WSSN Stories

Model Kareisha Phillips (Photo Credit: Jack Houser Esau Abraham Marquez)

By Lue Dowdy

This month’s beauty, Kareisha Phillips is WHAT It Do! Kareisha Phillips was born in Pomona, California and currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga. She enjoys modeling, volunteering with children and reading. She works as a Nurse Assistant. Her measurements are: Bust 36B, waist 34 and hips 38. You can follow Kareisha on Instagram at Kareisha_p.

Calling all models all shapes, sizes and ethnicities! Want to be featured in the Westside Story Newspaper in my column ‘WHAT IT DO WITH LUE’ as the model of the month? Well here’s your chance. Lue Productions will be selecting one beauty once a month. For consideration please send full body shoot, contact number to LUE PRODUCTIONS on Facebook. If selected, you’ll be notified immediately along with a few questions. GOOD LUCK! Looking for my Beauty of the month for the following months of March, April, May, June and July.

SACRAMENTO, CA- The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) celebrated its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day breakfast “Black Voices: Reclaiming Our Influence” in Sacramento. The commemorative event featured veteran Democratic Political Strategist Donna Brazile as the Keynote Speaker, with additional remarks from CLBC Chair Chris Holden, Senate pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, and members of the CLBC.

“We must always remember the rich history that surrounds MLK Day and reflect on how much work still remains to fulfill Dr. King’s dream,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “In a National environment where divisive rallies and demonstrations are on the rise, it’s critical for African Americans to unite and stand against hatred bigotry.”

Donna Brazile, former Chair of the Democratic National Committee delivered a dynamic keynote addressing the importance of unity, activism, and voter engagement within the current political climate. During the program, California Legislative Black Caucus Members recognized civil rights pioneers in their districts as 2018’s “Unsung Heroes.” The honorees included journalists, academics, social workers, activists and community leaders.

“This year’s ‘Unsung Heroes’ are pillars in the Black community” said Assemblymember Chris Holden, Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. “They continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through their voices and actions.”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Well I got news for you, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Glory, Glory! “[Lyrics Kirk Franklin-Stomp]. I tell you, Jesus loves you so much that He sent a messenger to warn you, that you are heading down the wrong path. But naw, you find Sin so pleasurable that you want to be mad at the messenger. Well Boo, Boo, the message is and always will be a straightforward command to repent. A call for a radical, 180 degree turning from Sin. That is repentance. Instead of getting mad you ought to be like the people who heard Peter in [Acts 2] and ask what response was expected of them. Plainly, Peter told them…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin… [Acts 2:38]. So what’s your problem? No one is excluded from Jesus demand to repent. [Luke 13:3].

Listen, you can ignore the call of repentance if you want to, but God will not be mocked. The wages of Sin is death. Cleanse your hands, you sinner, and purify your heart, you double-minded. And know that if you continually refuse the salvation call of Christ, one day you will die and end up in Hell.  “Submit therefore to God. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Otherwise, be miserable and mourn and wept; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. The danger of knowing, but not obeying. Tragic!

A memorial service for trailblazing civil rights journalist Simeon Booker will be held on Monday, January 29, his wife, Carol McCabe Booker, has announced.  The service is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Washington National Cathedral located at Wisconsin Avenue NW in Washington. Booker, a journalistic icon, died December 10 at the age of 99.  

Booker’s more than half-century of civil rights reporting, most notably the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi, helped propel the civil rights struggle onto the front pages of newspapers across the country which had long ignored the oppression of Black Americans. Previously, he had been the first full-time black reporter at the Washington Post.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Simeon Booker Scholarship at Youngstown State University. All gifts designated for this minority scholarship are matched by the Youngstown State U Foundation, to which checks should be payable, at 655 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio 44502.

The biography of Simeon Booker is documented as follows at TheHistoryMakers.org:

Magazine and newspaper reporter Simeon Saunders Booker, Jr. was born on August 27, 1918, in Baltimore, Maryland to Roberta Waring and Simeon Saunders Booker, Sr., a YMCA director and minister. After his family moved to Youngstown, Ohio, Booker became interested in journalism through a family friend, Carl Murphy, the owner and operator of Baltimore’s The Afro American Newspapers. 

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 21: FILE, Award-winning African-American journalist Simeon Booker at an interview in Washington, DC on December 21, 1982.
(Photo by Fred Sweets/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

In 1942, after receiving his B.A. degree in English from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Booker took a job at the The Afro American Newspapers as a young reporter. In 1945, he moved back to Ohio to work for the Call and Post. Five years later, Booker was the recipient of the Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University to study journalism and develop his talent as a reporter. After leaving Harvard in 1951, Booker became the first full-time black reporter at The Washington Post.

