VOL. LXXVV, NO. 49 • $1.00 + CA. Sales Tax “For Over Eighty Years The Voice of Our Community Speaking for Itself THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 - 18, 2013 SEPTEMBER 17, 2015VOL. LXXXV NO 25 $1.00 +CA. Sales Tax “For Over Eighty Years The Voice of Our Community Speaking for Itself” THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

{See SOLAR A-9}

FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA

Hurricane Irma hits Florida

www.lasentinel.net

{See LAPD A-8}

Special to the Sentinel

The Brotherhood Cru-

sade, is a community orga-

nization founded in 1968

by civil rights activist Wal-

ter Bremond. For 35 years,

businessman, publisher and

civil rights activist Danny J.

Bakewell, Sr. led the Institu-

tion and last week, Brother-

hood Crusade president and

CEO Charisse Bremond

Weaver hosted a 50th Anni-

versary Community Thank

You Event on Friday, June

15, 2018 at the California

Science Center in Exposi-

tion Park.

The event was designed

to be a “thank you card”

for partners, donors, spon-

sors, elected officials and volunteers for supporting

Brotherhood Crusade pro-

grams and services. Over

700 attended the celebra-

tion, which included music,

food, historical exhibits and

videos.

Special remarks were

given by CA State Senator

Holly Mitchell, CA State

Assemblymember Reggie

Jones-Sawyer, president

& CEO Charisse Bremond

Weaver and board chairman

Danny J. Bakewell, Sr.

Proclamations and reso-

lutions were awarded to the

organization, including a

U.S. Congressional Records

Resolution from the 115th

Congress (House of Repre-

sentatives) Second Session

by Congresswoman Karen

Bass, 37th Congressional

District of California.

Distinguished guests

who attended the event in-

cluded:

CA State Senator Holly

Mitchell;

CA State Senator Steve

CA State Assemblymember

Reggie Jones-Sawyer;

civil rights advocate and

activist Danny J. Bakewell,

Sr.;

SEIU 2015 President La-

phonza Butler;

United Domestic Work-

ers president, Doug Moore;

NBA Legend AC Green;

Actress Dawnn Lewis;

CBS sports director Jim

Hill;

Los Angeles County Dis-

trict Attorney Jackie Lacey;

City Councilmember

Marqueece Harris-Dawson

(District 8);

Dr. Robert Ross, The

California Endowment.

An organization with

The event was a 'thank you card' to the Los Angeles community for a rich history of support and growth together. The

organization will continue to celebrate its 50th milestone throughout the year.

By cora JackSon-FoSSett

Staff Writer

Continuing his meet-

and-greets around the city,

new LAPD Chief Michel

Moore stopped by the

L.A. Sentinel on June 19

and heard about the press-

ing policing concerns from

South Los Angeles African

American community rep-

resentatives.

The gathering, con-

vened by Sentinel Execu-

tive Publisher Danny J.

Bakewell, Sr., included

heads of various organi-

zations such as the Urban

League, NAACP, Commu-

nity Coalition, SEIU Local

215, and the Brotherhood

Crusade. Despite diverse

missions, the groups were

united in seeking Moore’s

New LAPD Chief Shares His Policing Vision with South L.A. Black Leaders

plans to resolve long-sim-

mering grievances concern-

ing LAPD’s treatment of

minorities.

While Moore has been

the chief for only 17 days,

his 36+ years with the LAPD

- including eight years as as-

sistant chief - enables him

to hitting-the-ground-run-

ning as general manager

of the 13,000-member

department. His schedule

so far involves sharing his

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire

London Breed has made

history, becoming the first African American woman

elected mayor in San Fran-

cisco after her opponent

conceded in what had been

a razor-close race.

Breed, who had been

appointed mayor last De-

cember following the

death of Mayor Ed Lee,

was forced out of the

London Breed made history to become the first

African American woman mayor of San Francisco, Calif.

{See BREED A-8}

By aManda Scurlock

Sports Writer

Minority Boxing of-

ficials are filing a civil rights claim against the

State Boxing Commis-

sion alleging that they are

conducting discrimina-

tory practices. Three Hall

of Fame officials came forward to explain how

the Commission did not

assign as many cham-

pionship fights to them compared to their White

counterparts.

Raul Caiz Sr., Wayne

Hedgpeth, and Raul Caiz

Jr. are some of the offi-

cials that are represented

by attorney John E. Swee-

ney, who has a long record

of representing civil rights

issues. He observed the

number of championship

fights the three officials were given in California

compared to opportunities

they received in other states

and countries. The informa-

tion that he gathered can

be found on the website

boxrec.com.

“The claim that we

filed against the state of California requests dam-

ages in the amount of

$100 million,” Sweeney

said. “We believe that this

is a multimillion dollar

lawsuit once the lawsuit

is filed.” Between the years

2013 to 2017, Caiz Sr.

refereed 12 championship

fights in California and 22 championship fights out-side of California. Hedg-

peth only did two cham-

pionship fights and four outside in that time frame.

“What’s very disturb-

ing to me about this situ-

ation is the idea that the

National Boxing Federa-

tion asked for [Hedgpeth]

Attorney John Sweeney

is representing the three

boxing officials.

COURTESY OF THE SWEENEY FIRM

Sentinel newS Service

Councilmember Mar-

queece Harris-Dawson is

extremely proud to rec-

ognize SOLAR Records

(Sound of Los Angeles

Records) for their contri-

Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and a dozen other artists

and executives from SOLAR records are honored by

Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson as a part of

African American Music Appreciation Month.

PHOTO BY LEROY HAMILTON

{See REFEREES A-8}

{See BROTHERHOOD A-9}

New LAPD Chief Michel Moore continues his tour around the city with a stop at

the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper to share his vision with community leaders.

BRANDON I. BROOKS/L.A. SENTINEL

Abess Makki Aims to Mitigate Water Crises First in Detroit, Then

Around the World (See page A-3)

The Overcomer – Dr. Bill Releford Conquers Major Setback to Achieve Professional Success

(See page C-1)

Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., Board Chairman of the Brotherhood Crusade and

Charisse Bremond - Weaver, President & CEO of the Brotherhood Crusade.

Walter Bremond, Jr. Founder of the Brotherhood

Crusade.

butions to music during The

City of Los Angeles’s Afri-

can American Music Appre-

ciation Month. This event

took place at Los Angeles

City Hall on Tuesday, June

19.

The City of Los Ange-

les has been responsible

PHOTOS BY MESIYAH MCGINNIS AND LEROY HAMILTON

A-6 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWS THURSDAY,JANUARY 9, 2014

COURTESY PHOTO

A-2 LASENTINEL.NET BUSINESS THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

Special to the Sentinel

Donna Nicol, associ-

ate professor and chair of

Africana Studies, arrived

at CSUDH in fall 2017.

As a faculty member, she

teaches Comparative Eth-

nic and Global Societies.

As chair, Nicol is working

with her colleagues and the

university administration to

strengthen the program’s

curriculum and bolster its

presence on campus and in

the region.

A fourth-generation

“Comptonite,” Nicol’s deep

local roots and unique up-

bringing in a community-

focused family has had a

profound effect on her as

a researcher and educator.

She briefly left South Los Angeles for Ohio State Uni-

versity where she earned a

Ph.D. in Social and Cul-

tural Foundations of Edu-

cation with a specialization

in African American higher

educational history, and a

minor in African American

Studies in 2007.

Prior to coming to

CSUDH, Nicol was the

first woman of color to be promoted and tenured in

Women’s Studies at CSU

Fullerton. She joined the

faculty ranks at Fullerton

after spending nearly a

decade working in higher

education administration, a

nontraditional career path

that she believes gives her

a unique perspective on the

ethos of public education,

and an advantage as an aca-

demic chair.

Much of Nicol’s past

research has focused on

the role that political forces

outside a university have on

African American college

students, primarily conser-

vative philanthropic foun-

dations. She has presented

her work at national events,

and has published a variety

of articles in such publica-

tions as Race, Ethnicity and

Education and Feminist

Teacher.

Nicol is now exploring

the dynamics of women of

color teaching and working

in academic administrative

positions in higher educa-

tion, and the unique ways

they wrestle with “cultural-

identity taxation,” which

she says affects their suc-

cess on campus as well as

their personal lives.

Nicol sat down with

CSUDH Campus News

Center to discuss her

unique Compton upbring-

ing, her latest research, and

her perspectives regarding

the African American expe-

rience in higher education.

Q: To get started, can

you tell me about your up-

bringing in Compton, and

a little about how it influ-

ences you as an educator?

A: My family moved

to Compton because it was

one of the few places in Los Angeles at the time that al-

lowed African Americans to

buy homes. Coming from a

military background—my

great-grandfather was as an

Army doctor during World

War I—my great-grandpar-

ents didn’t want to go back

to the South with mixed-

race kids (Filipino and

Black). After World War II,

they moved to California

as did my paternal grand-

parents who also moved

to Compton to avoid ra-

cial segregation in the Jim

Crow South. We were one

of the few families that had

Donna Nicol, associate professor and chair of Africana Studies at CSU Dominguez Hills.

the opportunity to go to

college. My great-grand-

father was a doctor, so he

had “cultural capital,” and

taught my grandmother

how to prepare for college;

who passed it on to my

mother; who passed it on

to me.

My grandmother was

half Filipino, but wanted

others to also identify her

as a black woman. She

was a co-founder of the

Office for Black Com-

munity Development.

They created the first food co-op in Watts after the

Watts Rebellion. She also

worked for the Compton

Bulletin newspaper, and

we were very connected to

Compton politics and the

neighborhood. So I was

culturally raised Black and

Filipino, but very much

steeped in Black culture

and history. My teaching,

in part, is influenced by the local activism that I did

as a child with my grand-

mother. I talk about iden-

tity in terms of race, in-

formed by discussions on

class and gender and how

these identities shape how

we interact with the world

and region that we live in.

Sidebar: Donna Nicol

is working on her first book “Black Woman on Board:

Trustee Claudia Hampton

and the Rise and Fall of

Affirmative Action in the California State Univer-

sity System, 1974-1994,”

which will be the first monograph that chronicles

the work and impact of Dr.

Claudia Hampton, the first African American trustee

in the CSU and the first woman to ever chair a ma-

jor university board in the

United States.

Q: Can you share why

you left administration

work to go back to teach-

ing over a decade ago?

A: Being a faculty

member is the first job to give me the warm fuzzies.

I wanted to interact more

with students again, and

to experience more intel-

lectual stimulation through

research. It’s been great

because I love teaching,

especially here at Domin-

guez Hills. This university

does an excellent job of

giving students of color the

support they need. One of

the reasons I was brought

in as chair at this university

is I know the CSU system,

and I know the language of

the administration. What

also attracted me to the

position was the opportu-

nity to broaden my work

regarding race, which has

allowed me to expand upon

my previous work on the

history of African Ameri-

cans in higher education,

and to continue my work

regarding African Ameri-

can women as faculty and

academic leaders.

Q: What are some of

your plans for the Africana

Studies program?

A: The program hasn’t

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Visit www.mlkcmg.org

The MLK Community Medical Group specializes in helping community members who have been hospitalized and those with chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure and kidney diseases. We coordinate care between hospitals, the medical group and community doctors.

We offer:

Highly talented doctors for:

•Men’s and Women’s Health •Diabetes •Mental Health •Heart Disease •Surgery •Lung Disease •Urology

Doctors and staff who speak English and Spanish

New state-of-the-art office and hi-tech equipment

Care management and social services

Short wait times

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{See NICOL A-15}

PHOTO TODD GRAY

A-3 LASENTINEL.NET NEWS THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

By Jennifer Bihm

Contributing Writer

Twenty-five-year-old

Abess Makki has a vested in-

terest in creating better rela-

tionships between city gov-

ernments and their residents.

It’s not money per se, he

says, but more so altruistic in

promoting a streamlined way

for residents to pay munici-

pal expenses and for cities

to receive them. That helps

everybody, said the creator

of CityInsights, an app that

gives Detroit residents an

easier option for paying their

water bills.

The idea came to Makki,

who grew up in the motor

city, about four years ago

when local government be-

gan a massive water shut off

due to unpaid bills. With his

technology, customers can

keep abreast of their bill sta-

tus using The Detroit Water

and Sewage Department’s

customer care portal via

Amazon’s Alexa. Makki told

the Sentinel in a recent inter-

view that since then, millions

of dollars in bills have been

paid, creating a “win-win”

situation for both the city

and water customers.

Makki’s technology runs

the portal, allowing cus-

tomers to register accounts;

make or schedule payments;

use a guest pay feature;

monitor payment and ac-

count history; view and track

water usage; and arrange a

payment plan. This helps

cities collect more revenue

by improving communica-

tion with their customers.

It also helps both parties by

promoting better consumer

habits, Makki said.

Detroit began facing wa-

ter problems in 2014, a year

Twenty -five- year -old Abess Makki wants his technology to help mitigate water crises around the world.

after it became the largest

city to file for bankruptcy in U.S. history. News re-

ports from that area at the

time indicated that debts

associated with water

bonds came to over $5

million, something that

was a large contributor to

the filing. A crackdown aimed at customers ow-

ing more than $150 began

that March with the dis-

engagement of “at least”

15,000 customers, report-

ed theatlantic.com.

Outlets reported that

shut offs often came with-

out formal notice. But lo-

cal government officials at the time said that more

than half of Detroit’s resi-

dents responded to the

shut offs with immedi-

ate payment, pointing to

perhaps at least for some,

an issue with poor com-

munication rather than

an inability to pay. Makki

said that when he and his

partners, Nathan Christie,

COO and Alan Tower,

lead developer; launched

the app in August 2014,

the city received over $2

million from about 4000

customers.

They are aiming to

take their technology

global they said, hoping

to help in the mitigation

of water crises around the

world.

Makki is the co found-

er of the National Stu-

dent Water Association

(NSWA), a non-profit that raises awareness of the

global water crisis and

“provides water access as-

sistance to disadvantaged

communities in some of

the poorest nations,” ac-

cording to the CityIn-

sights website.

As a student within

the NSWA, Makki helped

build gravity water sys-

tem for 100 homes in El

Retiro, Honduras.

“From that, I received

all kinds of recognition,”

Makki recalled.

“I got a letter in the

mail from President

[Barack] Obama. That

was a shock because that

was someone I looked up

to in 2008, when he was

running. He had a funny

name like me. And, he

won.

“So, when I got that, I

thought, ‘I can do bigger

things’. I can really have

an impact on my commu-

nity… That’s how Detroit

started.”

The idea for the app

came to Makki the same

year he graduated from

Wayne State University,

where he studied and re-

ceived a bachelor’s de-

gree in nutrition and food

science. He subsequently

completed the Summer

Venture and Management

Program at Harvard Busi-

ness School.

“The whole entrepre-

neurship thing came from

curiosity,” Makki said.

“I saw an issue and I

thought, ‘how can I tackle

this’. It started off with

conversations and trying to

understand what the issue

was. We went to the us-

ers and that’s when things

started leaking out.

“We started doing our

research and in about ten

weeks [from launching],

we quadrupled the amount

of the department’s online

users.”

Makki and his team

continually apply upgrades

to the web app, keeping it

easy to use and manage.

He doesn’t go into what

he does with a monetary

mindset however, because

he finds it better to focus on what makes his product

more useful.

“When something is

useful, people will use it,”

he said.

Makki holds a fel-

lowship at the Gerald R.

Ford School of Public

Policy at the University

of Michigan, a competi-

tively awarded fellowship

received by only three in-

coming master’s students

each year. Fellows, fund-

ed by the David Bohnett

Foundation, receive two

years tuition support and a

funded internship with the

mayor working directly

with a group executive on

public policy priorities.

COURTESY PHOTO

years and has continued

to grow in size. Page went

from training four students

to training 24 students and

counting. During the dance

classes, which are taught

in French, Page teaches

the girls ballet terminol-

ogy to better equip them

with the tools they need to

confidently walk into any audition around the world.

Page also incorporates

self-esteem and life lessons

into her classes. One of the

ways she executes that is

through what she calls, sis-

ter circle.

“We all stand in a cir-

cle and hold hands and go

one-by-one giving each

other a true compliment.

Some days they are about

a person’s technique and

other days they are about

a person’s character,” she

said. “For me, that’s one

of things that bonds us.

Then when we break the circle, the first person

that we see when we leave

the studio we offer them a

compliment.” Page goes on

to say that a lot of her stu-

dents spend a night at her

home.

Project 18Fourty has

had the opportunity to per-

form at places like the Los Angeles City Council for

Council President Herb

Wesson and at a showcase

in Beverly Hills. Howev-

er, their most memorable

experience was perform-

ing at Disneyland. Project

18Fourty was the first all African American dance

group to perform main-

stream at the theme park. The following day, the

Project 18Fourty was in-

vited back to perform their

choreography on the main

stage at Disneyland.

"The goal [of Project

18Fourty] is to introduce

art to those who would

really not the first thing you push. We have a lot of ac-

countants and nurses. They

don’t really focus on enter-

tainment,” said Page.

Although Page came

from a large family, her

mother and father did what

they could to invest in her

dance lessons. As the years

went by, Page went on to

perfect her craft by travel-

ing around the world to

train in private dance stu-

dios with the best of the

best.

Here’s what Page had

to say about her past en-

counters and experience as

an African American ballet

dancer.

“[Growing up] I ex-

pressed to my mom that

I didn’t like looking dif-ferent. Sometimes we had

to wear clip on hair so

that we could all look uni-form. Just imagine danc-

ing and having to worry

about your ponytail falling

off,” said Page. “Now bal-

let has changed with Misty

Copeland and Debbie Al-

len, but when I was a kid, there was a time when you

always knew that you were an outsider. My mom al-

ways told me, ‘never feel

like an outsider, feel like an overachiever. Go past and

beyond their skill.’”Page would carry the

lessons her mother instilled

in her throughout her dance

career and later incorporate

them into her classes as a

dance instructor.

Creating The Dance

Studio

Prior to having her own

studio, Page taught dance

lessons in her house. The

idea to start her own studio

came to her after her son’s

friends sisters saw Page

conditioning and asked her to teach them.

“That was literally the

light bulb moment [when

I said to myself] ‘I don’t

want to be the only African

American Russian trained

ballerina in this area.’ I

think that is an insult to our culture, there are a lot of

kids who have unbelievable natural talent and I was one

of those kids,” she said.To date, Project 18Four-

ty has been open seven

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 NEWS LASENTINEL.NET A-4

ALL COURTESY PHOTOS

By KimBerlee BucK

Staff Writer

Tahira Aliya Page is an

international dancer who

uses her passion for dance

as a means to give back to her community, West Los Angeles/ Little Ethiopia. With 32 years of experi-

ence as a dancer, having

trained in private dance

studios in California, Eu-

rope, and South America,

Page now dedicates her

time to mentoring, volun-

teering, and teaching dance

lessons to young girls of

color in her dance studio,

Project 18Fourty.

Page is one of the few

African American, Rus-

sian trained ballerinas in

the city. According to Page,

it takes about a minimum of five hours of training a week as a child to master the conditioning for Rus-

sian style ballet. That alone

combined with her educa-

tion in performance en-

hancement and corrective

exercise from the National

Association of Sports Med-

icine makes her a force to be reckoned with and a qualified dance instructor.

Entering the World of

Dance

At a young age, Page,

decided to become a danc-

er after being exposed to

one ballet lesson she at-

tended with a childhood

friend. After her first class, her instructor spoke to her mother, and told her that

Page had a natural gift.

However, growing up in an

Islamic household with 14

siblings, eight girls and six

boys, (Page is the youngest

of a total of 15 children)

her career choice was a bit

surprising.

“[Growing up] my

mom was my inspiration.

She used to be an ice skater and she gave up her ice

skating career to have 15 children. My dad, he was

a journalist. He worked for the Final Call Newspaper,

formally known as Mu-

hammad Speaks. In an Is-

lamic household, [dance] is

Project 18Fourty dance studio founder, Tahira Aliya

Page.

{PROJECT18FOURTY A-15}

Tahira Aliya teaches young Black and Brown girls the

art of ballet.

Tahira Aliya tells young women, “dance is in your

heart, it’s in your soul.”

BY JENNIFER BIHM

Contributing Writer

“Happiness is a lifestyle,not a destination,” saysLeslie Pogue, founder of the-habitofhappy.com, a compa-ny dedicated to helping indi-viduals reach higher levelsof potential. Pogue recentlyhosted a live event here inthe Southland, (North Holly-wood specifically), duringwhich attendees participatedin an open discussion aboutthe effects of antidepres-sants. The event titled,“Prozac, Lithium, andZoloft, oh my! Get a Med-ication Exit Plan,” was forthe purpose of informingpatients on how to get offpsychiatric medication, find-ing out the root cause ofmental illness and dealingwith it in a healthy pill-freeway.“When I was first diag-

nosed with Anxiety PanicDisorder and Depression, Iwas prescribed Prozac,”Pogue said.“Even though I did

everything that I was askedto do, my doctors keptincreasing my dosage and

then recommended Lithium.All I heard was lobotomy. Isaid, ‘no way!’ I declined theLithium and got off of theProzac and decided to under-stand what it meant to haveAnxiety Panic Disorder withDepression.”“Sometimes medication

is needed in the beginningbut it does not and shouldnot be a life sentence. Youare allowed to ask your doc-tor for an exit plan,” she said.Pogue is the author of

“28 Days to Happy,” a guideof sorts, to deeper self dis-covery, a tool that shebelieves is a large factor inmental health, and “The Pos-itive Side of the Bad Stuff.”“‘28 Days to Happy’ is a

daily guide to walk youthrough acknowledging andaccepting the truth aboutwhat’s really going on inyour world,” Pogue ex-plained,“…to forgive yourself

and others for the wrongsyou feel have been done toyou; and ultimately to identi-fy and celebrate the happi-ness that is always there nomatter what comes yourway. This book will help you

acknowledge the reality ofyour life and be OK with it

enough to move on to thenext step.”Meanwhile, “Positive

Side” is a collection ofPogue’s blogs written overthe last few years.“It speaks primarily to

the personal soft skills thatwe all manage every dayfrom joy to grief to whocares to self-care. It willgive you a guide to makesense of the things in yourlife and find your positiveside of the bad stuff,” shesaid.Pogue also works as a

speaker and a life coach,sharing what she describesas her “transformative fivestep process that uncovers

a genuineness that allowsindividuals and leaders tobe extraordinary.” Throughstudy and research, shesaid, she has developedtechniques that people canuse for more effective com-munication, focused andmeasurable goal planningand coping mechanismsduring change. Those tech-niques Pogue explained,include a specific series offive actions one can take topromote happiness in his/her own life.Making up the acronym

HAPPY (in the Habit ofHAPPY title), the actionsare:• Hear your truth• Acknowledge your

feelings• Permission to feel bet-

ter• Purge the past• Yield to your new life –

The You Renewed!Those interested in her

work can visit Pogue’s blog,at thehabitofhappy. comwhere she talks about mentalillness, taking control ofone’s life and financialhealth. In one of her blogs,she talks about coping withchange, a subject of one ofher training courses. Here,the life coach lets people inon her secret:“When change is thrust

upon you in the skin of a lay-off, divorce, or for some ofus, an elected president, weneed to focus on the planswe already have in place,”Pogue explains.“Focus on all the things

you have control over andchoose how you want it toplay out. When I got laidoff, I started a business,when I got divorced, Iremarried, when I lost all mymoney, I found a way to

make more. When change isthrust upon you, it is neveran ending; it is always thebeginning to the next phaseof your life growth. Showup and you will alwayswin!”Pogue talked about some

of the life choices that ledher down a dark path.“[For instance] I chose

my second husband with myeyes open but, unbeknownstto me, I was not in an emo-tional place tomake a logicaldecision,” she said.“I thought I was so clear

that I was even able to con-vince other people that sell-ing everything I own andmoving to Wisconsin tomarry a red-headedMexicanthat I met online only twomonths prior was a goodidea. I had people high fiv-ing and applauding mycourage. What they shouldhave been saying is, ‘get therope, we are gonna hog tieyou because you are crazyand clearly a danger to your-self and others!’“No one makes a choice

with the expectation of fail-ure. That would be ridicu-lous. We always look for thewin. When it goes south, weare thrown and ask, ‘whyme?’ especially, if this seemsto be the pattern. Just knowthat you have to look deeper.Every choice is not going tobe a winner but, it is vital toknow who you are in thatmoment. The “H” inHAPPY represents ‘hearyour truth.’ Until you arehonest with yourself aboutwhere you really are andhow you really feel about thethings in your life, you willcontinue to make plans on afalse positive that can onlyend badly because it is notyour true reality…”

