WSSN Stories

By Eric Tucker, Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange, as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout but failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years.

The deal, the second in eight months amid tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, secured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad and achieved a top policy goal for President Joe Biden. But it carried what U.S. officials described as a heavy price.

“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” Biden said from the White House, where he was accompanied by Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and administration officials.

Biden’s authorization to release Bout, the Russian felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” underscored the heightened urgency that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case on drug charges and subsequent transfer to a penal colony. Griner, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at an airport there last February for bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil in vape cartridges into the country.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Baylor University All-American and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star, whose arrest in February made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad. Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, injected racial, gender and social dynamics into her legal saga and brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu-Dhabi and that Bout had been flown home.

Biden spoke with Griner who was at an airport in Abu-Dhabi after she was greeted by U.S. officials. She was expected to be back in the U.S. within 24 hours, Biden said. U.S. officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling but declined to go into specifics citing privacy concerns.

Both Russian and U.S. officials had conveyed cautious optimism in recent weeks after months of strained negotiations, with Biden saying in November that he was hopeful that Russia would engage in a deal now that the midterm elections were completed. A top Russian official said last week that a deal was possible before year’s end.

Even so, the fact that the deal was a one-for-one swap was a surprise given that U.S. officials had for months expressed their their determination to bring home both Griner and Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government has said are baseless.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Biden said. “We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”

U.S. officials said they did not see an immediate path to bringing about Whelan’s release, saying Russia has treated his case differently because of the “sham espionage” charges against him. Still, they said they believe communications channels with the Russians remain open for negotiations for his freedom to continue — though it was not yet clear what cost would need to be paid to secure it.

“We didn’t want to lose the opportunity today to secure the release of one of them,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Whelan’s brother David said in a statement he was “ so glad” for Griner’s release but also disappointed for his family. He credited the White House with giving the Whelan family advance notice and said he did not fault officials for making the deal.

“The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” he said.

In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. He was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in 2010.

Bout, whose deeds were featured in a Hollywood movie, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans. Biden issued an executive grant of clemency to free the arms dealer from a federal prison in Illinois to effect the prisoner swap.

The exchange was carried out despite deteriorating relations between the powers prompted by Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Over the summer, the imprisonment of Americans produced a rare diplomatic opening, yielding the highest-level known contact between Washington and Moscow — a phone call between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — in more than five months.

In an extraordinary move during otherwise secret negotiations, Blinken revealed publicly in July that the U.S. had made a “substantial proposal” to Russia for Griner and Whelan. Though he did not specify the terms, people familiar with it said the U.S. had offered Bout.

Such a public overture drew a chiding rebuke from the Russians, who said they preferred to resolve such cases in private, and carried the risk of weakening the U.S. government’s negotiating hand for this and future deals by making the administration appear too desperate. But the announcement was also meant to communicate to the public that Biden was doing what he could and to ensure pressure on the Russians.

Besides the efforts of U.S. officials, the release also followed months of back channel negotiations involving Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage talks, and his top deputy, Mickey Bergman.

Griner was arrested at the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February when customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty in July, though still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case.

She acknowledged in court that she possessed the canisters, but said she had no criminal intent and said their presence in her luggage was due to hasty packing.

Before being sentenced on Aug. 4 and receiving a punishment her lawyers said was out of line for the offense, an emotional Griner apologized “for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them.” She added: “I hope in your ruling it does not end my life.”

Her supporters had largely stayed quiet for weeks after her arrest, but that approach changed in May once the State Department designated her as unlawfully detained. A separate trade, Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in the U.S. in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, spurred hope that additional such exchanges could be in the works.

Whelan has been held in Russia since December 2018. The U.S. government also classified him as wrongfully detained. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison.

Whelan was not included in the Reed prisoner swap, escalating pressure on the Biden administration to ensure that any deal that brought home Griner also included him.

Inland Valley News coverage of local news in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority-owned-and-operated community newspapers across California.

By Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

On Sunday, December 12, Karen Bass was sworn in as Los Angeles’ first Black woman and second Black mayor.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has a home in Los Angeles, conducted the swearing-in of the new mayor. Though originally planned to be conducted at Los Angeles City Hall, rain moved the ceremony to the Microsoft Theater in downtown.

The ceremony was highlighted by several live performances by well-known celebrities, including 25-time Grammy award winner Stevie Wonder and the first National Youth Poet Laureate and Los Angeles native Amanda Gorman.

