What it do with Lue

LOS ANGELES, CA- Last weekend Kiss & Tell Networks celebrated two years of “advocacy with style” in the LGBTQ community. Launched in 2015, the team of movers and shakers has successfully hosted seven live panel discussion events creating candid conversation around topics from pop culture, politics, sexual health, and social stigmas surrounding same sex relationships. Ranging from drag queens to political activists, all of racially diverse of color, the event opens the door to publicly address current issues and ways to solve and unite the society. The California State Assembly awarded the trailblazers of Kiss & Tell Jazmyn Simone, Gabriel Maldonado, Michelle Michaels, “Amber Closet” and Shar Jossell with official state sealed Certificates of Recognition. Leo Jimenez, a thriving product of foster care, was always given the Youth Award for his involvement in the community. 

Following live music from Los Angeles singer AJ Calloway, guests celebrated at the “Lovers Ball” Champagne Reception at Redline DTLA powered my In The Meantime, Men’s Group.

Organically meant to be a single Valentine’s Day event, Kiss & Tell Networks has expanded to shows across the country including New York City, Las Vegas, and introducing Puerto Rico in junction with Xscape Music & Arts Festival Memorial Day Weekend 2017.

Kiss & Tell Networks fans enjoy the biweekly comedic yet informative podcast Kiss & Tell Radio with creator Jayce Baron and media junkies Shar Jossell and Kendall Wright. Kiss & Tell Networks has collaborated with the Los Angeles LGBT Center for “Models of Pride”, the largest national LGBTQ youth conference, is now signed on with REVRY to co-produce upcoming “queerrated” digital content, among other accolades achieved since the first show in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Kiss & Tell Live was Sponsored by In The Meantime, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Jack’d 

By Lue Dowdy

A SUCCESSFUL performance by PRADA is WHAT IT DO!

It went all the way up on Saturday, February 8 at Status Night Club for recording artist, PRADA aka Dub Dollar’s mixtape release party. Prada took to the stage showing the fans why they should continue to support and to listen to a real one in the game.

Off his newly dropped project, “HAVE HEART & MAKE MONEY” he performed hits like “FADDED” and “THIS IS ALL WE KNOW.” The club was LITT!
The night consisted of networking and dope performances from artists like LA Duce, Maggic, and Turtle on the Beat. Of course DJ Muda one of the hottest DJ’s in the Inland Empire kept the crowd going.

Pay close attention as major moves are being made from the G.F.CASH Camp. The love was truly shown for Prada!

In the words of PRADA, “Hip Hop and community play a major role when it comes to influencing my lyrics.” “I plan to do with my influence or this music is pretty much tell the world my story, our story, and shed light on my city in every way possible.”

To checkout music by Prada go to GF Cash Records’ Soundcloud under https://m.soundcloud.com/user-194144347.

Until next week L’zzz!

O

n  February 16, at a special preview event for the new documentary “American Masters — Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York, NY), Dr. Maya Angelou’s grandson Colin Johnson (right), Co-Founder and Principal of Caged Bird Legacy, LLC, presented Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton (left) and President Bill Clinton (center) with a plaque of Dr. Maya Angelou’s inauguration poem, “On The Pulse of Morning,” that flew on the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) December 5, 2014.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Don’t let her enchanting smile and innocent beauty fool you, Jurnee Smollett-Bell isn’t just another pretty Hollywood face. As the star of WGN America’s hit series UNDERGROUND,the30-year-old actress represents for our enslaved ancestors who never stopped fighting for freedom and fairness.

EBONY goes one-on-one with the actress and activist to learn more about colorism in Hollywood,the second season of Underground and the importance of activism, especially now.  While many celebrities are just now finding their voice on social justice issues, Smollett-Bell was “woke” before it became a popular term. One of the topics she tackles is the reality of bias toward lighter skinned women in Hollywood and beyond.

