By Naomi K. Bonman

Talk about Black excellence! This year’s Black History Month has been lit and will definitely go down in history thanks to the premiere of Marvel’s Black Panther. Black Panther brought in $426 million at the worldwide box office after a slow rollout overseas and a record-shattering domestic bow over the holiday weekend.

If you have not seen it yet, please go out and see it. Our people (African-Americans/Blacks) showed up and showed out and surely dressed for the occasion in African print attire. This was a pivotal moment in history with this film displaying positive messages and allowing our youth to finally see superheroes on the big screen that look like them.

Not only did the Black Panther have a majority Black cast, but it was written and directed by Ryan Coogler and it was the first film filmed at the new stages of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Once again, Black Excellence was displayed all throughout this film.

“The first day that I walked on set a lot of the crew were people of color,” Michael B. Jordan explained when asked what it was like working on the set of the movie. “The set was beautiful and I felt very proud.”

 Danai Gurira added, “You felt the power of this nation.”

Speaking of beautiful sets, the cast and crew all favored the warrior falls scenes as there most memorable and favorite set design.

“The warrior falls scenes were festive,” Chad Boseman stated.

In addition to the well-designed sets and realistic effects and scenes, this film also dealt with modern day issues. These issues were brought to light in various scenes and atmospheres, from the more serious to the comedic scenes.

Black Panther is a movie where you can take the whole family to. It also showcased unity of all people, but especially among Blacks.

“We were all jamming while they were trying to figure out things,” Lupita Nyong’o explains while illustrating a moment on set when the whole cast were in sync with one another. “I looked around and I realized this is Pan Africa. We have Black people from all over the Globe. It was Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Tobago, South Carolina, Los Angeles, Canada, the U.K., Senegal. Nigeria…We were just everywhere and we all came together to make this film happen. This is a film that is stretching across the Globe and bringing us all together.”

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

I want to encourage you to NEVER lose hope.  Why? Because, hope is the anchor of the soul.  Our ancestors held on to hope when facts, circumstances, and actions of others said otherwise. They had no evidence and no reason to believe things would get better, so they held desperately to hope. Hope, that was based on the fact that: God will continue being what He has always been – faithful.  Hope that was based on the fact that:  God will successfully complete whatever He has begun.  Hope, that was based on the fact that: God would keep all His Promises. Hope, that was based on the fact that: There would be justice and equity. Hope, that was based on the fact that: All things would work together for good to them that love God.   What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

According to the Bible, “Hope,” is about a promise. Hope is a confident expectation regarding the unseen and future [Hebrews 11:1-2; Colossians 1:27]. That’s why Paul said in [Romans 5:3-5], we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are a people of Hope. Not only that, but that our suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” [Romans 5:3–5]. So as you hold on through the storms, know that there is a proven-ness in regard to your character.

Never lose hope. Hold on, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Because the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish usu. [I Peter 5:10]. And this is the hope we have as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure, says the Scripture.

“All the promises in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” [2 Corinthians 1:20].Never lose hope. The Anchor of the Soul!

Building on its success in prostate cancer education, awareness and advocacy, the Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is enhancing its efforts with a Broadway-style stage play. “Daddy’s Boys” tells the story of a widowed father and his sons, whose relationships are fractured, coming together when faced with prostate cancer. This highly entertaining play imparts real-life messages and information to the audience which raises prostate cancer awareness.

It is the latest health-oriented presentation by playwright Garrett Davis, who uses humor and music-laden dramas to bring awareness to minority health issues.  The PHEN/Davis collaboration builds on Davis’ established portfolio of stage productions that highlight diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease among other issues.  

“Daddy’s Boys” will launch on March 9th in Philadelphia, PA, in partnership with Enon Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, a mega-church serving the African American community. On May 12th there will be a performance in Glendale, MD at Reid Temple AME Church. Informational workshops, resource materials and cancer screening will be provided as part of these efforts.

“We are thrilled to kick-off the Daddy’s Boys tour at Enon Tabernacle. It is a great complement to our ‘Men know your Numbers’ Health Initiative that will be held on March 10^th, says Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller.

PHEN will sponsor each Daddy’s Boys performance with the support of its industry partners, and work with its national network of church partners to host and promote the play within their congregations and communities.  The performances are free of charge with tickets made available through the host church and other local PHEN partners.

