Water is essential for life! Did you know that today in the year 2019, nearly 5,000 children are dying every day due to a lack of clean drinking water? This is hard to believe! A group of high school students have partnered with the Ariix Puritii brand, Rotary E-Club 5300 and The Rotary Club of Manila to create Project: Philippines to address this situation.
The objective of this partnership is to provide clean drinking water to the children living in the streets, under the bridge and at orphanages in the Philippines. These are the indigenous people of the Philippines; also known as the negrotas.
Right now, in many places in South East Asia there is a severe shortage of clean drinking water. The impact of the groups’ efforts will provide 5 villages and 300 individuals with 1 year’s worth of clean water. In order to accomplish this task the students have already raised $5,000 and need to raise $45,000 more in the next two weeks to reach our total of $50,000!
The $50,000 total includes purchasing 300 water bottles and filters for years worth of clean water and travel accommodations for the students that are traveling. Students were a team of 10 but had to scale back to 3 due to lack of funds. Raising funds would allow more student to travel.
One of our youth soldiers, Myles Keys relates how the students came up with the idea for this years’ project.
“We chose to do the water filter systems so that the Filipino kids would have a source of water readily available when they need it. Especially now, since the devastation from recent earthquakes and aftershocks, the demand for water that is clean and safe to drink is an important and immediate need. We can be there to help with this situation.”
The students are slated to be in the Philippines from June 10-20, 2019. While they are there they will prepare for participation in The Day of Mercy; servicing the children living under the bridge. Also, students will assist Mercyworldwide offering children cloths, food, vision, medical and dental services at La Huerta Elementary School and at The AETA Children’s home from June 16 – 20th.
Recent earthquakes in the Philippines have intensified the needs of the children at the orphanage. The infrastructure of the affected areas sustained major damage, with more than 30 structures being deemed unfit for use. The entire area has been declared a disaster area.
If you would like to support the students in this important mission, please CLICK HERE
If you feel compelled to become more deeply involved in this project, and are positioned to do so, there are several ways you can make a deeper contribution. We have many opportunities available to serve, the need is great, and the time is short.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— The Thorazine haze was beginning to fade when Glenn Towery was discharged from Oakland Naval Hospital. For the last however-many days he had felt listless, “like a non-human being,” making him forget why he was even there in the first place.
Before that, he occupied a hospital cot in the Philippines, next to an injured Marine who was asking about the weeping sores that covered his face and hands. “Where’d you get those Willie Peter burns?” he said — a question that burns into Towery’s memory.
He had been serving on the gunline in Vietnam as a quartermaster for the United States Navy — a ranking many on the ship did not take a liking to given it was 1972 and most other African Americans were low-rank deckhands. In fact, it was the first time Towery had been back on the ship since filing a complaint for the unjust discrimination and harassment he’d experienced.
He’d seen it all: racist graffiti drawn in sharpie all over his workstation; anger from other blacks who seemed less than impressed by his higher rank; an attack from behind that left him beaten, bruised, unconscious and alone.
“When you’re on a small ship, that becomes your world; and if your world is not a world where you feel welcome, it begins to play on you here,” Towery says, pointing to his head.
As a quartermaster, he had undergone months of intense training to navigate the ship and act as a watchman. But on the gunline, he was approached with new orders to “hump shells” and was given on-the-spot training. He spent the next few hours loading and firing as bullets whistled overhead, never thinking twice about the white powder on the shells he was loading.
“Someone tried to kill me,” says Towery, remembering his response to the injured Marine asking about the sores the white phosphorus powder had left on his skin, which begun “oozing out pus, and then crusting over.”
The realization angered him: “I kept replaying it in my head; innocently, not knowing what that powder was as I was working hard, sweating, still doing my duty.” He demanded, once again, to file charges, a request that the doctors ignored repeatedly, until he couldn’t take it anymore.
He pulled the IV out from his arm, slipped on a pair of foam slippers and took off across the field in nothing but his hospital smock. Behind him, military police rushed to stop him. But when they reached the commanding officer’s quarters, Towery “went berserk,” flipping tables, throwing chairs, and grabbing a letter opener, demanding his charges be filed.
By then, the police had drawn their service revolvers. Towery put down the letter opener, and they swarmed him, giving him a shot. He awoke in a daze, on a plane headed to the U.S., where he was transported to Oakland Naval Hospital and subjected to regular Thorazine shots.
It would be years before he could piece together his story through vivid, violent flashbacks and the information on his medical records. And it would be even longer still, until the Navy would recognize that the bouts of depression, hyperventilating and anxiety that left him debilitated, unable to hold down a job, was a “100 percent service-connected disability.”