In her inaugural address, the former congresswoman set the tone for new office.

“Tomorrow morning, I will start my first day as mayor at our city’s Emergency Operations Center, where my first act as mayor will be to declare a state of emergency on homelessness,” Bass said.  “My emergency declaration will recognize the severity of our crisis and break new ground to maximize our ability to urgently move people inside and do so for good. And it will create the structure necessary for us to have a true, unified, and citywide strategy to set us on the path to solve homelessness.”

Homelessness was one of the major issues debated during the election. Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso sparred over strategies of how to get people into housing in a city where, according the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, residents spend 38% of their income on housing, compared to the national average of 34.3%.

“We know our mission – we must build housing in every neighborhood and the very best way for this to happen is by neighbors working together and deciding where housing should be built. We cannot continue to overcrowd neighborhoods that are already overcrowded. This is my call to you, L.A. – to welcome housing in every neighborhood.”

Bass made the point to elected leaders in attendance as well as Angelenos that she would be calling on them to work with her to contend with the homelessness crisis.

“Vice President Harris, Governor Newsom — my colleagues in Congress here today — look for me on your caller ID. If we come together and focus on solutions rather than jurisdiction, on linking arms rather than pointing fingers – if we just focus on bringing people inside, comprehensively addressing their needs, and moving them to permanent housing with a way to pay their bills — we will save lives and save our city – that is my mission as your mayor.”

Bass also spoke about her ambitions about addressing public health, the violent crime surge, the economy and the environment.

“Right now, there is a role for everyone,” Bass proclaimed. “If you are a Hollywood creative, I call on you to help me inspire people to help our city. If you are a tech entrepreneur, I call on you to help me make City Hall run smarter, faster and with more accountability. If you are retired, I call you to share your wisdom with our youth. If you are a community organizer, let’s organize our neighborhoods together. And finally, I call on you to come work for the city. Did you know L.A. City has hundreds of vacancies in the very departments that respond to community needs? If you want a good paying union job — you should literally come work for the City of L.A. I call on the people of our city to not just dream of the L.A. we want, but to participate in making the dream come true.”

Bass thanked and acknowledged the many national and local officials present. She also spotlighted women breaking barriers in government, including Vice-President Harris, California’s first female Lt. Governor, Eleni Kounalakis, the first female California Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and the all-female Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors – Hilda L. Solis, Holly Mitchell, Lindsey Horvath, Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger.

“We are all going to make so much history together in a state that has enshrined in our constitution a woman’s right to decide what happens to her body.”

Bass acknowledged outgoing Mayor Eric Garcetti for his 21 years of service to the city. Garcetti sat in the front row next to Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Based upon the eponymous Universal film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the series will catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.

ABOUT THE SERIES:

• Premiere Date and Drop Cadence:December 22, 2022, all 8 episodes
• Cast: Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau
• Creator of the Best Man Franchise, Co-Developed By, Writer, Executive Producer, Director, Co-Showrunner: Malcolm D. Lee of Blackmaled Productions
• Co-Developed By, Writer, Executive Producer, Co-Showrunner: Dayna Lynne North of Loud Sis Productions
• Executive Producer: Sean Daniel of Hivemind & Dominique Telson of Blackmaled Productions
• Produced By: Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group
• Directors: Malcolm D. Lee (four episodes), Charles Stone III, Robert Townsend and Stacey Muhammad
• Format: Limited Drama Series, 8 episodes x 60 minutes
• Filming Locations: New York City, Kearny, NJ and Dominican Republic

By McKenzie Jackson | California Black Media

Steve Prudholme traveled from Malibu to South Bend, Ind. for ten days last month to cheer on his daughter, Sophia, and her Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s soccer teammates in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.

The younger Prudholme’s squad won three matches before being defeated, but her dad returned to the Golden State a happy father because his 19-year-old daughter is playing the sport she loves and getting a great college education.

“It makes me feel good to see her in that environment and also learning the trials and tribulations that sports teach you — especially from a female’s perspective,” Steve said.

The elder Prudholme said participating in sports allows Sophia to showcase her independence and strength of personality.

All of that is possible because of legislation championed by Democratic Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii.

Mink co-authored and spearheaded the Education Amendments of 1972, more commonly known as Title IX. The law prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives monies from the federal government.

Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972 and renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 2002, after Mink’s death on Sept. 28, that year.

This week Mink would have turned 95. The tireless fighter for women’s rights and equity for everyone was born Patsy Matsu Takemoto in Paia, Hawaii Territory, on December 6, 1927.