“The Daddy’s Boys play is a natural progression of PHEN’s educational outreach efforts,” says Thomas Farrington, Founder and President of the Prostate Health Education Network and a 17-year prostate cancer survivor.  “Prostate cancer is a family disease as highlighted by this play, and this entertainment format will appeal to men and women enabling us to reach many more people and save more lives.

“We bring real life situations to the stage to educate and enlighten on health issues that affect us daily,” said playwright Davis.  “We believe our stories help direct those in attendance to resources that can lead to a better quality of life.” His work centers on issues that affect everyday people to build awareness and advocacy.  “What I call unreached people are African Americans,” Davis continued.  “We learn differently. Our people need to see us giving them information. The infotainment format is an effective way to teach them.”

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer for men, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths behind lung cancer. About one in five African American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Black men are diagnosed at a rate 60% higher with a death rate more than twice that for men of all other racial and ethnic groups. 

About PHEN

The Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is the leading patient education and advocacy organization addressing the needs of African American prostate cancer patients, survivors and families.  Based in Quincy MA, PHEN, a 501c(3) organization founded in 2003, sponsors educational webcasts, the Annual Father’s Day Rally  education symposiums with church partners, and the Annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit in Washington DC.

About Gdavis Productions

Gdavis Productions is an urban theater company that tours stage plays across the USA. Established in 1994 by CEO/Founder Garrett Davis, playwright has won numerous awards for brining real life situations to the stage. The goal is to bring light to issues and concerns that affect our community in hopes of creating a change for a better quality of life for everyone.

Gdavis Productions is based in Winston Salem, NC: www.gdavisproductions.net

Management Contact: Bridget Fleury & Associates, LLC bridget.fleury@gmail.com 414-699-8357

Churches and other organizations that may be interested in hosting “Daddy’s Boys” should email PHEN at rapcancer@prostatehealthed.org

INGLEWOOD, CA. – Majestic Hearts, a non-profit for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, will celebrate its launch by hosting a fundraising event February 24 with the intent to raise funds for its shelter and counseling programs; its mission is to covert victims into survivors.  The event will take place at Cal State University, Dominguez Hills from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (purple carpet and registration opening at 5 p.m.).  With 2018’s goal to raise $50K, the event will kick-off the ultimate objective with the enthusiasm of generating $5K.   

The launch event will include live performances by saxophonist Keschia Potter, who’s toured with celebrities like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Robin Thicke and Jennifer Hudson and a spoken word performance by artist Estee Marie (E dot Marie).  Attendees will learn more about Majestic Hearts and why the organization was started.  

“Domestic Violence is not only a National issue, but also an International one.  Our duty at Majestic Hearts is to bring awareness to the masses by educating communities.  With only a hand-full of DV shelters in Los Angeles County, we strive to offset this shortage by opening multiple shelters throughout the county over the next 10 years,” said Kanishia L. Jackson, Majestic Hearts CEO. 

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been severely physically abused by an intimate partner (www.ncadv.org) and 5 million children witnessing domestic violence each year in the U.S. (www.cdv.org).  Our purpose is to target these demographics and convert these victims into survivors.  We accomplish this through education and supportive services.   

To learn more about Majestic Hearts and to register for this event, visit www.majestic-hearts.org.

LOS ANGELES, CA- On Saturday, February 17, The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program will address the growing concern of African American men and health disparities during the Los Angeles Initiative of the ground-breaking grass-roots initiative. The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program will offer from diabetes and hypertension screenings in Black-owned barbershops in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Founded in 2006, The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program is the first initiative of its kind to exclusively address health care disparities among African American men on a national level. The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program has screened over 30,000 African American men across the country for cardiovascular disease as well as prostate cancer. Now, the program is on a mission to screen and educate 1 million African American men for cardiovascular disease by the year 2020. The BBHOP will underscore the need for African American men to adopt healthier lifestyles and to promote early detection of diabetes and hypertension. Forty percent (40%) of African American men die prematurely from cardiovascular disease as compared to 21% of white men. Black men suffer far worse health conditions than any other racial group in America. There are a number of reasons for this. They include racial discrimination; a lack of affordable health services; poor health education, cultural barriers; poverty, employment that does not carry health insurance; insufficient medical and social services catering to black men.

The health fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To find a local barbershop near you that is participating, please visit www.blackbarbershop.org.

