L.A. Focus Newspaper February 2022

VOLUME XXVII • ISSUE 1 •Februar y 2022 > > W W W. L A F O C U S N E W S PA P E R . C O M

L.A. FOCUS

@LAFOCUSNEWS

Church News One of L.A.’s Most Eligible Single Pastors Is Getting Married

Hollywood Buzz Issa Rae Scores Big Both On and Offscreen

SEE PAGE

10

Upfront

Autumn Burke Announces Surprise Resignation, Citing Family Reasons

The Numbers Are In: Bass Smokes Her Mayoral Rivals in Fundraising

On January 31, after 7 years of serving the 62nd Assembly District, Autumn Burke announced that she would be resigning for family reasons effective February 1, 2022. Burke–who made the announcement to her constituents on social media in a letter co-signed by her 7-year old daughter, Isabella–called it one of the hardest decisions of her life...

>>

SEE PAGE

7

<<

contents

February 2022

L.A. Focus Publications

(Left) Councilmember Curren Price and his team provide food boxes and valuable resources for Ninth District residents impacted by the South LA Fireworks explosion. (Middle): Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Governor Gavin Newsom visited West Athens to tour Safe Landing, the newest housing site helping residents transition out of homelessnes into long-term housing. (Right): Atlanta Mega Pastor Jamal Bryant poses with Pastor Joshua Daniels after preaching in Mt. Zion’s monthlong revival.

4 From The Editor Stand Up!

More Than Just A Few Bad Apples“

8

21 First Lady Files

14

22 Pastor Profile 23 From The Pulpit of

Black Erasure and the Shadow It’s Casting in L.A. County

Commentary

7

12 Cover Story

UpFront Autumn Burke Announces Resignation, Citing Personal Reasons; The Numbers Are In: Bass Smokes Her Mayoral Rivals in Fundraising; CA Attorney General Warns Against Fake COVID Testing Sites; L.A. Native Among Top Contenders For Supreme Court Pick; Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson Seek Information on 16-year-old Found on Freeway

GuGu Mbatha Raw

15 Red Carpet Style Tessa Thompson

Eye On Gospel

Koryn Hawthorne Teams With Big K.R.I.T. On Latest Release; Kierra Clark-Sheard Gets Top Billing in Lifetime’s Line Sisters

Race and Health Care: New Report Shares Insights on Black Californians

The Trillion Dollar Buying Clout of Black Americans

Biz News Briefs Robert F. Smith’s Ownership Bid for Denver Broncos; Snoop’s latest venture; The 6-year Battle over Prince’s Estate Comes to a Close

On the Money The Hottest Ticket in Town

19

Through The Storm Emerging Gospel Artist Recalls the Loss That Left Him Broken

20 Church News

One of L.A.’s Most Eligible Single Pastors Is Getting Married; Potter’s House of Denver Is Sold; Kenneth C. Ulmer to Serve As Senior Advisor to Biola University President

Lisa Collins Gerald Bell,,Keith Delawder, Chez’Ney Hadley Ian Foxx Kisha Smith

West Angeles C.O.G.I.C. City of Refuge Greater Zion Church Family Southern Saint Paul Church Faithful Central Bible Church Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Baptist Minister’s Conference Inglewood Minister’s Assoc.

25 In Good Taste 26 Saving Grace James Hemmings

Phylicia Rashad

A private service was arranged for film legend, Sidney Poitier who died last month at 94. A public memorial may be held at a future date. Though his physical body is gone, his daughter wrote that his goodness lived on in “in his movies and books, in every warm embrace he offered an adoring fan, every piece of advice he gave to those he mentored, every tiny bug he gently placed outside."

@L.A.Focus

Bishop Charles Blake Bishop Noel Jones Pastor Michael J.T. Fisher Rev. Xavier L. Thompson Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer Pastor Emeritus Melvin Wade Pastor K.W. Tulloss Bishop Robert T. Douglas Sr.

advisory board Napoleon Brandford Apostle Beverly Crawford Lem Daniels Bob Blake

@Lafocusnews

McCarty Memorial Church

Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co. Bible Enrichment Fellowship Int’l Morgan Stanley Bob Blake & Associates

Cover Design: UpScale Media Group

L.A. Focus/February 2022

Address all correspondence to: L.A. Focus, 333 W. Florence Ave., Suite C333 Inglewood, CA 90301 • (310) 677-6011 Subscription rates $25.00 per year. www.lafocusnewspaper.com

#LAFOCUS

Douglas Nelson

honorary advisors

staff Photographer Advertising

16 GameChanger

Skip Cooper: “Breaking Ground for Black Businesses in L.A.”

11 Money Matters

Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Staff Writers

Supernatural Horror Pays; Issa Rae Scores Big On & Offstage; Judgement Day for Jussie

Footnotes

Special Report Headlines From Africa

Hollywood Buzz

Osie Hill

3

Commentary

DAVID A. LOVE Guest Columnist

“More Than Just A Few Bad Apples” he revelation that officers of the Torrance Police Department in California exchanged racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic text messages is further proof that police racism is widespread in law enforcement agencies across the country. This is not an example of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch. The whole apple orchard called American law enforcement is rotten to the core.

So far, prosecutors in Los Angeles County and Torrance have dismissed a total of 90 cases involving the offending officers, with more than 1,800 cases under review, and state officials conducting an investigation.

The L.A. Times revealed the details of the scandal, in which over a dozen officers shared racist texts involving the lynching of Black men, cops calling Black people “savages,” the N-word, and more. Over a dozen officers have been placed on administrative leave so far.

And yet, Torrance has been here before. The years of racist texts follow a longstanding pattern of racism. In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Torrance Police Department for discriminatory hiring practices, including only three Black officers, six Asian officers, and 15 Latino officers in a 233-member force. And the police reportedly engaged in blatantly racist policies, including using racial epithets to describe Black people and stopping all Black motorists.

The problems coming out of Torrance are not limited to that city or California, but rather point to a systemic issue of policing across the United States. The racism and white supremacist violence reflected in text messages and online posts reflect the everyday misconduct, abuse, and brutality police officers commit against Black folks — in the streets and on a daily basis.

Last year, the San Jose Police Department placed four officers on administrative duty for posting racist and Islamophobic comments. One officer made death threats against Muslim women, posting “I say re-pur-

T

pose the hijabs into nooses.” A current officer said “Black lives don’t really matter,” while a retired officer called BLM activists “racist idiots,” “un-American,” and “enemies” that the police “swore an oath against.”

In 2019, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting identified nearly 400 police officers who are “members of Confederate, anti-Islam, misogynistic or anti-government militia groups on Facebook.” Of these, 150 were members of violent anti-government groups such as the Three Percenters and Oath Keepers. White supremacists waved Blue Lives Matter flags at the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Va., while Portland, Ore., police officers texted with far-right extremist groups.

Some police officers have used digital media to brag about their racially violent exploits. St. Louis police officer Dustin Boone was convicted of a federal crime for the 2017 beating of Det. Luther Hall, a Black undercover police officer he thought was a Black Lives Matter protester. Sentenced to a year in prison for a beating Hall said was like that of Rodney King, Boone was undone by his text messages.

“It’s gonna get IGNORANT tonight!!,” Boone texted two days before the attack. “But it’s gonna be a lot of

From the Editor

fun beating the hell out of these shitheads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!”

Meanwhile, Black police officers have used digital platforms to express their frustration over police racism. In February, a Black Louisiana deputy took to social media to decry police brutality and institutional racism before taking his own life.

“I’ve had enough of all of this nonsense, serving a system that does not give a damn about me or people like me,” Lafayette Parish Deputy Clyde Kerr III, 43, said in a video he posted on social media. “You have no idea how hard it is to put a uniform on in this day and age with everything that’s going on.”

Affected by the death of George Floyd, the Army veteran and father of two children later killed himself with a bullet to the head. “This is my protest against police brutality and everything else that comes along with it in this broken, wicked, worldly system that does not give a damn about people,” Kerr added.

When defenders of police brutality say we don’t understand the police have a tough job, they are wrong.

Black people know that since the days of the slave patrols, hundreds of years of oppressively policing Black folks is hard work. Tens of thousands of enslaved Black people escaped America’s plantation police state to Canada and Mexico. During Jim Crow, law enforcement and Ku Klux Klan were often one and the same. This is why it is almost laughable to claim white supremacists have infiltrated police departments when they always were the police.

