”

SBPU is planning to bless the community as they plan on giving away free food, free groceries, free shoes, free backpacks for kids, free clothes and free health checks.  There will also be other organizations helping to bless the community. 

They encourage people to contact SBPU either by phone, email or at their website www.sbpastorsunited.org and pre-register for the free giveaways.  They are asking the community to join them as they bring “Healing, Change, and Progress” to the City of San Bernardino.

For more information call 909-353-7977 or email sbpastorsunited@gmail.com.

Estelle for Humanity is now accepting registration for the “2017 Honor Thy Father Awards.” You and your family have the opportunity to honor your father, husband, brother, uncle or male mentor on Father’s Day which is Sunday, June 18.

Early registration is required to ensure full participation. For more information, please call (310) 927-8339 or email estelleforhumanity@gmail.com.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA-   New Hope Missionary Baptist Churches Health Care Ministry will be having their 3rd annual Health Fair on Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the church located at 1575 W 17th St, San Bernardino, CA 92411.

There will be a Children’s Corner with games, crafts, food, and dancing. The Arrowhead Medical Center will also have their Breath Mobile to test children for breathing problems, such as asthma and allergy testing for children 5 years and older. Other activities include: dental screenings and blood pressure testing some physical exams and referrals.  

Studio W radio station will be present and covering the event for national coverage along with other vendors, which include but are not limited to: Dr. Milner, Audiologist, who will be conducting a hearing test, Black Nurses, Inland Empire Black Chambers of Commerce, M.A.D.D, Hospice and Home Health Agencies and more.

There will also be a Zuma instructor on-site, dance performances by Heart and Soul Line Dance group, and the New Hope MBC teenagers who will be opening up the event with a special performance.

For more information, please call Dollphernea Gadah New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Health Care Ministry Chairperson at: (951) 834-4053 or church (909) 887-2526.