After Vietnam, returning vets suffered from “Vietnam combat reaction,” but before that it was called “battle fatigue,” in World War II, or “shell shock,” in World War I. But by 1980, the infernal condition which Towery had been battling for years — at one point, driving him to homelessness — garnered a more permanent title: post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.
“I call it the feeling of dread. It’s the feeling something terrible is going to happen at any moment. And it swells up. And it grows. Can you imagine living like that for a month?” Towery says, describing his first-ever suicidal thoughts. “I just wanted it to stop.”
Every year, 6,000 veterans kill themselves — an estimated 20 deaths a day — making those who served 50 percent more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans, according to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. And PTSD heightens that risk.
“I understand what that feeling is that drives a lot of veterans to commit suicide, because I have been there,” says Towery, who created the Veterans Suicide Prevention Channel. “And I know that art is a great way to dispel that feeling. It’s a form of meditation. It’s a form of release.”
Today, Towery combats those feelings by painting clocks and portraits, playwriting, composing music and even creating and producing his own film, “Starfunk and the Astral Pioneers.” He’s also working to organize the first Austin Veterans Art Festival, which will feature performances by The University of Texas at Austin Warrior Chorus — a scholar-led workshop, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, that brings together veteran communities to study classical literature as it relates to contemporary America — in which he actively participates.
“Warrior Chorus helps you seek out what’s really important through studying the Greek literature, philosophy and characters,” Towery explains. “We are transfixed with these mythological tales that make us think that we are better persons if we experience these so-called glories. But what does it do? It just hardens you as a person.
“For instance, Ajax was a murdering fool,” Towery adds. “He just went out and started killing stuff, trying to figure out why he doesn’t feel anymore.”
Remembering how angry, how injured, how bitter, he was when he came back from war, Towery works every day to preserve the humanistic part of him that once felt so lost.
“My goal is to be whole before I die,” Towery says. “I know that may sound strange, but that’s my goal. I want to be the person who stepped up and said ‘I promise to defend my country, foreign and domestic. I will lay my life down for these United States.’”
Lawndale Mayor and City Councilmembers Join Growing List of Local Elected Officials Backing Herb Wesson
President Herb Wesson
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— LOS ANGELES, CA— Today, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson solidified his position as the grassroots candidate in the race for LA County Supervisor with endorsements from the entire Lawndale City Council, including Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles, Mayor Pro Tem James Osborne, City Councilmembers Dan Reid, Pat Kearney and Bernadette Suarez, and City Clerk Rhonda Hofmann Gorman. Wesson enjoys widespread support from local elected officials throughout the 2nd Supervisorial District, who represent the Cities of Inglewood, Lynwood, Gardena, Compton, Carson and Hawthorne.
In response to the news, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson released the following statement:
“I want to thank Lawndale Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles and the entire City Council for their unwavering support. I am proud to have the backing of such passionate, forward-thinking leaders. As Supervisor, I will continue to work closely with the Lawndale City Council to fight the Trump agenda at the local level, protect our communities and ensure that every family has a roof over their head and a safe place to call home.”
Herb J. Wesson, Jr. served the 2nd Supervisorial District as Chief of Staff to legendary LA County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke prior to his election to the State Assembly. Wesson then became only the 2nd African American in California history to serve as Speaker of the Assembly. Mr. Wesson was elected to the LA City Council in 2005 representing Council District 10 and has served as President of the City Council since November 2011.
Wesson is the first African American to hold the position of Council President in the city’s history and has been re-elected three times to lead the city’s legislative body. During his tenure as Council President, Wesson has presided over monumental policy initiatives making Los Angeles a better place to live, work and raise a family. Not only have local policy initiatives — which include raising the minimum wage, pension reform and consolidating city elections to increase voter turnout — positively affected local residents, but in many cases, the city’s actions have spurred state and national response and served as a model for similar policies.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— The
Bible says Christ will come like a thief in the night, when you least expect
him. It will happen in the twinkling of an eye, with the sound of a trumpet… Continuing
things as you have. What willful ignorance! You must be ready at all times. Listen,
Isaiah the prophet was sent to King Hezekiah with an alarming message. “Set
thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live.” I tell you, the same
warning is for us today, “Set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not
live.” Life is short; death is sure and God’s judgment is coming [Hebrews 9:2].
As Paul constantly cried, “Wake up! It is past midnight, and the Lord’s coming
has drawn near. Stir yourself and don’t be slothful. “Knowing the time, that
now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” [Romans
13:11-12]. Jesus announces, “Behold, I come quickly..” [Revelation 22:7].