Today, police racism continues online, via text and social media. These are not a few rotten apples, but a nationwide orchard of rotten blue fruit, from sea to shining sea.

David A. Love is a media studies professor, journalist and commentator who writes on politics and social justice.

This article was first published in thegrio.com LISA COLLINS Publisher

“Stand Up!" ord is that L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez is set to provide leadership to the Tenth District with a recommendation for an appointment to serve out the rest of Mark Ridley-Thomas’ term. We know that many people with agendas are jockeying for the position, bypassing a process that ensured the constituents of CD10 the representative of their choice.

So, the question is how she will make that leadership decision and to whom is she listening. Has she reached out to the community?

My understanding is that she hasn’t even reached out to the only two Black members of the L.A. City Council–Curren Price and Marqeece Harris-Dawson–for their input.

What’s more, faith leaders–representing some of the top churches in the city –respectfully asked for a meeting to address the issue, to which (at least at press) there had been no response.

It’s funny how everyone seems to know the importance of faith leaders when they’re running for office or need a community buy-in for a project or measure that they’re supporting.

Ms. Martinez should have a little more respect for our community than that. At a minimum she could have had a townhall in the district to hear directly from its residents.

We really should stand up together to demand more. Just saying.

Meanwhile, it’s only befitting that in a month designated to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans that Biden is set to make history with the appointment of a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

Of course, it didn’t take but a minute for conserva-

L.A. Focus/February 2022

W

4

tives to sully the moment with cries of discrimination and affirmative action. How ludicrous coming from a group of people who are adept at reserving such privilege for those who more often than not look exclusively like them. Those, I might add, who seem to be just fine with locking extraordinarily qualified and gifted Black women out of the highest court in the land. And for however foolish it would be to discount the seemingly growing number of their voices, rancor and nerve, the truth is we have overcome so much more.

My Dad rarely speaks of what he’s done in his life and it’s ironic given the number of milestone historical moments he’s been part of–be it as a confidante and close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King; as a Tuskegee airman (one of the few remaining) or as an uncredited cast member in the star-studded 1959 film version of “Porgy and Bess” featuring Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis Jr., Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge.

But all those moments came at a cost.

Of his days as in Tuskegee, he recently recalled to a local journalist his role in the mutiny at the Freeman Army Airfield, near Seymour, Indiana in 1945 when members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate arrests of black officers, many of them more than once.

“I was one of those involved in the scandal, demanding equal privileges for black officers,” my Dad proudly recalled. “I was an agitator.”

Years later he would do the same as executive director of the west coast chapter of SCLC, then dubbed WCLC, coordinating Dr. King’s west coast schedules and meeting with donors to raise monies for the Civil Rights movement.

Sometimes it takes being an agitator to move the

needle and make Black history and there is still ground to make up as demonstrated by former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores, who–in filing his bombshell discrimination lawsuit against the NFL on February 1– said he felt it was his turn to step up and be an agent for change. Now, being dubbed by some as the “Rosa Parks of the NFL,” Flores wrote,” "I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love…My sincere hope is that be standing against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

Ah, did I mention that for the three airmen held over for serious charges following the Tuskegee Airmen mutiny and were subsequently fined, a collection was raised between all or the protesting airmen to pay their fines.

We’ve got to practice standing together for change or we will lose ground, perhaps like the ground we’ve lost in inner cities across the nation and here in Los Angeles as is addressed in our cover story on “Black Erasure” beginning on page 10.

Truth is history is made every minute all around us and with our own actions we determine whether or not we will be those agents of change or agitators that make it happen.

Keep the faith.

January 28, 2022 The Honorable Nury Martinez Council President, City of Los Angeles 200 N Spring Street, Suite 470 Los Angeles, California 90012

The Honorable Mitch O’Farrell Council President Pro Tempore, City of Los Angeles 200 N Spring Street, Suite 480 Los Angeles, California 90012

Dear Council President Martinez and Councilmember O’Farrell: As South Los Angeles faith leaders representing upwards of 50,000 Angelenos–many of whom live in the Tenth District– we prayerfully write to express our deep concern regarding the treatment of the constituents of the Tenth Council District (CD10) and its duly elected representative, Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas. Tenth Council District constituents were summarily denied their elected representative on important matters through an arbitrary, hasty, legally questionable, punitive and pernicious decision made at the sole discretion of a City Council majority under your leadership. In the process, your leadership has produced two irreconcilable issues: providing independent, credible and accountable CD10 representation and preservation of the seat to which Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected with a 60% majority pending the outcome of his trial.

We are now concerned that the Council may make a precipitous move to appoint a “temporary” replacement for Councilmember Ridley-Thomas and/or hold a special election. We urge you not to take such an ill-advised and anti-democratic action, which would deprive CD10 of their duly elected representative, pending the outcome of the Councilmember’s trial.

Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was indicted by the United States Attorney’s Office for activities that allegedly occurred in his previous capacity as Supervisor of the Second District of the County of Los Angeles on October 13, 2021. On October 18, 2021, the Councilmember wrote a letter to you expressing his shock at the charges, declaring his innocence, and confirming his commitment to continue representing a district to which he was overwhelmingly elected. “Out of respect” for his colleagues, and “in order for the activities of the City Council to proceed with minimal distractions,” the Councilmember offered “to temporarily step back from participating in committee and Council Meetings.”

It is our understanding that without the courtesy of a conversation with him to explore this option, the very next day, you introduced a motion to be considered the following day that called for the Councilmember’s immediate suspension, despite the fact that consideration of alternative action short of suspension was well within your discretion. Furthermore, the motion to suspend the Councilmember was considered a mere 24 hours after it was introduced, thereby discouraging opportunities for the constituents of CD10 to meaningfully weigh in. The very introduction of the motion appears to have provided the basis for City Controller Ron Galperin to terminate the Councilmember’s pay and benefits, including health insurance, during a once-ina-century pandemic.

Thus, your failure to consider the consequences of so hasty a decision disenfranchised CD10 constituents while simultaneously disregarding the Councilmember’s presumption of innocence, a right you extend to police officers and other City employees accused of wrongdoing. The City Charter does not specify that a temporary vacancy must be filled, particularly under circumstances such as this.

We write with the sober concern that the unseating of an elected official, especially an African American man with a three decade-long legacy of committed public service, however “temporarily” - should not be pursued at this time prior to the outcome of his trial. We are dismayed by the crass attempts of self-interested elected officials elsewhere to nullify the votes of people of color, dismiss our concerns, erode support for representative democracy, ignore appeals for equal protection and due process, and disregard application of the presumption of innocence when it comes to those of a darker hue.

If you move forward with an appointment, albeit “temporary”, that person will not be independent or accountable to CD10 constituents, nor is there any guarantee that there will be alignment with the motivating factors that drove over 60 percent of the electorate to vote for Councilmember Ridley-Thomas. Instead, the appointee will be beholden to the majority of the City Council who appointed him or her.

We respectfully request your timely consideration of our views and response to this matter. We would be happy to have a zoom meeting with you to discuss our concerns further. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Edward L. Anderson Charles E. Blake, Sr. J. Edgar Boyd John E. Cager Norman S. Johnson, Sr. Noel Jones J.M. Lawson, Jr. Mary S. Minor Thembekila Smart Xavier L. Thompson K. W. Tulloss Kenneth C. Ulmer

Note: This excerpted version of the original letter was shortened to meet insertion parameters.

UpFront

L.A. Native Among Top Contenders For Supreme Court Pick

W

ith the recent announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, President Joe Biden is poised to make history with the selection of the first black woman justice to the nation’s highest court.

At 83, Breyer is the oldest justice on the court and has said he will stay in place until his replacement is confirmed.

His retirement clears the way for a liberal replacement and while a Black woman on the court won’t’ change the 63 conservative majority on the court, it will still be an impactful–as well as historical–choice Democrats want to fast track the process to ensure it’s done by the mid-terms when the GOP could regain power in the house and Senate. With the Senate split 50-50, Kamala Harris would have the deciding vote, but all bets are off if the Republicans retake the Senate with mid-terms victories.