BY JENNIFER BIHM

Contributing Writer

Earlier this year, Amer-ica’s medical community,particularly those in thearea of obstetrics and gyne-cology, mourned the deathof one of their own, Dr.Ezra C. Davidson. He diedin March, but long timefriend and fellow physicianDr. Edward Savage Jr.wants to make sure hislegacy remains upright.Savage spoke to the Sen-tinel recently, about howDavidson’s contributions tothe medical communitywere history making as anAfrican American doctor inhis field.“He started with a bach-

elor’s degree from More-house and a medical degreefrom Meharry MedicalCollege,” Savage told theSentinel in a recent inter-view.“He joined the Air

Force after that and wasplaced in its Department ofObstetrics and Gynecolo-gy…”Davidson, he said, had

difficulty obtaining a resi-dency in the field post mil-itary, since most of thepatients were White.“Those were some of

the toughest programs [forblacks] to get into,” saidSavage.“He did get into the

Harlem Hospital in NewYork, which is affiliatedwith Columbia University.[And], he became one ofthe world experts on coagu-lation and blood clotting.For a short while, he wasinvolved in making majordecisions at the hospital in

the area of blood and blooddisorders.”Savage could have said

more, a lot more. Davidson.His major organizationalresponsibilities have in-cluded: president, Ameri-can College of Obstetri-cians and Gynecologists,Los Angeles Obstetricaland Gynecological Society;chairman, Obstetrical andGynecological Assembly ofSouthern California; chair-man, Section of Obstetricsand Gynecology NationalMedicalAssociation (NMA);chair, Board of Trustees,NMA; president of theAssociation Professors ofGynecology and Obstetrics;president, Golden StateMedicalAssociation (Chap-ter, NMA); president, NorthAmerican Society for Pedi-atric and Adolescent Gyne-cology; co-chair board ofdirectors, National Adviso-ry Board on Ethics inReproduction (NABER);and most recently, presidentof the Association of Aca-demic Minority Physicians.Davidson chaired the

Secretary’s Advisory Com-mittee on Infant Mortality(US Department of Healthand Human Services) andthe Advisory Committeefor Reproductive HealthDrugs of the Food andDrug Administration(FDA). He served on theNational Institutes ofHealth (NIH) AdvisoryCommittee to the Directorand the Advisory Commit-tee on Clinical Research.He also co-chaired the

NIH Work Group to Devel-op Guidelines for FederalFunding for HumanEmbryonic Pluripotent

Stem Cell Research. Hewas a member of the Coun-cil on Graduate MedicalEducation (COGME) andpast-chair of the Board ofDirectors for the CaliforniaWellness Foundation. Untilrecently, he was a memberof the Board of Directors ofBlue Shield of California.He has been elected to theNational Black CollegeAlumni Hall of Fame, Fel-lowship ad eundem, RoyalCollege of Obstetriciansand Gynecologists, and theInstitute of Medicine,National Academy of Sci-ences.Upon his death, his col-

leagues at ACOG releasedthe following statement:“The ACOG communi-

ty is deeply saddened tolearn of the passing of Dr.Ezra Davidson, a dedicatedphysician who devoted hislife to the ob-gyn specialtyand the health of women.Dr. Davidson served asACOG president from1990–91 and led the organ-ization in many achieve-ments, including securingsite funding for the Nation-al Fetal-Infant MortalityReview Program and thepublication of ACOG’sprenatal book for patients,ACOG Guide to Planningfor Pregnancy, Birth andBeyond. As a leader inobstetrics and gynecology,Dr. Davidson blazed a trailfor African American doc-tors to succeed in the med-ical profession…”“Dr. Davidson is impor-

tant for a number of rea-sons,” Savage said.“He did a number of

things for African Ameri-cans.”

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 NEWS LOS ANGELES SENTINEL A-5

Medical Community RemembersDr. Ezra C. Davidson

Author and Coach: ‘Happiness is a Lifestyle’

PHOTO COURTESY OF TWITTER

Leslie Pogue

SENTINEL FILE PHOTO

Dr. Ezra C. Davidson receives the Miller-Lawrence Medical & Dental Society Trailblazer

Award in 2012.

In the tradition of our

ancestors of ancient Egypt,

who wrote letters to loved

ones who had passed from

earth and ascended into the

heavens, I again write you

Limbiko Tembo, beloved

sister and sacred friend. Let

it be said countless times,

you live in our lives, in the

good we share, the work

we do and the struggles we

wage. Especially in times

like these of increased tur-

moil, tension and oppres-

sion, our love and memory

of you remind us of the

good in the world and our

obligation and commitment

to increase and sustain it.

It brings us peace and joy;

lifts us up and reminds and

reassures us of the need,

righteousness and victory

of our struggle. May you

and all the ancestors guide

and guard us in the work

we do and the struggle we

wage of which you are so

much a part. May you all

be pleased with our humble

and audacious efforts. May

we meet again in the sa-

cred land of our ancestors,

Africa. And may we again

embrace and exchange

goodness in love and joy

throughout eternity. Hotep.

Ase. Heri.

Homage to you, Lim-

biko Tembo, beautiful,

Black and radiant spirit;

lady with a rainbow of

kente cloth in your hand;

spirit sunshine, warming

our world with the mem-

ory of your smile and the

decades of good you gave

and shared with me and us.

Like all our special events

of remembering and raising

up for you during these two

months of May and June, it

is again always to celebrate

your coming into being on

earth in May and to mark

your rising in radiance in

the heavens in June. It is the

way of our honored ances-

tors, to celebrate life, mark

death, and find uplifting, useful and enduring mean-

ing extracted from both of

these cycles of life. Thus,

sometimes I write in May,

but mostly in June, having

experienced both sets of

emotions, although I, we,

feel both sets of emotions

in varying degrees at the

celebration of your birth

and the marking of your

transition and ascension.

In May the happiness of

knowing and loving you are

dominant, but the sadness

of your absence inevitably

knocks at the door and en-

ters, even if for only a short

while and a soft whisper.

And in June, the missing is

greater although Kawaida

and ancestral custom in-

sist on our focusing on the

positive, on what was given

and shared, not what was

lost or left undone. But, I,

we, find ourselves not as grounded in the teachings

as we might want to be

concerning this acquired

and disciplined strength.

And so, we console our-

selves in our recurrent sad-

ness with the comforting

truth that the constant pain

of missing loved ones is

not only evidence of our

enduring love, but also a

poignant reminder of their

value to us and the sense of

loss we will always feel, if

what we declare and claim

is true and real.

Limbiko, I write you

this letter from the battle-

front, in the belly of the

beast of a resurgent White

supremacy. Since your tran-

sition and ascension, there

has been no let up in the

oppression of our people,

even though it comes with

various outwardly chang-

• DR. MAULANA KARENGA •

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the los aNgeles seNtiNel

{See KARENGA A-8}

THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 16, 2017

• A BLACK PERSPECTIVE • LARRY AUBRY

A-6 LASENTINEL.NET OPINION THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

DR. MAULANA KARENGA

LARRY AUBRY

ing chameleon colors. And

because White supremacy

has not changed except in

outward colors and forms,

we, the oppressed, cannot

become lax or walk away

from the battlefield until the struggle is won. And as

Min. Malcolm taught us,

we must not be fooled by

outward appearances, me-

dia manipulation and other

such seductive words and

ways of achieving compli-

ance and submission. For

Malcolm says, if we face

the unadorned and undis-

guised reality and truth of

it, we are not beneficiaries, but rather “victims of (this)

democracy” which he as-

serts is “nothing by dis-

guised hypocrisy”. Indeed,

he taught that in spite of our

constant search and strug-

gle for freedom, justice,

equity, security and peace,

we live in a war zone and

“wherever a Black person

is is a battleline.” There-

fore, he concludes, regard-

less of the city or section of

the country we live in, we

“are living in a country that

is a battleline for all of us”.

So, I greet you each

morning, as we have done

since the Sixties, saying

subalkheri, peace in the

morning, but realizing

always that the work of

peace is still unfinished, for it is tied to the struggle

for freedom, justice and

security from systemic vio-

lence of every kind. Thus,

we also declare each and

every day “It’s a good day

to struggle.” So, Tiamoyo,

Chimbuko, the advocates

and I send you Limbiko,

warm greetings of solidar-

ity and struggle, then, you

the reluctant soldier, who

wanted to just teach, share

goodness, love, and live a

good life. You never saw

yourself as fully a Simba of

Us, an all-seasons soldier,

but you waged the struggle

with us anyhow, realizing

that education itself is a

battle ground and every

school or place of learning

is a site of struggle over

ideas, policies, practices,

representation and power.

Indeed, it is Us who taught

as early as the 60s that the

key battle we are fighting is the battle for the hearts and

minds of our people, and

that if we lose this battle,

we can’t hope to win any

other.

Clearly, you realized

and responded effectively

to this lived reality as a

public-school teacher and

certainly as teacher, vice

principal and principal of

the school that now bears

your name in honor of

you, the Limbiko Tembo

School of African Ameri-

can Culture. But you also

taught advocacy, member-

ship classes, concerning the

history, goals and practices

of our organization Us, its

role in the liberation move-

ment and its philosophy of

life and struggle, Kawaida.

And you participated in

many demonstrations and

countless meetings for jus-

tice; peace in the world; a

living wage; equity and

excellence in education;

and freedom and justice for

Africa, Haiti, Palestine and

all the struggling peoples of

the world. And the struggle

continues, and I, we, are

missing you in the middle

of the raging madness and

the righteous movement

forward. Your spirit re-

mains here with us, but oh,

if we could right now in

this surrounded but defiant space, hear your voice, ad-

vice and laughter, and em-

brace you!

You probably know this

already, but I tell you just

to share with you as we al-

ways did, and to be uplifted

and reinforced by it. Per-

haps, more so than when

you were everyday with us,

things seem to be spinning

out of control. The world is

marked by increasing tur-

moil and tension; and the

country is adrift and seem-

ingly drowning in a sea of

sordid and senseless ideas

and actions, bringing great

harm to the oppressed many

for the greed and “good”

of the favored few. Also,

there is an orange-colored

pretender on the crumbling

throne of the American em-

pire, arming and emulating

his client and allied oppres-

sor countries, seeking secu-

rity behind high walls, the

brutal occupation and plun-

der of other peoples’ lands,

and the merciless corralling

and killing of adults and

children by various tech-

nological, bureaucratic and

standard bloodletting and

life-depriving ways.

Again, there is no let

up or relief from the sights

and sounds of suffering in

this country and around

the world and therefore,

there can be no let up, lax-

ity or loss of heart in our

righteous and relentless

struggle. It was among the

first things I told you when we met about the lessons

of history and the obliga-

tion and eventual victory of

our struggle. But there were

also other things we talked

about and shared about

love and life in the times of

turmoil and tension and un-

relenting oppression. It was

about creating free space in

the midst of the war zone,

bringing and offering peace

to each other and shaping

and sharing beauty in spite

of the ugliness in other

places. It was in the end, we

said, all about love, love of

each other and our people

and about, as our Kiapo

says, struggling “to bring

into being a new world,

a world in which we, our

children and our people can

live, love and create freely

and stand and walk in a

warmer sun.” And we have

“If Black Lives Mat-

ter, why do they kill each

other?” Why is violence

more the rule than the ex-

ception? Why more and

more gangs and drugs?

Why is life no longer sa-

cred?

These questions are

posed by many people,

including African Ameri-

cans, who cannot get be-

yond the perceived ‘totally

dysfunctional” behavior of

young Black males in in-

ner cities across this coun-

try.

With disturbing pre-

dictability, mainstream

media reports on African

American youth violence

and killing as though they

are genetically prone to

violence. Of course that’s

nonsense. Actually, except

for the most sensational

cases, their behavior is not

news and the media makes

little, if any reference con-

cerning the causal factors

for such behavior. Blacks,

especially, should under-

stand that the silence of

their leaders, politicians,

especially, contributes to

the violence and killings.

In 2015, following several

years of reduced violent

crimes, the Los Angeles

Police Department report-

ed a significant increase in these crimes despite

“new” community polic-

ing efforts. Barely a word

was heard from Black City

or county elected officials.To better understand

the devastating combina-

tion of racism, political

negligence ineffective par-

ents and failing schools on

poor Black youth, consider

the following:

Black youth in urban

America exist largely in an

environment of negativity

and failure that permeates

every aspect of their lives.

The underlying social, eco-

nomic and political factors

must be understood, not to

absolve them of responsi-

bility for criminal behavior,

but to better understand the

broader implications, for

Black youth and society.

Social, political, psycho-

logical and economic com-

plexities are interrelated

and must be treated as such.

The self-image of large

numbers of inner-city

Black youth is severely

damaged at an early age.

Their attitudes and behav-

ior reflect a battle with con-

ditions and problems for

which they are not respon-

sible. Conditioned inferior-

ity becomes a vicious norm

with personal pride at a

premium because so many

Black youth must deal with

systemic adversity daily.

Psychological coping

devices include rationaliza-

tion for failure and devel-

oping elaborate subcultures

which may involve drugs,

gangs, exaggerated ma-

cho and violent behavior.

These help many young

African Americans to sur-

vive, but the price is devas-

tating.

An example of the dys-

functionality of the inner-

city environment: Many

Black students label all

Black academic achiev-

ers as “acting White.” But

for the accusers, the norm

is academic failure and in-

cludes dressing, talking,

behavior and even “walk-

ing Black.” It also involves

the ability to “waste” (hurt

or even kill) an adversary.

Such hardened, misguided

“pride and respect” con-

spicuously rejects societal

mores.

An especially vexing

question is why so many

Black youth are vulnerable

to such destructive coping

mechanisms. Denouncing

educational achievement

as “acting White,” for ex-

ample, must be understood

within a much broader con-

text.

Schools tell “unruly”

youth to work hard, behave

themselves, respect others’

rights, obey the law and

they will be successful.

These young people’s life

experiences suggest some-

thing far different. They

may be as intelligent as

any others, but know they

are neither valued nor re-

spected. Early in life, they

learn that they are treated

differently and discover

things don’t work out for

them even if they follow all

of the rules.

Sadly, students achiev-

ing academically and ac-

cused of “acting White,”

often develop “cover-up”

methods. One such tech-

nique is to hide their aca-

demic aspirations and abili-

ties by not volunteering

or speaking out in class.

Another is to emulate the

mannerisms of their accus-

ers who are not doing well

in school. And increasingly,

motivated and achieving

African American students

are being pressured into

altering their behavior in

order to survive in an en-

vironment which itself re-

flects the values and moral-ity of a racist society.

African American adult

males are, for the most

part, spectators of the tragic

scenario engulfing many of its youth. Adults of ev-

ery socio-economic level

commiserate over esca-

lating crime and violence

among youth, but for rea-

sons known and obscure,

these same adults do not

take a meaningful role in

alleviating the problems

confronting their children.

Fundamentally, of course,

problems confronting the

youth are substantially the

same as those confronting

Black adults. It follows

that many of the latter ei-

ther deny or minimize the

systemic barriers that affect

their own lives.

Although many African

American youth are dis-

proportionately involved in

violent crime, as a group,

they are not psychologi-

cally ill, as many believe.

Considering the enormous

stress they experience con-

stantly, it’s a wonder most

inner city Black children

manage to adjust and sur-

vive reasonably well. But

the price is high. As men-

tioned, these youth are

victims of a dispassionate

world and are often blamed

for things over which they

have no control.

African American adults

must assume a more active

role in helping all Black

youth. They have primary

responsibility for doing so.

(White America’s position

is clear: it neither cares nor

assumes any responsibility

for the Black child.) The

African American commu-

nity must accord the prob-

lems of youth top priority.

However, as long as adults

tend to characterize most

inner-city African Ameri-

can youth as violent, incor-

{See AUBRY A-8}

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 OPINION LOS ANGELES SENTINEL A-7

• DR. ELIZABETH V. PRIMAS •Program Manager for NNPA ESSA, Public Awareness Campaign

The National FamilyEngagement Summit of2018 was held in Rich-mond, Va. Throughout thesummit, multiple opportu-nities were provided forattendees to interact withsome of the nation’s lead-ing experts in parent andfamily engagement. Partic-ipants came from near andfar. Over 300 teachers, par-ents, administrators, andcommunity activists partic-ipated, presented, net-worked, taught and learnedstrategies to increase fami-ly engagement. One pre-senter described the differ-ence between involvementand engagement as thelevel of commitment, stat-ing, “It’s like you’ve got aring on it! You’re not justpassively attending a fewparent-teacher meetings,but you’re planning, mak-ing decisions, running forthe school board andmore.”The Every Student Suc-

ceeds Act (ESSA), speaksspecifically to parent andfamily engagement. Datahighlighted examples ofthe successful impact par-ents can have when theyare present in their child’sschool. One presenterpointed out that, “Parentstend to be extremelyinvolved with students inthe early elementarygrades. They bring them toschool, speak with theteacher frequently, and aremore likely to volunteer forfield trips, classroom activ-ities, and attend parent-teacher meetings.” Howev-er, around the third grade,parents start to reduce theirinvolvement. They attendfewer meetings, volunteerfor field-trips and otherevents less, and seldomspend time in the building.In some cases, they mayhave only met the teacherjust once.When students reach

third grade and began tosocialize more independ-ently with friends, parentengagement often wanes.It’s not surprising that after

requiring almost, constantsupervision that parentsbreathe a sigh of reliefwhen their children gainnewfound independence.However, these are thetimes when our childrenrequire increased attention,specifically our youngBlack males. There is sig-nificant data to show a cor-relation between K-12completion, literacy, andadulthood incarceration.The NAACP reported thatAfrican Americans areincarcerated at more thanfive times the rate ofWhites and, nationwide,African American childrenrepresent 32 percent ofchildren who are arrested.Blacks make up just 13 per-cent of the U.S. population.Patterns, such as, absen-teeism, delinquent behav-ior, and academic apathy,correlate with high suspen-sion rates and subsequentincarceration.ESSA places increased

priority on parentalengagement and requiresstates to provide innovativestrategies to incorporateparental and family en-gagement into a school’sdecision-making, and plan-ning. ESSA stresses two-way communication. Thisrequires teachers, and ad-ministrators to reach out toparents in clear, concise,

relatable ways that encour-age feed-back and input atevery level of implementa-tion. Some non-traditionalcommunication strategiesinclude social media use, e-newsletters, and short sur-veys. Administrators andteachers are encouraged toschedule meetings thataccommodate parents withdifferent hours of availabil-ity.ESSA does not dictate

the ways in which schoolsare required to engage par-ents. However, educatorsshould recognize the cru-cial role parental partner-ships play in preparing stu-dents for college andcareers.This summer, the

National Newspaper Pub-lishers Association willhost its second NationalBlack Parents’ Town HallMeeting on EducationalExcellence. The conversa-tion on parent engagementwill continue at the Gethse-mane Community Fellow-ship Church on Tuesday,June 26, from 6pm – 9pmETS. This event will belivestreamed and for thefirst time, NNPAESSAwillhost two viewing rooms inCalifornia—one in LosAngeles, and the other inSan Francisco. If you arenot able to join us in Nor-folk, Va., you should cer-tainly make your way to theviewing rooms in Califor-nia or join the livestreamonline.Participants who pre-

register and are present ineither location are eligibleto win grand prizes. Regis-ter today by visitingwww.nnpa.org/essa/events.Dr. Elizabeth Primas is

an educator, who spent

more than 40 years work-

ing towards improving edu-

cation for children of

diverse ethnicities and

backgrounds. Dr. Primas is

the program manager for

the NNPA’s Every Student

Succeeds Act Public

Awareness Campaign. Fol-

low Dr. Primas on Twitter

@elizabethprimas.

Parental EngagementSecret to

Academic Success

• FAITH PETRIE •

On Monday, June 18,20-year-old rapperXXXTentacion was shotand killed in Florida afteran apparent robbery-gone-wrong.Fans and celebrities

alike took to social mediato express their condo-lences and the feeling ofloss they felt as a result ofthe young rapper’s death.Born Jahseh Dwayne

Onfroy, he seemed to begoing upwards in terms ofhis career. His debut studioalbum “17” reached num-ber two on the Billboard200. Onfroy’s sophomoreand final album “?”reached number one on theBillboard 200. His singlefrom the “?” album, “Sad,”debuted at number 17 onthe Billboard 100. But allof his successes wereshrouded by his checkeredpast.Onfroy was no stranger

to controversy as somewould say his career wasbuilt off of his questionableimage. From stints involv-ing Onfroy being in and outof jail, his harrowing abuseallegations, his variousfeuds with popular rappersincluding Drake, and Spoti-fy punishment regardinghis alleged assault, Onfroywas well aware of the typeof person many viewed himas.

To some, Onfroy was amonster and in their eyes,his actions overshadowedhim even in death.When the news broke

of his death, there wereheartbroken fans floodingmy timeline but there wasalso something else lurkingin the hub of @s and screennames. Many felt becauseof Onfroy’s past, what hap-pened to him was welldeserved.Twitter user @rvsko-

rdei said, “how are yougoing to expect us to feelsorry or any remorse forsomeone who was homo-phobic, an abuser, ANDsaid he liked to rapewomen? HOW?” Manyflocked to the replies tonote Onfroy’s age and howhe had time to grow andlearn from his past mis-takes.But to what extent can

the phrase “past mistakes”trump the mistake that wascommitted?Something that has

become seemingly un-avoidable in recent times is“cancel culture.” To put itsimply, “cancel culture” iswhen people who havedone or said somethingeither recently or in the pastget “canceled” meaning

XXXTentacion Still HadRoom to Grow

FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA

Dr. Elizabeth Primas says

that ESSA places increased

priority on parental

engagement and requires

states to provide innova-

tive strategies to incorpo-

rate parental and family

engagement into a school’s

decision-making.

Faith Petrie

What do you believe?Why do you believe whatyou believe? Perhaps mostimportantly, how do youtest the validity of the ideasthat you have come tobelieve?In today’s world, tech-

nology has made it easy foreveryone to share theirideas and opinions. I thinkmost of us would agree thatdialogue is a great thing asit gives us an opportunity toconsider perspectives dif-ferent from our own andpossibly learn something.Historically, this delibera-tion process has beenessential in ushering inprogress and positivechanges. However, beingconfronted with an idea dif-ferent from our own oftenputs us in a vulnerableposition. Challenges to ourworldview is like a chal-lenge to our identity andeven considering a differ-ent perspective can bescary and make us feeluncomfortable. We mayfeel that our intuition isstrong but still be withoutany definitive facts to makeour case.In the scientific world,

when a new idea (hypothe-sis) is introduced, it isn’tsimply debated until theperson with the most ener-gy, influence, and loudestmouth wins. The new ideais subject to real scrutiny inthe form of experimenta-tion. Einstein’s relativitytheory and the intuitivethought objects he carriedout were correct but it wascrucial that astrophysicistEddington (Einsteins con-temporary) was willing toput it to the test. Eddingtontraveled to Principe, Africato run the experiment tovalidate Einstein's theoriesabout spacetime, usingobservation of actual

effects on the physical uni-verse to test the theory. IfEinstein was right (Edding-ton thought) then the pres-ence of the sun (and it’sgravitation” had the powerto “bend” the light of thesurrounding stars and therewas no better way to testthis than during an eclipsewhich would darken thesky during the day, allow-ing starlight to be visibleand then compared to pic-tures if the same stars atnight, without the presenceof the sun. As it turned outthey were both right andthe experiment conductedproduced the desiredresults. The existence ofthe principle of Relativitywas officially outside of therealm of opinion and now afact.We seldom think of

principles of social organi-zation, history or philoso-phy in a scientific way butI believe that is a mistakethat will soon be correctedin civilization. I believethat we can subject opin-ions and ideas in all ofthese areas to a standard ofscientific scrutiny that willinform us and prove thevalidity or invalidity ofany idea. We may not beable to take opinions andpersonal beliefs and photo-graph them during aneclipse, as Eddington did

with Einstein’s theory,however we can makeobservations of our ownand observe the effects ofthose ideas on society. Wecan put these ideas to thetest by observing theireffect on people.Let’s conduct a quick

thought experiment. Chooseany idea, theory or philoso-phy policy or opinion totest in your mind. I’ll wait:). Ok, now let’s ask our-selves a series of questions.How does this asserted ideaaffect other people? Does itincrease knowledge? Doesit empower people? It issomething that uses andtakes advantage of people?Does it improve the qualityof people’s lives includinga standard of living? Doesit promote fraternity or pro-mote confusion? Is it uplift-ing to the human spirit ordegrading? Are there ex-amples of when the same orsimilar ideas were prac-ticed in history? What hap-pened then? I think you getthe drift by now.I’m currently of the

opinion that very fewthings in this world areeither “Black” or “White”and answers to these ques-tions are sure to be variedand fall into different spec-trums, both “negative” and“positive” however, by uti-lizing this method theanswers will be factual andprovide a substantive foun-dation for having an in-formed discussion. A dis-cussion that hopefully turnsinto action that will have apositive effect in thisworld.Ardena Joy Clark is an

American activist, writer,

award winning recording

artist, former elected offi-

cial and author of “The Art

of Choosing Joy; A Script

in the Making of My Life.”