Title IX ensures that young women are entitled to the same athletic chances as young men. It has been responsible for increasing the number of girls and women playing organized sports nationally.

Girl high school sports participation increased from 294,015 in the 1971-72 school year to 3.4 million in 2018-19 according to a study by the Women’s Sports Federation. Participation has risen at the collegiate level — from 29,977 athletes at NCAA schools 50 years ago to 215,486 a in 2020-21.

The educational law has helped increase female enrollment in college. Women accounted for nearly 60% of all college students by the end of the 2020-21 academic year, and women were awarded 57% of the bachelor’s degrees conferred.  Additionally, women earn nearly half of all law and medical degrees. Title IX is also a framework for handling sexual misconduct complaints on campuses.

Mink, known as an educational trailblazer, who changed the politics of gender, called Title IX her one of her most significant accomplishments as a member of Congress.

“I take special pride in honoring its contributions to changing our view about women’s role in America,” she said.

Mink served in Congress in two stints beginning in 1965. A Japanese American, Mink was the first woman of color to be elected to Congress, four years ahead of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American women elected to Congress.

University of California-Irvine professor of Asian American Studies Judy Tzu-Chun Wu said Mink’s bouts with discrimination fueled her advocacy for Title IX against educational bodies that tried to exempt themselves from the civil rights law.

“A lot of people associate Title IX with sports, but it’s really about all aspects of education,” Wu said. “It’s about admissions; It’s about scholarships; It’s about having a positive environment for women to be in school.”

Title IX turned 50 this year, so it and Mink have been the focus of celebrations nationally. A portrait of Mink was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on the anniversary of Title IX’s signing by Nixon.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi called Mink an American hero during the spectacle.

“With this portrait, the extraordinary courage of Patsy Mink will be known to all who come to the Capitol,” Pelosi said. “Women and girls — and that’s what I love about it — will know about her and that — her relentless fighting spirit. Patsy Mink made an enormous difference for women and girls in our nation.”

Many Americans don’t know about Mink’s championing of Title IX. “Women’s history is now more inclusive but there is still a tendency to celebrate the great white foremothers,” Wu said. “Sometimes Asian Americans are left out.”

Mink attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln before graduating with a BA in zoology and chemistry from the University of Hawai’i in 1948.

While attending Nebraska, she was forced to live in a segregated dorm. She formed the Unaffiliated Students of the University of Nebraska for students of color who were prohibited from joining fraternities and sororities and the group succeeded in changing the university’s housing policies.

Mink’s ambition was to become a doctor, but being a woman of color, she was denied entry to 20 medical schools. She turned her focus onto earning a law degree and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. In 1951 she married John Francis Mink, a graduate student in geology at the university.

She started her own law practice and became a lecturer at the University of Hawai’i after facing discrimination in her attempts to join a law firm.

Mink won seats in the territorial senate before Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959. In 1964, she became the first Asian American woman to serve in Congress. She won re-election five consecutive times.

Mink fought for equal rights and was against the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons. Her political leanings were steered by her background, Wu said.

“The society Mink grew up in was hierarchical in terms of class and race,” Wu said. “She experienced it in terms of gender. Those marginalizations shaped her desire to achieve equality.”

In 1976 Mink lost a bid for U.S. Senate. After serving as a member of the Honolulu City Council, she was re-elected to Congress in 1990 and served until her passing. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 2014 by President Barack Obama.

Wu said Title IX increased gender equality, but it is not completely implemented the way Mink envisioned.

“There are still ongoing battles,” Mink said. “There has been gender revolution, but it’s not complete. If we compared women’s lives from the 60s and 70s to now it would be drastically different. But again, it’s not complete.”

Shortly after Mink’s death, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), paying tribute to her friend at a Congressional memorial, reflected on a WNBA game the two women had attended.

“It was just a few months ago that I sat at the WNBA All Star Game where Patsy was honored for her 30 years of work,” Waters said. “As I looked at all of those strong, tall women out there playing and my dear child, Lisa Leslie, who won the All-Star honor that evening, I thought it was a short, little woman that caused this tall, big woman to be able to realize her dreams, to be able to hone her talents. What a wonderful moment that was.”

This Article was supported by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

By Lou K Coleman-Yeboah

Danger is lurking around the corner in disguise. The signs of the times are evident. This is critically needed information from Christ to you about the end times. I encourage you to read it, reread it, and read it again. Study it, think about it, and pray over it, being convinced that it will all take place. Jesus Christ is not lying. He is telling you the truth, the truth about the end-times that you need to know and believe.