Biden has already nominated more Black women to the U.S. Court of Appeals (considered as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court) than any other president. One of them Ketanji Brown Jackson–who previously clerked for Breyer and was on Obama’s Supreme Court shortlist in 2016– is widely considered to a top prospect for the pick.

Also considered to be on the list of key contenders is L e o n d r a Kruger, who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. The 45-year old L.A. native formerly served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General and as Acting Deputy Solicitor General, during which time she argued 12 cases in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government.

The Harvard grad who served as Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens following her graduation from Yale Law School.

Others potential nominees include Candace Jackson-Akwumi and Eunice Lee, both appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals last summer; along with U.S. District Judges J. Michelle Childs and Wilhelmina Wright.

In its 232-year history, the supreme court has counted two African American justices, one Latina and just five women among its 115 justices.

Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson Seek Information on 16-year-old Found on Freeway Los Angeles City Councilmembers Curren Price and Marqueece HarrisDawson have introduced a motion to offer a $50,000 reward in the murder of 16-year-old Tioni Theus.

On Jan. 8, Tioni was found dead, shot in the neck, after drivers reported seeing her body along the southbound 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles. The motion co-presented by Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson, seconded by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, offers a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the teenager’s death.

“Tioni was just beginning her life, with all the possibilities ahead of her, ripped away in an instant. It’s heart wrenching to think that someone who had so much promise and the world at her feet could be taken in such a cruel manner,” said Councilmember Price.

“With her love of dance and golf, these God-given gifts and talents never had the chance to be shared with the world; so many unfinished dreams that will never be realized.

Until the person or people responsible for her murder are behind bars, the community will not be at rest. We need answers to provide closure for the Theus family. Only then will justice prevail.”

The case is currently under investigation but there is no apparent motivation.

The suspect(s) has not yet been identified and presents a significant peril to the community at large.

“Far too many times, our news and media outlets make the choice to uphold conventional thinking when it comes to the devaluation of Black women and girls,” added Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.” Some find it hard to locate the center of their humanity. Instead, they question their personhood and judge using their harshest lenses.

The underlying subtext of their thinking is distilled into worthiness; a young Black 16-year-old can only be exploited and trafficked. Today my colleagues have joined me in introducing a reward motion that crosses county, city, and district boundaries to encourage anyone who knows the perpetrator to come forward and bring peace to Tioni’s family, friends, and our South Los Angeles community.”

Councilmembers Price and HarrisDawson will also be introducing legislation in the coming days seeking an equity analysis from the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, with the assistance of the LAPD, on violence facTiona continued to page 24

News Briefs Autumn Burke Announces Surprise Resignation, Citing Family Reasons

O

n Monday, after 7 years of serving the 62nd Assembly District, Autumn Burke announced that she would be resigning for family reasons effective Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Burke–who made the announcement to her constituents on social media in a letter co-signed by her 7-year old daughter, Isabella–called it one of the hardest decisions of her life.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives and consciousness of everyone, and I am no exception,” wrote Burke, whose election to the legislature marked the first time in California history that a mother and daughter have both served in the State Assembly.

“Over the last two years, we’ve faced unprecedented challenges as a state and as a people,” she continued. “After taking some personal inventory, I feel it is of the utmost importance that I have the flexibility and ability to spend more time with my family.”

Calling her service “the honor of a lifetime”, Burke said her hope was to have finished out her term, which ended in December, but that circumstances had recently changed. Instead, she said that her staff would continue to be of service after my resignation and will make sure that your needs are met, until you choose your next Representative.”

Though stepping down, Burke said her civic service would continue on some level, writing: “I look forward to continu-

ing to work passionately for the issues most pressing to the state of California.

At the forefront of my work, I will continue to focus on lifting African Americans by helping grow the black voice throughout the entire political process and at all levels of government.”

Burke was elected in 2014 to the 62nd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, and Gardena, the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, and Del Rey, and the communities of Del Aire,

The Numbers Are In: Bass Smokes Her Mayoral Rivals in Fundraising

T

L.A. Focus/February 2022

he numbers are in, making it official that Congresswoman Karen Bass has far surpassed her rivals in the 2022 L.A. Mayoral race with the most money raised.

Bass’ campaign took in upwards of $1.982 million since the veteran legislator entered the race in late September, according to campaign filings submitted to the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.

That’s over $700,000 more than her nearest competitor, L.A. City Councilmember Kevin de Leon, who raised $1.226 million.

L.A. City Councilmember Joe Buscaino–who entered the race nearly a year ago– came in third, reporting $1.182 million in campaign donations.

City Attorney Mike Feuer–who has been in the race the longest having announced his mayoral bid in March of 2020– has raised $968,000.

Rounding out the field of candidates is Jessica Lall, president and chief executive of the downtown L.A.-based Central City Association with $404,000, Tech entrepreneur Ramit Varma ($182,356) and former Metro board member Mel Hall ($141,000)

7

GERALD BELL Contributor

Donors to Bass’ campaign include former Disney chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, Felicity Huffman, Tiffany Haddish, Donald Glover, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ridley-Thomas, while her list of endorsements boasts Senator Cory Booker, Congresswoman Lucille RoybalAllard, Labor and Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta, Los Angeles County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Holly Mitchell, State Senators Steven Bradford and Sydney Kamlager, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“Karen Bass is the leader that this city is calling for and the support she is receiving from every part of this city is proof," said Jamarah Hayner, campaign manager for Karen Bass for Mayor. “They are rallying behind the decisive leadership Karen Bass has always demonstrated.

That's why we're seeing this momentum and it's only going to grow."

As the February 12 filing deadline for people seeking to run for mayor approaches, many are wondering if billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso will enter the race as rumored. The primary is scheduled for June 7 with the general election set for November 8.

KISHA SMITH Staff

West Athens, Lennox, Westmont, and Marina del Rey. As a staunch advocate for children and families in California, Burke authored AB 1520, the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act in 2017, which directed the state to reduce deep child poverty by 50 percent. As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, Burke successfully authored one of the largest tax credits in California state history for small business. She also authored the Transformative Climate Communities legislation, creating opportunities for communities of color to be at the forefront of the discussions on climate change; and served as principal coauthor of the groundbreaking Bruce’s Beach legislation, which created a pathway for Los Angeles County to return the stolen beachfront property to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce.

“I want to thank Assemblywoman Burke for her years of service to not only the 62nd Assembly District, but to all Californians, said California Legislative Black Caucus Chair, Senator Steven Bradford. “As the daughter of the Honorable Yvonne Brathwaite-Burke, Assemblywoman Burke will leave as a trailblazer in her own right and on her own terms. It was an honor to watch her evolve as a legislator and fight beside her to improve the lives of Black Californians.”

CA Attorney General Warns Against Fake COVID Testing Sites With the pop up COVID testing sites that are springing up around the county and across the state comes a warning from officials: “Beware”.

Numerous illegal, unapproved and unsanitary sites have become to pose a problem with people reporting the collecting of personal identification that could possibly lead to identity theft and the failure to provide tests results after receiving payment.

So much so that officials in a growing number of states–including California– are investigating the scam sites and introducing legislation to streamline COVID testing operations.

Most recently, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an alert warning Californians to beware of fake COVID-19 testing locations and websites.

“Throughout California, fake testing sites are sprouting up to exploit families and individuals seeking COVID tests. It is important to recognize the signs of sham testing sites to protect both your money and personal information,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I urge Californians to do their part to avoid fake testing sites by utilizing state resources, including the California Department of Public Health’s website, to find a verified COVID-19 testing site.”

Bonta also shared tips on how to avoid Fake COVID testing continued to page 24

Family of Drakeo the Ruler File $20 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit The family of Darrell Caldwell, 28, better known by his stage name Drakeo the Ruler, have announced that they will be filing a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against Live Nation–and promoters Bobby Dee Presents and C3 Presents– in connection with fatal stabbing of the popular, L.A.-based rapper backstage at the Once Upon A Time In LA Festival on December 18, 2021.

Lawyers for the family contend that festival promoters were negligent in providing adequate security. At a recent press conference, the attorneys released a video showing the last moments of Drakeo’s life. The rapper is seen being assaulted by a mob of men who repeatedly strike blows before fatally stabbing him in the neck.

Said attorney James Bryant, “That video ran for a full minute and you didn’t see one security officer there.