‘Free Thought,’ Opinion,Foolishness and Valid

Ideas Navigating Change

Ardena Joy Clark

• ARDENA JOY CLARK •

David G. Brown Editorial Cartoon

people will not support saidperson in whatever futureprojects they haveapproaching. In a way it’s acommon-man’s blacklist-ing.But the issue with can-

celling someone is this:How can the person growwhen they are now being

ostracized for whatever“bad” thing he did? Now,I’m not saying they shouldhave treated Onfroy like adog who tore up yourfavorite pair of slippers andcooed, “You did a badthing.” But Onfroy didhave time to grow.One of his last updates

was on his Instagram story,a multicolored backgroundthat read, “planning a char-ity event for this weekend[in] Florida!”This small act definitely

wouldn’t right the manywrongs he had done in hispast but it was a step in theright direction.

A-8 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL OPINION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2013

Referee {continued from Pg. A-1}

LAPD {continued from Pg. A-1}

A-8 LASENTINEL.NET NEWS THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

BRANDON I. BROOKS/L.A. SENTINEL

Breed {continued from Pg. A-1}

COURTESY PHOTO

Aubry {continued from Pg. A-6}

rigible, lazy, etc., (the Bill

Cosby syndrome), there is

little chance the political

will and resources needed to

alleviate the problem will be

forthcoming.

The ultimate tragedy is

not only excessive violence

and loss of young Black

lives, it is also the loss of

hope and life-sustaining

motivation by generations

of African American youth

born in a nation whose

pronouncements of justice

and equality are but a cruel

mockery of the countless

lives it relegates to failure

and early death.

l.aubry@att.net

not and will not move from

this position.

Dr. Maulana Karenga,

Professor and Chair of

Africana Studies, Califor-

nia State University-Long

Beach; Executive Direc-

tor, African American Cul-

tural Center (Us); Creator

of Kwanzaa; and author

of Kwanzaa: A Celebra-

tion of Family, Community

and Culture and Essays

on Struggle: Position and

Analysis, www.AfricanA-

mericanCulturalCenter-LA.

org; www.OfficialKwan-

zaaWebsite.org; www.Mau-

lanaKarenga.org.

Karenga {continued from Pg. A-6}

vision with officers and staff at police station roll calls as

well as repeating that mes-

sage to the community and

listening to their issues.

“My commitment to

you is that I need to listen

to what the needs are in

South Los Angeles. I am a

resource to you and I need

to hear from you when you

have concerns relative to

the department, whether

those are specific concerns relative to an event or more

broadly as challenges exist

in the overall temperament

as the LAPD does it work,”

said Moore in his introduc-

tory remarks.

Acknowledging the his-

torically tense relationship

between communities of

color and LAPD, Moore

insisted that he will con-

duct more listening sessions

that focus on improving his

department’s rapport with

African American, Latino,

Korean, Filipino and Pacific Islander residents.

In addition, Moore aims

to conduct a customer ser-

vice survey to learn the

public’s opinion of policing

in their neighborhoods, in-

crease diversity throughout

the LAPD ranks, update

technology resources for of-

ficers and institute a “polic-

ing with a purpose” philoso-

phy for law enforcement

staff.

“I want to look at the

activities that we are do-

ing and how they map back

to policing with purpose,

which means the purpose

of safeguarding the lives

and property of the people

we serve, building trust and

acting with integrity. Those

things should define what our activities are in neigh-

borhoods across the city,”

he explained.

“If we’re putting re-

sources in areas that are

over-policed and undermin-

ing the trust of those com-

munities thinking that we’re

helping, that is the LAPD of

old. I grew up in that organi-

zation and the outcome was

terrible. How are we polic-

ing so that we demonstrate

compassion? Everyone de-

serves dignity. If we don’t

respect people, people are

not going to respect us. It’s

a mutual responsibility. And

when we’re not respected,

we still must take the high

road. That is what we’re

sworn to do,” he said.

Many community rep-

resentatives questioned

LAPD’s policy on use-of-

force, which has resulted

in the death of several Af-

rican American young men.

Moore responded that his

goal was to ensure that of-

ficers had the right tem-

perament, proper tools and

training, and aware of the

regulations when employ-

ing that action.

“I also need to make

sure they know that there

are boundaries and when

they break those boundar-

ies, there will be account-

ability and judgment is

what they must take and

own. One of my primary

tasks is to ensure that those

boundaries are identified and standards are met. If

they’re not met, discipline

is meted out, that there is a

consequence,” said Moore.

Turning the focus back

on diversity, Charisse Bre-

mond-Weaver, president

and CEO of Brotherhood

Crusade, asked Moore for

African American statistics

in LAPD’s upper ranks.

Moore replied that approxi-

mately 15 percent of the

command staff is Black,

but he wantst to increase

the number because many

of the existing staff will re-

tire in the next three-to-five years.

Laphonza Butler, presi-

dent of SEIU Local 215, in-

quired about Moore’s strat-

egies for recruitment and

building trust in the com-

munity and his answer

was “shared partnerships”

in that effort.

“If we promote com-

munity partnership at a

neighborhood level, I be-

lieve as I get resources and

we engage communities

in non traditional ways

– foot beats along Cren-

shaw Blvd., attendance at

street fairs – supporting

ways to give a community

life, that’s what I believe

will build trust and build

the opportunity for us to

ask for help (with recruit-

ment),” Moore said.

Other topics discussed

with the chief included

supporting bail reform, al-

lowing inmates to be reg-

istered to vote, and collab-

orating with the Board of

Police Commissioners to

change policies detrimen-

tal to minorities, to which

Moore expressed willing-

ness to work with commu-

nity leaders on each issue.

Additional attendees

offering input were Dr.

William Burke, chair-

man of the South Coast

Air Quality Management

District; Elder Charles

Blake II, assistant pastor

of West Angeles Church

of God in Christ; Jacque-

line Dupont-Walker, pres-

ident of Ward Economic

Development Corporation

and MTA commissioner;

Ron Hasson, president

of the NAACP – Holly-

wood/Beverly Hills; Carl

Henley, president of the

NAACP – L.A.; Rickie

Ivie, principal at Ivie, Mc-

Neil & Wyatt Law Firm;

Michael Lawson, presi-

dent and CEO of the Los

Angeles Urban League;

Tracy Mitchell, president

of Mothers in Action; Al-

berto Retana, president

and CEO of the Commu-

nity Coalition; and Joseph

Rouzan III, executive

director of the Vermont-

Slauson Economic Devel-

opment Corporation.

Summing up the meet-

ing with Moore, Bakewell

said, “I’m happy that

he came. He does seem

like he has a different ap-

proach. He professes to be

committed to accountabil-

ity by LAPD to the com-

munity, but time will tell.

It’s not their philosophy

or conversation we must

judge, but their actions.

“I will reserve judg-

ment for the moment and

give him the benefit of the doubt, but I stand ready,

willing and able to hold

his feet to the fire because the future of our commu-

nity is very much depend-

ed upon it and certainly

the future of young Black

men and women is deter-

mined on how he is able to

lead LAPD and work with

our community.”

post after officials cited a conflict with her position on the city’s Board of Supervi-

sors.

She defeated former

State Senator Mark Leno in

a close race that came down

to 14,000 provisional ballots

counted, over the past week.

“I am London Breed,

I am president of the San

Francisco Board of Supervi-

sors, and soon to be mayor

of the city and county of San

Francisco,” she told a crowd

gathered downtown after

Leno conceded. “I am truly

humbled, and I am truly

honored.”

Born in San Francisco,

Breed was raised by her

grandmother in the city’s

public housing.

Breed praised United

States Senator Kamala Har-

ris (D-Calif.), among others,

as being an influence. She said she wanted to emulate

her grandmother, who took

care of the community and

looked after everyone.

“It’s really amazing,

and it's really an honor and

I know it means so much

to so many people,” she

said, responding to a ques-

tion about being the first African American female

to earn election to the city’s

mayor’s office. “This is my home and I grew up in some

of the most challenging of

circumstances.”

Breed continued: “I think

the message that this sends

to the next generation of

young people growing up

in this city, that no matter

where you come from, you

can do anything you want

to do.”

In a January interview

with NNPA Newswire,

Breed said she planned to

remain the same outspoken,

43-year-old who was raised

on the hard knock streets of

the Fillmore District, just

southwest of Nob Hill.

“People sometimes say

about me, ‘I can’t believe,

she said that.’ I remind

them, I’m from Fillmore,

but I say it in the way we

say it in the streets—‘Fill-

Mo,’” Breed said. “When

you come from the kind

of community that I come

from and experience a lot

of frustration, if you are not

outspoken you can’t get the

things done that you need

to [get done].”

After first being ap-

pointed to take over for

Lee after his death on De-

cember 12, local media

noted that Breed has been

criticized for being “head-

strong” and “outspoken,”

once even announcing to

her peers that she “was no

shrinking violet.”

“I am who I am, and I

didn’t think I’d ever run

for office, because I am who I am,” Breed said. “I

say what I feel like I need

to say and that’s how I’ve

always been, and I couldn’t

live with myself, if I felt

that I have to change to be

an elected official.”

to be a referee on a particu-

lar championship fight,” Sweeney said. “The Cali-

fornia State Athletic Com-

mission stepped in and said

“No, we want to assign our

own referee.”

The lawsuit also shows

the number of fights the three members have in com-

parison to White referees.

“According to the web-

site that tracks [boxing

matches] one White ref-

eree—and we’ll name that

person in the lawsuit—from

2013 to 2017 in California,

he got 18 championship

fights,” Sweeney said. “Out-side of California, he only

got four.”

Another White official did 23 championship fights in California during that

span of five years. Sweeney noted how the executive di-

rector once told Raul Caiz

Sr. that he is consistently

ranked the top Boxing ref-

eree in California.

Hedgpeth was also in-

ducted into the New Jersey

Hall of Fame for his Boxing

and referee career. Caiz Jr.

is a well known referee who

has done fights in several countries including England

and Japan.

Officiating champion-

ship match give referees

opportunities at different

commissions, according to

Sweeney.

“Championship fights are the ones that pay the most

money and that are on TV and

that get you publicity so that

you become a well-known of-

ficial,” Sweeney said. “You become a celebrity official by doing championship fights.”

Early in his career, Swee-

ney was mentored by Johnnie

Cochran. He hired Sweeney to

work at the L.A. County Dis-

trict Attorney’s Office after Sweeney graduated from the

California College of Law.

“He would be 20 years

ahead of the game,” Swee-

ney said. “He instilled in me

a dogged determination and

Newly appointed LAPD Chief Michael Moore visits

the Sentinel for a discussion with prominent Black

community leaders.

Official Wayne Hedgpeth was allowed to referee four championship

games in a span of five years.

COURTESY OF THE SWEENEY FIRM

San Francsico Mayor London Breed.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2013 OPINION LOS ANGELES SENTINEL A-9A-9 LASENTINEL.NET NEWS THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

Brotherhood {continued from Pg. A-1}

Solar{continued from Pg. A-1}

a rich legacy for making an

impact in the Los Angeles

community, Brotherhood

Crusade was headed up for

35 years by businessman,

publisher and civil rights ac-

tivist Danny J. Bakewell, Sr.

“50 years is a great mile-

stone to commemorate the

great work that we have done

within the community,” said

board chairman and past

president Danny J. Bakewell,

Sr. “This wouldn’t be possi-

ble without the support of so

many individuals and other

organizations. Brotherhood

Crusade was founded to be

the driving force within our

own community as an exam-

ple of what we can achieve

through self-determination

and self-reliance as a com-

munity and as a people. I

can’t express how proud I am

of the vision that my friend

and Brotherhood founder

Walt Bremond had, the great

work, advocacy and accom-

plishments during my time

as president and the great

achievements of Charisse,

our board of directors and

our staff as we move the

Brotherhood Crusade into

the next 50 years. This legacy

was only attainable because

so many people (too many to

name) were committed to the

idea of Black people support-

ing those programs, projects

and ideas that are the best for

our community.”

Now, Brotherhood Cru-

sade president and CEO Cha-

risse Bremond Weaver con-

tinues the legacy of her late

father Walter Bremond and

mentor, Danny J. Bakewell,

Sr., as she maintains partner-

ships and forges new allianc-

es to build on the organiza-

tion's historic impact.

The organizations' prin-

cipal mission is to champion

equality and equity by re-

moving and/or helping indi-

viduals overcome the barri-

ers that deter their pursuit of

success in life and facilitate

opportunities for a better

quality of life via health &

wellness, academic suc-

cess, increasing financial literacy, access to artistic

& cultural awareness and

building community agen-

cies & institutions.

Charisse Bremond

Weaver, Brotherhood

Crusade’s president and

CEO said, "We are deeply

grateful to everyone who

joined us to celebrate hav-

ing reached this monu-

mental milestone. We

would like to thank all of

our partners, donors and

friends for your support

and participation in our

50-year history of serving

the community with pride,

compassion and commit-

ment. Whether you donat-

ed a dollar or thousands of

dollars, your partnership

means the world to us.

This event was our way

of expressing gratitude

because our history and

future are rooted in this

community, the people we

serve and the people who

make it possible for us to

move our mission to serve

forward."

To learn more about

Brotherhood Crusade and

upcoming 50th Anniver-

sary news, visit https://

brotherhoodcrusade.org/.

To donate to Brother-

hood Crusade programs

and services, visit http://

igfn.us/f/neb/n.

for a number of spectacu-

lar events in celebration

of African American Mu-

sic Appreciation Month at

City Hall. Last year, Mayor

Eric Garcetti kicked off the

month with a special visit

from Lionel Richie. Coun-

cilmember Harris-Dawson

continued the celebrations

with presentations for Soul

Train, Bill Withers, Reggie

Andrews, and The Living

Legends Foundation. Ad-

ditionally, Councilmember

Harris-Dawson’s office spearheaded the Prince Me-

morial Concert on the steps

of City Hall.

This year’s presentation

will culminate this mile-

stone 40th Year Anniver-

sary by revisiting the vision

of Dick Griffey, the work of

the artists, creative teams,

and SOLAR Executives

who helped develop and lay

the foundation for SOLAR.

Mr. Griffey’s brilliant busi-

ness acumen, knowledge of

music, A & R, and the mu-

sic business overall, cou-

pled with record promotion,

marketing, and his leader-

ship guided the success of

the label.

SOLAR was founded in

1977, after Dick Griffey and

Don Cornelius folded Soul

Train Records. SOLAR was

the most dominant Black-

owned record label from the

late 1970’s through 80’s.

SOLAR, through its peak

in the 1980s, quickly earned

its moniker, “the Motown

of the '80s,” for its stable

of artists. Legendary re-

cording artists such as The

Whispers, Shalamar, Lake-

side, Dynasty, Klymaxx,

Midnight Star, The Deele

(featuring Antonio "L.A."

Reid and Kenny “Baby-

face” Edmonds) Carrie Lu-

cas, Collage, and Calloway

have Griffey’s imprint on

them. His hits are inescap-

able, with classics includ-

ing “Second Time Around”,

This Is For The Lover In

You “Fantastic Voyage,”

“And the Beat Goes On,”

“Rock Steady,” “Tender

Lover,” “Two Occasions,”

“Freak-A-Zoid,” and “Men

All Pause,” amongst a string

of other hits.

“The legacy of SOLAR

Records cannot be over-

stated,” said Councilmem-

ber Harris-Dawson. “Not

only did they produce some

of the most successful and

well-known hits of the 80’s,

their legacy directly impact

some of today’s most re-

spected and successful art-

ists.”

The "SOLAR Sound"

was a collective effort, with

artists working on each

other's projects, and art-

ists were encouraged to be

creative. Leon F. Sylvers,

III became SOLAR's house

producer in 1978 and his

signature basslines and pro-

ductions helped mold the

hit sound of SOLAR, which

is funky, progressive dance

music infused with soul and

disco.

Former SOLAR mem-

bers who attended the

event included: Shalamar,

The Whispers, Lakeside,

Dynasty, Carrie Lucas,

Leon Sylvers, The Sylvers,

Klymaxx, Collage, Mid-

night Star, The Deele, and

Calloway along with SO-

LAR Executives and other

VIPs.

Danny Bakewell Sr. adresses the crowd at the

Brotherhood Crusade 50th Anniversery.

Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson honored African American musicians

at City Hall.

PHOTO BY LEROY HAMILTON

George and Charisse Bremond Weaver.

Attendees enjoyed lives music and food during the

celebration.

Brotherhood Crusade CEO Charisse Bremond

Weaver dances with Danny Bakewell Senior at

Brotherhood Crusade 50th Anniversary.

MESIYAH E. MCGINNIS/ L.A. SENTINEL

MESIYAH E. MCGINNIS/ L.A. SENTINEL

MESIYAH E. MCGINNIS/ L.A. SENTINELMESIYAH E. MCGINNIS/ L.A. SENTINEL

LEROY HAMILTON PHOTO

BY STACY M. BROWN

NNPA Newswire

Dorothy Leavell, thefiery and fearless chairmanof the National NewspaperPublishers Association(NNPA) and publisher ofthe Chicago and Gary Cru-sader newspapers, an-nounced that she has led agroup in purchasing the“Chicago Reader.”Terms of the deal were

not disclosed, but it’s a his-toric purchase that bringsthe alternative newspaperwith an audited weekly cir-culation of about 85,000into the NNPA family of220 African Americannewspapers and mediacompanies.The paper had most

recently been owned by theChicago Sun-Times, whichreportedly will maintain a15 percent stake in theReader after the sale closeslater this month.“I see this as an oppor-

tunity to enhance the valueof the Black Press throughthe [Chicago Reader],”

Leavell told NNPANewswire. “It is [now] def-initely Black-owned.”Sun-Times CEO Edwin

Eisendrath joined Leavellat the Rainbow PUSH Con-vention in Chicago to firstreveal the sale.“We love the Reader

and have worked hard to besure it has a foundation forthe future. All of us at theSun-Times are thrilled thatthe Reader’s future is insuch good hands,”Eisendrath said.Such a marriage per-

haps had less than a smallchance of being consum-mated 25 years ago whenthe Reader staff poked funat the NNPA and Leavellafter Civil Rights LeaderNelson Mandela failed toattend a Black Press con-vention when he touredAmerica after beingreleased from prison in1993.In an article headlined,

“Black Press Feels Neg-lected,” the Reader notedhow Mandela found timefor Ted Koppel, The New

York Times and The Wash-ington Post, but not theNNPA, which held itsannual convention inChicago at that time.“The NNPA, which is

the nation’s principal BlackPress organization, wasdeeply insulted,” accordingto the article, which quotedLeavell, then Secretary ofthe NNPA.Leavell and then-NNPA

Executive Director SteveDavis jointly told themedia that it wasn’t Man-dela’s fault but those whoscheduled him. “The visithas brought us to the real-ization that we must insiston the right to participate inall decisions involving thewelfare of Black people,”they declared.Now a quarter of a cen-

tury later, Leavell has pur-chased the Reader.Born in Pine Bluff,

Arkansas on October 23,1944, Leavell attendedRoosevelt University.She was first elected

president of the NNPA inJune of 1995 for a two-year

term and was re-elected inJune 1997 ending her termin 1999.Leavell was credited

with increasing the visibili-ty and international statureof the trade organization. InJune of 2006, Leavell waselected Chairman of theNNPA Foundation.She was voted in as

national chairman again in2017.“The NNPA resolutely

congratulates our esteemedchairman, Dorothy R.Leavell, the publisher ofthe Chicago Crusader andthe Gary Crusader, on heracquisition of the leg-endary Chicago Readerpublication,” said Dr. Ben-jamin F. Chavis, Jr., thepresident and CEO of theNNPA. “This acquisitioncomes at a strategic nation-al moment when the BlackPress in America is grow-ing, expanding, innovatingand increasing marketshare across the UnitedStates.”Further, the NNPA is

experiencing significant

increase in readership andengagement of African-American millennials inboth out print and digitalproducts, Chavis said.“The Black Press has

consistently maintained itstrustworthy status withBlack America at a timewhen there has been anerosion of trust in so-calledmainstream media,”Chavis said. “For all ofthese contemporary rea-sons the future of the BlackPress is reassured andaffirmed by 47 millionAfrican Americans and

millions of others through-out the world.”Leavell said that she’d

like to see the Reader’slong-form, investigativereporting expanded.“We are going to broad-

en that scope,” Leavellsaid. “We want to be inevery community to bringyou the news that youenjoy already. We’re goingto be expanding. We willincrease our cultural infor-mation. You want to knowwhat’s happening in Chica-go? You gotta read theReader.”

A-10 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWS THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

Chicago Reader Now Black-OwnedThanks to Dorothy Leavell

WORSOM ROBINSON/NNPA

NNPA Chairman Dorothy Leavell said that she wants to

expand the Chicago Reader’s long-form, investigative

reporting.

BY DAJA E. HENRY,

ILA WILBORN AND

NATRAWN MAXWELL

NNPA DTU JournalismFellowship

Chevrolet and theNational Newspaper Pub-lishers Association (NNPA)have teamed up once againfor the “Discover the Unex-pected” (DTU) JournalismFellowship program. Thefellowship, in its third year,

gives students attendingHistorically, Black Collegesand Universities (HBCU)the opportunity of a lifetime:an eight-week, immersivetraining experience with theBlack Press.The NNPA also known

as the “Black Press ofAmer-ica,” is a trade group thatrepresents more than 200African American-ownedmedia companies and news-papers in the United States.

This year, the programalso features a travel jour-nalism component when theDTU fellows (#TeamAu-thentic and #TeamOpti-mistic) embark on a roadtrip in the 2018 ChevroletEquinox, filing stories alongthe way as they travel totheir second posts and thento Detroit, Mich., for a grandfinale. #TeamAuthentic willtravel from Atlanta to Nor-folk and #TeamOptimistic

will drive from New YorkCity to Washington, D.C.The participating NNPA

newspapers are: TheAtlantaVoice (Atlanta, Ga.), TheNew Journal and Guide(Norfolk, Va.), the NewYork Amsterdam News(New York City), and TheWashington Informer(Washington, D.C.)“Using NNPA’s profes-

sional resources and theall-new 2018 ChevroletEquinox’s innovative tech-nology, DTU Fellows willshare stories that shatterperceptions, jump-starttheir journalism careersand encourage us all to‘Discover the Unexpect-ed,’” the official NNPADTU website said.The 2018 Discover the

Unexpected journalism fel-lows are: Tyvan Burns ofNorfolk State University;Diamond Durant of Mor-gan State University; DajaE. Henry of Howard Uni-versity, Denver Lark ofNorth Carolina A&T Uni-versity; Natrawn Maxwellof Claflin University; andIla Wilborn of FloridaA&M University.The 2018 DTU fellows,

along with Chevrolet andNNPA publishers and edi-tors met up in Detroit for atwo-day bootcamp event,hosted at General Motors’(GM) headquarters. TheDTU fellows learned aboutthe Chevrolet Equinox,social media from a globalbrand perspective, and newChevrolet marketing cam-paigns. The fellows alsotoured the ChevroletDetroit Grand Prix held atBelle Isle.Durant, a senior at Mor-

gan State University talkedabout her expectations forthe NNPA’s DTU programthis summer moving for-ward.