“There are obstacles and challenges that my dark-skinned sisters face that I will never know,” Smollett-Bell acknowledges. “How they are perceived when they walk in a room of strangers is something I will never truly know. I would be ignorant to say colorism doesn’t exist, it’s gross and disgusting.” Speaking of standing for your sistas in the struggle, the 2017 women’s issue is devoted to uplifting Black women.

“It is no exaggeration when we talk about Black Girl Magic,” says EBONY Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Editorial Kyra Kyles. “Black women truly hold our community together. It is an honor to be able to celebrate ‘us’ in this issue.”

Issue highlights include:

• EBONY Beauty Innovation Awards—In our annual and acclaimed “it” list, EBONY highlights the latest game-changing products and tools you’ll want to try
• A Silent War: The battle between Black women and fibroids
• Women’s Work: Movers, shakers, waymakers—Call it the takeover by 20 brilliant enterprising women who are industry leaders and gamechangers, which include U.S. SenatorKamala Harris, newswoman Soledad O’Brien, White House Champion for Change awardee Kathryn Finney, ESPN’s Jemele Hill.
• ‘In Our Cities’: EBONY’s original new multimedia seriesheads west to the City of Angels for some California love—the cinematic shoot-outs of gang wars of the ’90s are a thing of the past. Today,Los Angelesis considered one of the safest cities in the United States and we give a nuanced and real view of the Black folks who make it great
• Culinary Queens—These kitchen warriors are reclaiming the game for the sisters

Elsewhere in the issue we take a look at Jordan Peele’s latest film GET OUT, Jermaine Dupri welcomes EBONY to Atlanta and innovative Apple exec Bozoma Saint John provides tips on how to be a game changer at work. For more, pick up the March 2017 issue of EBONY, which is coming to a newsstand near you. And to get more Smollett-Bell, watch behind-the-scenes video on Ebony.com. Read and join the conversation on social media using #FantasticJurnee

SASEBO, JAPAN-Capt. Jeffrey Ward, (center) commanding officer of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), and representatives of the ship’s Heritage Committee participate in a cake cutting following an African American/Black History Month celebration on the ship’s mess decks. Bonhomme Richard, forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, is serving forward to provide a rapid-response capability in the event of a regional contingency or natural disaster.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You see the Devil is a Liar! He tries to fool us into believing something is a certain way even though it’s not. I want you to know that REAL life is NOT an Illusion!  Stop allowing the Devil to prevent you from living your life to its fullest. Open your eyes and discover the source of true fulfillment. You know in the movie “The Matrix,” Neo had been living in a fake world, but Morpheus wanted to bring him into the real world. Morpheus told Neo, “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. Take the blue pill, and return to the fake world of comfort. Take the red pill and everything changes.” That’s what Jesus was telling the disciples and is telling you today: This is your last chance. If you want out, do it now, because Satan virtual reality is to imprison you; to hide the truth and to keep you in bondage and slavery without you knowing it.  The Bible says that this world is our enemy and it caters for the sinful desires of men.   We must overcome it! The Bible also says that the world and all visible things are temporary, but the truth is eternal truth. Stop being bamboozled by the Devil!

It is very dangerous to be ignorant of Satan’s strategies and methods for leading us astray. God offers wisdom and victorious solutions for all of Satan’s malicious strategies, and Paul gives that very warning when he counsels the Corinthians to take care “lest Satan take advantage….” [2Corinthians 2:11].  I want you to know that Satan has orchestrated a whole world system to perpetuate his primary lie that true life can be found apart from dependent relationship with God. Not so!  The devil is a liar! As Christians, we need to be aware of Satan’s schemes. The world we live in is a world where sin is the matrix. It controls all that we do or think; and it is pervasive in every way. The battle we face is to stay out of the matrix, which is not experiencing life at all. It is death. If you want out, take the red pill and change the game. Do it now! “Repent and believe this good news.” God is here…God is active…God is calling…God’s reign.  Choose to be a part of it.