“Mr. Caldwell was essentially lynched by over 40 to 60 people.... The concert Once Upon a Time in Los Angeles had 50 of the most iconic music artists in the industry, but ... you also knew there could be an element of danger. You had Bloods. You had Crips and affiliations amongst them. We all know those groups don’t go together.

“This was a preventable death.”

New Bill Would Ban Single-Use Cigarette Filters Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley has introduced a bill that would authorize local governments to impose a $500 fine against each person who sells, gives or otherwise furnishes a single-use tobacco or cannabis product in the state.

Assembly Bill 1690 does not specifically target tobacco or cannabis, but the waste they leave in their wake.

“For over half a century, single-use tobacco products have been nothing but a blight on our public health and environment,” Rivas said. Our planet is at a critical tipping point — cigarette filters destroy our environment unlike any other discarded waste and the toxic chemicals found in electronic vapes seep into our fragile ecosystems, all while also damaging individuals’ health with hazardous smoke.

Of the six trillion globally consumed cigarettes, approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette filters are littered into the environment each year. Los Angeles is estimated to spend $19 million a year in cigarette filter clean-up costs, with cigarette butts being the most common item polluting beaches and waterways.

Said Assemblywoman Cottie PetrieNorris (D-Irvine), “Not only are these vape pens toxic for our bodies, they are toxic for our environment.”

Effective January 2021, Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach have banned outright the sale of tobacco products. In November, Californians will get to vote on whether or not to ban the sale of flavored tobacco in the state.

SpecialReport Race and Health Care: New Report Shares Insights on Black Californians

I

n keeping with its commitment to ending health inequities, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) released the first phase of a three-part study documenting how race and racism shape the health care experiences of Black Californians.

The report, “In Their Own Words: Black Californians on Racism and Health Care,” was written by health services researcher Dr. Linda Cummings. The study synthesizes hour-long interviews with 100 Black Californians conducted from June to August 2021.

According to Katherine Haynes, a senior program officer serving on CHCF’s People-Centered Care team, “The project is to understand the interactions between racism, health and healthcare. (The first phase) is in-depth interviews that are really designed to gain a deep understanding of Black Californians’ perception of racism in this state’s healthcare system and its impact on them.”

CHCF’s main objective is to advance meaningful, measurable improvements in the way the health care delivery system provides care to the people of California, specifically individuals who are financially challenged and whose needs are not well served in the healthcare system.

EVITARUS, a Black-owned Los Angeles-based public opinion research firm, is conducting the three-phase Study for CHCF. The firm has extensive experi-

ence polling California’s diverse constituencies and maintains long-standing relationships with Black-led community organizations and media.

“Dr. Linda Cummings wrote the report and we did the research. We designed the study, performed the data collection as well as the data analysis that supported Dr. Cummings and her findings,” according to Shakari Byerly, EVITARUS Managing Partner. “It was a thorough recruitment process and screening and screening of those that indicated an interest in participation. The participants also received an honorarium (of $125) for their participation.”

Findings from the first phase cautioned that just having a Black physician did not automatically result in better care. Negative experiences with Black physicians and other health providers of color can be an obstacle to health care, too.

“It is the subtle, the microaggressions that happen within the health care field. So, I am resistant to get help unless I feel comfortable with the person who may or may not look like me,” a 33-year-old Black woman from the San Francisco Bay Area stated. “But I also have been discriminated against a lot from Black physicians as well.”

Cummings wrote that more than half of the respondents said that, at some time in their lives, they had been unhoused, without a stable place to live, or stayed with a family member or friend because they did not have a place of their

Headlines From Africa Burkina Faso: President Roch Kaboré has formally resigned following a coup in which Burkina Faso’s army deposed the leader, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly and closed the country’s borders. The coup is the latest in a wave of military power grabs that have prompted fears of further instability.

Botswana: President Mokgweetsi Masisi has vowed to fully implement a court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality two months after losing an appeal to overturn the ruling.

Burundi: In a project expected to cut down transportation expenses, promote industrialization, and boost the regional economy, Burundi and Tanzania have reached an agreement to jointly build a 282km-long railway that will connect the two countries at a projected cost of $900 million. The route will aid in the transportation of over a million tons of cargo between the two East African countries.

own.

Notably, the study highlighted that the participants took their health care seriously.

“The respondents really spoke about how they were taking action to pursue health, advocating for themselves, in the health care system and taking steps to protect themselves from harm in the health care system,” said Haynes.

Nearly all the respondents (93%) had some form of health insurance. The majority were covered through employersponsored plans at 40% or Medi-Cal at 26%, the study reports.

The mix of participants also reflected the ethnic diversity of Black Californians. The majority of respondents identified as Black or African American (83%), Black and multiracial (6%), Afri-

ANTONIO RAY HARVEY California Black Media

can (5%), Afro-Caribbean (4%), Afro-Latino (1%), and Black-Native American (1%), Byerly said.

“Everyone identified as Black, but we recognize that people come from different backgrounds,” Byerly said. “It supports our research design to make sure that we show a full range of our community in California.”

Byerly also shared that 62% of the participants said they have experienced “some type of discrimination” based on their background while getting healthcare for themselves. About 59% said they were treated unfairly while getting healthcare for a family member, she added.

Phase II of the Listening to Black Californians study examines “structural issues” in the health care system gleaned from focus group discussions with Black Californians and key health care stakeholders,” Haynes said.

The third and final phase of the study will be a statewide survey of Black California residents. It will be crafted to evaluate the extent to which the Phase I and Phase II findings are represented in the general Black Californian population.

“The second phase with 18 focus groups, was completed right before the winter holidays. The third phase, we hope, will have over 3,000 Black-Californian participants,” Hayes said. “The final report is expected in the summer of 2022.”

Read the full report.

A look at current news from the continent of Africa Nigeria: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos and reported to be the most powerful man in Lagos, officially launched his campaign to become Nigeria’s next president. He is the frontrunner to secure his party’s nomination.

Rwanda: Rwandan officials announced that they would reopen the border with Uganda, ending nearly three years of a standoff that jeopardized both countries’ economies and raised fears of armed hostilities.

Somalia: After repeated delays that have threatened to destabilize the country, Somali leaders announced that they have struck a deal to complete parliamentary election by February 25.

Congo: The International Monetary Fund approved a $455 million loan to extend fiscal relief and stimulate re-growth for the hard-hit economy of the country that has a 52.5% poverty rate.

Sudan: Thousands of Sudanese pro-military demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest against United Nations intervention to resolve a political crisis in the country three months after a coup led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Sudan has been rocked by a deadly crackdown against protests calling for civilian rule since an October 25 military coup derailed a power-sharing transition between the army and civilians that had been negotiated after the 2019 ouster of President Omar Bashir.

Eritrea: The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia's embattled northern Tigray province are living under life-threatening conditions because they have no access to humanitarian aid.

South Africa: A South African corruption program has flagged COVID contract worth $137 million. President Cyril Ramaphosa authorized the investigation into his government's coronavirus spending in 2020 following a spate of scandals that sparked public outrage.

Kenya: Kenya’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 12th consecutive meeting, continuing to support the economy as it sees inflation expectations anchored within its target range.

Malawi: President Lazarus Chakwera has dissolved his cabinet due to charges of corruption against three ministers. In a televised address he said that he would "confront all forms of lawless conduct by public officials."

Mali: West African nations have said they will close their borders with Mali, sever diplomatic ties and impose tough economic sanctions in response to its delay in holding elections following a 2020 military coup.

South Sudan: According to the Hunger Hotspots Report from the World Food Programme Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain the countries of highest concern for food insecurity with people experiencing or projected to experience, starvation and death and in need of the most urgent attention.

Zambia: The Zimbabwean central bank introduced a 50-dollar note, the country’s highest denomination since a return to using Zimbabwean dollars (ZW$) as the main currency in 2019. It joins other denominations which have been eroded by hyperinflation, which soared to 800% in 2020 before slowing down to 106% this year.

Money Matters The Trillion Dollar Buying Clout of Black Americans

T

he trillion-dollar buying clout of African American consumers coupled with the momentum of the increasingly popular “Buy Black” movement is fueling a move on the part of African-Americans to take control of the economic influence they have and invest in Black experiences, Black communities, and Black content.