“I hope to really getbetter at writing,” Durantsaid. “I hope to get better atchasing stories and findingstories, sticking to storiesand just getting better atbeing unique and beingmore of a team player.”As an introduction to the

program, Michelle Matth-ews-Alexander, Chevrolet’sDiversity Marketing Direc-tor, talked about the pro-gram’s inception.Matthews-Alexander

said that Chevrolet wasinterested in playing “a rolein showcasing those storiesthat we all know exist; thatwe all know are happeningon a day-to-day basis.”Hip-hop pioneer and

philanthropist MC Lytereturned for the third yearto serve as the nationalspokesman for the pro-gram.This fellowship is

unique in that it partners aglobal auto manafacturer(Chevrolet) with a Blackmedia organization, (NNPA),in an effort to not onlyexpose HBCU students tothe Black Press, but also tomarketing and advertisingroles that exist in corporateAmerica, a space whereBlack professionals areoften underrepresented.“No other internship is

going to have that,” saidDenise Rolark-Barnes, thepublisher of the The Wash-ington Informer. “I think tohave relationships withChevy and the whole con-cept of discovering theunexpected allows us todefine some things aboutAfrica American historyand culture.”Ken Barrett, GM’s

Chief Diversity Officer,explained why diversity iskey to Chevrolet’s success.Barrett was previously thedirector of diversity for the

United States Navy, whereAdmiral Mike Mullenhelped him to realize that,“The less the Navy lookedlike America, the more dis-connected, as a service, itwould become.”Barrett brought that

unique perspective ondiversity to his current rolewith GM.With his focus ondiversity of thought toinclude different factorsincluding gender, race andethnicity, sexual orienta-tion and veteran status,Barrett intends to lead thecharge in a type of innova-tion that everyone has astake in. The next gamechanger will come, he said,in “an organization that lis-tens to all of those perspec-tives.”Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis,

the president and CEO ofthe NNPA, said that theNNPA pleased with itsongoing partnership withChevrolet, especially withthe NNPADTU JournalismFellowship program.“We believe that the

NNPA’s Discover TheUnexpected JournalismFellowship program, spon-sored by Chevrolet, is vitalto the future of the BlackPress of America,” Dr.Chavis said. “We areenthusiastic about the 2018DTU fellows, as each oneof them respresents the bestof the new generation ofjournalism scholars thatwill serve the AfricanAmerican community.”Daja E. Henry (How-

ard University), Ila Wil-

born (Florida A&M Uni-

versity) and Natrawn

Maxwell (Claflin Universi-

ty) are 2018 Discover The

Unexpected Journalism

Fellows representing #Tea-

mAuthentic. Follow their

stories this summer at

nnpa.org/dtu.

NNPA, Chevrolet Launch 2018 “Discover the Unexpected”Journalism Fellowship in Detroit

FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA

The 2018 NNPA Discover the Unexpected Journalism Fellows are (from left-right): Tyvan

Burns of Norfolk State University; Denver Lark of North Carolina A&T University; Ila

Wilborn of Florida A&M University; Daja E. Henry of Howard University, Diamond

Durant of Morgan State University; and Natrawn Maxwell of Claflin University.

SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) joined more than 100of her colleagues in intro-ducing the Keep FamiliesTogether Act of 2018 inresponse to the Trumpadministration’s insidiouspractice of family separa-tion. This bill has also beenintroduced in the Senate bySenator Diane Feinstein ofCalifornia.“The separation of immi-

grant families is a violationof human rights,” said Rep.Bass, top Democrat on theHouse Subcommittee onGlobal Human Rights. “Acivilized country shouldnever levy lifelong trauma asa deterrent to immigrantsseeking asylum, let alonedefenseless children. Now, asthe President of the UnitedStates uses these traumatizedchildren and parents as col-lateral for his border wall, itis absolutely imperative thatmy colleagues on both sidesof the aisle stand up to thisinhumane practice and passthis piece of legislation.”Rep. Bass further addres-

sed this issue in a piece in theNewYork Times.The Keep Families

Together Act of 2018 wouldprohibit border officialsfrom separating children

from their parents, exceptin extraordinary circum-stances, restrict the prosecu-tion of parents who are asy-lum seekers by adopting therecommendation of theDHS Office of InspectorGeneral, and require all CBPofficers and agents to com-plete child welfare trainingon an annual basis.More information about

the Keep Families TogetherAct of 2018:• Keep Families Togeth-

er: The bill promotes fami-ly unity by prohibitingDepartment of HomelandSecurity (DHS) officialsfrom separating childrenfrom their parents, except inextraordinary circum-stances. In these limited cir-cumstances, separationcould not occur unlessparental rights have beenterminated, a child welfare

agency has issued a bestinterest determination, orthe Port Director or theChief Border Patrol agent ofCustoms and Border Protec-tion (CBP) have approvedseparation due to traffickingindicators or other concernsof risk to the child. Itrequires an independentchild welfare official toreview any such separationand return the child if noharm to the child is present.It imposes financial penal-ties on officials who violatethe prohibition on familyseparation.• Limit Criminal Prose-

cutions for Asylum Seekers:The majority of the parentsseparated at the border arebeing criminally prosecutedfor illegal entry or re-entry.This bill restricts the prose-cution of parents who areasylum seekers by adoptingthe recommendation of theDHS Office of InspectorGeneral. The bill delaysprosecutions for asylumseekers and creates an affir-mative defense for asylumseekers. It also codifies ourcommitment to the Refugeeprotocol prohibiting thecriminal punishment ofthose seeking protectionfrom persecution.• Increase Child Welfare

Training: The bill requires

all CBP officers and agentsto complete child welfaretraining on an annual basis.Port Directors and ChiefBorder Agents, those whoare authorized to make deci-sions on family separations,must complete an additional90 minutes of annual child-welfare training.• Establish Public Policy

Preference for Family Reuni-fication: The bill establishesa preference for family unity,discourages the separation of

siblings, and creates a pre-sumption that detention isnot in the best interests offamilies and children.• Add Procedures for

Separated Families: The billrequires DHS to developpolicies and proceduresallowing parents and chil-dren to locate each other andreunite if they have beenseparated. Such proceduresmust be public and madeavailable in a language thatparents can understand. In

cases of separation, itrequires DHS to provideparents with a weekly reportcontaining informationabout a child, and weeklyphone communication.• Establish Other Re-

quiredMeasures: In order toinform Congressional over-sight and promote publicunderstanding of the use offamily separation, the billrequires a report on the sepa-ration of families every sixmonths.

SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE

Representative DarrenSoto (D-FL), RepresentativeJan Schakowsky (D-IL) anda broad spectrum of civilrights leaders includingReverendAl Sharpton, pres-ident and founder, NationalAction Network; Janet Mur-guía, president and CEO,UnidosUS; Jonathan Green-blatt, national director &CEO, Anti-DefamationLeague; Kristen Clarke,president & executive direc-tor, Lawyers’Committee forCivil Rights Under Law;Marc H. Morial, president &CEO, National UrbanLeague; Melanie Campbell,president and CEO, Nation-al Coalition on Black CivicParticipation; Sindy Bena-vides, COO & acting CEO,League of United LatinAmerican Citizens; Sherri-lyn Ifill, president and direc-tor-counsel, NAACP LegalDefense and EducationalFund, Inc.; Vanita Gupta,

president and CEO, TheLeadership Conference onCivil and Human Rights andDerrick Johnson, presidentand CEO, NAACP, held apress conference at theCapitol calling on the Trumpadministration and U.S.Attorney General Sessionsto immediately cease theseparation of children andtheir families at the U.S.border.From October 2017 to

May 2018, more than 2,700children have been separat-ed from their parents and therate of those separationshave risen alarmingly—inthe past six weeks alone, atleast 1,995 children havebeen taken from their par-ents and placed in shelterfacilities that are alreadynearing capacity. Com-pounding the cruel separa-tion, the government doesnot have a formal process toreunite families, leaving thevery real possibility thatchildren spend extended

periods of time away fromtheir families and in a tem-porary shelter facility, caus-ing irreparable harm andtrauma.“The gathering of major

civil rights leaders is tounderscore our outrage atthe abhorrible, immoral theadministrative directive toseparate children from theirparents. This must be resis-ted at all levels. If Congressdoes not act today, we willbegin as early as Thursdaywaves of visits to the borderin efforts to have clergy andhumanitarian visits to thesechildren and to show theworld that America has notlost its conscious or soul.The mutual aspect of this isthat wemore than convincedthat President Trump wouldnot do this at the Canadianborder to White children.This is selective administra-tive insensitivity,” said Rev-erendAl Sharpton, president& founder, National ActionNetwork.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 NEWS LOS ANGELES SENTINEL A-11

SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE

The California Legisla-tive Black Caucus (CLBC),led by its Chairman, Assem-blymember Chris Holden(D-Pasadena), declared vic-tory in securing funds relat-ed to the Caucus’ budgetpriorities. The CLBC wasable to negotiate construc-tively with legislative col-leagues in both the Senateand Assembly, as well asGovernor Jerry Brown, topass California’s remark-able $199.3 billion budget.“The Caucus is verypleased with this year’sbudget as it reflects thegreat work to be accom-plished in the upcomingyears,” said Holden.The 2018 funded CLBC

budget requests included:• Local Control Funding

Formula (LCFF): $300 mil-lion (one-time, Prop. 98funding),• UCLA/Ralph Bunche

Center for African-Ameri-can Studies: $1.8 million(one-time funding),• California State Uni-

versity, Dominguez Hills(CSUDH): $1 million (one-time funding), and• CaliforniaAfricanAm-

erican Museum (CAAM):$2.6 million (one-time fund-ing), and $350,000 (ongoingfunding).The Caucus also re-

quested $9.9 Million for thecreation of an independentpolice shooting reviewboard in the Department ofJustice (DOJ), but thatrequest went unanswered,and ultimately unfunded inthis year’s budget.The three pillars of edu-

cational, economic, andsocial justice were reflectedin each of the budget asks.

Education

CLBC Vice-Chair As-semblymember Dr. ShirleyN. Weber (D-San Diego),who championed the LCFFbudget proposal, stated, “Wecannot look the other wayanymore. AfricanAmericankids in California persistent-ly fall behind academically.Providing additional re-sources for the lowest-per-forming students is now nolonger an option, but anecessity,” she said.Under this new propos-

al, an additional $300 mil-lion dollars will be availableto schools for assisting thosestudents who need addition-al help but do not receive it

under the current LocalControl Funding Formula.Schools will receive fundingthrough a grant making pro-gram that requires a detailedplan describing how thefunds will be used for evi-dence-based programs toimprove student achieve-ment. A final report on stu-dent progress under eachplan will be required by2021. The impetus for thefunding was Assembly-member Weber’s CLBC-sponsored legislation, AB2635, which also directedspecific funding to thosesubgroups of students notsucceeding under LCFF.The success of this CLBC-sponsored effort ensures thatunderperforming studentsstatewide will receive addi-tional monies to improveacademic performance.The UCLA/Ralph

Bunche Center for AfricanAmerican studies will see arecord $1.8 million of one-time funding. This fundingwill be used to develop newresearch projects, includingtechnology industry diversi-ty, and their existingresearch endeavors. Amongthose current projects areMillion Dollar Hoods, the

Black Male Institute, andthe recently-establishedCenter for the Study ofRacism, Social Justice, andHealth. The research con-ducted by the Ralph J.Bunche Center for AfricanAmerican studies is essen-tial to creating policies thatimprove the Black experi-ence in California.The budget also grants

CSUDH $1 million for theMervyn M. DymallyAfrican American Politicaland Economic Institute. Themission of the Institute is to“influence public policydebates through on-goingacademic and communityresearch dealing withAfrican American politicaland economic developmentconcerns in California;explore and document theprofessional lives andachievements of AfricanAmerican public-electedofficials, business leaders,and policy makers as wellas the impact of their effortson the political, social, andeconomic development inthe African American com-munities and other disad-vantaged communities; andprovide training programsfor current and future lead-

ers and local businesses.”Supporting the Arts and

Protecting Our History

Additionally, the CLBCsuccessfully supported$2.6 million of one-timefunding for deferred main-tenance for the popularlyattended California AfricanAmericanMuseum (CAAM),located in the heart ofSouthern California as wellas $350,000 of ongoingfunding for staffing thefacility. Over the past two(2) years, CAAM’s atten-dance, notoriety and visi-bility have dramaticallyincreased due to a radicalchange in exhibition andeducation programming,outreach efforts and re-

branding.Criminal Justice Reform

Spearheaded by Assem-blymember Kevin McCarty(D-Sacramento), the CLBCadvocated for the establish-ment of an independentreview unit within the DOJto investigate police in-volved shootings andrequested an annual alloca-tion of $9.9 million to do so.The Caucus is disappointedthat the request was notgranted despite the masspublic scrutiny regardingpolice brutality and killingof innocent Black Californi-ans at the hands of thosewho took an oath to protectand serve. “California, andquite frankly America ingeneral, is long overdue increating an independentreview unit within the DOJ.It would allow Californiansto trust our justice depart-ment by creating a transpar-ent system for investigatingofficers, especially thoseinvolved in widely publi-cized cases where innocentAfrican Americans arekilled in their own back-yards. Something must bedone to gain public trust,”expressed the caucus chairHolden.

Assemblymember

Chris Holden

Civil Rights Leaders Slam Trump Administration’sPolicy of Separating Children from Their Families atSouthern U.S. Border, Demand End to Devastating Policy

California Legislative Black Caucus Declares Victory for 2018-19 Budget

Rep. Bass Joins More Than 100 Members In IntroducingThe Keep Families Together Act of 2018

Rep. Karen Bass

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W I N D O W

And Personal Services Plus... Ask Dr. Jeanette

Black Male Students-

-Sacramento School Sus-

pensions

— Black male stu-

dents are suspended at

the highest rate in the

state in the Sacramento

City Unified School Dis-

trict according to a new

report. One in five Black male students have been suspended in the district,

more than any other dis-

trict in the state. A proud

parent who has four stu-

dents in the district and

values education, states, “..My sons are going to

college, it’s not an op-

tion.” Two of her children

have received suspen-

sions from the district;

she describes as biased enforcement against

the Black male student

population. A new re-

port backs up the district which disproportionately

suspends Black male

students more than other

groups of classmates,

The district suspended

887 Black male students

in the most recent school

year, topping districts in

Los Angeles, Elk Grove, Fresno and Oakland. In

Sacramento: 20 percent

of the total male Black

student population. Dis-

trict spokesman Alex

Barrios: “What needs to

happen in Sacramento

City Unified School Dis-

trict is to have the ability to identify what a student

needs.” But what about the district leading the

state in those suspen-

sions? “I mean really we

want to go back to what we’re trying to do,” even-

tually calling the numbers unacceptable. The parent states, “We can’t keep

letting them do our kids

like this.” Our kids, mat-

ter.” Sacramento NAACP

President Betty Williams

says, “…an alarming re-

port: the district leading

the state in school sus-

pensions. The NAACP

wants to hold town hall

meetings to show the re-

sults to the public. They say they hope to partner

with the school district

for some of those meet-

ings.” What do I [Dr. Jea-

nette] say? “Students re-

peatedly suspended learn

they can get sent home;

go home and play games

or whatever. Stated clear-ly, a student has learned

through experience that if

he wants a day off from

school he can act up until

he is sent home. This is

what repetitive behavior teaches. Not only that,

but it teaches that the stu-

dent is not wanted and

being ostracized is how your life is going to be.

Being sent home only

teaches banishment. Do we want our students to

learn that? Well, if sus-

pended all the time, that’s

what they’re learning.

What about the parent? What is the parent doing

to maintain continuity

and structure between the home and school? Does the parent keep a check

on the child? Does the child even listen to the parent? Does the parent attend scheduled school

conferences and follow

up on the child’s prog-

ress? Is the parent coop-

erating with the school?

Children need help from

mothers and fathers and

cooperation together.

It cuts both ways. It’s a cooperative effort: fam-

ily and school.” reference

SACRAMENTO (Steve Large Anchor CBS13)

Teach the children.

Jeanette Grattan

Parker, Ph.D. Founder-

Superintendent of To-

day’s Fresh Start Charter

School 4514 Crenshaw

BL, Los Angeles, CA

90043 [all writings are

copyright. AskDrjea-

nette.successontheway@

gmail.com. Will You Mar-

ry Me. Inquiring Minds

Want To Know All rights

reserved

My blood runs deep in the history of the Lone

Star State of Texas. My

father (b. 1939), his father (b. 1905) and his grandfa-

ther (b. circa 1880) were all born and raised in this part of the South. My

paternal grandmother (b. 1905) was also born in Texas, and so as you can

see my roots are firmly planted in that region of

the country. As a child I

remember my grandmoth-

er, Mother Dear, taking us to East Texas (Carthage)

during the month of Au-

gust for family reunions.

We would spend time

with other family mem-

bers from near and far as we talked about our fam-

ily history. To this day

we still have a lot of fam-

ily that lives throughout the state of Texas and we

have land that is still in our family name.

Texas became a state in 1845 and was admit-ted as a slave state. The Emancipation Proclama-

tion was official on Janu-

ary 1, 1863 but news of the Emancipation didn’t

reach Texas until June 1865. Once Texas became a state, slavery only exist-ed for 20 years; therefore,

some people and histori-

ans identify Texas as hav-

ing a short slave history. The slaves worked on cot-ton and sugar plantations,

as well as on small farms

and ranches raising cattle

and corn. Even though

slavery may have only been around for twenty years, the ramifications would have generational effects and repercussions.

The Emancipation

Proclamation was the ex-

ecutive order signed by President Abraham Lin-

coln during the Civil War and took effect on Janu-

ary 1, 1863. The order

decreed that all slaves in the ten rebel Confederate states would be consid-

ered free now and forever; although the freed slaves did not receive citizenship at that time. It would take

another two years before the news would hit Texas.

June 19, 1865 was the date when the Union soldiers

landed at Galveston, Tex-

as to deliver the news that the enslaved were now free. This was the birth of “Juneteenth” also called Freedom Day or Emanci-pation Day to commemo-

rate emancipation from

slavery in Texas. What is also interesting is that the

“Mascogos” of Coahuila,

Mexico, descendants of

Black Seminoles (the off-

spring of free blacks or escaped slaves and Semi-nole Indians), also cel-

ebrated Juneteenth. Juneteenth is celebrat-

ed across the country,

but is recognized more in Southern states. Families

celebrate the “holiday” in many ways, including

family reunions, cook-

outs, fireworks and pa-

rades. In the early celebra-

tions, some cities banned African Americans from

using public parks due to segregation. Not so differ-

ent than some of the things

we experience today. Just recently a woman made

headlines (and several in-

ternet memes) for calling

the police on an African

American family grill-

ing in a park in Oakland,

California. There are

also other examples of

how, even after 150 years since emancipation, Black

people are still struggling

with their freedom and

equality.

We must not be silent about our history. Being a California girl with deep

family roots in Texas, I

am determined to keep the

history and understand-

ing of Juneteenth alive for my children and my

children’s children. If we

want to make sure our his-

tory doesn’t die we must

stay “woke” and pass on

this type of information

to the next generation. I

hope everyone had a won-

derful and blessed June-

teenth!

Healing Without

Hate: It's a choice. It's a

lifestyle. Pass it on!

Visit www.WendyEn-

terprises.com and www.

forgivingforliving.org.

Wendy is a coach, consul-

tant and speaker. You may

email her at wendy.glad-

ney@gmail.com.

A-6 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWS THURSDAY,JANUARY 9, 2014A-13 LASENTINEL.NET CLASSIFIED THURSDAY JUNE 21, 2018

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CIVIL

SUMMONS (Family Law)CITACIÓN (Derecho

familiar)CASE NUMBER (NÚMERO DE CASO): 18PSFL00794

NOTICE TO RESPONDENT (Name): AVISO AL DEMANDADO (Nombre): Yan ChenYou have been sued. Read the information below and on the next page.Lo han demandado. Lea la información a continuación y en la página siguiente.Petitioner’s name is: Nombre del demandante: Bin WangYou have 30 calendar days after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter, phone call, or court appearance will not protect you.If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs.For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at theCalifornia Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca.org), or by contacting your local county bar association.Tiene 30 días de calendario después de haber recibido la entrega legal de esta Citación y Petición para presentar una Respuesta (formulario FL-120) ante la corte y efectuar la entrega legal de una copia al demandante. Una carta o llamada telefónica o una audiencia de la corte no basta para protegerlo.Si no presenta su Respuesta a tiempo, la corte puede dar órdenes que afecten su matrimonio o pareja de hecho, sus bienes y la custodia de sus hijos. La corte también le puede ordenar que pague manutención, y honorarios y costos legales.Para asesoramiento legal, póngase en contacto de inmediato con un abogado. Puede obtener información para encontrar un abogado en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en el sitio web de los Servicios Legales de California (www.lawhelpca.org) o poniéndose en contacto con el colegio de abogados de su condado.NOTICE—RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE ON PAGE 2: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them.AVISO—LAS ÓRDENES DE RESTRICCIÓN SE ENCUENTRAN EN LA PÁGINA 2: Las órdenes de restricción están en vigencia en cuanto a ambos cónyuges o miembros de la pareja de hecho hasta que se despida la petición, se emita un fallo o la corte dé otras órdenes. Cualquier agencia del orden público que haya recibido o visto una copia de estas órdenes puede hacerlas acatar en cualquier lugar de California.FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party.EXENCIÓN DE CUOTAS: Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario un formulario de exención de cuotas. La corte puede ordenar que usted pague, ya sea en parte o por completo, las cuotas y costos de la corte previamente exentos a petición de usted o de la otra parte.1. The name and address of the court are (El nombre y dirección de la corte son): Superior Court of California, County of Pomona Courthouse South, 400 Civic Center Plaza, Pomona, CA 917662. The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner’s attorney, or the petitioner without an attorney, are: (El nombre, dirección y número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante si no tiene abogado, son): Bin Wang, 18708 Aguiro St, Rowland Heights, CA 91748Date (Fecha): April 17 2018SHERRI R. CARTER, Clerk, by (Secretario, por) I. AVALOS, Deputy (Asistente)[SEAL]

STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS

Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from:1. removing the minor children of the parties from the state or applying for a new or replacement passport for those minor children without the prior written consent of

the other party or an order of the court;2. cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor children;3. transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and4. creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in a manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party.You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs.

ÓRDENES DE RESTRICCIÓN ESTÁNDAR DE DERECHO FAMILIAR

En forma inmediata, usted y su cónyuge o pareja de hecho tienen prohibido:1. llevarse del estado de California a los hijos menores de las partes, o solicitar un pasaporte nuevo o de repuesto para los hijos menores, sin el consentimiento previo por escrito de la otra parte o sin una orden de la corte;2. cobrar, pedir prestado, cancelar, transferir, deshacerse o cambiar el nombre de los beneficiarios de cualquier seguro u otro tipo de cobertura, como de vida, salud, vehículo y discapacidad, que tenga como beneficiario(s) a las partes y su(s) hijo(s) menor(es);3. transferir, gravar, hipotecar, ocultar o deshacerse de cualquier manera de cualquier propiedad, inmueble o personal, ya sea comunitaria, cuasicomunitaria o separada, sin el consentimiento escrito de la otra parte o una orden de la corte, excepto en el curso habitual de actividades personales y comerciales o para satisfacer las necesidades de la vida; y4. crear o modificar una transferencia no testamentaria de manera que afecte la asignación de una propiedad sujeta a transferencia, sin el consentimiento por escrito de la otra parte o una orden de la corte. Antes de que se pueda eliminar la revocación de una transferencia no testamentaria, se debe presentar ante la corte un aviso del cambio y hacer una entrega legal de dicho aviso a la otra parte.Cada parte tiene que notificar a la otra sobre cualquier gasto extraordinario propuesto por lo menos cinco días hábiles antes de realizarlo, y rendir cuenta a la corte de todos los gastos extraordinarios realizados después de que estas órdenes de restricción hayan entrado en vigencia. No obstante, puede usar propiedad comunitaria, cuasicomunitaria o suya separada para pagar a un abogado que lo ayude o para pagar los costos de la corte.NOTICE—ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health insurance? If so, you should apply for Covered California. Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay towards high quality affordable health care. For more information, visit www.coveredca.com. Or call Covered California at 1-800-300-1506.AVISOACCESO A SEGURO DE SALUD MÁS ECONÓMICO:¿Necesita seguro de salud a un costo asequible, ya sea para usted o alguien en su hogar? Si es así, puede presentar una solicitud con Covered California. Covered California lo puede ayudar a reducir el costo que paga por seguro de salud asequible y de alta calidad. Para obtener más información, visite www.coveredca.com. O llame a Covered California al 1-800-300-0213.