Don and Celest Griggs Senior King & Queen

By Margret Hill

Please allow me to introduce you to the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation 2018 Senior King and Queen, Don and Celeste Griggs.  Congratulations Royalty.

Mrs. Celeste Brown Griggs was born in Waterloo, Iowa.  She graduated from East Waterloo High School in 1963, where she was a class mate and sweet heart of Don Griggs.  Mrs. Griggs joined Don in California after his return from overseas duty.  They were married in 1965 in Oceanside, California.

After moving to the Inland Empire, Celeste worked for Pacific Telephone Company and attended San Bernardino Valley College.  She became a home maker with their three children for five years before deciding to return to the work force.  She worked for Kaiser Permanent for twenty-seven years, retiring as Supervisor of staffing and payroll in the Appointment Center in Fontana.

Mr. Don Griggs was born in Waterloo, Iowa. He graduated from East Waterloo High School in 1961.  Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United State Marine Corps where he served for four years.  He was employed by Southern California Edison for ten years before entering the retail business.  Eager to be involved with his new community, Don was instrumental in bringing Boy Scouting to the inner city of San Bernardino serving as a Neighborhood Commissioner over seeing several troops and Cub Packs during the late sixties. Don took boys on overnight scouting trips and chaperoned them at the Helen Dade Boy Scouts of America Camp in Lake Arrowhead during the summer.

Griggs is well known for his impeccable style of clothing and his love for neckties.  He was co-owner of Irv Silvers Men’s Fashions for fifteen years, having stores located in the Inland Center Mall of San Bernardino and The Tyler Galleria of Riverside. He became President of the Merchants Association at Tyler Galleria.

He was hired by Nordstrom’s to manage the Men’s Clothing Department for fifteen years until he retired.  While there, he was able to display and sell his personal design collection of ties; “Designs by Don”.  Always one to ensure that employees of all races were treated with equity, Mr. Griggs co-founded the Diversity Board to oversee that a certain percentage of employees hired were people of color.

Mr. Griggs has been a small business owner for over thirty years. “I felt there was a niche market that had not been touched in men’s neckwear. I envisioned a quality line of African print men’s neckwear that would reflect elegance and significance, while appealing to professional and distinguished men.” 

The Griggs were volunteers at Priscilla’s Helping Hands and now host H.U.G.S (Home Unity Growth Groups).

From left to right: Debbie Lagaret, Alysha Darby and Adrienne Braxton.

By Alysha Darby

I met a woman named “Debbie” at the Walmart in Redlands. She was the woman who checks the receipt as you’re walking out the door. I was struggling to get my receipt out of my wallet because I had a big box in my hand. Anyways, she was saying sorry that she had to do this it was a part of her job, I said, “Oh no worries.”

She said, “Yeah, I have stage III cancer but I still got to get up and come do my job because I need it, and I’m going to beat cancer. I’m a survivor.” Then she told me she wanted to get extensions like me and braids when her hair grows back! Then she told me she loved me and said, “Come see me again sister.”

After I spoke with one of Debbie’s daughters, she revealed to me that Debbie had been a district manager at Walmart for 23 years and that after being out of work for only four months (for radiation and Chemotherapy treatment) Walmart moved her down to a door greeter and cut her pay by $4 an hour! Debbie now has to work every single day while in pain, then goes home to take care of her own sick mother. Talk about a soldier!  Debbie’s daughter explained to me that finances are a problem due to all Debbie’s expensive hospital bills.

Last week, me and my boyfriend Mo Ziah met up with Adrienne Braxton and Sonia Adams from Celebrating a Vision Foundation. We put together a gift basket for Ms. Debbie which included chocolate covered strawberries, a prayer blanket, gift cards, candles, a survivor t-shirt and a lot of chocolate covered goodies.

God is really working through me because I have never had so much passion to help someone that I didn’t even know! This is only the beginning.

I believe raising this money could honestly change Debbie’s life and at least allow her to battle this cancer head up without having financial problems as well. She deserves that chance! Please anything can help, thank you all. You can visit https://www.gofundme.com/debbie-lagaret-cancer-fighter to donate.

By Lue Dowdy

Booking new talent is WHAT IT DO! LATE NIGHT! SPOTLIGHT! Back by Popular demand and we brought frenz – (Talon Networks and the Mac Rome Show)! A night of comedy, live interviews and performances from some of the most talented in the Inland Empire and beyond.