In 1954, Booker was hired by the Johnson Publishing Company to report on current events in its weekly digest, Jet. In 1955, Booker helped to redefine the role of Jet and the entire Civil Rights Movement with his famous coverage of the Emmett Till murder and trial, turning an all too familiar event in the Deep South into a national tragedy that united the black community. Booker remained on the dangerous front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, reporting on the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

In 1961, Booker rode with the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) Freedom Riders through the Deep South. When the buses were fire bombed in Anniston, Alabama, Booker arranged the Freedom Riders’ evacuation with U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Continuing his work of in-depth reporting, Booker toured Vietnam and interviewed General Westmoreland for Jet in the mid-1960s. 

In 1964, Booker outlined the importance of the ongoing Civil Rights Movement in his book, Black Man’s America. Booker covered every Presidential election since the Eisenhower Administration in his fifty-three years with Johnson Publishing until he retired in 2007. 

Among his journalistic holdings, Booker has also authored four books. They include a 2013 memoir, Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter’s Account of the Civil Rights Movement, which was co-written with his wife, Carol McCabe Booker.

In 1982, Booker received one of the most prestigious awards in journalism, the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award. Booker was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Newspaper Publishers Association, The Black Press of America, in 2007. The National Association of Black Journalists’ inducted Booker into its Hall of Fame in 2013. He also received a career George Polk Award for lifetime achievements in journalism and the top award among journalists upon the 70th Anniversary of the Capital Press Club, proclaiming him “Dean of Black Journalists, Iconic Trailblazer for Justice in America.”

He is survived by his wife, Carol, and four children, Theodore Booker, Simeon Booker III, James Booker, and Theresa Booker.

Anthony Revis

By Lue Dowdy

Grooming young boys into POSITIVE MEN is WHAT IT DO! Screaming good luck to Ahmad Revis as he competes in the 51st Annual Beautillion Knights Scholarship Program held by Social Lites, Inc. Foundation. LUE Productions is honored to sponsor such an amazing young man.

Mr. Revis was born to Tanesha and Anthony Revis in Fontana, California and raised in the City of San Bernardino. Ahmad is currently attending Cajon High School. His hobbies consist of reading, drawing, playing video games and hanging out with friends. His goal is to make it big and give back to his community. When you see a GOOD fight don’t be afraid to jump in.

 Please support The Beautillions by purchasing a ticket or sponsorship on behalf of Ahmad by contacting Tanesha Revis at (909) 277.5843. The event kicks off on March 24, 2018 at National Orange Show in San Bernardino.

Until next week keep them L’s in da air.

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Although I should have vomit you out of My mouth, because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked [Revelation 3:16], and because of your sinfulness and disobedience, know that I have loved you with an Everlasting Love, and because of My Love for you, welcome to the New Year, 2018. But, hear me and hear me good; DO NOT continue to take My Grace for granted, for there will come a time when I will not hear you, and it will be too late! You better ask Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. [Hebrew 12:16-17]. Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds. [Zechariah 2:4]. Return to Me and I will return to you. [Malachi 3:7]. For it’s time to make up your mind, “Choose Whom you will serve this day…” Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away…” [James 4:14]. Repent NOW I tell you, for tomorrow may be too late!

You know in the [Book of Hosea], Hosea didn’t try to hang on to Gomer by overlooking her affairs, manipulating her with guilt, or making empty threats. He simply said to her, “If you want to stay, I want you to stay, but with the understanding that you take whatever steps are necessary to end these affairs. If you want to go, you may go, but things cannot continue as they are. I want you to know that I’m not giving up on you, but I am willing to give you up if that is what you want.”

Hosea, after the manner of God, was to show Gomer that a relationship was still possible, not on the terms of her character, but on the terms of his commitment, “According to the love of the Lord.” Hosea’s solution to Gomer’s shameful past was to give her a brand new, secure start in their marriage. He was telling her that the past didn’t matter. They were going to begin working on their future, and there was only one rule – she had to let Hosea love her exclusively. She had to depend upon him for ALL her love needs. He ALONE was to be the source of her security in their relationship. That is God’s desire for all His people.  

Don’t be like the foolish virgins who when Christ came like a thief in the night, they were not ready. This is a call to repentance. “Now therefore, says the LORD, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and He relents from doing harm.” [Joel 2:12-13].

I set before you today the choice of Life or Death: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statues, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.” [Deuteronomy 30: 11-18].