WARNING - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided,

the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e., joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

ADVERTENCIA - IMFORMACIÓN IMPORTANTE

De acuerdo a la ley de California, las propiedades adquiridas por las partes durante su matrimonio o pareja de hecho en forma conjunta se consideran propiedad comunitaria para fines de la división de bienes que ocurre cuando se produce una disolución o separación legal del matrimonio o pareja de hecho. Si cualquiera de las partes de este caso llega a fallecer antes de que se divida la propiedad comunitaria de tenencia conjunta, el destino de la misma quedará determinado por las cláusulas de la escritura correspondiente que describen su tenencia (por ej., tenencia conjunta, tenencia en común o propiedad comunitaria) y no por la presunción de propiedad comunitaria. Si quiere que la presunción comunitaria quede registrada en la escritura de la propiedad, debería consultar con un abogado.6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3145372#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSEFOR CHANGE OF NAME

Case No. TS021092Superior Court of California, County of Los AngelesPetition of: John Lawrence Underwood Jr. for Change of NameTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:Petitioner John Lawrence Underwood Jr. filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:John Lawrence Underwood Jr. to John Alton ParkerThe Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.Notice of Hearing:Date: 7-3-18, Time: 8:30 a.m., Dept.: A, Room: 904The address of the court is 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Los Angeles SentinelDate: 5-21-18MURICE A LETTERJudge of the Superior Court5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3137952#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSEFOR CHANGE OF NAME

Case No. BS173666Superior Court of California, County of Los AngelesPetition of: Elecia Yvette Scott for Change of NameTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:Petitioner Elecia Yvette Scott filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:Elecia Yvette Scott to Jordon Ruth Naomi IsraeliThe Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.Notice of Hearing:Date: July 17, 2018, Time: 10:30 A.M., Dept.: 44, Room: 418The address of the court is 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: L.A. SentinelDate: May 17, 2018Edward B. Moreton, Jr.Judge of the Superior Court5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3136358#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS

BUSINESS

NAMES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018128349

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Rezilient Investments, 3818 Crenshaw Bvd Suite 467, Los Angeles, CA 90008, County of LARegistered owner(s):Yolanda Rogers, 3818 Crenshaw Blvd Suite 467, Los Angeles, CA 90008This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Yolanda Rogers, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 24, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3145241#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018141380

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Ball Auto, 6080 Center Drive 6th Floor, Lios Angeles, CA 90045, County of LA County; Mailing Address: 2851 W 120th St E, Hawthorne, CA 90250Registered owner(s):Antoine Hartzog, 2851 W 120th E, Hawthorne, CA 90250This business is conducted by: an IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Antoine HartzogThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 8, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3145231#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018 143089

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Adviceme2 Retirement & Insurance Solutions, 8080 Center Drive, Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90045, County of LARegistered owner(s):Babatope Ajileye, 6125 South La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90056This business is conducted by: an individualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Babatope Ajileye, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed

before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3145144#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018142561

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:G White Enterprises, 4564 Don Milagro Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90008, County of LARegistered owner(s):Geraldine White, 4564 Don Milagro Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90008This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 06/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Geraldine White, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3143240#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018143068

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Productive Living, 622 E. 22nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011, County of LARegistered owner(s):Dimitri M Turner, 622 E. 22nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011This business is conducted by: an individualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 06/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Dimitri M Turner, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12/18CNS-3143237#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018126580

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Hernandez Hardwood Floor, 1800 West 25th St, Los Angeles CA 90018, County of LARegistered owner(s):Jose Luis Hernandez, 1800 West 25th St, Los Angeles CA 90018This business is conducted by: an IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Jose Luis Hernandez, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 23, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change

in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142772#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018 135425

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:1. The Purple Shoe Project, 2. Mahogany Soul, 4859 W. Slauson Ave #237, Los Angeles CA 90056, County of Los AngelesRegistered owner(s):Kendal Robinson Troutman, 4859 W. Slauson Ave #237, Los Angeles CA 90056; CAThis business is conducted by: an IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Kendal Robinson Troutman, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 4, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142767#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018139655

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Elemental Health, 823 S Plymouth Blvd 18, Los Angeles CA 90005, County of Los AngelesArticles of Incorporation or Organization Number: AI #ON: 201224110149Registered owner(s):Resonantlogic, LLC, 823 S Plymouth Blvd 18, Los Angeles CA 90005; CAThis business is conducted by: a Limited Liability CompanyThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Eric C. Gallegos, PresidentResonantlogic, LLCThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 7, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142752#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018123046

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:(1) Zaybo Fots, (2) Fots, 2078 East 97th Street, Apt. #217, Los Angeles, CA 90002, County of LARegistered owner(s):Isaiah A. Wilder, 2078 East 97th Street, Apt. #217, Los Angeles, CA 90002This business is conducted by: an individualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Isaiah A. Wilder, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los

Angeles on May 18, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142707#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018130711

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:(1) Christina Cooper Productions, (2) Who’snext, 3540 Dahlia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90026, County of Los AngelesRegistered owner(s):Christina A Alexandria H Cooper, 3540 Dahlia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90026This business is conducted by: an individualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Christina A Alexandria H Cooper, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 29, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142696#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018141617

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Butter Bakery, 1704 Glen Ave., Pasadena CA 91103, County of LARegistered owner(s):Circle In A Square, LLC, 1704 Glen Ave., Pasadena CA 91103; CAThis business is conducted by: a Limited Liability CompanyThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Devonna Banks, OwnerCircle In A Square, LLCThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 8, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3142686#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018 135834

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:1. Tony’s Ribtaculous Ribs, 2. Tony’s Ribtaculous Smoked Ribs, 37301 Rockie Ln, Palmdale, CA 93552, County of LARegistered owner(s):Antony Wallace, 37301 Rockie Ln, Palmdale, CA 93552This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section

CNS-3142658#

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITYfor Contractors, Subcontractors, Suppliers

The Sanitation Districts Of Los Angeles County Invite Bids For The Construction Of:

Joint Water Pollution Control Plant

Tunnel

(Bid Opening July 12, 2018 - Estimate $560,000 - $1,600,000)

Contracting And Supply Opportunities Include:Electrical; Concrete; Fencing

The Sanitation Districts encourage participation of minority, women, disadvantaged, disabled veterans,

and small business enterprises.

at the Sanitation Districts’ Engineering Counter1955 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601

(562) 908-4288, Ext. 1205Visit our Web site at “www.lacsd.org”

and click on “New Construction Projects”

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014 NEWS LOS ANGELES SENTINEL A-7THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 CLASSIFIED LASENTINEL.NET A-14

17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Antony Wallace, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 4, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3141403#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018127819

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:D&D Southern Foodservice, 829 W. Palmdale Bl. Suite 134, Palmdale, CA 93551, County of LARegistered owner(s):Daryn Chatman, 829 W. Palmdale Bl. Suite 134, Palmdale, CA 93551This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Daryn Chatman, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 24, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3141398#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018135683

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Tag’s Mart, 3820 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008, County of LARegistered owner(s):Rosa Simonian, 3516 8th Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018; CAThis business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Rosa Simonian, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 4, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Amended Filing6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5/18CNS-3140956#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018118612

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Wilson Mill Riverbank, 240 W. 7th Street #29, Long Beach, CA 90813, County of LA; Mailing Address: 701 Pine Avenue #143, Long Beach, CA 90813Registered owner(s):Darrell K. Brown, 240 W. 7th Street, #29, Long Beach, CA 90813This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or

names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Darrell K. Brown, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 16, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28/18CNS-3140496#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018115301

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Laceys Hair Boutique, 2255 Cahuilla St #97, Colton, CA 92324, County of LARegistered owner(s):Doneca Denise Fletcher, 2255 Cahuilla St #97, Colton, CA 92324This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Doneca Denise Fletcher, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 10 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28/18CNS-3140494#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018134581

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Finger Lickin’ Eatz Catering, 4600 W Martin Luther King Blvd 21, Los Angeles, CA 90016, County of LARegistered owner(s):Paul M. Pitts, 4600 W Martin Luther King Blvd 21, Los Angeles, CA 90016This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Paul M. Pitts, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 1, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28/18CNS-3140483#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018118056

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:(1) Relyance, (2) Relyance Virtual Administrative Support Services, (3) Relyance VA, (4) Relyance Virtual Admin, (5) Relyance Virtual Administrative Services, (6) Virtual

Relyance, (7) Virtual Relyance Administrative Services, 335 E. Albertoni St., Building #200 Unit #331, Carson, CA 90746, County of LARegistered owner(s):Tammatha Holyfield, 335 E. Albertoni St., Building #200 Unit #331, Carson, CA 90746Eric W. Holyfield, 335 E. Albertoni St., Building #200 Unit #331, Carson, CA 90746This business is conducted by: a married coupleThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Tammatha Holyfield, WifeThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 14, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Amended filing6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28/18CNS-3140474#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018127316

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:(1) Steady Elevation Athletics, (2) Steady Elevation Association, (3) Steady Elevation Apparel, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061, County of LARegistered owner(s):Rasheed Rich, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061Anthony Kidd, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061Quincy Reese, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061Matsimela McMorris, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061Kevin Roberson, 12010 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90061This business is conducted by: CopartnersThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Rasheed Rich, PartnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 23, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3137948#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018120217

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:(1) Loyalkia Home Health Care, (2) Loyalkia, 5725 4th Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043, County of LA; Mailing Address: PO Box 59652, Norwalk, CA 90652Registered owner(s):Sheakia Unique Mitchell, 5725 4th Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043This business is conducted by: an individualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/AI declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Sheakia Unique Mitchell, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 16, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the

statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3137930#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018124753

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Cutiecakesbythepound, 1237 W 65th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90044, County of LARegistered owner(s):Carmen L Valentine, 1237 W. 65th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90044This business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 05/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Carmen L Valentine, OwnerThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 21, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3136772#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018112482

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Cheveluer, 303 North Jackson Street Apt 209, Glendale, CA 91206, County of Los AngelesArticles of Incorporation or Organization Number: AI #ON: 201810210111Registered owner(s):Safe Haven Brands, 303 North Jackson Street Apt 209, Glendale, CA 91206; CAThis business is conducted by: A Limited Liability CompanyThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Mya C Johnson, CEOSafe Haven BrandsThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 8, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3136771#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTFile No. 2018120758

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:Ste4Knee Rene, 801 West 108th St, Los Angeles, CA 90044, County of LA; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 47464, Los Angeles, CA 90047Registered owner(s):Stephanie R Weatherspoon, 801 West 108th St, Los Angeles, CA 90044; CAThis business is conducted by: An IndividualThe registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 04/2018I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Stephanie R Weatherspoon, Owner

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 16, 2018NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).Original5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3136770#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

GOVERNMENT

LOS ANGELES COUNTYMETROPOLITAN

TRANSPORTATIONAUTHORITY (LACMTA)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Metro Set-Aside Opportunity. This solicitation is open to Certified Small Businesses Only.

Metro will receive Proposals for Request for Proposals (RFP) No. PS54790, Audit of FY 2018 Transit Security Services Performance. Metro seeks a qualified consultant to conduct an audit of Metro’s Transit Security performance, including each law enforcement services contract, to determine how key performance indicators are measuring up against actual performance metrics as detailed in the Statement of Work on file at the LACMTA Office of Procurement, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90012 (9th Floor).

All proposals must be received on or before 2:00 p.m. Thursday July 12, 2018 at the address listed above. Proposals received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the proposer unopened. A Pre-Proposal conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday June 22, 2018 in the Union Station Conference Room, 3rd Floor located at the above address.

Copies of the RFP will be available on June 13, 2018 via the website at www.metro.net. You may also obtain a copy of the RFP by calling the PROCUREMENT RECEPTION DESK (9th Floor) at (213) 922-1037, or via Fax at (213) 922-1004.6/21/18CNS-3144571#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

LOS ANGELES COUNTYMETROPOLITAN

TRANSPORTATIONAUTHORITY (LACMTA)INVITATION FOR BID

LACMTA will receive Bids/Proposals for OP52924-2 - Blue and Gold Line Train Control Batteries at the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (9th Floor).

All Bids must be submitted to LACMTA, and be filed at the reception desk, 9th floor, V/CM Department, on or before 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each Bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. OP52924-2. A Pre-Bid conference will be held on 19-Apr-2018 11:00:00, at One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Alhambra: Room 09-84.

For a copy of the Bid specifications go tohttp://business.metro.net/VendorPortal/faces/home/solicitations/openSolicitations or for further information email Aryani Guzman at guzmana@metro.net.6/21/18CNS-3144211#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

LOS ANGELES COUNTYMETROPOLITAN

TRANSPORTATIONAUTHORITY (LACMTA)INVITATION FOR BID

LACMTA will receive Bids/Proposals for OP47489-2 - Tow Tractors (Yard Mules) at the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (9th Floor).

All Bids must be submitted to LACMTA, and be filed at the reception desk, 9th floor, V/CM Department, on or before 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each Bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. OP47489-2. A Pre-Bid conference will be held on 21-Jun-2018 10:00:00, at One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Arcadia: Room 08-95.

For a copy of the Bid specifications go tohttp://business.metro.net/VendorPortal/faces/home/solicitations/openSolicitations or for further information email Aryani Guzman at guzmana@metro.net.6/21/18CNS-3144038#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Notice is given that proposals for Architectural/Engineering Design Services for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Behavior Health Center Project (AED7740135) will be received by the County of Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works, Cashier’s Office, 900 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra, CA 91803 until 2 p.m., on July 3, 2018. For more details and a copy of the RFP, visit https://dpw.lacounty.gov/contracts/Opportunities.aspx6/21/18CNS-3143665#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

The Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) tenant-based rental assistance program will be adding a “Fast Track” component. The tenant-based rental assistance program provides rental subsidies to very low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families.The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) will open the HOPWA “Fast Track” component for registrations via phone on June 11, 2018. A limited number of registrations will be taken on a first come, first served basis. Once the desired number of registrations has been met, the registration phone line will be closed. Only one registrant per phone call. To register, please call the registration phone line at 213-252-2568, Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

Under the HOPWA “Fast Track” Program, only those applicants who are registered, and approved to participate under this program component will be processed and certified directly by the Housing Authority. Applicants who require assistance other than housing will be assigned to a non-profit agency currently funded by Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) for other services. HACLA’s HOPWA “Fast Track” Program currently serves the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Burbank, La Cañada, Culver City and Inglewood. Applicants will be screened for criminal background and residency status.6/21/18CNS-3143020#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PUBLIC REVIEW AND

PUBLIC HEARING

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) has developed and will be publishing its Draft Agency Plan for Fiscal Year 2019 in compliance with the Housing Reform Act of 1998. The Draft Agency Plan will be available for public review and comment beginning Friday, June 15, 2018 through Thursday, August 16, 2018.

The Public Hearing for the 2019 Draft Agency Plan will be held: Thursday, August 16, 2018 staring at 5:00 p.m. at Los Angeles Convention Center, Conference Room 408B, Concourse Meeting Rooms Section, 1201 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90015-1399. The 2019 Draft Agency Plan can be reviewed during normal business hours at the Management Offices and Resident Council offices at the large family developments and also at:

HACLA Central Office2600 Wilshire Blvd. 1st floor L.A., CA 90057Avalon Gardens Management Office701 E. 88th St L.A., CA 90002Estrada Courts Management Office3232 Estrada St L.A., CA 90023Gonzaque Vil lage Management Office1515 E 105th St L.A., CA 90002Imper ia l Courts Management Office11541 Croesus Ave L.A., CA 90059Jordan Downs Management Office9800 Grape St L.A., CA 90002Mar Vista Gardens Management Office11965 Allin St Culver City, CA 90230Nickerson Gardens Management Office1590 114th St L.A., CA 90059Pico/Las Casitas Management Office1526 E. 4th St L.A., CA 90033Pueblo Del Rio Management Office1801 East 53rd St L.A., CA 90058Ramona Gardens Management Office2830 Lancaster Ave L.A., CA 90033Rancho San Pedro Management Office275 West 1st St San Pedro, CA 90731Rose Hill Courts Management Office4466 Florizel L.A., CA 90032San Fernando Gardens Management Office 10995 Lehigh Ave Pacoima, CA 91331William Mead1300 Cardinal St., Los Angeles CA 90012Section 8 Valley Office6946 Van Nuys Blvd. Ste 100 Van Nuys, CA 91405Section 8 South Office19600 Hamilton Ave., Torrance, CA 905026/21/18CNS-3141665#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

NOTICE INVITING BIDSSealed bids will be received by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Construction Division, for the installation and modification of traffic signals and street lights and the performance of other incidental and appurtenant work on an as-needed basis under Project ID No. TDS0001573, As-Needed Traffic Signal Construction Fiscal Year 2018-19, in various unincorporated communities and split jurisdiction intersections in the Los Angeles Basin and Santa Clarita Valley. The bids must be submitted at the Cashier’s Office, located on the Mezzanine level, 900 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, California 91803-1331, before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. The bids will then be publicly opened and read in the location posted in the main lobby. Alternatively,

bids may be submitted electronically using Bid Express, www.BidExpress.com . The work shall be done in accordance with the Plans and Specifications on file and open for inspection at the Department of Public Works. The work is estimated to cost between $2,300,000 and $3,000,000 and shall be completed over a period of one year on an as-needed basis. The prime contractor shall possess a valid California Class A or C10 contractor’s license. Prebid questions regarding the Plans and Specifications shall be submitted via e-mail only to: sshival@dpw.lacounty.gov. Include “Prebid Questions for TDS0001573” in the subject line of the e-mail. Prebid questions will not be accepted after 10 a.m. on Monday, June 25, 2018. The bids must be submitted on the proposal forms included in the bidder’s package of the contract documents. The contract documents for this project may be downloaded free of charge by visiting the following website: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/general/contracts/opportunities Each bid must be accompanied by a certified check, cashier’s check, or surety bond payable to County of Los Angeles in an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the bid to guarantee that the bidder will enter into the contract if it is so awarded. No contractor or subcontractor may be listed on a bid proposal for a public works project (submitted on or after March 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code Section 1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code Section 1771.1 (a)]. No contractor or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project (awarded on or after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code Section 1725.5. This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations. All persons performing the work shall be paid not less than the General Prevailing Wage Determination prepared by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to the State Labor Code. Copies of these wage rates are available at the Department of Public Works. The successful bidder must provide full disclosure of False Claims Act violations, labor law/payroll violations, debarments, and civil/criminal legal actions as provided in the Instructions to Bidders. Failure to complete these forms may result in a determination that the bidder is nonresponsive and/or not responsible. The contract, if awarded, will be awarded to a responsible contractor with the lowest responsive bid; however, the Board of Supervisors reserves the right to reject any and all bids. A responsible contractor is one who has demonstrated the attribute of trustworthiness, as well as quality, fitness, capacity, and experience to satisfactorily perform the contract. It is the County’s policy to conduct business only with responsible contractors. The County maintains the Contractor Alert Reporting Database (CARD), which is used to track/monitor poorly performing contractors. When a County department identifies a significant performance/non-compliance issue(s) with a contractor, the department will provide notice to the contractor and will give the contractor an opportunity to correct the issue(s). If the contractor does not take any appropriate steps to correct the issue(s), the County department will enter the contractor, along with any other relevant information pertaining to the contractor’s performance issue(s), into CARD. The information entered into CARD can be accessed by all County departments and will be used, along with any other relevant information not included in CARD, in determining bidder responsibility. If a department reviews this information and determines that a finding of non-responsibility should be pursued, the department will adhere to the guidelines specified in the Los Angeles County Code, Chapter 2.202 and the County’s Implementation Procedures for Determinations of Contractor Non-Responsibility and Contractor Debarment. The successful bidder will be required to fully comply with all applicable State and Federal reporting requirements relating to employment reporting for its employees and comply with all lawfully served Wage and Earnings Assignment Orders and Notice of Assignment and continue to maintain compliance throughout the duration of the contract. Failure to comply may be cause for termination of the contract or initiation of debarment proceedings. The contract is subject to the requirements of the County’s Defaulted Property Tax Reduction Program (Defaulted Tax Program), Los Angeles County Code Chapter 2.206. Bidders should carefully read the Defaulted Tax Program. The Defaulted Tax Program applies to both contractors and their subcontractors. Bidders will be required to certify that they are in full compliance with the provisions of the Defaulted Tax Program and shall maintain compliance during the term of the contract, or shall certify that they are exempt from the Defaulted Tax Program by completing a certification of compliance with the Defaulted Tax Program. In accordance with Los Angeles County Code Chapter 2.202, failure to maintain compliance with the Defaulted Tax Program or to cure defects within the time specified may be cause for termination of the contract and/or initiation of debarment proceedings against the noncompliant contractor. Bids that fail to comply with the certification requirements of the Defaulted Tax Program will be considered nonresponsive and excluded from further consideration. The successful bidder will be required to submit a faithful performance bond, payment bond, and liability and workers’ compensation insurance with the contract.

Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices

A-6 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWS THURSDAY,JANUARY 9, 2014THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 NEWS LASENTINEL.NET A-15

Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public NoticesAs provided for in Section 22300 of the State Public Contract Code, the contractor may substitute securities for any monies withheld by Public Works to ensure performance under the contract or enter into an escrow agreement for payment of such monies to an escrow agent. Each person by submitting a response to this Notice Inviting Bids certifies that such bidder and each

County lobbyist and County lobbying firm, as defined by Los Angeles County Code Section 2.160.010, retained by the bidder, is in full compliance with Chapter 2.160 of the Los Angeles County Code. Para mas informacion con relacion a esta noticia, por favor llame a este numero (626) 458-3118. Nuestras horas de oficina son de 7 a.m. a 5:30 p.m. de Lunes a Jueves.

The County supports and encourages equal opportunity contracting. By order of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles, State of California. Dated June 6, 2018. Celia Zavala Acting Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors6/14, 6/21/18CNS-3139734#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

NOTICEKENNETH RAY LAWSON

The State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services, has filed a Petition against you seeking to declare your children to be dependent and neglected. It appears that ordinary process of law cannot be served upon you because your whereabouts

are unknown. You are hereby ORDERED to serve upon Adam R. Hicks, Attorney for the State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services, 600 Hearthwood Court, Cookeville, Tennessee 38506, (931) 646-3000, an Answer to the Petition filed by the State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services, within thirty (30) days of the last day of publication of

this notice, pursuant to Rule 103(c)(3) of the Tenn. R. Juv. P. you must also appear in the Juvenile Court of White County, Tennessee, at Sparta, Tennessee, on the 20th day of August, 2018, at 9:00 AM for the Adjudicatory and Dispositional Hearing on the Petition filed by the State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services. If you fail to do so, a default judgment

will be taken against you pursuant to Rule 55 of the Tenn. R. of Civ. P. for the relief demanded in the Petition. You may view and obtain a copy of the Petition and any other subsequently filed legal documents at the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office in Sparta, Tennessee.6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28/18CNS-3139694#LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices Public Notices

Project18Fourty {continued from Pg. A-4}

By Faith Petrie

Sentinel Intern

20-year-old rapper

XXXTentacion has died

during an apparent rob-

bery on Monday, June

18 Broward Co. Sheriff’s

Dept. said.

Born Jahseh Dwayne

Onfroy, the rapper was

shopping for motorcycles

in Deerfield Beach, Flori-da and as he was leaving

the motorsport dealership

two armed suspects ap-

proached his car. One of

the gunmen fatally shot

XXX before fleeing the scene, said Keyla Con-

cepción, Broward County

sheriff department public

information officer.A video that was up-

loaded to Twitter showed

a seemingly lifeless XXX

sitting still in his car with

first responders surround-

ing his vehicle checking

his pulse.

XXX was later brought

to a Broward County hos-

pital where he succumbed

to his injuries and died.

The Florida-native released his first debut studio album “17” in Au-

gust 2017 which charted

at number two on the US

Billboard 200.

SPecial to the Sentinel

There is no doubt Mi-

chael Ajakwe Jr. was a man

with a plan. No achieve-

ment was more stellar for

the Emmy Award winning

writer than founding the

first Web Series Festival EVER, LAWEBFEST. Ajakwe Jr. did not slow

down after being diagnosed

with cancer but continued

producing the festival and

actively participating in

the international web series

festivals. On May 31, 2018

in Los Angeles, California,

Ajakwe Jr. succumbed to

pancreatic cancer at the age

of 52. His legacy and light

shine on in each word he

wrote, each frame he shot

and each web series festival

celebrated.