That’s according to Neilsen’s 2021 African American consumer report which explores the influence of Black culture and what is driving the spending habits of socially conscious Gen Z consumers.

Earlier Buy Black initiatives failed to gain the traction and staying power with Black consumers that the movement in 2020 did, with the racial reckoning that followed the killing of George Floyd and the attention to the inequities blacks have endured from the justice system to economics.

Facebook rolled out a #BuyBlack Friday show to provide assistance to Black business owners in need.

Google launched a tool that allowed businesses to identify themselves as Black-owned through the company's Maps and Search listings. Even celebrities got in on the act. Among them were Issa Rae, who partnered with American Express to promote Black-owned businesses, and Beyonce launched a Black-owned business directory.

Last month, Black Lives Matter called for a monthlong boycott of white companies, “to harness our economic power to disrupt white supremacist capitalism and build Black community.”

For good reason too. In 2020, African American economic clout energized the U.S. consumer market as never before with the buying power of African Americans rising to $1.6 trillion. That’s according a 2021 re-

KISHA SMITH Staff

On the Money The Hottest Ticket in Town

T

port from The Selig Center for Economic Growth at The University of Georgia.

“The buying power estimates and differences in spending by race and/or ethnicity suggest that as the nation’s consumer market becomes more diverse, advertising, products and media must be tailored to each market segment,” said Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center and author of the Multicultural Economy report.

Based on data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and other sources, the Selig Center estimates the buying power for African American, Asian American and Native American consumers, which has exploded over the past 30 years, up from $458 billion in 1990 to $3 trillion in 2020.

In addition to increasing sheer size, their combined share of the nation’s total buying power increased from 10.6% in 1990 to 17.2% in 2020.

The report defines consumer buying power as total income after taxes. The combined buying power of U.S. consumers grew from $11.3 trillion to $17.5 trillion between 2010 and 2020, or by 55%.

Over the same time period, Asian American buying power grew by 111%; the buying power for those of Hispanic ethnicity grew by 87%, Native American buying power grew by 67%, and African American buying power grew by 61%.

“A major factor underpinning the growth of the nation’s minority markets is that African Americans, Asians and Hispanics continue to become more highly educated, which allows proportionally more Blacks, Asians and Hispanics to enter occupations with higher average salaries.”

alk about the hottest ticket in town. The Super Bowl’s return to Los Angeles after 29 years is on pace to not only be the most expensive Super Bowl, but the most expensive event ever, so don’t feel bad if you’re not going. It would have set you back a small fortune.

Being that it’s taking place at the SoFi Stadium, you can save the cost of airfare and lodging, which will be doubled and tripled for out-of-towners. But that’s just for starters. The big bucks go for the tickets and the stadium’s posh suites and for the first time ever, the NFL has sold multiple suites for over $1 million.

Then there are the tickets. Nevermind that Super Bowl 55 was sold out long before anyone knew it would be the Rams vs. the Cincinnati Bengels on February 13.

At face value, the tickets range from $850 to $1,800 for general admission, up to $3,000 for club seats), but hardly anyone pays that.

Here’s why: 17.5% go to the participating teams; 34.8% go to the remaining teams; 5% go to the host city; 25.5% go to sponsors and the media.

Players for the two competing teams have to pony up as well. They get 15 tickets each, however just two of them are free. Additional tickets are purchased at a cost of $1800 each. Any unclaimed tickets go back to their respective teams. Keep in mind that children do not pay any less than the $1800.

In January, the least expensive ticket on SeatGeek in the stadium’s top level was $8,718, while the highest listed price for a ticket was $17,425 per person in a package that included access to a multilevel, indoor Club 67 space inside SoFi Stadium.

Ironically, the first ever Super Bowl was held in Los Angeles on January 15, 1967. Tickets were $12 and it was the only Super Bowl in history that did not sell out.

the one of the possible bidders. Among the others hoping to acquire the Broncos are two groups with famed quarterbacks Peyton Manning and John Elway in the mix.

Briefs: Life offstage and outside of the recording studios for Snoop Dogg has been a long line of business ventures–from a cannabis company to a liquor line and a cookbook. Snoop’s latest venture, however, is almost a natural as the 50-year old rapper’s lawyer have applied for a federal trademark registration on the term “Snoop Doggs,” indicating that a line of hot dogs could more than likely be his next entrepreneurial venture...

The six-year battle over the value of Prince’s estate has officially come to a close. The number that has been settled on by all parties involved is $156.4 million. That means the estate may begin paying out to Prince’s heirs this month. Two of the superstar’s siblings have since passed away. Primary Wave, a talent management company, purchased 100% of the interest belonging to two of Prince’s brothers and a percentage of the rights from two other of Prince’s siblings, including his sister, Tyka, who was paid millions for a big chunk of her stake. The buyouts made Primary Wave the estate’s largest single interest holder at 42%. However, before any heirs are paid, the IRS will take its share, at a reported rate of 40%. Minnesota will get 16% with the exception of the first $3 million which is exempt.

Biz News Briefs Robert F. Smith Could Make Bid for Ownership of Denver Broncos

The next acquisition for America’s richest African-African, Robert F. Smith, just might be the Denver Broncos. If so, the billionaire philanthropist/entrepreneur whose net worth is estimated at $6.7 billion, would be the first black owner in NFL history.

The teams ownership has been in limbo since the death of Pat Bowlen. His wish was to keep the franchise in the family, but infighting led to a court battle which will result in the team going to the highest bidder at an estimated purchase price of $4 billion. which would make it the richest team sale in U.S. sports history.

Smith–the founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and a Denver native– has emerged of

Keeping Its Promise The Promise Homes Company–whose CEO and founder is former Angeleno John Hope Bryant–has closed on a $200 million institutional debt facility from the global investment management firm, Barings. The facility is part of a recapitalization for a new joint venture with other institutional investors to grow Promise Homes’ portfolio of single-family rental homes to an institutional scale. The Atlanta-based firm describes itself as one of the nation’s largest minority-owned managers of institutional-quality, single-family residential rental property, centered on working with middle-and-working residents. The company’s existing portfolio of 663 homes is seeding the joint venture. Promise Homes reported it plans to continue to pursue additional institutional equity and debt capital to grow the portfolio to more than 10,000 homes over the next two to four years.

The transaction is reported to be one of the 10 largest capital raises for a Black-owned company over the last decade.

I

n 1970, South L.A. was eighty percent Black with 24 of the 28 neighborhoods making up South L.A –from Vermont Square, Watts and “the Jungle” (now Baldwin Village) to View Park and Windsor Hills remaining majority Black through the late 1970s. By 2010, however, South L.A. was sixty-four percent Latino with the number of communities where AfricanAmericans were the majority dropping from 24 to six by 2012. Today, that number has dwindled even further, and with two light rail transit lines running through it, cultural landmarks like Leimert Park, View Park and Baldwin Hills (the latter characterized as the black Beverly Hills) are also experiencing an influx of whites.

That L.A.’s racial makeup has dramatically shifted over the past two decades with blacks losing ground in areas once considered to be African-American strongholds comes as little surprise and is part of what some dub as “Black erasure”, a term being used more and more often to describe the exclusion of the contributions of Black people in history and culture, and even Black communities across the nation.

For Pulitzer Prize winning author Nikole HannahJones (1619), it is the omission of blacks from history, calling it “symbolic of how history is shaped by people who decide what's important and what's not. And that erasure is also a powerful statement."

In politics, it is marked by the exclusion of black voices from political policy discussions that shape their lives. In culture, it is the erasure of the contribution of Blacks in everything from art to the silver screen. And in cities across the nation, it is the erasure of black people–dead and alive– due to displacement.

Just last month, the city of Tampa apologized for its role in erasing historic Black cemeteries. Last year, Black entrepreneurs in Tulsa reported being threatened with erasure once again as millions in financial incentives to revitalize the famed Greenwood district shut them out of the community’s most prestigious development projects

LISA COLLINS With Tina Samepay and priced them out of prime retail locations.

Last year, community activists failed in their attempts to thwart the sale of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and turn it into a community hub, fearing that its revitalization–to include new condos, apartments, offices and restaurants–will erase its cultural significance. Then right here in L.A. County there is the troubling trend of blacks disappearing from the landscape.