Come
now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow… — yet you do not know what tomorrow will
bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and
then vanishes. Don’t dismiss the warnings.
“A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going
and suffer for it.” [Proverbs 22:3]. “Wake up and weep, you drunkards!” “For
the Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” [Joel 1:5, 2:1]. “…. Wake
up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have
not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God; and remember what you
have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will
come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”
[Revelation 3: 1-3].
I
tell you the signpost reads, “Stop! Look! Listen! Danger ahead!” The Spirit of
God, your conscience and your better judgment all join to warn, “Detour!
Change! You’re on the wrong road!” God is waving the red flag. His patience is
coming to an end. Do not take God’s patience for granted or think lightly of it.
Christ demands an immediate and unquestioning response. “Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6-7]
The demand of Jesus to repent goes to all the nations.
It comes to us, whoever we are and wherever we are, and lays claim on us. This
is the demand of Jesus to every soul: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God has come near, Repent and believe in the good news! [Mark 1:15]
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against
you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” [Deuteronomy 30:19]
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— The mural first went viral when 3-year-old “Lovie” Hope Duncan was photographed by her grandmother extending her own brown left hand to touch the brown painted hand of Harriet Tubman.
The mural of Tubman is 14 feet high and 24 feet wide, showing her in a reddish-colored braided headwrap, layered clothing, an outstretched right hand and a brave, encouraging look on her face. The mural is located on the side of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center in Cambridge.
Tubman was a 19th-century abolitionist that courageously helped around 300 slaves to freedom starting when she was in her late 20s.
The striking mural, painted by FSU graduate Michael Rosato, was revealed in the same week as the White House decided that Tubman’s image, which was much anticipated, would not replace Andrew Jackson’s on the $20 bill. Jackson was a slave master and all-around racist. Tubman won’t be on the $20 bill until at least 2028.
“A sweet mural of hero/activist #HarrietTubman. She was a slave & she helped free slaves. Today Trump canceled Obama’s plan to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill in 2020. He claims it’s delayed for 8 more years. What he can’t stop is us posting her photo everywhere in response!”
On top of the mural, an artist has made a rubber stamp that anyone can order to replace Jackson’s face on the $20 bill as an act of “civil disobedience”. And they’re beautiful.
The artist of the stamp is 33-year-old Dano Wall. It had already sold out by May 24 and Wall’s goal is to put 5,000 stamps into circulation. The Tubman Stamp’s website also provides instructions on how to make your own stamp. The website says the stamp is legal and mentions The Stampede, an effort to stamp bills with messages “to protest big money in politics.”
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— San Bernardino’s Westside Action Group (WAG) presented the Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House with a $1,000.00 check.
“This, our third annual donation to the Ronald McDonald House, comes from WAG’s Frank Stallsworth Benevolent Fund. This donation is part of our effort to support those elements that give back to our community… And the I. E. Ronald McDonald House certainly fits that category.” Said Joe Mays, WAG Treasurer!
Since opening on September 11, 1996, the Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House has served more than 18,000 families. The House supports up to 54 families each night. Room requests are sent from the social workers at the hospital. Requests are reviewed on a daily basis based on diagnosis and distance.
Each family is considered on a case by case basis based on room availability. A contribution of $12 per night is requested to stay at the Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House. However, no family has ever been turned away due to inability to pay. The House is able to support many families through the backing of local community partners.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— One of the keys to being successful is having a mentor. A mentor can offer guidance, wisdom, and provide you with insights on how to achieve personal, career, and spiritual goals. In 1998, during her tenure as chairperson of the Deaconess ministry at Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Kathy Barnes led a group of women to become mentors to the girls in their congregation and community. Their vision came to fruition in 2000 through the Ladies of Virtue Mentoring program. The mentors set out to be living examples, foster morals and values, increase self-esteem, and shape tomorrow’s Christian women.
The Ladies of Virtue is a one-to-one mentor program where the girls are paired with a carefully selected woman. Ten characteristics known as virtues are used as tools to enhance their inner spirit. They participate in bible studies, career exploration, group activities and outings to educate them on how to become successful women of God. Additionally, each girl is required to perform at least 50 hours of community service.
On Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 2:00pm the Ladies of Virtue will celebrate their 20th Anniversary as they host their Annual Presentation of the girls who completed the program this year. Former mentors and mentees have been invited as the guests of honor. The community is invited to attend this free celebration and presentation which will be held at the Center for Youth and Community Development, 1189 W. 9th Street, San Bernardino, CA 92411.