His funeral will be Fri-day, June 22nd, 2018 at

1:30 p.m. at the Angelus

Funeral Home Chapel, 3875 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Ange-

les, CA 90008

A pioneer in the Web Se-

ries arena before it became

mainstream, Ajakwe Jr.

saw a window of opportu-

nity and founded LAWEB-

FEST in 2010. Known as the ‘Sundance of Web Se-

ries Festivals’, he helped launch and partnered with

others webspecific festivals around the globe includ-

ing launching the Marseille

Webfest in 2011, Europe's first web series festival in the south of France. He was a part of festivals around

the world including France, Brazil, South Korea, Aus-

tralia, Hong Kong, Atlanta,

South Florida, Canada, Ita-

ly, Mexico and Spain.

He won a Daytime

Emmy for Talk Soup on E!

Entertainment in 1995 He

was the Writer, Director & Producer for the TV com-

edy, Beauty and the Baller,

based on his web series,

Who and airing from July 22 - September 9, 2017 on

Centric TV (now BET-Her)

He is a four-time NAACP

Image Award-winning pro-

ducer and playwright Mi-

chael has written and di-

rected 9 plays and produced

16 plays that have been

nominated for 29 NAACP

Theatre Awards, winning a

total of 5 awards. He was

a Member of the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and Producer's Guild of America (PGA).

Ajakwe Jr. is survived

by his wife Tammy Ajakwe,

his mother, Lady Patricia

Ajakwe; his sister, Ethell

Onye; his brothers: Robert

Ajakwe and Dr. Reginald

A Life Well Lived One Frame at a Time Emmy Award-winning Writer, Director, Producer and Founder of LAWEBFEST Leaves Lasting Legacy

XXXTentacion

had a full-time chair in

a long time, so there is a

lot to do in terms of cur-

riculum updates and setting

policies. But I like a chal-lenge, and look forward

to helping rebuild the pro-

gram and increasing its vis-

ibility on campus and in the

wider community.

We want to offer stu-

dents more variety, and

work to establish Africana

Studies at Cal State Domin-

guez Hills as a hub for eth-

nic and Africana studies in

the South Bay. The faculty

already have some innova-

tive ideas for the curricu-

lum. We have been talking a great deal about develop-

ing courses around gender,

namely Africana woman-

hood and Black masculin-

ity, contemporary social

movements such as Black

Lives Matter, and creat-

ing more opportunities for

students to study abroad in

different parts of Africa.

We already have strong Af-rican and African American

history and literature curri-

cula, and are considering

different types of media

coursework, such as teach-

ing about film and social media. Our challenge is we

are very small, but that is

common in ethnic studies.

Q: I understand you have an article coming out

regarding your research

on “cultural-identify taxa-

tion.” Could you explain

what that means?

A: Amado Padilla

coined the term “cultural

taxation” in 1994. Cultural

taxation happens a lot in

educational settings. Fac-

ulty of color often end up

doing a lot of extra work

that doesn’t get rewarded.

For example, a student may come and say “I had an instructor who told me

I was stupid because I’m Black.” The professor ends

up counseling and mentor-

ing the student, even help-

ing with the steps to file a grievance, which can take a

good amount of time. This

and other types of extra

work is cultural taxation.

It’s often a common expec-

tation that faculty of color

do all of the race-related

work.

Identity taxation is more specific to women. Female faculty often take on the role of mother fig-

ure—mothering students

through a crisis. One might

say, “I’m pregnant, and my family is against abor-

tion. What do I do?” They often come to you because

they’ve built a level of trust

with you. In return, you wouldn’t want to refer that

student to someone else;

to just hand her off. So for

women faculty of color

they are doubly taxed to do

this extra “diversity” work

and be mother figures to students without little to

any recognition of the time,

energy, and stress this has

on our personal and profes-

sional lives.

Sidebar: Nicol has

co-authored the article

“Reclaiming Our Time:

Women of Color Faculty and Radical Self-Care in

the Academy” with Dr.

Jennifer Yee, which will

be published this spring

in the Feminist Teacher. The article explores how

cultural-identity taxation

takes a toll on one’s body,

mind, and spirit, and offers

suggestions for combating

this taxation through radi-

cal self-care practices.

Q: CSU Dominguez

Hills serves the largest pop-

ulation of African Ameri-

can students in the CSU

system. However, Black

enrollment is down here

and across the system—

particularly among males.

Why do you think that is? Is there another way of ex-

amining this issue?

A: Many high school

students are resisting col-

lege because our K-12

system is not preparing

them well. In many cases, African American students

do not even have the basic

requirements met to enter

into the CSU. One of the

biggest problems is that

students are only being en-

couraged to graduate high

school and not look be-

yond. We also have a glut of people with college de-

grees, but often no jobs for

them. Many now believe

we need to bring the manu-

facturing sector back. The

question is, why weren’t we

doing that in the first place? So I’m on board with find-

ing better ways to prepare

them for college, but would

also suggest that African

American students who are

not sure about going to col-

lege consider starting at a

community college where

skilled trade curriculum is

also available to let them

decide what is best for

them.

Q: Whether graduat-ing from college, or going

straight to work after high

school, what one piece

of advice would you give

young African Americans

to help them prepare for to-

day’s workforce?

A: Students really need

to practice the skill of net-

working while they’re at

the university. In the work-

force, most people know

how to do their jobs tech-

nically, but they often have

terrible interpersonal skills,

and that is really going to

hold them back. Students,

particularly those of color,

need to be taught how to

network and communicate

better. It should be a part of every curriculum, includ-

ing the STEM fields.

Ajakwe. His father, Chief

Michael O. Ajakwe, Sr

proceeded him in death.

For more information about Michael Ajakwe Jr.

and LAWEBFEST visit www.LAWEBFEST.com. ;

WHO: Michael Ajak-

we Jr., October 12, 1965

- May 31, 2018

WHAT: Homegoing

Celebration

WHEN: Friday, June

22nd Funeral 1:30 p.m.

Repast 5:00 p.m. – 8:00

p.m.

WHERE:

Funeral -

Angelus Funeral Home

Chapel

3875 Crenshaw Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90008

Repast -

The Wilfandel Club

3425 W. Adams Blvd.,

Los Angeles, CA 90018

Condolences -

Mrs. Tammy Ajakwe

3651 S. LaBrea Ave.,

#530

Los Angeles, CA 90016

Nicol continued from Pg A-2}

be exposed to such art due

to social or economic is-

sues. I was that kid that lived in that community

and it was the support of

my family, community

and coach's that devel-oped my passion. Dance

was a need for me and so

I decided to ensure my love of dance through

education with constantly

studying dance and secur-

ing a background in per-

formance enhancement

and youth kinetics,” said

Page.

As far as advice is

concerned, Page encour-

ages young girls who are

unable to get to her stu-

dio to continue pursuing

dance.

“Dance is in your

heart, it’s in your soul.

You can have profession-

al skills and have profes-

sional dance classes go-

ing in the kitchen. A lot

of these girls use their

window seals as a barre,

or they use the fire place, on the balcony. As long

as it’s something that you

want and you are driven

towards that don’t stop,”

said Page.

Page’s future business

goals include expanding

the size of her dance stu-

dio and focusing on her

students. Project 18Four-ty is located at 5872 w.

Pico Blvd. Los Angeles,

California 90035. For more information on the

hours of operation and

summer classes at the

dance studio please call

(323) 892-6046 and visit

@7thdancer on Insta-

gram. Children who have

a parent in the California

Correctional Facility are welcome to attend classes

free of charge!

"As long as it's something that you want

and you are driven towards that don'͛t stop.

Tahira Aliya Page tells young women, dance

is in your heart, it's in your soul

Michael Ajakwe Jr.

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO

SENTINELNEWS SERVICE

Board of Equalization(BOE) Member Jerome E.Horton, Los Angeles CountyAssessor Jeffrey Prang, andFaith and Community Em-powerment (FACE) willhost the Nonprofit Empow-erment and Exemption Sym-posium and Expo, an eventdesigned to help nonprofitand faith-based organiza-tions grow and prosper intheir work serving localcommunities, on Friday,June 29, at West Los Ange-les College, 9000 OverlandAvenue, Culver City, CA90230. The event will beginat 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30p.m., with check-in startingat 8:30 a.m.

“California nonprofitsand faith-based organiza-tions will learn strategies andtechniques on capitalizingon available tax credits,exemptions, and wealthbuilding concepts to helpthem achieve their mis-sions,” Horton said.

Featured speakers at theevent will include AssessorPrang, Thomas AujeroSmall, Mayor of the City ofCulver City; and a host ofexperts including keynotespeaker Nancy Berlin, Poli-cy Director at the CaliforniaAssociation of Nonprofits;Colin Diaz, President/CEOof Culver City Chamber ofCommerce; Gloria Gray,Treasurer of the West BasinMetropolitan Water DistrictBoard of Directors; MemberHorton; Janice Hulett, Fin-ancial Professional, Inde-pendent Contractor (Finan-cial Services); Hyepin Im,President/CEO, Faith andCommunity Empowerment;Jim Limbaugh, President ofWest Los Angeles College;and Jan Perry, General Man-ager of the City of LosAnge-les Economic and WorkforceDevelopment Department.

The Symposium willfeature presentations andpanel discussions on a broadrange of topics: Benefits ofthe Welfare Exemption,

Property Tax Exemptions forNonprofits, Grant Processfor Nonprofits in Compli-ance with the WelfareExemption, Property TaxEssentials for Nonprofitsand Faith-based Organiza-tions – Learn to Lower YourTaxes, Property Tax Tips –Tax Relief Measures &Appeal Rights, Tax Reformsfor Nonprofits; AffordableHousing and Other CreativeWays to Leverage Church,Building, and Land Use; andHomeownership and Fore-closure Prevention Re-sources.

The Symposium’s expowill offer additional valuableinformation to attendees,provided by representativesfrom Franchise Tax Board,West Los Angeles College,Employment DevelopmentDepartment, OperationHope, California Employ-ment Training Panel, IRS,U.S. VETS – Inglewood,Vermont Slauson EconomicDevelopment Corporation,Culver City Chamber ofCommerce, United StatesPostal Service, SouthernCalifornia Edison, LosAngeles Economic & Work-force Development Depart-ment, California Associationof Nonprofits, City of LosAngeles Business Source/VEDC, Los Angeles CountyDepartment of Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk,

West Basin MetropolitanWater District, County ofLos Angeles Child SupportServices Department, andSouth Bay Workforce In-vestment Board.

“I am pleased to joinwith Board Member Hortonand FACE in providing theresources that our communi-ty service organizations,faith-based institutions, andother not-for-profit agenciesrely upon in order to servethe people of Los AngelesCounty,” Assessor Prangsaid. “These organizationsserve as a vital safety net,and it is my hope that theinformation and tools pro-vided by my office willtranslate to the empower-ment of our underservedcommunities.”

“As a nonprofit dedicat-

ed to equipping leaders andbuilding their capacity,FACE is pleased to partnerwith BOE Member JeromeHorton and County AssessorJeffrey Prang on this excit-ing summit,” FACE Presi-dent/CEO Hyepin Im said.“For all the nonprofit andfaith leaders who are alwayshelping others but often donot have the time orresources to help them-selves, we invite you tocome and be inspired,renewed and be betterequipped in your work andservice!”

The Nonprofit Empow-erment and Exemption Sym-posium is free to attend;parking is available for$2.00. You may registeronline or call 310-297-5201for more information.

Free Nonprofit Empowerment Symposium to Offer Valuable Economic Strategies and Resources

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A ban on commercialcannabis remains in placein unincorporated areas ofLos Angeles County, withthe Board of Supervisorstoday opting not to takeany action on the issue,even as new legal dispen-saries open with state andlocal licenses in other partsof the county.

The county’s Depart-ment of Consumer andBusiness Affairs presentedthree options to the Boardof Supervisors for movingforward:

• allow and regulate alltypes of medical and recre-ational commercialcannabis activity;

• limit the types ofcannabis businesses thatcan open, for example,

only allow medical dispen-saries; or

• keep the ban in place.Based on months of

discussions with drug poli-cy experts, academic re-searchers, public health

professionals, local electedofficials and residents, theOffice of Cannabis Man-agement earlier presentedthe board with 64 recom-mendations and a tax rev-enue analysis. The DCBAreport focused on the stepsrequired to implement anyparticular policy, includingdetailed maps of wherebusinesses could be locat-ed.

A key takeaway of thereport is that if the boardchooses to lift the ban,there’s a lot more work tobe done — setting up acommission as well as an

advisory review board, cre-ating a health assessment,amending at least five dif-ferent county ordinancesand setting up a publicworkshop around access tocannabis opportunities. Allof which would likely takemonths, if not years.

And the board is not ina hurry.

“The Board of Supervi-sors has decided not to rushthis issue and, by taking noaction on the report today,has allowed the ban oncommercial cannabis in theunincorporated areas tostay in place,” Supervisor

Janice Hahn said in a state-ment. “However, this bandoes not affect residents'ability to use cannabisrecreationally or growplants on their property forpersonal use as guaranteedunder Proposition 64.”

More than 100 peoplesigned up to speak on theissue during the board'smeeting and a majority ofthem pressed the county tomove toward regulation,arguing that the banallowed a black market toflourish, contrary to theaim of statewide legaliza-tion.

L.A. County Ban on Commercial Cannabis Still Stands

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Some members of thecivilian body who overseethe Los Angeles PoliceDepartment expressed al-arm today at a report thatfound the use of deadlyforce by officers was uplast year despite the factthat other large depart-ments around the countrysaw a decrease.

There were 44 policeshootings in 2017, com-pared to 40 in the previousyear, according to an annu-al report prepared by the

LAPD. The report foundthat of the 44 shootings, 31suspects were hit and 17

died.“One surprising fact,

frankly, was that other sim-ilarly sized agencies —New York, Chicago, Hous-ton, the Los Angeles Sher-iff's Department, Philadel-phia — all saw significantdecreases in the number ofofficer-involved shootingsbetween 2016 and 2017,while we had a 10 percentincrease,” CommissionerVice President Matt John-son said, “So once againI’d like to take a look to seewhat these other depart-ments are doing to see if

there is anything we canlearn from them.”

Johnson also expressedconcern that 34 percent ofthe shootings involved sus-pects who did not have afirearm, despite changesthe department has imple-mented the last severalyears that require officersto attempt to deescalateencounters.

Johnson also pointedout that seven of the shoot-ings resulted from a pre-planned operation by thedepartment, while the pre-vious two years only saw

three apiece.“Given that, by defini-

tion these incidents afford-ed the officers greateropportunity to plan andcoordinate, I’d also like todo a review of those factsand circumstances,” John-son said.

The committee movedto form a subcommittee toanalyze the report andcome back to the full com-mission with some find-ings.

Johnson and Commis-sioner Cynthia McClain-Hill also expressed concern

at an increase in the num-ber of shootings where offi-cers used rifles and wheremore than one officer firedshots.

“I’m extremely inter-ested in looking at — verycarefully, not just from apolicy perspective, but alsoas applied — how we areapproaching situations whereforce may be warranted butstill approaching those situ-ations in a manner that islikely to result in the leastamount of force that is nec-essary to achieve the objec-tive,” McClain-Hill said.

Report Finds LAPD’s Use of Deadly Force Increased Last Year

Matt Johnson

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018B-1 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL

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Register Now!! 8 A.M. – 5 P.M. Monday – Friday

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www.todaysfreshstart.org

College Bound School All Grades, Small Classes, After School Program, Transitional Kindergarten and K-8

Accredited by Western Association of School’s & Colleges

Jerome E. Horton

SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE

School’s out, whichmeans summer’s in! As thetemperatures rise, splashinto a fun and healthy sportwith SwimLA, the City ofLos Angeles Department ofRecreation and Parks’newly expanded andaffordable swim programfor kids.

SwimLA ensures thatevery young Angelenobetween the ages of 4 to 17has an opportunity to learnto swim by increasing thenumber of lessons offeredat all L.A. City pools,expanding the availabilityof swim scholarships andpromoting the importanceof water safety.

With drowning a lead-ing cause of death for chil-dren in L.A. County, it’simportant that kids learn toswim and know how to besafe around all bodies ofwater, from pools, foun-tains and beaches to rivers,streams and lakes. ThroughSwimLA, kids learn a life-saving skill that no one

should be without, with les-sons taught by city-certi-fied lifesaving profession-als.

The City of Los Ange-les is also committed tomaking sure that everyfamily, regardless ofincome, can sign up theirchildren for swim lessons.With the generous supportof partners, includingKaiser Permanente, LA84and the American RedCross, SwimLA has boost-ed the number of swimscholarships available sothat cost is never a barrier.

As L.A. prepares tohost the Olympic and Para-lympic Games in 2028,SwimLA is the first of

many exciting new sportsand fitness programs thatwill be offered to youngAngelenos. Los AngelesMayor Eric Garcetti is ded-icated to making Los Ange-les one of the healthiestcities in the world – and itstarts with SwimLA.

SwimLA lessons areoffered in two-week ses-sions from June 18 untilAug. 31. Morning, after-noon and evening lessonsare available.

To find your neighbor-hood L.A. City pool andregister for swim lessons,visit www.swimla.org orcall Citywide Aquatics at(323) 906-7953. Space islimited, so sign up today!

Learn to Swim! City of L.A. Expands Affordable Swim Program for Kids

COURTESY PHOTO

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stands behind SwimLA's

push for affordable swim programs for Angelenos.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 www.lasentinel.net B-2

By Cora JaCkson-Fossett

Religion Editor

Being gospel music

royalty may appear glam-

orous, but “We’re The

Campbells” will change

that assumption.

The new docu-series,

featuring Warryn and Erica

Campbell along with their

three children, gives view-

ers an up-close-and-per-

sonal, behind-the-scenes

look at the serious effort

that goes into balancing

family, church ministry

and careers. A digital after-

show, “With Warryn and

Erica,” is also part of the

production.

Warryn, an award-win-

ning veteran music pro-

ducer, is also the pastor of

California Worship Center

(CWC) in North Holly-

wood and founder of the

record label My Block Inc.

Erica, one-half of the

famous gospel duo, Mary

Mary, has a flourishing solo career, the national-

ly-syndicated show, “Get

Up! Mornings with Erica

Campbell,” and serves as

CWC first lady. Despite their full lives,

their number one role is as

parents to Warryn, Zaya

and teenager Krista and

like most parents, they

strive to give their children

the all of the love, inspira-

tion and necessary tools to

live productive lives.

With “We’re The

Campbells,” viewers will

see Warryn and Erica jug-

gling all areas of their busy

lives as they raise a family

in the spotlight and deal

with issues of faith, sexu-

ality and societal norms in

the age of social media.

“I am excited to let

people in and share our

family’s story,” said War-

ryn. “It is super im-

portant that folks will

get to see a strong,

beautiful Black fam-

ily, a loving couple

and nothing but the

Hand of God and

the Grace of God on

our lives through ev-

eryday situations, both

good and bad.”

“I’m really excited

to change the way

people see African

Americans. All broth-

ers are not in jail, all fa-

thers are not gone, all

mothers are not bossy

and all kids are not

sassy and disrespect-

ful. There are fami-

lies that love each

other,” added

Erica.

“Our faith

plays a big part. Trust in

God and believe that there

is something better out

there than what we see.

My goal as a wife and a

mother is to make my fam-

ily never falls second to

my work, that they never

feel that I give better en-

ergy and better love to the

radio show than to them,”

she said.

As for incorporating

their children into the new

program, the Camp-

bells be-

lieve the

founda-

tion of

faith, values and principles

that they have instilled into

their youngsters will keep

them grounded as they

move in the television in-

dustry.

“In our family, we

don’t allow our children

to do anything if several

things are not done. For

one, you’ve got to have

good grades. Those types

of guidelines and things

we have put in place have

prepared our children,”

said Warryn.

U s -

ing her

ch i ld -

h o o d

as a

mod-

e l ,

Erica noted, “Growing up

as a preacher’s daughter,

you are kind of ‘out front’

whether you want it or not.

You learn and understand

what it means to repre-

sent the family - act hon-

orably and realize you’re

in a position of privilege,

extremely blessed and not

entitled.

“They have to clean

their own room. Those

kinds of things keep them

grounded. We want them

to understand the possi-

bilities that they have and

what they are doing.”

While “We’re The

Campbells” is clearly

faith-based, nonbeliev-

ers will find that the show presents several topics of

discussion that may prove

helpful to their lives.

“Everyone has or

comes from a family, so

you can relate on that

level. Everybody has

ambition, you can re-

late on that level. On

the music side, I have

done secular music –

Snoop Dogg, Brandy,

Luther Vandross. The

show is faith-based,

but there are other

aspects as well,” re-

marked Warryn.

According to

Erica, “I absolutely

believe nonbelievers

will enjoy our show

and it will resonate

with them. Wheth-

er you are a person

of faith or not, there are al-

ways answers that we want

in life.

“We all want love and

acceptance and healthy re-

lationships. Faith happens

to be our base, but there’s

a normal side to us that I

think nonbelievers can def-

initely relate to. Whether

people go to church ev-

ery Sunday or not, they

still understand wanting

the best for your family,

wanting the best for your

life, how to achieve your

goals and dreams and

how in the world to get

there,” she said.

Tia A. Smith, senior

director of Original Pro-

gramming and Produc-

tion for TV One, com-

mented that “We’re The

Campbells” has a uni-

versal appeal that will

engage multiple demo-

graphics.

“Audiences of all

ages will identify with

this docu-series and see

themselves in members

of this family, as they

deal with the same issues

we all do and get through

them with humor and hu-

mility,” Smith said.

“We are a nor-

mal family that wants

a healthy relationship

with healthy and happy

kids that will impact the

world,” says Erica.

“I think families will

see us deal with the same

things they encounter in

life. I’m so very excited.”

To learn more, visit

tvone.tv or connect via

Twitter, Instagram and

Facebook (@tvonetv)

using the hashtags

# W E R E T H E C A M P -

BELLS and #REPRE-

SENT.

COURTESY PHOTO

Bishop Craig A. WorshamCOURTESY PHOTO

Pastor Calvin B. RhoneCOURTESY PHOTO

Pastor Elton Johnson

By Cora JaCkson-Fossett

Religion Editor

An evening of Christ-

centered rejoicing is

planned at the Daily Bread

Worship Experience, set

for Friday, June 29, at 7

p.m.

The service, sponsored

by the Gospel Music Work-

shop of America – Los An-

geles Chapter’s Evangelis-

tic Ministry, will be held

at St. Thomas Missionary

Baptist Church, 10963 S.

Western Ave., in Los An-

geles. The Rev. Nathaniel

Colemore is the host pastor.

“We are expecting a

mighty movement of the

Holy Spirit as we gather for

praise, music, teaching and

preaching,” said Bishop

Craig A. Worsham, Evan-

gelistic Chairman, who is

coordinating the service

with Pastor Calvin Bernard

Rhone, Chapter Represen-

tative.

The service will include

a lecture by Pastor Prentiss

Lewis of Greater Starlight

Baptist Church and the ser-

mon by Pastor Elton John-

son of Metropolitan Baptist

Church.

Also, the Metropolitan

choir, GMWA-L.A. Chap-

ter choir will perform along

with other guest soloists

and musicians.

Inviting the public to at-

tend, Worsham, who is also

pastor of Agape Church of

Los Angeles, said, “You

will definitely enjoy this time in the Lord and be re-

charged as you experience

victory in your walk with

Christ!”

For information, call

(323) 295-5571.

COURTESY PHOTO

From left are Philip May, Director Richard Moorings, LeRoy Bennett, Skip Reed, St. John’s Pastor Larry Dozier, Kelvin Filer of Compton First, and Hollypark UMC Pastor Cavalain Hawkins.

sentinel news serviCe

West District United

Methodist Men’s (UMM)

President Robert Bartley

will be the keynote speaker

at United Methodist Men’s

Day celebration on Sun-

day, June 24, at 4 p.m., at

St. John’s United Method-

ist Church, 1715 Santa Ana

Blvd., North, in Los Ange-

les.

The theme is “Rise

up O’ Men of God!” Pas-

tor Larry Dozier said that

guests will include the Men

of Hollypark, the Men of

Compton First, and the

Dozier Singers Family and

Friends.

Bartley is a member

of Faith United Method-

ist Church of Los Ange-

les where he serves as the

president of the Men of

Faith, UMM. Previously,

he served as lay leader and

currently chairs the Church

Council. A certified lay

servant/speaker, Barkley

participates in the Lay Ser-

vant Ministry School and

is secretary of the Cal-Pac

Conference UMM.