This is a grown and sexy event. Come out and network with likeminded individuals. Let’s get intimate once again! Comedy Show Hosted by Comedian Mac Rome, Live Show Hosted by Queen LUE.

We are now booking acts and vendors (limited Space). For more details, text us at (909) 567-1000 or message us at Facebook under ‘LUE Productions’.

Until next week L’s!

By Naomi K. Bonman

The first week of Pan African Film Festival is a wrap with just a few more days to go. Last week we seen a plethora of great films from a variety of genres ranging from comedy-romance to social justice to action. The screenings all took place at the Cinemark Rate 15 Theatres at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza located at 3650 Martin Luther King Blvd in Los Angeles.

On Thursday, February 8, the festival opened by with ‘Love Jacked’ featuring Amber Stevens West, newcomer Shamier Anderson, Mike Epps, Lyriq Bent, Marla Gibbs, Angela Gibbs, Demetrius Grosse and Nicole Lynn. ‘Love Jacked’ is a romantic comedy written by Robert Adetuyi and Linda Eskeland, and directed by Alfons Adetuyi. The film follows the love story, or lack thereof, of Maya (played by Amber Stevens West) who takes a trip to Cape Coast, South Africa where she ends up falling in love with after capturing the attention of a handsome African man. Only to later be disappointed by what was supposed to be the most exciting time of her life. Upon returning back home to Los Angeles tries to make things seem glorier than what they are to impress the likeness of her father Ed (played by Keith David). 

“If any dad that has daughters you understand that you just want the best for her,” Keith explained on why he believes this movie is one to see. “And if you have a daughter like mine that you sometimes butt heads with they don’t always agree with you in that moment, so you have to have words about it. But in time they come around.”

On Friday, February 9, premiered a special screening of “Behind the Movement”.  We all heard and know the story about Rosa Parks; however, many do not know it on a deeper level. Most assumed because as it has been stated throughout books and news articles was that Rosa was tired. But she was not tired, but fed up with the treatment towards our people. 

“I always knew who Rosa Parks was and that she was the one who sparked this movement,” Meta Golding explained when asked how it felt to play such an iconic character in history. “This film was really educational for me about Mrs. Parks and Raymond Parks, her husband who she always described as the first real activist that she ever met because he was an activist in the 30s. When I found out I got the role I was initially terrified because I knew how much Mrs. Parks meant to everyone, not just in this country, but around the World, so it was really daunting. But then it became a tremendous responsibility to attempt to try and tell her story and because the power of film can become what we think of us the power of history.”

She continues, “I felt a tremendous responsibility, but more than anything a tremendous honor to step into the shoes of this giant.”

On Wednesday, February 14, the center piece film was none other than a special screening and premiere of “Black Panther”.

For more information on PAFF and the screenings, please visit www.paff.org.

By Naomi K. Bonman

These last few years have been booming with African American writers in television. From ‘Empire’, ‘Star’, ‘Power’, ‘Dear White People’, ‘Insecure’, ‘Claws’, and ‘Luke Cage’, just to name a few, these shows all have one thing in common—they are ran by an African American.

To commemorate Black History Month, the Paley Center for Media Los Angeles gathered prominent, Black showrunners, creators and executive producers to discuss the current state of the industry. I was able to attend the panel discussion which I found to be very enlightening and informative. The panelists consisted of: Cheo Hodar Coker, Creator/Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Luke Cage’; Courtney A. Kemp, Creator/Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Power’; Janine Sherman Barrois, Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Claws’; Karin Gist, Executive Producer/Showrunner, ‘Star’; Prentice Penny, Creator/Showrunner, ‘Insecure’; and Justin Simien, Creator/Executive Producer, ‘Dear White People’. The moderator for the evening was Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight host.

The discussion ranged from topics surrounding the increase of more African Americans and show business who are calling the shots to the content that we choose to put out there. It is refreshing to see more of our stories told BY US.

“We can now say that ‘I want more people of color as directors’,” Barrois explains. “’I want more people of color in editing jobs. You don’t have to say if they send you all white writers, “I’m not hiring all white writers’, why would I do that?”

The industry is now becoming more diverse to where opportunities are expanding for people of color. No more are we only considered as a possible option.

To listen to the discussion, please click below:

Listen to discussion here