Under the leadership of this year’s chairperson, Lisa Blacksher, the following girls will be presented to the community having successfully completed the program.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— I tell you, there is not a moment to lose. We must
pray like we’ve never prayed before. We must study God’s Word like never
before. We must repent and turn away from our sins. We must seek Christ daily and walk with Him
daily. God spoke to me – warn my people the end times are near – to prepare for
a time of trouble. “And what I say to you, I say to all: Be on the alert!”
[Mark `13:37] Be on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have
strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand
before the Son of Man [Luke 21:36].
Yes, many
people throughout history have been proclaiming that we were living in the last
days and the end of the world was near, but I want you to know that never has
there been a time before when allthese events were evident in so many
diverse places and with such frequency and intensity. The Bible is very clear
on that. We just can’t set specific dates for Jesus return. But we can know
when the end is near. [Matthew 24:33]
You know
when Noah and Lot warned their respective people of God’s coming judgment and
destruction, the people would not listen. Instead they treated Noah and Lot as
“extremists.” Then the destruction that did
come found the people unprepared. As
in the days of Noah and Lot, the soon return of the Lord will be a snare unto
the people who do not heed the warning and give their lives to Christ. [Luke
17:26-30]. I tell you, this world is hearing and seeing the last warning message from God.[Joel 3:14]. PLEASE HEED GOD’S – FINAL WARNING AND CALL OF MERCY!
END TIME SIGNS – Increase of Knowledge [Daniel 12:4] – Ability to Enforce the Mark [Revelation
13:17] – Man of Sin Revealed [2
Thessalonians 2:3] – Violence and Sexual
Immorality [Matthew 24:37] – Rise in Spiritualism [1 Timothy 4:1] – Mass Animal Deaths [Hosea 4:3] – Natural Disasters [Luke 21:25-26]– Earthquakes [Matthew 24:7] – Unsealed Prophecy [Daniel 12:4] – False
Christ and Prophets [Matthew 24:4-5, 11] –World Pushing for Peace [1 Thessalonians 5:3] – War [Matthew 24:6-7] – Famine [Matthew 24:7] – Christians being Killed [Matthew
24:9-10] – Increase in Sin [Matthew
24:12] – Christians Turn Away from Truth
[2 Timothy 4:3-4] –Gospel Preached to the World [Matthew
24:14] God Destroy those who Destroy the
Earth [Revelation 11:18]
I hope that
you can see from the above Biblical signs of the end times that our generation
is truly living in the last days, nearing the second coming of Christ Jesus. We
are living in a time like no other. The world is being turned upside down and
we need to get ready! If you are not a Christian and you realize that we are
living in the end times and are wondering what you need to do, give your heart
to Jesus. He is about to return to bring judgment upon the whole world.
“So likewise ye,
when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled.” [Matthew 24:33-34]
“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has
not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Worse time of trouble ever seen on earth.” [Matthew 24:21]
“And I looked,
and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell
followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword [war], and with hunger [famine], and with death [war, earthquakes,
mudslides etc], and with the beasts of the earth [Revelation 6:8].
May God be with you and protect you in the final
hours.
By
Manny Otiko and Tanu Henry California Black Media
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— At least three local branches of the NAACP in southern California – Riverside County, San Bernardino County and San Diego County – have broken ranks with the state chapter and the national organization, distancing themselves from the organization’s support of a moratorium on charter schools in California and across the country.
The
three NAACP chapters are calling into question the official NAACP position on a
charter moratorium. The branches are located in counties that are home to some
of the largest populations of African Americans according to census data.
There
are over 30 NAACP branches in California according to the NAACP web site.
This
week, the San Bernardino chapter rushed to submit a pro-charter school
resolution to the Baltimore national office of the NAACP ahead of a May 1
deadline. Although organizational rules prevent a local branch from
building programs or campaigns around a resolution until it is approved by the
national office, John Futch, who was elected president of the San Bernardino
branch late last year, says he is ready to begin working on the issue.
“I support charter schools,” he said. “It is important for us to recognize the work they are doing to improve education for children in our communities. It is not looking good right now in terms of kids performing poorly and dropping out.”
In its
resolution, the San Bernardino branch of the NAACP did not directly state that
it had a difference of opinion with the California state chapter or national
body. Instead, the branch officers pointed out their own reasons for supporting
school choice in the state and pushing for “quality education for all
African-American children.”
“The academic performance of African-American students must be the sole determinant of school district decision making rather than the financial benefit that a school district derives from public school funding generated by African-American students,” the statement read.
The
resolution also pointed out that there is a “severe and persistent
African-American achievement gap throughout the state of California” in both
English language arts and Math. And that 8 out of 10 African-American students
in California attend district-run public schools that continue to underperform
on statewide tests.