“I believe men should

come together for men’s

issues and fellowship. We

should also look at the op-

portunity of mentoring

young boys and young

men,” said Bartley. As a

mentor at his church, Bart-

ley has watched young men

grow up and attend college

and others obtain jobs and

become productive mem-

bers of society.

St. John’s UMM Presi-

dent Mac Shorty added that

refreshments will be served

following the worship.

For information, call

(310) 365-1331.

Pastor Kelvin Sauls, left, and Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles welcomed the Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, right, as the guest preacher on June 17. Joseph Apparicio, center, joined many people in obtaining Dyson’s new book, “What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.”

SHIRMIN APPARICIO

LASENTINEL.NET RELIGION THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018B-3

9537 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044

Worship Services..... 8:00am & 11:00am

Sunday School ........................... 9:30am

Prayer Meeting (Wed) ................ 6:30pm

Bible Study (Wed) ...................... 7:00pm

CHURCH OFFICE:

(323) 755-1130 & (323) 755-1139 Fax: (323) 755-8961

The Church Where “It Pays to be Nice”

New Pleasant Hill

Missionary Baptist Church

Rev. Melvin Hill, Pastor

COURTESY PHOTO

Rev. Dr. Kelvin T. Calloway, Sr.

“The First Community Church of Los Angeles”(Non-Denomination) Founded 1915

Is now accepting “Resumes” for the position of Pastor.

Qualifications: • Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Theology from 4-year accredited Seminary or University • Licensed and Ordained Minister of the Gospel

Submit Cover Letters and Resumes:People’s Independent Church of Christ, Attn: Pulpit Committee 5856

West Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90043Deadline: June 30, 2018

Formerly shepherded by the late Bishop Miquail Broadous, Sr.

Is Seeking A Pastor and now accepting applications and resumes Qualifications:

Licensed Minister Of The Gospel Of Jesus ChristOrdained Minister Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Experienced In Teaching And Preaching The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

To receive an application packet, please do the following: Send an email request to: P.S.CGTBC@gmail.com and the packet will be mailed to you via U.S. Mail or emailed to your email address. Or call the church office at (323)

971-8192 and request the application packet be mailed to you. Submit all applications to:

Grace Temple Baptist Church Pulpit Search Committee7017 South Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90047

Attn: Linda Broadous Miles Deadline: June 30, 2018

FILE PHOTO

Pastor DeNon A. Porter

COURTESY PHOTO

Pastor Darryl Beard

By Cora JaCkson-Fossett

Religion Editor

Celebration is in the air

at Greater Ebenezer Mis-

sionary Baptist Church as

the ministry gets set to will

observe their 68th Church

Anniversary.

The milestone event is

set for Sunday, June 24,

at the 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and

4 p.m., worship services.

The theme is “A Blessed

Church: One Body in

Christ, Working together

in Faith and Love.” The

scripture references are I

Corinthians 12:12-18 and I

John 4:6-8.

“We anticipate a mar-

velous worship experience

and invite the greater Los

Angeles community to

come and share with us on

this momentous occasion,”

said Pastor DeNon A. Por-

ter.

The 4 p.m. service

will feature Pastor Darryl

Beard and Mount Carmel

Holy Assembly Baptist

Church. “We have long-

standing relationship with

Pastor Porter and Pastor

Emeritus Solomon Drake,”

said Beard, who will de-

liver the sermon. “I am

a member of Greater Eb-

enezer and I always look

forward to returning to my

home church.”

Pastor Porter added,

“Come in unity and come

in praise for 68 years of

preaching, teaching, and

standing on the prom-

ises of God. God has

blessed Greater Ebenezer

with over 40 ministries to

spread God’s word, share

God’s word, and minister

God’s word.”

Greater Ebenezer is

located at 5300 S. Denker

Ave., in Los Angeles. To

learn more, gembcla.org.

COURTESY PHOTO

Barbara Bryant

By BarBara Bryant

Contributing Writer

Are you too critical of

the child that God made?

Do you think God could

have created you better

or improved a few things

better like your nose, butt,

breast or lips? The answer

is no. You are wonderfully

complex.

God never used a cook-

ie cutter to create people.

He made you from scratch.

I really want you to get this

- You are God’s original

work. He made you once.

One of you was enough for

God.

When you were born

you came hot off the press.

Like a trademark, you have

been patented by God. He

has exclusive rights to your

creation.

God made you excep-

tional. Being exceptional

is having an outstand-

ing quality which makes

you different from the

crowd. When a person is

exceptional, he/she dis-

plays an outstanding qual-

ity or skill that cannot be

duplicated.

If you believe this, you

will not have a problem

complimenting another

person for their skills,

choices or achievements.

You will celebrate other

people because you know

your self-worth.

You were made delib-

erately. You were created

with detail. God’s precision

is seen in your individuali-

ty. Your individual unique-

ness is God designed and

your qualities are tailored

fit to you. God made every part

of your body just the way

He wanted you to look.

The Creator’s handprint

was dramatically placed on

you. You are His crowning

creation.

You are a direct result

of God and were perfectly

designed for His glory. He

made you on purpose for a

purpose.

God did not design you

to be anybody else because

there is nobody else on

this earth that could ever

be equal or equivalent to

you. When you try to be

something that you’re not,

it comes across as dis-

ingenuous and you risk

losing whatever it is that

makes you special.

Sometimes we get

down on ourselves if we

feel like we’re differ-

ent than others, but being

unique is a very good thing.

God has uniquely wired

you to be different. Take a

good look in the mirror, and

tell yourself, “No doubt

about it—I’m fearfully and

wonderfully made!”

Remember the old wise

saying…Being the best

is great, it means you’re

number one. But being

unique is greater, because

you’re the only one. No

one in the world is more

beautiful than you, so trea-

sure your uniqueness. Your

uniqueness is an answer to

someone’s problem.

To learn more, visit

barbarabryant.com.

your present situation.

“Re-work your circum-

stances in a way that em-

powers you. Rather than

play the role of the victim,

you can choose to play the

role of the overcomer,” said

Releford.

“Finally, embrace the

next chapter, the next ad-

venture or the next phase

of your life. Step back onto

life’s stage ready to be of

service to mankind know-

ing deep down in your soul

that you still have a lot to

offer this world. Re-launch

your personal mission or

passion in a way that shows

no shame or humiliation.

Use your victory as a testi-

mony of God’s greatness!”

Maintaining that his ap-

proach can transform any

circumstance, Releford

even believes the tech-

niques can aid people who

are experiencing health is-

sues or setbacks, which can

be another form of adver-

sity.

“You have people that

have gone through the

storm, but they’ve been

consumed and defeated in

that nursing home, on di-

alysis, stroked out and they

can’t implement what they

know. The perfect com-

bination in life is to keep

yourself healthy enough,

so that as you are acquiring

knowledge, now you can

transfer that knowledge and

you can implement what

you know,” he insisted.

“We need to embrace a

reason to be healthy. Your

health is a prerequisite to

leaving a legacy or running

an effective business.”

In addition to sharing

healthy messages through-

out underserved local com-

munities, Releford has re-

vived his overseas health

outreach program as well

his African clothing busi-

ness. This summer, he

will travel to the continent

to speak at a major sum-

mit outlining how African

Americans can do business

in Africa.

But whether speaking

in Los Angeles or abroad,

his main focus will be al-

ways be on assisting and

uplifting others using his

knowledge and experience.

“I’ve seen too much

and been blessed with too

many skills to allow my-

self to tossed into the hu-

man junk pile. That’s my

message to a lot of men and

women - know your value,”

said Releford.

“When you know your

value, you know that this

is only temporary. What-

ever challenges you have

are just a blip on one para-

graph in a beautiful story

that you’re writing every-

day. That chapter is gone

and the new chapter is Dr.

Releford 2.0!”

The Releford Foot and

Ankle Institute is located

at 455 N. Prairie Avenue in

Inglewood. To learn more,

call (310) 412-0183 or visit

relefordinstitute.com. The

book, “R to the 3rd Power

– Restore, Redefine and Re-launch – How to Find

Peace and Prosperity Inside

of Adversity,” will be avail-

able in August on Amazon.

com.

H����HLifestyleF����YC-1www.lasentinel.netTHURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO

By Cora JaCkson-Fossett

Staff Writer

In 2010, Dr. Bill Rel-

eford had made incredible

strides in his medical ca-

reer.

Nationally known as a

foot and ankle surgeon, he

had shared his skills over-

seas by organizing ampu-

tation prevention programs

in Ghana, Uganda, Gabon,

Fiji, and Brazil.

Even President Barack

Obama was impressed and

extended him an invitation

to the White House Super-

bowl Party after learning

about Releford’s Black

Barbershop Health Out-

reach Program that aimed

to reduce health disparities

and cardiovascular disease

among African American

men.

News about his work

splashed across the media,

resulting in Releford be-

ing featured on CNN, “The

View,” “NBC Nightly

News” and in Black Enter-

prise.

Who suspected that

all of his positive efforts

would shatter away two

years later when he was in-

dicted for falsely acquiring

a business loan 13 years

earlier. Sentenced to fed-

eral prison for 24 months,

Releford was devastated

that all of his good works

appeared to be in vain.

Admitting his guilt, he

said, “I take full responsi-

bility for what I did. I fum-

bled the ball. I made a bad

mistake and bad business

decisions that culminated

into prison.”

Releford’s missteps

could have ended his fu-

ture, but instead, he de-

cided to redeem himself

and “redefine what’s hap-

pening. The world says Dr.

Releford went to prison. I

can say I had an opportu-

nity to get better and to get

more connected to my as-

signment. I had an oppor-

tunity to get battle-tested,

sanctified and purpose-driven,” he recalled.

“I still realized that

my assignment to address

health disparities of Afri-

can Americans was unfin-

ished. I was aware that I

have talents and skills that

have value. I also recog-

nized that experiences like

this would either crush you

or facilitate incredible per-

sonal growth.”

After his release from

prison, Releford regained

his medical license and

today, his practice remains

intact and growing, thanks

to the assistance of his

business associate, enter-

tainment executive Vanzil

Burke, who managed Rel-

eford’s company during his

incarceration.

Seated in his Ingle-

wood office wearing a lab coat and a smile, Releford

explained that his rebound

was based on techniques

he developed to get his life

back on track. Those meth-

ods are outlined in his soon

to-be-released book, “R to

the 3rd Power – Restore,

Redefine and Re-launch

– How to Find Peace and

Prosperity Inside Adver-

sity.”

“R3 is a multi-disci-

plinary approach to coping

with and advancing beyond

the landmines, quicksand

and WMDs (weapons of

mass destruction) adversity

can inherently bring. Al-

though you can’t change or

avoid life’s events and cir-

cumstances, you can learn

to see and experience them

as blessings and in a way

that works for you,” said

Releford.

“My hope is that by

reading this book you will

discover that real power lies

within and that you have

full, unrestricted access to

unlimited, inexhaustible re-

sources to solve any prob-

lem you may encounter.

The only limitations are the

self-inflicted limitations you place on yourself. You

will discover that adversity

can be the seed needed for

you to blossom.”

The process begins with

restoration and refinement of the mind, body and spir-

it, which leads to redefining

Releford with President Barack Obama.

Dr. Bill Releford

By Brian W. Carter

Contributing Writer

Health is wealth.

Unfortunately, in many

low-income communities,

being healthy can be a chal-

lenge when there is a lack

of resources. The situation

is only compounded when

there are no facilities to

encourage physical activ-

ity. Many can’t afford gym

memberships and some

people may not feel safe

working out in their neigh-

borhoods. The American

Council on Exercise (ACE)

and 3 WINS Fitness are

changing this situation.

“We are currently con-

ducting a pilot study in

partnership with 3 WINS

Fitness, which is an initia-

tive spearheaded by Dr.

Steven Loy at California

State University – North-

ridge (CSUN),” said ACE

Chief Science Officer Ce-

dric X. Bryant, Ph.D. “3

WINS Fitness offers free

exercise classes in com-

munities that need more

opportunities for structured

physical activity.”

Seventy-eight percent

of American adults do not

meet the U.S. government’s

national physical activ-

ity recommendations, and

physical-inactivity related

diseases like heart disease

and diabetes affect billions

of people worldwide.

ACE is a nonprofit or-ganization that certifies exercise professionals and

health coaches, sponsors

original research, gathers

experts on physical activ-

ity and health and works

directly with community

groups. Together with 3

WINS Fitness, they have

created a community ex-

ercise program for low-

resource communities in

Los Angeles. Bryant is re-

sponsible for ensuring the

scientific accuracy of ACE-commissioned studies,

publications and all other

materials created by ACE.

“My primary goals are

to ensure that we are of-

fering certifications and education materials that

will prepare individuals

to be outstanding exercise

professionals and health

coaches,” said Bryant.

Based in the San Fer-

nando Valley, 3 WINS Fit-

ness offers free exercise

classes in communities that

need more opportunities for

structured physical activity.

“The classes are led by

CSUN kinesiology student

volunteers, many of whom

have earned an ACE certi-

fication through our Com-

munity Empowerment

Scholarship program,” said

Bryant. “As the name sug-

gests, the program truly

creates three winners: the

students, the participants

and the communities.”

On April 18, members

of public health agencies

and local politicians joined

hundreds of community

members in a group ex-

ercise celebration. The

workout kicked off a sum-

mit to bring community

partners together to dis-

cuss the future expansion

of the program throughout

Los Angeles County, and

the results of a study on

how community workouts

and health education affect

participants with diabetes.

Programs like these are es-

sential to keeping the com-

munity healthy and thriv-

ing—Bryant agrees.

“Programs like 3 WINS

are essential for creating

safe, accessible and effec-

tive physical-activity op-

portunities for people of all

ages, abilities and socio-

economic backgrounds,”

said Bryant. “Perhaps most

importantly, however, 3

WINS is successful at con-

vincing people to not only

attend a class, but to come

back again and again.”

Through initiatives like

ACE’s partnership with

3WINS, ACE has grown

its family of active ACE-

Certified health coaches and exercise professionals

to more than 80,000.

“We are proud of the

partnership and greatly

pleased by the results,” said

Bryant. “We look forward

to working with 3 WINS

to maximize its impact on

communities and secure a

sustainable future.”

Bryant continued,

“ACE will continue to

partner with local and na-

tional organizations that

are pioneering physical-ac-

tivity experiences directly

in communities and neigh-

borhoods, most at low or

no cost, and help those

groups increase their reach

and impact.”

For more information,

call (800) 825-3636 or visit

ACEfitness.org

ACE Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D.

COURTESY PHOTO

C-2 THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018LASENTINEL.NET NEWS

PHOTO CREDIT: VINNIE RATCLIFF

Each year on the eve

of Father’s Day, the Los

Angeles NAACP Youth

Council honors African

American Men who are;

role models, mentors,

accomplished achiev-

ers and who contribute to

the community’s needs.

This is an event that is

imperative for the African

American youth in every

youth that succeeds, it’s be-

cause there somebody ther

to show them the way.”

Each year the community

coordinator committee re-

search to find men who

are; positive role models,

achievers and community

advocates to honor as Men

of Valor. The 2018 Men of

Valor Honorees are; Anton

A. Avent - retired califor-

nia state employee, Bruce

Boyden - an Administra-

tor of education, captain

Brent F. Burton - Los An-

geles County Fire Depart-

ment, Rev./Dr. Coston Jack

Charles of Trinity Baptist

Church, George E. Col-

lins - entrepreneur, Austin

J. Hutcherson - consulting

development project man-

ager and a former President

of the Los Angeles NAACP

Youth Council, Dr. Mi-

chael Jackson - president

and CEO of Charles Drew

Child Development Corp.,

Bryant Johnson - U.S

district court records man-

ager, Dr. Ronnie D. John-

son, Jr. - RJ Phical Therapy

Group, Inc. CEO, Ruben

Little -

AT&T manager, Erik

L. Miller - PVJOBS ex-

ecutive director, Dubois

T. McMillan - high school

administrator & writer,

Donley R. Phillips, Poet,

Daniel Smyth - financial

Planner and former Los

Angeles NAACP Youth

Council member, Kenneth

Turner - educator, Herman

J. Zimmerman, Jr. - com-

munity advocate for the

hungry David D. Price -

Minister of Youth at First

AME Church, and Roy

Thomas -educator (fifth grade student of the youth

council’s advisor).

The 2018 Los Angeles

NAACP Youth Council

Man of Valor Humanitarian

Award was present to Chief

Brent F. Burton. He is an

exemplary Man of Valor

Awardee. Chief Burton

served as President of the

Stentorians for ten years.

He is a foundering member

and past president of The

African American Fire-

fighter Museum, he is the founder of the junior fire-

fighter youth foundation and he served as the chair

of the mentoring commit-

tee for the 100 Black men

of Los Angeles.

Much is to be said

about these eighteen Afri-

can American men who are

helping to prepare a suc-

cessful future for youth;

especially, the African

American youth. Words

are inadequate for me to

express my deepest appre-

ciation to these and other

Men of Valor who are yet

to receive this prestigious

award. Thanks and re-

member to; “KEEP DO-

ING WHAT YOU DO

FOR OTHER; BECAUSE

IT’S ALL GOOD”

The membership is for

both girls and boys be-

tween the ages of; 13 -18.

For more information call;

(323) 291-3413

“CHOICE, NOT CHANCE, DETERMINES DESTINY”

Saturday, August 4, 2018

9:00am – 1:00pm

I

Free Health Screenings, uniforms School Supplies, Hair Cuts and more……

Exposition Park Christmas Tree Lane

3911 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90037

To become a sponsor or vendor please call (323)290-0456 or

email us at mothersinactioninc@aol.com

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire

It’s been 100 years since

sickle cell disease (SCD), a

hereditary blood disorder,

was first discovered.And, according to

health experts, it’s no secret

that an alarming number of

children and adolescence

have died, and the condi-

tion remained in the prov-

ince of pediatrics.

Known as “the silent

killer,” SCD is one of the

most common genetic dis-

orders in the United States

where about 100,000 citi-

zens currently live with the

disease.

With Tuesday, June 19

deemed World Sickle Cell

Day, researchers said ap-

proximately 270,000 ba-

bies worldwide are born

each year with sickle cell

disease.

With one in 365 African

American babies born with

SCD and one in 13 born

with the trait, Black people

are disproportionately af-

fected by the disease, which

also primarily affects those

of Latin American, Indian,

Mediterranean and Middle

Eastern descent.

Actress and director

KC Morse, one of the many

African Americans living

with SCD, recalled her first major pain crisis, where

she didn’t have the support

of her loved ones.

Morse told NNPA

Newswire that she was at-

tending college in Allen-

town, Pennsylvania while

her parents were three

hours away in Connecticut

on a late Saturday night

when she returned to her

dorm room and began ex-

periencing the excruciating

pain known to just about

every SCD patient.

“It was my first expe-

rience on my own outside

of my comfort zone,” said

Morse, now 25. “When

it happened, I was really

afraid to call anyone. It was

2 a.m. and I felt alone, and

I wasn’t sure about calling

an ambulance or campus

safety because I wasn’t

sure they’d understand.”

Like so many others

battling the disease, Morse

said she often has to give

way to the limitations im-

posed by SCD.

“One of my biggest

challenges is that I’ve al-

ways been a very busy

person. I studied in school

theater and we’ve had ex-

hausting rehearsals until 11

p.m. and there was home-

work and I joined a sorori-

ty,” she said. “I loved being

busy, but I had to realize

that I had to slow down be-

cause I needed rest because

exhaustion triggers attacks

and crisis.”

Morse said things were

a little different in high

school, where students go

home after school and are

afforded the opportunity to

rest and hit the reset button.

“In college, you’re on

your own and creating your

own schedule and I realized

that I wasn’t given myself

time to rest and recuper-

ate,” she said. “It took a

long time to realize that I

can’t do that, and I have to

know when to say ‘no’ to

things and I had to realize

that keeping hydrated is a

key and when you’re very

busy, water isn’t something

you think about, but it af-

fects me. Most of my se-

vere attacks were, because

of dehydration.”

Dr. Biree Andemariam,

a noted hematologist, as-

sociate professor of medi-

cine at the University of

Connecticut Health Center,

and founder and director of

the adult sickle cell center

at the New England Sickle

Cell Institute, said Morse’s

experience and reaction

isn’t uncommon.

However, Dr. Ande-

mariam said the tide is

slowly beginning to turn as

more people become aware

of SCD.

“The disease is not any-

thing to be ashamed of,”

said Dr. Andemariam, who

also serves as Chief Medi-

cal Officer on the board of directors for the Sickle

Cell Disease Association of

America.

“Researchers and doc-

tors are really beginning

to understand the impact

of chronic pain [although]

many people living with

SCD typically don’t let

friends or extended family

know about the diagnosis,”

she said.

Dr. Andemariam con-

tinued: “It’s really impor-

tant for families to un-

derstand that no one did

anything wrong and, as far

as we can tell, with medical

advances people are living

longer now.”

Morse said that she

plans to launch a new video

series on Facebook depict-

ing what it’s like living

with SCD, which will ap-

pear on the page, “Spotlight

on Sickle Cell Disease.”

“I think people need

to be aware of SCD and

there’s a need to start a na-

tional discussion,” Dr. An-

demariam said.

Still, Dr. Andemariam

added, that there’s a lot

more education and ad-

vocacy occurring across

the country and there’s

enhanced education in the

medical community.

“The focus today is on

the effect of having SCD;

on the social and emotional

well-being of those living

with the disease,” Dr. An-

demariam said. “There’s

lots of efforts underway

to broaden the medical

community and empower

patients to have the best

knowledge and to develop

patterns that will ensure

they will have access to

medical care and finding out who the best physicians

are in their community.”

KC Morse (left) and Dr. Biree Andemariam say that more work needs to be done to empower sickle cell disease patients and to increase awareness about SCD in the

medical community.

Samara Johnson, Sasha Benson,Cydney Davis, Deandrea Sims (Youth Council President), Ms. Merelean Wilson ( Advisor) Naomi Ransom, Amylah Charles, Donzel Batts, Tyler Hutcherson, Jeremiah Davis and Christyan Holmes.

STANDING - 2018 MEN OF VALOR (L to R) Donley Phillips, Bruce Boyden, Ruben Little, Austin Hutcherson, Dubois T. McMiller, Rev./Dr. Coston Jack Charles,III, Erik L. Miller, Anton Avant, Roy C. Thomas, Dr. Michael Jackson, Chief Brent F. Burton, Daniel Smyth. (not pictured) David D. Price,

George E. Collins, Dr. Ronnie D. Johnson, Jr.,Kenneth Turner and Herman J. Zimmerman, Jr.

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 www.lasentinel.net D-1

RAMS.COM

Rams’ running back Todd Gurley participates in drill during day one of Rams’ minicamp in

Thousand Oaks, CA.

AMANDA SCURLOCK/L.A. SENTINEL

Kevin Ebiriekwe

By AmAndA Scurlock

Sports Writer

Before he graduated

from Crenshaw High

School, Kevin Ebiriekwe

left his mark by contrib-

uting to the school’s rich

basketball legacy. After

aiding the boys’ basket-

ball team to back-to-back

championships during

his underclassmen years,

Ebiriekwe became cap-

tain of a squad that was

promoted to the Open

division for the 2017-18

season.

He will continue his

basketball career on schol-

arship at Regis University

in Denver, Colorado.

“I hope I’ve been a

leader that coach [Waters]

wanted me to be,” Ebirie-

kwe said.

“I’m still progressing,

I’m still learning, I’m talk-

ing to younger players,

telling them where they

need to go.”

While competing

against a challenging

Coliseum league, Ebirie-

kwe was maintaining a 3.8

GPA. His favorite class

is English; Ebiriekwe ex-

pressed how the teacher,

Maria Bennett, would pre-

pare the class for the rig-

ors of college through her

teaching.

“You have to get your

work done before dead-

line, no taking days off,”

he said. “As soon as you

get the assignment, start it

when you get home.

Bennett also gave

Ebiriekwe advice on using

his time wisely as he pre-

pared during gamedays.

“She tells me every

time when the [junior var-

sity] game’s going on, go

over your work, you have

time to do it,” he said.

“You can read, you can

write, start writing and just

get your work done.”

Ebiriekwe is also a

leader off the court as a

member of ASB and the

school yearbook commit-

tee. The experiences he had

with ASB taught him how

to be a better leader.

He put forth a profound

effort on court and was

crowned MVP of the Coli-

seum league, making a sea-

son average of 16 points,

eight rebounds, and three

blocks per game.