January is National Radon Action Month and the cold winter months are the best time to test for this odorless and colorless gas. CDPH is offering free test kits to households in California throughout the month of January, or until supplies run out. 

Radon, a naturally occurring gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, according to the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Testing for radon in your home is a simple process,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “Taking steps for remediation, if needed, can be critical for indoor air quality, and improving the safety of your home.”

The kits are provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s State Indoor Radon Grant fund, and are limited to one free test kit per household. The aggregated information from the test results will be used to update statewide Radon Potential Maps, which show the likelihood of radon in a specific region.

Test kits can be ordered through the CDPH Indoor Radon Program webpage or by calling the program toll-free at 1-800-745-7236. Options for remediation of radon in the home are available at the CDPH Indoor Radon Program.

Additional information about National Radon Action Month is available on the EPA National Radon Action Month website, or at www.cpdh.ca.gov.

By Lue Dowdy

Guns Down is What it do! For the entire month of February LUE Productions will be posting several Public Service Announcements against gun violence and Black-on-Black crime. This will be an online campaign to help bring awareness to the situation. Please get involved! We ask that you help support our efforts by simply sharing our message of peace.

We’re also looking to interview individuals that use to be about that life and have changed. Let your voice be heard on video. For more information, please text (909) 567-1000 if interested. Remember, reach one teach one and together we can.

Re-written by Naomi K. Bonman

Frances Grice, Civil Rights and Economic Development pioneer, passed away on December 31, 2017. She was 84 years old.

Grice came to San Bernardino, California from Detroit, Michigan in 1962. Shortly after arriving on the West Coast, she started working as a secretary for the Precinct Reporter under Publisher Art Townsend. There she became very instrumental in the development of Townsend’s sons, Brian and Michael.

“The most important thing that Frances did for me and later my brother Michael was to let me provide leadership at an early age,” Brian Townsend explains. “I was 20 years old and she let me run the summer youth program unimpeded. She had us sit in the meetings with the presidents of corporations and interface with them. She put us in those realms.”

Grice later founded the Operation Second Chance, a high-tech training and educational facility for disadvantaged youth, welfare recipients and workers displaced by plant closures, of which there were several in the early 1970s throughout the Inland Empire.

“She was just an awesome person,” he said. “She understood the importance of providing opportunities to minorities in our community.”

Operation Second Chance came about after Grice along with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) fought for seven years to wage for school desegregation in San Bernardino.

“She taught me that anything is possible. We should stick to it and keep fighting for what is good for our community,” Bobby Bivens, national board member of the NAACP, stated. “She taught me that I can really make a difference through civil rights advocacy and that I must reach back and train the young people. As a result, I have the best NAACP Youth Council in the region.”

During her life, Grice was a leading advocate for diversity where she promoted civil rights and equal opportunity in education, employment, housing economic and community development. She created and implemented community outreach programs for local, state and federal government agencies to meet the needs of targeted audiences.

“She never quit,” said San Bernardino City Unified School District Board Member Gwen Dowdy Rodgers. “Frances always pushed us to continue and reminded us what we were fighting for.”

Grice also developed and managed employee training programs to promote academic achievement and employability in local water districts. Other accomplishments that she did include, but are not limited to: becoming the President and CEO of ADF Networking Consultancy Inc., National Small Business Advocacy Award recipient; member of Martin Luther King Jr., statue maintenance, and several others.

Funeral service dates on forthcoming. 

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” [Ecclesiastes 12:13-14]. So get rid of all evil, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all slander. For the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance [2 Peter 3:9]. 

Just imagine…. dying lost, without repentance and facing eternal sentence to the pits of Hell, and all because the plan of salvation had been given to you and you rejected it. You crossed over that spiritual deadline and took “one more chance” for the last time and found yourself facing God’s eternal judgment. I tell you, repent now while it is still day! For a decision to live outside the fear of the Lord, that is, living as you please and for yourself, will bring not the blessings of God, but His judgment to bear in your life. And trust me; you don’t want that to happen.

Because according to [Deuteronomy 28: 12-68; Leviticus 26:14-46] there are Curses on Disobedience. “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statues which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Curse shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth and no one shall frighten them away…. Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever…..” [Deuteronomy 28: 12-68].

But on the other hand if you decide to obey the voice of the Lord there are Blessings on Obedience. “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you…The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens; to give you rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend too many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” [Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Leviticus 26:1-13; Deuteronomy 7:12-24].

Now, it’s all up to you…. Whatcha gonna do?

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live…” [Deuteronomy 30: 19].

May God mercies be anew to you in 2018!