The fact is without God, your life is just like the one Solomon described in [Ecclesiastes 1: 2]– Vanity, and emptiness. Pleasure, education, the job, and wealth– these can never give life meaning. They are just fillers, not substance. They are just the condiments but the real meat of life is Jesus [John 10:10]. Do not be deceived.  May we all be vigilant as the Bible commands in [1Peter 5:8] because our adversary the Devil roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Things are not always as they seem.

 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” [ Deuteronomy 30:19].

RIVERSIDE, CA- You and your family are cordially invited to join us at the Third Graduation of the University STEM Academy (USA). USA provides Mathematic and Science enrichment activities for predominantly African American students in Grades 6 through 9. Our scholars will be presenting at the 3rd Annual Black Health Expo, which will take place on Saturday, February 18, from 9:00am until 2:00pm, on the University of California, Riverside campus. This event will be held in Room 302 of the Highland Union Building, better known as the HUB.

The scholars will be presenting a workshop entitled: Future African American Medical Professionals: The Engineering of Bio Medical Devices from 10:00am to 11:00am. The luncheon and graduation will take place between 11:00am and 1:00pm. The Expo, the luncheon, and parking are free (Lot #1).

Besides the scholars’ presentations, the following will be available at the event: Health screening vendors, Community resources, Yoga exercise, Workshops, Food, door prizes, and a lot more.

On Saturday, October 1, 2016, the University STEM Academy (USA) registered 40 African American male and female scholars. The theme this academic year was Quality Health for All. We are training our students to be aware of the gold standard of knowledge (i.e., best practices to maintain health and cure disease). Also, scholars are being taught to understand how physical and mental trauma impact the human body. Moreover, the scholars are training to lead the charge, by sharing health values with their families, classmates, and the surrounding community, you!

Dr. Victor Rodgers (Bio-Engineer) and Dr. Prashanthi “Shanthi” Vandrangi (Bio-Engineer) are the Resident Scientists. Mr. Brandon Copeland is the Resident Mathematician, and Ms. Darling Paul-Richiez, a Registered Nurse, Researcher, and Certified Public Health Educator is the Mini-Medical School Dean and Coordinator. The Black Health Expo will spotlight various aspects of what the scholars has been learning to-date.

Your presence will let our scholars know they are supported, and what they are learning is both worthwhile and appreciated. This event is open to the public, so please share this invitation with family and friends.

For further information, please email me at carolyn.murray@ucr.edu.

By Lou Coleman

Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Madam C. J. Walker, Mum Bett, Shirley Chisholm, Wangari Maathai, Tegla Laroupe, Gertrude Kabatalemwa , Barbara Jordan,  Rosa Parks, Ida B Wells, Marva Collins, Miriam Anderson, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Dorothy Height, Mary Church Terrell, Marian Wright, Dolores Huerta, Daisy Bates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Poinsette Clark, Ella Baker, Diane Nash, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Odetta, Mahalia Jackson, Angela Davis, Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, Anna Berry Smith, Yes…I Am…. Cotton Mather, Frederick Douglas, George Washington Carver, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Booker T Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Paul Roberson, James Meredith, Stokely Carmichael, A. Philip Randolph, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Olaudah Equiano, Kwame Nkrumah, Kofi Annan, Haile Selassie, Oliver Tambo, Shaka Zulu,  Nnamdi Azikiwe, E.D. Nixon, Cornet West, Benjamin Banneker; Richard Allen, John Lewis, Medgar Evers, Dick Gregory, Morris Dees, Percy Julian, Richard Loving, Mohammed Ali,  Andrew Goodman, James Cheney, Michael Schwemer, Dr. Carter G. Woodsons, Barack Obama, Richard C. Boone, Benjamin Banneker, Granville T. Woods, Louis Latimer, Garret Morgan; Charles Harrison Mason and countless others.