Crenshaw ascended to

pace the Coliseum League

with an 11-1 record.

Ebiriekwe was named on

the All-CIF L.A. City Sec-

tion boys’ basketball team.

Ebiriekwe started

playing basketball at a

young age, spending his

time at Del Amo park in

Carson. His older brother,

Chimezie, motivates him

to play basketball and ex-

cel in his schoolwork.

When he was younger,

Ebiriekwe did not un-

derstand why Chimezie

would come home from

school tired until he start-

ed playing high school

basketball.

“[I‘ve] just seen how

he worked, his work eth-

ic,” Ebiriekwe said.

“He went home, got

in bed and then woke up

and did his homework, but

now I know why that was

happening.”

Ebiriekwe’s after-

school regimen is differ-

ent, starting his homework

after a shower. He noted

how difficult it is to study after practicing for almost

four hours in the after-

noon.

“Fatigue is a horrible

thing that we athletes suf-

fer from,” he said. “We

have to get home and do

our work, sometimes it’s

just exhausting.”

Throughout his time

at Crenshaw, Ebiriekwe

had his younger brother,

Steven, as a teammate; He

worked to mentor Steven

this past season.

“Even guarding me, I

tell him not to let me get

it on the post or play me

a certain way,” Ebiriekwe

said.

“It’s been fun to teach

him, to push him.”

LAUREN A. JONES/L.A. SENTINEL

Rams’ secondary participate in minicamp in Thousand Oaks, CA.

RAMS.COM

Rams’ wide receiver Robert Woods catches the ball during Rams’ minicamp day one in Thousand Oaks, CA.

By lAuren A. JoneS

Contributing Writer

The Rams completed

the final phase of their offseason program before

training camp, a three-day

mandatory minicamp on

June 14, with one notice-

able absence, All-Pro de-

fensive tackle Aaron Don-

ald.

The reigning Defensive

Player of the Year held out

of minicamp pending con-

tract extension negotiations

with the Rams organiza-

tion.

“When I spoke with him

last week, I said, ‘If there’s

not a solution to this by next

week, will you be here?’

He said, ‘I’m going to stay

home, continue training,’”

Rams coach Sean McVay

said following the first full day of minicamp.

“He’s in a good place.

Would we want him to be

here? Yeah, we’d love to

have Aaron here.”

Last season, Donald

recorded 11.0 sacks and

five forced fumbles in 14 games.

“We’re just focusing on

the guys who are here,” said

McVay, who was named

AP Coach of the Year in his

first season with the Rams in 2017. McVay earned an

11-5 record and a division

title.

Players like Ndamu-

kong Suh will line up

alongside Donald.

This offseason the

Rams also signed star cor-

nerbacks Aqib Talib and

Marcus Peters.

“They have great per-

sonalities and then they

also have a swagger and

confidence about them-

selves and they love foot-

ball,” McVay emphasized.

Talib, a Super Bowl

champion, and five-time Pro Bowler currently holds

the record for the most

picks by a cornerback (34)

since entering the league in

2008.

Meanwhile, Peters

spent the past three sea-

sons with the Kansas City

Chiefs after being drafted

in the first round. “We’re good in the

meeting room, on and off

the field,” remarked Talib. “From where we were from

day one [of OTAs] until

now is a lot of progress.”

Those signings have

made practice a much more

competitive landscape for

the Rams’ offense.

“It raises the level of

competition and the margin

for error is so much small-

er,” commented Rams’

starting quarterback Jared

Goff.

“They give us fits, but it helps me get better going

against Aqib and Marcus.”

Goff willed his team to

the NFC Wild Card game

where they came up short

against the Atlanta Falcons

last season. With the Rams

heading into their second

consecutive season with

the same offensive scheme,

Goff’s level of comfort and

confidence is on high. “I think the great thing

about our offense is that it

calls for guys to be smart, be

able to make plays, and be

able to make decisions on

the run,” said wide receiver

Cooper Kupp. “We’ve got a

bunch of guys on our team

that can do that.”

The Rams receiving

corps boasts the return of

Kupp and Robert Woods,

as well as Pharoh Cooper,

Josh Reynolds and Mike

Thomas. This offseason the

Rams sent their first-round draft pick to the New Eng-

land Patriots in exchange

for wide receiver Brandin

Cooks.

The Rams were able

to come away from OTA’s

and minicamp virtually un-

scathed with the exception

of an injury to defensive

end Morgan Fox who sus-

tained a non-contact knee

injury.

“I think there’s a con-

fidence that this group has that they should feel

good about,” said McVay.

“There’s also got to be a

humility and understanding

that we have to earn it ev-

ery single day.”

The final day of mini-camp was spent touring the

construction site of the LA

Stadium and Entertainment

District at Hollywood Park.

The next step in the

Rams’ quest for a Super

Bowl championship is

training camp, which is

scheduled to begin in mid-

July.

By BrAd Pye, Jr.

Sports Editor Emeritus

The L.A. Rams de-

fensive group of Aqib

Talib, Marcus Peters and

Ndamukong Suh are up

for a combination of praise.

Suh moves opponents like

they are on roller skates!

So far, their teammates

have had nothing but high

praise for their presence

and play. The New York

Jets defensive coach Kacy

Rodgers is coaching his

son, Kacy Rodgers II, who

is new to the Jets after play-

ing in the CFL

It’s definitely an ini-tial shock,” Kacy II told

USA Today’s Lorenzo

Reyes: “You go from see-

ing him at the house, just

‘Pops’ or ‘Dad,’ to you

walk in the building and

he’s leading the defensive

meetings, and guys are call-

ing him ‘Coach Kacy’ or

‘Coach Rodgers.’ After that

initial shock, you get used

to it. But I’ve loved every

minute of it.”

John Legend had a lot

to celebrate on Father’s

Day, his wife has just had

their second child.

And the beat continues!

UCLA’s Aaron Holi-

day is expected to go late

in the first round. Holi-day is a 6-1 guard, he has

two brothers in the NBA

in Jrue and Justin. Aaron

says: “If I go out there and

play hard, I think I can play

well on this level.”

Villanova’s Mikal

Bridges averaged 17.7

points in his third year and

he will graduate in May and

turns 22 on August 30th.

He could have returned to

Villanova for a final season according to his mother,

Tyneeha Rivers, his big-

gest and best supporter.

And the beat continues!

Manager Dave Roberts

has led the L.A, Dodgers

from last place to second

place in the MLB West (38-

34). The Dodgers improved

this month.

The Dodgers fell to 16-

26 and were 8 and a half

games out of first place.

San Francisco mayor-

elect London Breed, the

first Black female in the city to gain this post, proves she

can win as many awards as

LeBron James, Kevin Du-

rant, Steve Curry, Chris

Charles, et al.

Mike Tyson and Ste-

ven Seagal are in a flick to play the roles of two tough

guys. What else could they

play?

The Cavs’ LeBron

James has until June 29,

to decide where he wants

to play in the future. There

are three spots on his menu-

--L.A. Lakers, Philadelphia

‘76ers and the Cavs. The

Cavs can offer LeBron

$209 million. The other

teams can offer James $150

million.

The L.A. Sparks are

holding up the home star

banner with a 6-2 report

card. Candace Parker,

Chelsea Gray, Odyssey

Sims, were the other stand-

outs.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018www.lasentinel.netD-2

COURTESY PHOTO

Vanessa and Angela Simmons

By Lauren a. Jones

Contributing Writer

Angela and Vanessa

Simmons, the daughters

of Joseph Simmons better

known as the legendary

New York DJ Rev Run,

have broken away from the

shadow of their father and

built brands around moth-

erhood, their love of fash-

ion and beauty and reality

television.

“I think people have a

lot of misconceptions about

people that grow up privi-

leged,” said Vanessa Sim-

mons. “Everything is not

spoon fed to us, we have

to work for our name and

that’s just the truth.”

Rev. Run was a mem-

ber of Run DMC, one of

the most influential hip-hop groups in musical history.

In 2005, he and his family

were first introduced to re-

ality television on MTV’s

“Run’s House.” Since

first appearing on “Run’s House,” the sisters’ lever-

aged the success of that

show with a spinoff show

called “Daddy’s Girls.”

The Simmons sisters have

been no stranger to the

limelight.

These days the the Sim-

mons sisters are back in the

forefront as cast members

of “Growing Up Hip Hop”

(GUHH) on WeTV along

with their younger brother,

JoJo Simmons.

“It kind of gets to shine

a light on who we actually

are and how hard we work

to upkeep everything,”

Vanessa remarked.

“You’ll get to see the

chemistry and all three of

us as parents now and how

we’ve matured over the

years which will be inter-

esting for the viewers.”

“It’s natural chemistry

because we’re siblings, so

it definitely makes us feel like we’re back on ‘Run’s

House,’ kind of just all

grown up,” Angela added.

“Times definitely passed, but it definitely feels like old times.”

GUHH is predicated

on highlighting the lives

of successful young adults

who all happened to be

raised by hip-hop leg-

ends. Angela was one of

the original creators of

the show that is now in its

fourth season. The cast also

includes Romeo Miller,

Damon Dash and Kristinia

DeBarge.

With much of their lives

in the public eye, the Sim-

mons sisters have learned

how to keep some aspects

of their personal lives pri-

vate.

“I think it’s as public

as you make it,” said An-

gela. “Behind the scenes is

what’s really going on and

what you show to the pub-

lic is what you show to the

public.”

As a young mother,

Angela has leaned on her

experiences watching how

her older sister Vanessa

navigates through wearing

so many different hats.

“It’s been an adjust-

ment, a good adjustment

though,” Angela com-

mented on motherhood.

Her greatest takeaway in

her first year and a half of motherhood, “Balance is

key.”

“Sometimes as a moth-

er you can lose yourself in

just taking care of your kid,

but you are just as impor-

tant,” Vanessa added.

It has not been an easy

feat for either Angela or

Vanessa to achieve balance

as both are business own-

ers, brand ambassadors and

active philanthropists.

Angela’s latest ven-

ture is her fitness program, “Built Not Bought.”

“It’s all about build-

ing your mind, body, and

soul,” said Angela, who has

become an icon on social

media for her viral fitness posts. “I’m not even dis-

couraging or body sham-

ing people who have gotten

work done.”

Her fitness routine in-

cludes working out at five to six times a week.

“I definitely feel like working for what you get is

a bigger reward at the end,”

she stated.

One thing that has been

very important to both An-

gela and Vanessa is how

they are represented on

television. The two are

heavily invested in sending

positive messages to young

girls on acceptance and

confidence. “I think women and

girls should know it’s noth-

ing wrong with being natu-

ral,” Simmons emphasized.

“You don’t have to have the

perfect legs with no cellu-

lite and you don’t have to

have the perfect stomach

and boobs. You are perfect

how you are and building

the inside first because if your inside is ugly, you’re

ugly.”

Vanessa has created an

entire platform as co-owner

and director of Miss Teen-

age California, a scholar-

ship pageant for young

girls ages 14-19.

“It’s exciting for me to

work with young girls and

give them the opportunities

that I had growing up and

hopefully I will make that

a national platform,” said

Vanessa.

“Growing Up Hip

Hop” airs every Thursday

at 6 p.m. PST on WeTV.

COURTESY PHOTO

The stars of “Growing Up Hop Hop”

@GEFFENPLAYHOUSE | 310.208.5454

GEFFENPLAYHOUSE.ORG/SKELETONCREW

$35 TICKETS INCLUDES FEES. USE CODE: CREWLASVALID FOR PERFORMANCES THROUGH 7/8/18. EXPIRES 7/1/18 OR WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

D-3LASENTINEL.NETENTERTAINMENTTHURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

By Lapacazo SandovaL

Contributing Writer

Most of America

knows teenage actor, Mi-

chael Rainey, Jr., as the

strong-willed teenager,

Tariq, on the powerful

drama series, “Power.”

Since last season, his

character has changed —

a lot — from being the

perfect son to just plain

old, acting out making

some viewers whisper the

old saying about how the

[bad] apple never falls

far from the [bad]

tree because he is

holding his own

alongside Omari

Hardwick, Cur-

tis “50 Cent”

Jackson and Na-

turi Naughton.

“Power” season 5

returns July 1, with a

vengeance.

R a i n e y

Jr., is cur-

r e n t l y

on the

public-

ity cir-

cuit to

d i scuss

the film, “ 2 1 1 , ”

directed

by York

A l e c

S h a c k -

leton and

s t a r r i n g

N i c o l a s

Cage, So-

phie Skelton,

D w a y n e

Cameron,

and Cory

Hardrict.

It’s a

sprawling bank heist type

movie that’s been de-

scribed as “End of Watch”

meets “Black Hawk

Down.” “211” is a police

code which means a rob-

bery is in progress.

It’s hard to keep a

straight face when you say

that Rainey Jr., is a sea-

soned veteran in the game

of show business because

he’s only been on this

planet for 16 years — born

on September 22, 2002

— but he’s been making

heads turn since

the age of 10,

starring in

the Italian

film, “Un A l t r o

Mundo”

( 2 0 1 0 )

directed

b y

Silvio Muccino and speak-

ing Italian, which he mas-

tered after living abroad

for a year.

Back in the U.S., he started working with some

of the best-of-the-best in-

cluding Common, Danny

Glover, and Charles Dut-

ton and landed a major

role in “The Butler” with

Oprah Winfrey and Forest

Whitaker, directed by Lee

Daniels.

Moving between film and television, he was

also featured in seasons

1-3 of “Orange is the

New Black.” His resume

continued to swell adding

“Barbershop 3: The Next

Cut” and “Second Chance

Christmas” for TV ONE.

Later this year, he

will appear in “Amateur,”

written and directed by

Ryan Koo, a participant

in the 2014 Sun-

dance Screen-

writing Lab.

In the Netflix film (in con-

nection with

M a n d a l a y

Bay Enter-

ta inment ) ,

Rainey Jr.,

plays Ter-

ron Forte,

a young

man whose

basketbal l

h i g h l i g h t

video goes

viral, and

causes quite

the stir.

H e r e ’ s

a brief ex-

cerpt from a

conversation

with Rainey Jr.

While waiting for him to

jump on the line, I was lis-

tening —in a loop—to “I

got a feeling (today is gon-

na be good day)” by the

Black Eyed Peas. The hit

song became an anthem to

freedom of expression in

2010 and Rainey Jr. was

just a mere child.

Los Angeles Sentinel

(LAS): You’re a busy

young man. Glad we fi-

nally connected. First

question — you ready

Michael Rainey, Jr., — de-

scribe your perfect day!

Michael Rainey, Jr.

(MRJ): (laughing) My

perfect day? This does not

happen — at all — I would

like to wake up, early and

have a nice breakfast.

Make some beats then I

would take my dogs out.

Then go to the city, hang

out with some of my

friends. Then chill, have a

great time. You know what

I’m saying?

LAS: I do know what

you’re saying. Wait, did

you say dogs, plural?

MRJ: (laughing) I did

say dogs. I have two dogs

but I wish that I had more.

I love dogs.

LAS: What is the

breed of your two dogs?

MRJ: I have a Jack

Russell Terrier and a

French Terrier. My Jack

Russell is so hyper he

never sits still, he’s always

running around. My girl

[Terrier] is calm. She likes

to cuddle, and stuff, she’s

really chill.

LAS: You’re young,

but you’ve been working

for a long time. Where are

you now, as an actor?

MRJ: You are right,

I’ve been working since I

was nine-years-old. Where

am I as an actor? I don’t

know. I’m just doing me. I

am blessed and I just want

to continue to do me and

[become] the best person

that I can be. Also, I want

to continue to inspire the

young kids that come to

me, as well.

LAS: That’s impor-

tant, right? To give back.

MRJ: Yes, I feel that’s

the most important thing

to uplift people and not

just kids, but everyone,

you know?

LAS: Let’s talk about

the heist bank movie

“211,” what was it like

working with the director,

York Alec Shackleton?

MRJ: York is amaz-

ing. Really, really amaz-

ing. He is such an actor’s

director. He cares for his

actors so much and he

helped me a lot on set. It

was a great experience

working on his set. He

made things a lot easier for

me. We got through all my

scenes so fast.

LAS: Why do you

love being an actor? You

are a very young man, you

have more than enough

time to stop and to learn

another profession. Why

acting?

MRJ: I love what I

do because it also gives

me a platform to do other

things. I get to travel, meet

new people and make new

friends. Acting is a great

thing for me, and I like it a

lot. Basically, I can do ev-

erything that I love.

LAS: Nice. What’s

next for you as a creative?

Do you have any ambi-

tions to go behind the

camera?

MRJ: Yes! This sum-

mer I will be directing a

short [film]. I’m looking forward to that. I am ner-

vous because I’ve never

directed a short before. I

feel like it’s going to be

pretty fun. I’m looking

forward to it.

LAS: That’s a nice sur-

prise! Did you write the

screenplay for the short

film and what is the film about?

MRJ: No. I didn’t

fully write it but I did have

some say in the script. I

pitched some of my ideas.

It’s kind of like a street

drama. It’s about two

brothers. One brother is

doing all the bad stuff and

the other brother is trying

to show him the right way

to do things.

I feel this could be

a good message to the

youth, as well. Right now,

we don’t have a title, not

even a working title but

we are going to be shoot-

ing in New York and again

— it’s a powerful message

of choosing the right path.

Follow Michael Rain-

ey Jr on Twitter @mi-

chaelraineyjr

MOMENTUM PICTURES

Hardrict stars as Hanson in the action / thriller film, “211,” a Momentum Pictures production now in limited theater release and on VOD and digital HD.

MOMENTUM PICTURES

Actor Cory Hardrict has appeared in many TV series and films such as “The Oath,” and “All Eyez on Me,” and “American Sniper.”

By Lapacazo SandovaL

Contributing Writer

Actor Cory Hardrict is

a very smart man. Aside

from the artist side, he’s es-

tablishing himself quickly

into the nuts and bolts of

the business of show-busi-

ness.

Make no mistake, the

game of making movies

and television is lucrative

and one of the key reasons

it’s challenging for people

of color to get their foot in

the door and to find a place permanently to reap the

rich financial awards. In the new film, “211,”

a group of greedy Ameri-

can soldiers murder a war

profiteer in Afghanistan after he fails to give them

their illegal payment. The

murderous soldiers then

track the criminal’s money

to a bank in Massachusetts

and decide to retrieve it and

take the bank’s employees

and customers hostage.

When the local police

uncover the plot, Officer Mike Chandler (Nicolas

Cage) is among the eager

law enforcement members

who report to the scene.

Cory Hardrict plays

Mike and Steve’s (Michael

Rainey, Jr.) police col-

league, Hanson. The heist

movie is high octane and

earns the title “thriller,”

but it also effectively high-

lights how people from

diverse backgrounds can

form a bond despite being

immersed in a treacherous

environment that’s popu-

lated with sneaky, evil and

greedy people in power.

“211” was written and

directed by York Shackle-

ton and inspired by a real

bank robbery that happened

in 1997 in Los Angeles.

The heist led to a deadly

battle between the two

heavily armed bank robbers

and the Los Angeles Police

Department and is referred

to as the Battle of North

Hollywood.

Officer Mike, who is on the verge of retirement,

still misses the bang-bang-

bang of the old days when

the public couldn’t keep a

sharp eye using cell phone

cameras to show just how

inappropriate many men

and women in blue conduct

themselves. He’s also deep-

ly in the complicated stages

of grief after losing his wife

after a prolonged illness, as

well as dealing with the

impact of being estranged

from their daughter, Sophie

Skelton (Lisa MacAvoy).

The conversation with

Hardrict began with him

explaining what drew him

to play Hanson in the new

drama. He liked having the

opportunity to “play along

Nick Cage. When I heard

that he was attached to star

in the film, and I would have the opportunity to do

some great stuff alongside

him,” the actor became

even more intrigued to star

in “211.”

Hardrict is a busy actor

and producer. Although his

name might not be instantly

recognizable, his face most

likely is.

Married to actress Tia

Mowry-Hardrict since

2008, the couple has two

children and the family

calls Los Angeles home.

His credits are thick includ-

ing “The Outpost” (cur-

rently in post-production)

and the upcoming “City

of Lies.” In addition to

the action thriller “211,”

he can also be seen in the

television series, “The

Oath,” “When the Streets

Lights Go On” and on the

big screen, “All Eyez on

Me,” “Brotherly Love,”

and “American Sniper,” to

name just a few.

Here is a brief excerpt

from an interview with

Cory Hardrict.

Los Angeles Sentinel

(LAS): Can you describe

your character in the new

film, “211?”Cory Hardrict (CH):

I play [police] officer Han-

son, who I’d describe as an

easy -going guy, so when

he goes to assist on a heist,

it’s a surprise. He’s a sim-

ple, but effective member

of the team.

LAS: Do you enjoy ac-

tion films and carrying and using supervised firearms?

CH: I do. We [actors]

go through a lot of training

to use [guns] and it’s fun.

I love shooting in films. I’ve had a lot of military

training and I’ve played so

many characters now that

use them — but — it’s al-

ways a jolt, a thrill to play

that type of character.

LAS: What was it

like working with Nicolas

Cage? He’s been described

by many as intense.

CH: Nick was great.

We have some very cool

scenes together in “211”

and he is very focused.

He’s been doing this for so

long so it was great work-

ing with him, really great.

LAS: Let’s talk about

your career as a producer?

I’m guessing but you’ve

learned a lot from your

uber intelligent wife (Tia

Mowry-Hardrict) I mean,

she’s a very smart lady!

CH: I am stepping into

the role of a producer and

providing screen opportu-

nity for other people and

that’s great — you know?

I’m going to be producing

projects that I want to see

on screen and projects that

I want to act in, as well.

This is part of my pas-

sion. I’m looking for good

material that people [Hol-

lywood] won’t get behind

for various reasons but it’s

good material. I’ll be there

to get it going.

LAS: This is excit-

ing news! Do you have a

company and if so — and

I apologize for now know-

ing this in advance, what’s

the name of the production

company?

CH: (laughing) No, it’s

ok. No apology is needed.

The company is fairly new

and the new of my produc-

tion company is Hardcore

Films. I combined part of

my last name —‘Hard’ and

a piece of my first name ‘Cor.’ I’m really looking

forward to getting behind

projects that need that extra

push.

LAS: I have great re-

spect for your wife, Tia

above her natural talent

she’s a smart business-

woman.

CH: (laughing) Yes,

this is true and thank you,

very much for saying so.

CH: I’ve learned a lot

from my wife (laughing), a

lot. After a while [of being

in the industry] you come

up with a lot of good ideas.

People start bringing me

things [material] and I was

encouraged to seriously

think about producing. I

have the vision. I have

some friends, my age or

younger who I was work-

ing for and it was a wake-

up call in a sense. I know

that I can do that job—eas-

ily—. So now this is some-

thing that I want to do!

LAS: I can hear the

passion in your voice!

CH: Yes, I am just as

passionate about this —

building my production

company as I am about be-

ing an actor. I want to make

projects that will touch the

world, that will have an im-

pact.

LAS: As a father has

your definition of “touch-

ing the world” changed be-

cause of that? Do you have

two children, correct?

CH: I do. I do.

LAS: Father’s Day has

just passed. Anything that

you might want to share?

CH: Oh wow! It’s a sur-

real experience and a beau-

tiful experience. Just being

a dad and being a real fa-

ther and raising your kids,

living under the same roof,

there is no visiting dad on

the weekend here. I’m the

father that will be there in

thick and thin. I’ve got to

make these kids the new,

the next world leaders. I’ve

got to teach them the way,

so I am a very proud dad.

I love them to death and

there’s nothing that I won’t

do for them to make sure

that they have a better life,

to make sure that as a par-

ent, I have their foundation

in place, so they know that

they can do anything that

they want in this world.

That’s what I and my wife

are teaching them.

LAS: You and your

wife are both great role

models. One thing I find encouraging is that these

kids see you both living

your passion and not set-

tling into jobs that you

hate. That’s important, do

you agree

CH: I agree 100 per-

cent and thank you so much

for saying so. You are to-

tally right about [that]. I re-

ally appreciate you for ac-

knowledging that. As long

as you put a lot of love,

honesty, and integrity into

anything and keeping it

simple. That’s what we are

trying to do.

“211” is in limited re-

lease theaters and on VOD

and digital HD.

Follow Cory Hardrict

(@coryhardrict) | Twitter

A-6 LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWS THURSDAY,JANUARY 9, 2014THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 NEWS LA SENTINEL.NET D-4D-3 THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2018LASENTINEL.NET NEWS

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