“We are at a critical point when we either hold on to Black voice and vision in the political arena in L.A County, or we can experience dilution and the erasure of Black voices and values in the creation of a multiracial L.A. County,” said Pastor Eddie Anderson, a South L.A. Regional Community Organizer for L.A. Voice.

More simply put by former State Senator Rod Wright, “The problem is that we’re shedding Black people. If you look at areas that were black twenty years ago, you’ve got Baldwin Hills becoming white and South Central becoming brown.”

“The price of a piece of dirt in much of Los Angeles is just so expensive and so many older black people –between reverse mortgages and other family issues–we’re not holding on to real estate.

L.A. Times columnist Erika Smith referenced the issue in a recent column titled, “To Protect South L.A., ‘Don’t sell your damn house!’, which stressed the transfer of generational wealth in holding on to property in slowing the pace of gentrification.

Community leaders fear the loss of equity as the exodus of African-Americans leaving L.A County rises. Many feel that the sense of loss is exacerbated by a legacy of racist asset-stripping coupled with the deep worry about Black erasure due to current displacement pressures from gentrification.

“When we lose equity in real estate, we're losing equity politically. We are losing equity in our community and in our educational systems,” said Pastor Michael Fisher. “I feel like my generation is the last of the Mohicans. It’s on us to try and teach the next generation.”

Fisher says the current generation's apathy towards

“

When we lose equity in real estate, we're losing equity politically. I feel like my generation is the last of the Mohicans. It’s on us to try and teach the next generation... They are like ‘why do I need to take over my grandmother's house? I’ll just sell it, so I can travel and live my best life.’ It’s really scary. They’re a no contract generation. They don’t want to be tied to anything.

”

centuries.”

In fact, L.A. county’s history of displacing blacks runs deep.

There is Bruce’s Beach, which recalls the story of Willa and Charles Bruce who purchased the Blackowned Manhattan Beach resort in 1912, which later became a popular resort destination for Black Angelenos. Racial tensions began to mount as Ku Klux Klan members harassed the Bruce’s, along with any African-Americans who went beyond the ropes marking the beach’s boundaries. Eventually, blacks were run out of the majority white town and in 1924, Manhattan Beach officially voted to seize Bruce’s property under the guise of eminent domain, to build a park.

Then there was Sugar Hill, a wealthy, Black Los Angeles enclave in Santa Monica. Its residents–including Black doctors, entrepreneurs and celebrities like Hattie McDaniel –defeated initial attempts to displace them in court by whites seeking to enforce racially restrictive covenants only to have the California Highway Commission approve a freeway that would plow right through Sugar Hill using eminent domain to displace 600 predominantly Black families.

It would be 70 years before Santa Monica would redress the historical actions that predominantly hurt Black and brown communities with the announcement in December 2021 that the city would offer priority placement for its coveted affordable housing program to families and their descendants who were displaced in the 50s and 60s.

In the decade preceding white flight in Los Angeles during the sixties there were six bombings and four incidents of arson against black homeowners recorded in Los Angeles County by the County Commission on Human Rights.

Today, however is a much different story. According to the 2020 U.S Census, African-Americans make up roughly 9% of L.A.’s population. Although the smallest demographic group, African-Americans continue to experience serious social and economic disparities.

“Black people are leaving LA because it’s expensive to live here. Our community lacks the kind of institutions that would sustain our economy. We need more Black employers and financial institutions,” MacFarlane said. “We also need private investments to build and rebuild businesses and institutions that can sustain L.A.’s Black community.”

Several longtime factors continue to influence African-Americans exodus from L.A including high crime rates, gang-violence, access to jobs, as well as longtime disinvestment of African-American communities.

Rising rents continue to be an issue beyond race facing whites who have been priced out of other areas and are now returning to predominantly Black communities that they fled decades ago.

As African-Americans leave L.A, their influx into places like Lancaster, Palmdale and the Inland Empire continues to rise. From 1980-1990 the population of Blacks in the San Bernardino-Riverside area rose by

over 100%.

For South L.A. resident Avery Watts, leaving L.A for the South was more about reconnecting with his roots, adding “You definitely can’t leave out the fact that we’ve been priced out for less quality. We are having to deal with unaffordable ownership or rentals with lackluster schools in dangerous neighborhoods.”

As rates of African-Americans continue to decline, the idea of “Black political power” is now based largely upon the support of the Latinx community, and after what it took for Blacks to attain political clout, there is some consternation for seeing it diluted by the compromises a broader coalition–including Latinos– would mean.

A major concern is the attitudes that some Black Angelenos have towards immigration and the marginalization they face by the Latinx community in the workplace.

“The economic opportunities go to the Latino community. They are the gatekeepers, and they help each other while closing the door on Black people. Especially in areas needed most like the Los Angeles Unified School District,” said Kenesha Jenkins, a longtime Los Angeles resident, who is among those who equate such practices as resulting in labor workforces that are almost 100% Latinx.

Observed former State Senator Rod Wright Wright, “We’re going to end up having to work in multi-racial coalitions and in some instances our issues may be carried by Latino elected officials.”

Such coalitions like L.A. Voice–a multi-racial and multi-faith organization training residents to organize on key issues including most recently redistricting– are already in motion.

By all accounts, there are no easy answers or solutions as shifting demographics have continually evolved and there are so many factors, including thriving businesses that foster job creation. Realtor Janet Singleton, who advocates that Blacks get into the real estate market any way they can, points to the many financial institutions like Union Bank that assist first time home buyers with programs that provide down payments.

“I am in bidding war right now for a one of a kind historical property once owned by blacks in View Park with 17 offers on it.,” said Singleton. “My only wish is that blacks would get their financial priorities in order.

Buy the house first and then the car. Most people don’t understand that a car purchase really impacts your debt and then you can’t afford to buy.”

“Bottom line”, says South L.A. resident Myra Johnson, “because we rent more than own, we have become more vulnerable to being displaced and with housing prices in the black community topping $1 million in places like Inglewood, it appears we are going to have to learn to live together and appreciate each other’s cultures. My only hope is that we don’t lose our own in the process.”

L.A. Focus/February 2022

community investment is so concerning that it sometimes keeps him up at night.

“They are like, ‘why do I need to take over my grandmother's house? I’ll just sell it, so I can travel and live my best life.’ It’s really scary. They’re a no contract generation. They don’t want to be tied to anything.”

It is a message that in large part has fallen on deaf ears.

“The walls are closing in on Black people in Los Angeles from all sides and we're quietly becoming an endangered species," maintains Danny Carter, a co-founder of Buy Back the Block, an organization that holds monthly meetings geared toward educating the community on building generational wealth and whose slogan is ‘Don’t Sell Grandma’s House.’

“California in general has anti-Black policies. Take San Francisco for example, Black people are only 2%.

That’s the model, displacing Black people through gentrification.”

With the advent of the new Rams and Clippers stadiums in Inglewood has come skyrocketing real estate prices and investors jockeying to cash in on the new development surrounding the stadiums with the L.A. area reportedly ranking as the No. 1 choice in North America in a survey of global commercial real estate investors in 2017.

“When we move and take the money, the communities can’t be sustained, and they are taken over by people who do not look like us. If we are scattered around, there will never be money allocated towards our people,” says Salaam-Baile, CEO and founder of the Think Watts Foundation Salaam-Baile believes that an overall lack of education on how economies and communities work in regard to funding and resources, is really the driving force behind Black’s departure from L.A. He says if African-Americans do not want to live in L.A for whatever reason, it is important to at least own the property, especially in the inner city.

“If our community was in control of the neighborhood, we’d control rent prices and the income it takes to stay in the community. The system is set up for us to move, so they can take the funding and resources out of the community,” Stix shared.

“Property value lowers, crime rises, and it allows big money investors who have access to capital, to buy up the neighborhood.”

“The displacement issue is absolutely critical in defining gentrification,” says Dana Cuff, a professor of urban design, adding that while most think of their homes as investments, “the problem is people are displaced unwillingly, and they’re priced out of the market in one way or the other.”

“I would like to see our community leaders leverage Black wealth to build housing, grocery stores, banks, media, etc.,” states Patrick MacFarlane who currently works as a Government Relations Manager for a childcare non-profit. It would be great if governments acknowledged all they’ve stolen from Black people over

13

HO L LY W OOD SPOT LIGHT Chez Hadley “Bel-Air” Peacock has set a date for its highly publicized debut of Bel-Air, the contemporized reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, starring newcomer Jabari Banks. The series will premiere on Super Bowl Sunday, February 13.