There are forces of darkness that are aligned against us that seek to undermine the Kingdom of God in our lives. Satan has been at work for a long time. He is cunning, and he knows where we are vulnerable. He knows our weaknesses and where we are suspect. And he is patient. He just waits for the opportune time. Just like when the people of Jerusalem were rebuilding the walls, their enemies sought to catch them off guard. They planned to catch them by surprise when they least expected it. The enemy looked for an opportune time. If you don’t recognize this, then you are unprepared for what is to come. Anyone can tell you that this up-and-coming New Year, God is going to bless you, but who will dare tell you what God has already revealed. Let us not be fools. Wake-up!

Destruction is coming to this seemingly mighty fortress. “The year 2023 will be the beginning of the worst years of our life, filled with death, destruction, fear, and mayhem. It will be the year Satan and his puppets will appear with many empty promises, peace, and security, but it will be the yoking of humanity. Do not be fooled! Never in our lifetime have we experienced anything on the global scale like what is to come.

Listen, I am not trying to frighten you, but in the next very few short years, we are going to be experiencing things that are going to literally change our life in ways we have never dreamed or imagine, and you better be ready for it. We are looking at the obvious, but I want you to hear and see spiritually what’s going on. The war is more intense now. The battle is so real and has been going on for some time now, but we have been so consumed with ourselves that we have not seen the enemy. Wake-up!

The Antichrist is the future evil tyrant who will rule the entire world at Satan’s behest just prior to Christ’s return. The Bible tells us the spirit of the Antichrist, is already at work [1 John 4:3], setting the stage for the great End Times deception. What signs do we see today that expose this gathering cloud of deception? How are Satan and his Luciferian co-conspirators deceiving the world as they roll out the New World Order? It is time for you to pick up your Bible and start reading and studying it, and then praying to God for wisdom and revelation to see through the lies and deception that now dominate our culture. Everything we have been experiencing, it is all part of the great reset, and it is all driving towards the same outcome, preparing for the arrival of the Antichrist. This is an urgent call. Wake up and do it NOW! [Romans 13:11-14].

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. …[Ezekiel 33:1-33].

They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [2 Thessalonians 2:10].

NATIONAL—- Last night Trevor Noah, comedian, author and acclaimed host of The Daily Show, hosted a “Black Theater Night” for the Tony-winning Best Musical A Strange Loop, complete with a hilarious and insightful cast talkback. The event was open to all theater lovers but offered a special invitation to Black theatergoers.

Playwright, Composer and Lyricist Michael R. Jackson, creator of A Strange Loop; Choreographer Raja Feather Kelly and Musical Director Rona Siddiquijoined Noah and cast members James Jackson, Jr.; L Morgan Lee; John-Michael Lyles; John-Andrew Morrison; Jon-Michael Reese; Jaquel Spivey and Jason Veasey for the talkback.

“I’ve now been to A Strange Loop four times and it’s funny [but] every single time I come I feel like I’m focusing on something different, I’m learning something different and there’s a different part of the play that almost gets revealed to me,” said Noah, who called the show, “one of the most spoken about and one of the most lauded productions on Broadway.” The comic also congratulated the show on its recent Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.

Noah further said: “What I find interesting about it in particular is the first time you watch the play, for instance, you may think, depending on who you are, ‘Oh, this is a play about Black and white.’ The second time you watch it you may go, ‘Oh no. This is a play about religion and how it controls people’s lives and how it tells us how we should be or shouldn’t be.’ Then it becomes about acceptance. Each time it feels like there is a different layer. And really, the more I watch it, I realize it almost feels like a commentary on all these little prisons, all these structures, all these systems and I guess the most confining one being our minds.”

There are only seven more weeks to see the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop, which will play its final Broadway performance on January 15. The show opened April 26, to critical acclaim at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). The musical is directed by Tony Award nominee Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Kelly and produced by Barbara Whitman, along with Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Playwrights Horizons.

Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer…

Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all.

For more information on A Strange Loop visit https://strangeloopmusical.com.

Follow A Strange Loop on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube at @strangeloopbway

“‘A Strange Loop’ is a shattering, electrifying debut musical. Jackson’s score is packed with maddening melodies and clever rhymes.” – Entertainment Weekly.