I don’t know from where you were stolen. I don’t know how many of you freed yourselves or died in bondage. Yet I claim you all and I honor you.  The savage ferocity of slavery has torn your names from the memories of your descendants but not your lives, your survival, your strength. Whatever it is that I am and all that I am, I am because you were. I cannot contemplate my future without reflecting on my past, our past.  As I look at the genesis of people of color and note our heroic journey traveled as a people—through enslavement, oppression, rejection and segregation—the greatest constant, on the path to the freedoms enjoyed today, was the presence of God-loving, God-fearing, and God-worshiping men and women. I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. [2 Timothy 1:3]

In your name, in your memory we work and pray and struggle, weeping and rejoicing at what has been and what will be.

Dorothy Inghram

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- In celebration of Black History Month, San Bernardino Valley College remembers Hall of Fame alumna Dorothy Ella Inghram, class of 1932: the first African-American teacher in San Bernardino County, composer of SBVC’s Alma Mater, and one of Southern California’s most iconic educators.

Dorothy was born in 1905 on 6th Street in San Bernardino. Her father, Henry, worked as a custodian in the Opera House on Court Street?—?one of the many places African Americans weren’t allowed to attend.

Dorothy began school at Mt. Vernon Elementary in 1911. She later attended Sturges Junior High School and San Bernardino High School, becoming one of 123 students. Music played an important role in Dorothy’s life. While attending San Bernardino Valley College from 1928 through 1933, Dorothy wrote the music for the hymn that was selected as the college’s Alma Mater.

Dorothy earned an elementary teaching credential in 1939 after student teaching at an East Highlands school, and in 1942, Dorothy was hired to teach second grade at Mill School?—?the first African-American teacher in San Bernardino County.

Three years later, she became a teaching principal?—?splitting her duties between the classroom and administration?—?and became a full-time principal in 1951, a job she thoroughly enjoyed.

Dorothy was promoted to District Superintendent of Mill School District in 1953?—?the first African-American in the state of California to hold that position, and somehow also found time to earn a masters degree in education from the University of Redlands in 1958.

In 1977, one of San Bernardino’s library branches (on the corner of Highland and Western Ave.) was named for her.

At the age of 97, Dorothy received an honorary doctorate degree from Cal State San Bernardino. She authored five books over the course of her lifetime: Dear Meg, Improving the Services of Substitute Teachers, Beyond All This,Incredible You and What’s on Your Mind?

In Beyond All This, Dorothy documents her family’s drive and determination to succeed during a time when blacks were not considered an integral part of the community. She recalls how her parents stressed that their children not carry any bitterness because of the racial tension around them, emphasizing the importance of education and following their own ambitions in order to become successful.

In 1989, Dorothy was inducted into San Bernardino Valley College’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

“San Bernardino Valley College provided the opportunity for me to pursue the professional career which I thoroughly enjoyed for 30 years,” Dorothy said. “For this, I shall always be grateful.”

Dorothy passed away in 2012 at the age of 106.

Sources:

• Nicholas Cataldo, City of San Bernardino:http://www.sbcity.org/about/history/pioneer_women/dorothy_inghram.asp

Garrett Augustus Morgan

TRAFFIC SIGNAL: Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 – August 27, 1963), was an African-American inventor and businessman. He was the first person to patent a traffic signal. He also developed the gas mask (and many other inventions). Morgan used his gas mask (patent No. 1,090,936, 1914) to rescue miners who were trapped underground in a noxious mine. Soon after, Morgan was asked to produce gas masks for the US Army.

RILLIEUX, NORBERT: Norbert Rillieux (March 17, 1806-October 8, 1894) was an African-American inventor and engineer who invented a device that revolutionized sugar processing. Rillieux’s multiple effect vacuum sugar evaporator (patented in 1864) made the processing of sugar more efficient, faster, and much safer. The resulting sugar was also superior. His apparatus was eventually adopted by sugar processing plants all around the world.

POTATO CHIPS: The potato chip was invented in 1853 by George Crum. Crum was a Native American/African American chef at the Moon Lake Lodge resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. French fries were popular at the restaurant and one day a diner complained that the fries were too thick. Although Crum made a thinner batch, the customer was still unsatisfied. Crum finally made fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer. The customer, surprisingly enough, was happy – and potato chips were invented!