In an
email obtained by CBM, Thursday evening, Alice Huffman, a member of the
national board and the President of NAACP California Hawaii Conference, sent an
email to the dissenting branch officers asking them to walk back their
statements.
“This is to advise you all regarding your charter school counter resolution,” her email read. “The state has already taken a position of opposition and would appreciate it if you all would rescind your positions.
The
difference of opinion on school choice within the ranks of the NAACP reflects a
growing divide among Californians on the issue as well.
Four charter
school bills – three in the Assembly and one in the Senate – are making their
way through the legislative process. The Senate Education Committee voted for
last week to pass the most recent charter school bill, SB 756, which calls for
a 5-year moratorium on certifying new charter schools in the state. Then, last
month, the Assembly education committee cleared three other charter school
bills – AB 1505, 1506 and 1507. Together, the package of bills would put a
cap on the growth of the independently-run public schools, take away their
appeal rights and empower local school boards, which are frequently
unsupportive of charter schools, to approve or deny their applications for
certification and renewal.
“The
local branches are out of step with the state and national organization,” a
spokesperson for the California Chapter of the NAACP told CBM.
The
California state chapter of the NAACP supported all four charter school bills,
arguing that charter schools promote segregation and undermine the historical
fight to desegregate public education in the United States.
“The California NAACP and other community-based activists
have called upon education reforms to refocus on inequities rather than
privatization and private control of education. They are seeking to move the
discourse concretely from choice to equity,” said Julian Vasquez-Heilig,
Education chair of the California NAACP.
Christina Laster is a charter school mom and grandma – and a
former district-run public school employee who now serves as Education Chair of
the South Riverside branch of the NAACP. She says she also opposes the NAACP
national organization’s decision to support a moratorium on charter schools.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there about charter
schools,” said Laster. It is important to look at how this issue is impacting
Black families based on the data. We need to move in a direction that supports
Black families and what is best for Black children.”
Laster says she is ready defend her oppositional stance to
the national body of her organization. She says many of the issues she
experienced with racism, feeling unsupported and unwelcome, still persist today
in public high schools in Riverside County, where her children go to school.
In
2016, the national board of the NAACP voted to ratify a national moratorium on
charter schools. All 12 members of California’s Black Legislative Caucus
(CLBC), at the time, wrote a letter to the NAACP asking them to reconsider that
decision.
“It
should be noted that California’s Charter Schools serve many African American,
Latino, Pacific Islanders and low income students,” the letter stated. The CLBC
letter also pointed out that African-American charter school students in
California have a higher rate of acceptance (19 percent) to the
University of California system than traditional public schools (11 percent).
In the
state legislature as well as in communities across the state, the school choice
debate seems to be shaping up as one of the biggest battles that will play out
in California over the next few months. On one side, there is the California
Teachers Association (CTA), one of the largest unions in the state and large
civil rights organizations like the NAACP officially supporting the proposed
restrictions of charter schools. On the other, there is a growing group of
charter school advocates, including parents, community groups, churches and
grassroots organizations like the National Action Network coming out in strong
and vocal support of California families’ option to choose where they want
their children to go to school.
Charter school operators and school choice advocates are
concerned the set of proposals in the legislature would, eventually, lead to
the complete elimination of charter schools in the state and undo all the
progress they have made since California signed its charter school law in
1992.
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— Shirley Ann Shirrells, daughter of the late Anne E. Shirrells, civic leader in San Bernardino, died peacefully after a long illness at her home in Pasadena, CA, on April 8th, 2019, at the age of 83 with her were her son and daughter.
Shirley moved to San Bernardino as a child with her mother and sister, the late Marguerette Howard. After marriage, Shirley moved from the city to live overseas for several years, eventually settling in central California for many years.
Shirley was retired from Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California where she was the director of the Job Placement and Career Center for 30 years. She had a successful career there and had been recognized by the community for her innovative leadership in service to over 20,000 community college students during her tenure.
She also delighted people singing jazz in many local venues in and around Santa Maria and performing in musical productions at the college.
After retirement, Shirley lived for a while in Palm Desert and then moved to Pasadena to live near her family.
Shirley is survived by her daughter, Cecile Anderson; her son, Maurece Chesse; her son-in-law, George Anderson; and her cherished granddaughter, Perry Anderson.
Shirley was a free spirit, a jazzy humanist and charming nurturer to those who she was drawn to support and cultivate.
Her remains will rest near her mother and sister at Green Acres Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington, California.
A reception is planned outdoors at the Anne Shirrells park in San Bernardino, CA, at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28.
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