“The new musical by Michael R. Jackson performs a phenomenal feat — it is both a raw and unflinching interrogation of identity and the most furiously entertaining show on Broadway.” – Variety

“Explosively imaginative. Dazzlingly one-of-a-kind. Broadway’s best new musical.” – Washington Post

“A dazzling ride. No measure of praise could be too much.” – The New York Times

????? “This is the musical we’ve been waiting for. A Strange Loop is unmissable.” – Time Out NY

By Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

A poll of Black women and Latinas across California sponsored by Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) and Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)® found that 77% are experiencing some form of discrimination due to “personal characteristics,” including race or ethnicity, assumptions about income or education, and/or physical appearance.

“We have known that racism and discrimination take a toll on the mental health of our communities, and now we must factor in the disproportionate and lingering effects of the pandemic on communities of color,” said LaNiece Jones, Executive Director of BWOPA.

“What matters now is that we don’t sweep these added challenges aside but treat these barriers in mental health care for what they are, a crisis in care that must be urgently addressed,” Jones added.

The historic poll was conducted by Los Angeles-based public opinion research firm EVITARUS.

Responses were recorded from 800 Black and Latina women across California and the finding give insights about the most important concerns that they face with their families, accessibility of mental health services, preferences for providers, and priorities for approaches to create greater equity in the provision of mental health care.

Experts widely agree that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented global mental health crisis. People of color, young people, women, and those with low incomes are most at risk of mental health challenges before and after the pandemic, compounded by the added weight of a heightened economic crisis and instability, as well as more visible expressions of White Supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes aimed at communities of color.

The current social and economic climate creates a distinctive set of pressures on Black women and Latinas. Thirty-four percent cite finances or issues related to inadequate income as the top concerns facing their households.  Safety, health, and housing also rank as chief concerns.

More than 3 in 5 respondents reported having a mental health concern for which they did not seek care from a provider. They attributed this to various barriers, citing travel expenses, length of travel time to appointments and inability to take time off work. Women without coverage for mental health services, those with mental health conditions, younger women, and those covered through Medi-Cal reported the highest rates of untreated needs.

The women that did seek help reported often having negative experiences. Seventy percent of Black women and 54 % of Latinas reported racial or ethnic discrimination. Another 59 % of Black women and 55 % of Latinas reported “assumptions people make about your income or level of education.” Fortypercent of Latinas reported discrimination based on “assumptions about their ability to communicate in English” and 28 % reported “assumptions about your documentation of immigration status.” Several other types of discrimination were reported, particularly relating to class, faith, size, and accent.

“Our research draws a direct line between the challenges in accessing mental health care for Latinas and Black women to the shortage of mental health professionals that share our backgrounds,” said Helen Torres, CEO of HOPE. “The data is a call to action for healthcare providers and educational institutions to address the negative impacts of a healthcare workforce that does not represent the communities it serves. We must take steps to close the representation gap and provide better care to all.”

Nearly half of respondents reported difficulty finding access to a mental health provider.

Fifty-seven percent of Black or African American women and 38 % of Latina women said that it was extremely important or very important to have providers of the same background, but more than half said it is difficult to find a provider who shares their values or comes from a similar background.  According to the Medical Board of California, only four percent of active psychiatrists practicing in California are Latino and only two percent are Black.

The ability to find a therapist with shared values and offering low-cost services were the most commonly reported barriers, though many also reported difficulty finding providers and services covered by their insurance. Insurance acceptance was the most documented problem across all age groups, underscoring the widespread unaffordability of mental health care.

Disparities in women’s health are well documented at almost every level of health care. Mental health is no different.

The mental health crisis is not specific to adults. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15-19, according to a 2019 study on mortality.  Suicide rates among Black youth have been rising for more than a decade, most sharply among Black girls. According to a 2021 report, approximately one third of young Latinas seriously contemplate suicide.

Long-existing disparities in maternal health are also present with relation to mental health. Women of color suffer from higher rates of postpartum depression compared to White women. They also have a lower rate of screening and treatment for post-partum mood disorders.

The study recommended increased funding to address the barriers to getting adequate care, development of programs, scholarships and financial aid to increase the pipeline of Black women and Latinas in mental health related fields,which, experts say, will increase the number of mental health advocates and promotors who can work to help women navigate the system, and expand awareness among communities of color about the benefits of seeking help or support when facing mental health challenges.