The one-hour long show–with a two season order from Peacock– will explore the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.

Because the original sitcom– which aired from 1990 to 1996–was a half-hour sitcom format, it did not deal with the inner struggles of the

characters from Aunt Viv to Carlton and Will himself. The new show will peel back the layers of the characters with a modern-day twist.

Newcomer Jabari Banks stars in the title role. It is the first role for Banks, who auditioned at the urging of his father. A graduate of the Philadelphia-based, University of the Arts,

Banks is also an accomplished songwriter, singer, rapper and basketball player.

He will have a mentor in Smith, who posted this message on Instagram last year: “You got a fantastic road ahead of you. I am looking forward to being an asset for you in this process as you build out your life and your career.”

Rounding out the cast are Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil, Cassandra Freeman (Aunt Viv), Olly Sholotan (Carlton); Coco Jones (Hilary) and Akira Akbar (Ashley). Executive producers include Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, Quincy Jones and Benny Medina.

OUT THIS MONTH

HOLLYWOOD BUZZ

Moonfall February 4

The Girl Before February 10 (HBO Prime)

Supernatural Horror Pays

L.A. Focus/February 2022

The original 1973 blockbuster film, The Exorcist, was made for $12 million.

Last month Netflix paid Lee Daniels $65 million for his exorcism film. Directed

by Daniels, it stars Andra Day, Octavia Spencer, Aunjanue Ellis and Glenn Close. Production will begin later this year on the film based on the true story of a mother and her three children who experienced a series of supernatural events in their Indiana home with the children levitating, becoming violent with one another and speaking in growls and deep voices with no recollection afterward. Members of the Gary Police Force, doctors and social workers witnessed many of the incidents, including one in which her 9-year-old son walked backward up a wall.

Day plays the mom, Glenn Close is her mother and Octavia Spencer is a clergy member helping Day’s character through the supernatural ordeal. Ironically enough, if you think that $65 million is a bit much, consider this: the

14

Death On The Nile February 11

rights for the new Exorcist trilogy, starring Leslie Odom Jr., were purchased for $400 million.

Issa Rae Scores Big On & Offstage Issa Rae had quite the birthday last month. She not only landed 12 NAACP Image Award nominations for her hit HBO series, Insecure, but also signed a multi-project development deal with Audible for the audio company she founded, dubbed Raedio. As part of the deal, Raedio will develop audio content across genres including scripted comedy and non-fiction, as well as seek out audio adaptations of existing shows and IP. “At Audible, we are committed to working with innovative voices that move and influence culture – this goal is fully realized and met by Raedio,” Zola Mashariki, head of Audible Studios, said.

“This partnership is perfectly aligned with my mission in helping open doors and provide opportunities for women to succeed and flourish in their craft,” Rae said.

Rae is not the only one making big moves with Audible. The company is also going into business with Kerry Washington, pacting with the A-list actress for three scripted podcast series. Audible has also signed exclusive deals with Queen Latifah, Lena Waithe, Kevin Hart and Charlamagne Tha God among

Ambulance February 18

others.

Judgement Day for Jussie On March 10, Jussie Smollett–who was convicted last month of making false reports to the police–will finally face the judge for sentencing and find out whether or not he will have to do any jail time. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to three years in prison, but most legal experts doubt that Cook County Judge James Linn will send Smollett to prison. Instead, they believe he will be sentenced to probation and have to perform community service. Unfortunately, his troubles won’t end there. He will still have to deal with a lawsuit filed against him by the city of Chicago to recoup the more than $130,000 spent on investigating the attack now believed to have been staged. He is also being sued by the Osundairo brothers–who maintain the Smollett paid them to stage the attack. They have accused his lawyers of defamation and are seeking unspecified financial damages.

The Flossy Posse Is Back Five years after Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Regina Hall and then newcomer Tiffany Haddish, blew up the box office with the success of “Girls Trip”, all four have signed on for the Girls Trip 2 sequel. “We are underway with Girls Trip 2, and now it’s just about what kind of trip do we take, right?” Packer said after making the announcement on Good Morning America. “Post-pandemic with all our favorite crazy ladies, what do we do with them? That’s what we got to figure out.”

Footnotes GuGu Mbatha Raw Hometown: Oxford, United Kingdom Big Break: Belle Recent Project: The Girl Before, a 4-part HBO Max thriller opposite David Oyelowo .GuGu (short for Gugulethu) Mbatha Raw cut her professional teeth as an actress in British TV and stage productions, but her true coming out came with her breakout starring role in Belle in 2013. Not only did it earn her a great deal of critical acclaim, but it marked the start of a string of starring roles in films like Beyond the Lights, Concussion, Free State of Jones and Motherless Brooklyn. And supporting roles in Disney’s 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast and Miss Sloane. In 2019, she signed on to co-star in The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and in 2020, she landed a starring role in Disney’s Marvel series “Loki”. She presently has a TV series and two films in the works.

On discovering her desire to be an actress: I have always enjoyed performing ever since I can remember. My mother first took me to a ballet class at age 4 and I loved it so much I begged her to let me take tap classes and then modern dance and by the time I was 6 or 7 I was dancing most evenings!

It was where I made all my closest friends. Then I joined a local youth drama group and was in all my school plays… Mostly musicals as that was what was accessible to us in my hometown in Oxfordshire My first stage role was Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” at 11. From there I started taking drama grade exams though the Guildhall school of speech and Drama and that gave me the confidence to apply to the National Youth Music Theatre and the National Youth Theatre. I can’t think of a time when I didn’t want to be performing, but my route to acting definitely came first through my love of ballet.

On the best career advice she’s been given: The best piece of career advice I've ever been given is probably to follow your instincts and I think it's a great piece of life advice, not just career. There are many moments in life when you have to make decisions and I think your gut always knows the way. So, follow it.

On not defining herself: I try not to define myself. Other people are going to do that for you anyway. It is important to be conscious of the message that you're putting out there.

It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get a movie to the screen. I do feel a certain element of responsibility to say something worth saying with it, as well as entertainment On persevering: I’ve always worked hard and there are a lot of things I haven’t gotten. I learned early on that your talent is really not enough. You have to cultivate resilience and be able to bounce back from disappointment. You can’t be too fragile. I think you have to have access to your sensitive faculties, but you also have to know how to coach yourself along and give yourself a talking to and pick yourself up when you need to…’

RedCarpet Style

EMMY AWARDS 2017 in a shimmering multi-colored Rosie Assoulin dress

VANITY FAIR OSCARS PARTY (2020)in a Versace one-shoulder mint gown

The red went dark last month due to Omicron, but with Tessa Thompson being named as the “new face of Armani”, we thought we’d highlight some of her best red carpet looks.

THOR RAGNAROK PREMIERE 2017 in Schiaparelli Couture

ANNIHILATION PREMIERE in this Naeem Khan gown from her 2018 collection

THE MET GALA 2018 in a black beaded gown with black/white checked blazer

Eye On Gospel Koryn Hawthorne Teams With Big K.R.I.T. On Latest Release Chart-topper Koryn Hawthorne has released a new track “You (Remix)” featuring Big K.R.I.T. and cowritten by the two. Hawthorne teamed up with the chart-topping rapper/producer on the new digital single, creating a potent blast of musical inspiration with the mix of the song’s dynamic beats and her soaring vocals, along with Big K.R.I.T.’s acclaimed lyrical flow featured on “You (Remix).”

With verses such as, “All that matters is you keep pushing…don’t let nothing get in your way…any mountain can be moved”, Hawthorne and Big K.R.I.T. urge listeners on the empowering track to keep striving for their dreams. The song “You” was originally featured on Hawthorne’s I AM, the chart-topping sophomore album.

The two-time GRAMMY® nominated, Billboard Music Award, NAACP Image Award, Dove and Stellar Awardwinning phenom also continues to give back to the community and shine a light on her hometown of Abbeville, Louisiana as owner of the dessert shop The Cobbler House Abbeville.