Award-winning actress and producer Viola Davis narrates the Candlelight Ceremony and Processional at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California on December 3, 2022. Rich in holiday splendor, this spectacular live performance was created in 1958 by Walt Disney to show his gratitude to community leaders and friends. This retelling of the first Christmas features a grand choir composed of Disney Cast Members and guest community choirs, a symphony orchestra, fanfare trumpeters, and a performance by a celebrity narrator. The event is open to invited guests only.

By Lou K Coleman-Yeboah

Pay attention to World News and Events.  The trap is being set right now, psychologically, socially, politically, economically, and religiously; and it is luring the world right in. The spirit of the Antichrist is already at work [1John 4:3] setting the stage for the Great End Times Deception beginning with a Global Government [Revelation 13:7], followed by a Global Religion [Revelation 13:1’5] then a Global Money System [Revelation 13:16] using International peace as the bait for the trap in which the human race will be caught to feel the full and final unleashing of God’s wrath. Be warned! Be alert!

The Bible predicts that there’s coming a world peace; but it will be a deceptive peace. It will be a false sense of security. It will be the most subtle and the most deceptive trap that’s ever been set. Open your eyes, pay attention, and take heed, “the appointed time has grown very short” [1 Corinthians 7:29].

The spirit of Antichrist is making way for the Antichrist himself to be revealed.  The lawless one – the most destructive human being to ever walk on the earth. The son of perdition – the culmination of all the Satanic forces that have arisen before him. He will be given control over the 10-nations of the Old Roman Empire, which is now called the European Union, and through false treaties and war, he will become the ruler of the world during the Tribulation. This soon-coming world leader will be proud, arrogant, lawless, evil, powerful, a blasphemer, a slanderer, a destroyer, a deceiver, an impostor, a truth-hater, a liar, a persecutor, a murderer, a devilish man, a Satanist. At first, he will be exalted as a great leader; even a man of peace, but he will be revealed as Satan’s counterfeit Christ, a lying, vicious, bloodthirsty beast that will deceive the people with his sensational powers, and slaughter billions of people to prove his power. Be warned! Be Alert! The Antichrist will soon take his position as the leader of the New World Order, and in less than three years, he will attempt to destroy the world. Open your eyes, pay attention, and take head, please, I beg you, because difficult days are coming such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. [Matthew 24:21; Daniel 7:7,24; 12:1].

Jesus warned that, “When you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place whoever reads, let him understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those with nursing babies in those days! For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” [Matthew 24:17-21].

You know, Jeremiah was God’s prophet to warn people, and he did it with tears. He told them about coming horror, coming divine judgment; and he even said, “You ought to know it, because there are some present signs. I mean, there’s some things happening that are precursors to the actual day of the Lord, and you ought to know about them. You ought to warn people. Already evil looks down from the north; and a great destruction is there, you can see it coming. So, blow a trumpet, warn people, it’s coming, the appointed time has grown very short. [1 Corinthians 7:29].

But in spite of that, in spite of everything that Jeremiah said about the overthrow of Judah and the overthrow of Jerusalem, despite all the precursors, despite the imminent judgment, despite the power right there visible to them, they could see it right on the brink, but they kept believing everything would be fine, everything will be fine. Why? Because false teachers came and false prophets, and they said, ‘Peace, peace.” They kept telling them peace was coming, peace was coming, and it will come, but to follow will be destruction.  [Jeremiah 6:14]. I tell you; The Proverbial Writing is on the Wall. Open your eyes, pay attention, and take heed, please!

By Angela Birdsong | California Black Media

About 200 protesters gathered on November 24 at wholesale cash and carry foodservice supplier Restaurant Depot/Jetro in Culver City to demand justice for Passion Schoolfield, a single Black mother who was fired for expressing an opinion about Ye, the rapper also known as Kanye West.

According to Schoolfield, she was speaking with a customer in her cashier’s line about celebrities they like and was overheard by another customer when she said, “I like Ye.  He keeps it real.”

Then, she says, a customer, a White male, got out of the check-out line, got in her face, and questioned her, “You like Ye?”  After repeating this several times, he walked off and spoke with a manager. Moments later, she was suspended and the next day she was fired.

“This protest was a community effort to get justice for Passion, and what this focuses on is what we believe was anti-Black aggression against her for a basically ridiculous firing because she said she liked Kanye West. We really wanted to get that message out that there’s a line that was crossed,” stated Ludlow Cleary, II., Schoolfield’s attorney.

Schoolfield did not speak during the press conference. However, she told California Black Media that retail has been her career since she was 18, and while working at Restaurant Depot, she loved the customers and the people.