Kierra Clark-Sheard Gets Top Billing in Lifetime’s Line Sisters Set your TV dial to Lifetime on February 12th for Line Sisters which stars Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Letoya Luckett, Drew Sidora and Ta’Rhonda Jones. Line Sisters follows four sorority sisters- Valerie (LeToya Luckett), Cassandra (Kierra Sheard-Kelly), Simona (Ta’Rhonda Jones) and Dominique (Drew Sidora) — as they reunite at a Black Greek Weekend celebration held on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Having pledged the Alpha Beta Omega Sorority, Inc., they share more than the bonds of sisterhood, after the mysterious death of the dean of pledges 15 years prior. But the past comes

knocking on their door as they arrive to the island and strange and inexplicable things begin to happen to each one of them, threatening to unearth the deadly secret that may tear them apart.

Doe Showcases the Power of Prayer in New Single Three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist/songwriter/ producer DOE has released a brand new single “When I Pray,” the first of more new music to come in 2022. DOE also released the official music video for “When I Pray,” which had a broadcast premiere airing on the BET Gospel, BET Soul, and BET Her channels, as well as on BET.com.

Recently celebrating a #1 hit for her single “Brighter,” which topped Billboard’s Gospel Airplay Chart, DOE continues to deliver inspiration to others, and advocate for self-care and spiritual renewal in the new year with her latest single, which serves as a powerful reminder of God’s love, in finding solace from struggles and connecting through prayer.

In conjunction with DOE’s new song “When I Pray,” there is a special edition clothing release, available now. The brand Art of Homage (AOH) and The Prayer Movement (TPM) have teamed up with DOE, in a collaborative effort to release a limited edition “Doe Jones Collection,” to celebrate the release of “When I Pray.”

Offering a place to share fresh outlooks and inspire each other in the new year, DOE also launched a 2022 Virtual Vision Board. Available on her website, anyone can go online to create their vision board, and share their hopes or prayers for clarity in 2022, at: http://doejonesmusic.com/clarity/.

DOE first gained worldwide attention as a teenager, performing with her family in the Christian gospel septet Forever Jones, which released three albums and garnered numerous accolades, including two GRAMMY® Award nominations. DOE garnered her third GRAMMY® nomination as a featured artist on Jonathan McReynolds’ hit song “Cycles.” Sharing her musicianship and gift for ministry with audiences around the country, in 2021 DOE recently wrapped touring as the opener on Jonathan McReynolds’ and Mali Music’s “Jonny x Mali” Tour, along with other appearances in 2021 on the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour.

Finally, the Nominations for the 53rd Annual NAACP Image Awards Are In… CeCe Winans (Believe For It) and Tamela Mann (Overcomer and “Help Me”) have received a double dose of favor with nominations, facing off in both the outstanding album and song categories. Also nominated in the “Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album” category are Todd Dulaney (Anthems & Glory); Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music (Jonny X Mali: Live in LA) and Jason McGee & The Choir (Power).

Rounding out the “Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song” category are H.E.R. and Tauren Wells ("Hold Us Together”); Kirk Franklin ("Overcome 2021”) and Sounds of Blackness ("Time For Reparations").

Winners will be announced during the live broadcast of the 53, scheduled for February 26th on BET.

GameChanger

GERALD BELL Contributor

Skip Cooper: “Breaking Ground for Black Businesses in L.A.”

T

he old adage, “You can’t keep a good man down” will never apply to Earl “Skip” Cooper, II because his passion is what has kept him steady on his feet for nearly fifty years advancing the cause of Black business enterprise in Los Angeles.

At the end of 2021, Cooper took a big step and officially announced that he would be retiring as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Black Business Association (BBA). While a few eyebrows raised at his decision, it’s no surprise that Cooper vowed to remain active with the organization in the roles of Chair of the Board and President Emeritus. He wanted to help the leadership transition and support the incoming interim CEO. In the 1970’s, when Cooper was first presented with the opportunity to help Black-owned businesses succeed via the BBA, it was an answer to prayers for the Oakland, California native who moved to Los Angeles to attend grad school at USC. “Before I left Oakland I was praying, and I said, God I really want to be an expert on black business. I want to know everything about the programs that can help black business owners,” Cooper shares. “I was taught as a little kid to pray for everything, and sometimes I did it all day.”

With a laser sharp focus, Cooper began to build his career just as he prayed by taking a part time internship with a minority business organization while completing his education. Upon graduation he assumed a position with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), an organization named and endorsed by the late Mayor Tom Bradley.

“I was empowered to do as much as I could to help black business,” explains Cooper, whose master’s degree was in business administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. “In fact, it was understood that I would not accept the position under any other circumstances.”

Within a matter of months, Cooper joined the BBA and was named program manager. By 1979, several doors began to swing open for Cooper and that single prayer started to yield some answers.

The LAEDC promoted him to Executive Deputy Director, which was his full-time job. That same year, he was named president of the BBA, and sat on advisory boards with the Small Business Administration, the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Small Business, and on the board of KCET. In addition, he started his own consulting firm, EC2 and Associates.

With an inundated professional schedule, Cooper couldn’t have been more poised to lead BBA. It was under his leadership that several programs were initiated to fulfill the organization’s long-standing commitment to be innovative, creative, and provide access to capital and financial resources.

“We serve as advocates for the growth and development of black enterprise in LA,” Cooper affirms. “So, we had to develop relationships from city hall to the White House.”

Early in his tenure, Cooper and his team would make visits to Washington, DC to meet with federal agencies to identify contract opportunities for BBA members. They also established several special events such as the Annual BBA Awards Gala, business seminars, workshops, and conferences, as well as “Bankers Day”, which served to help BBA members strengthen relationships with their banker or branch manager to improve opportunities for substantial business loans. Cooper also organized weekly early morning and evening convenings where high profile speakers from across the U.S. came to empower and uplift the BBA members. In addition, the organization took their mission to talk radio with a Sunday evening moderated show that aired on KACE covering topics relevant to black business owners and entrepreneurs.

“I was young and bodacious,” reflects Cooper. “I had some of the top money-making African Americans coming to speak to our members even though we had no money to pay them.”

Now the oldest African American business organization in California, the BBA remains committed to ensuring that Blacks and other diverse business owners have advocacy efforts that initiates and implements policy that improves access to contracting and procurement opportunities.

“We were blessed to develop a very strong relationship with Mayor

“

What I am most proud of is that my deceased parents can look down (from Heaven) and see that I made some positive contributions. They couldn’t have imagined it when I was this little boy in West Oakland not doing homework, not studying, not going to class, the least academic of their four children...

Bradley,” offers Cooper who led a group of more than 100 BBA members to meet with the 1985 Olympic Chair to discuss contract opportunities. “We also had strong relationships at the White House during the Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations. We even held advocacy meetings at the White House with cabinet secretaries.”

Thanks to the work of Cooper and the BBA, a growing number of corporations who are realizing the value of supplier diversity in their supply chains, are looking to the BBA to refer African American owned businesses in Southern California for contracting opportunities.

This month, the BBA board will host a tribute reception to salute Mr. Cooper for a lifetime of service to the organization.

“It’s nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice,” quotes Cooper. “What I am most proud of is that my deceased parents can look down (from Heaven) and see that I made some positive contributions. They couldn’t have imagined it when I was this little boy in West Oakland not doing homework, not studying, not going to class, the least academic of their four children, and the only one to barely graduate from high school.”

On two occasions, Earl “Skip” Cooper Day was announced, once in 2007 by the City of Oakland, and in 2013 by the City of Los Angeles.

“Everybody was born with gifts and blessings,” remarks Cooper. “I am never ever satisfied because I will always believe that I could have done more. My commitment is not over with. So, until the day I die I am going to keep trying to help folks…This is my special purpose in life.”

Through theStorm

GERALD BELL Contributor

Emerging Gospel Artist Recalls the Loss That Left Him “Broken”

I

role he would eventually assume.

With increasing responsibilities piling on his plate, Bohanan was further forced to juggle another priority with The Sound of Victory (SOV) Choir which was simultaneously landing big on the gospel music scene under Bishop Hezekiah Walker’s music imprint, Hez-House Entertainment.

SOV released its first singles, “Only God” and “He Reigns,” in 2015. “He Reigns” climbed to #4 on the Billboard Gospel Digital Song Sales chart. Bohanan went on to record “We Win” as a tribute to his mother, and the song also topped the Gospel Digital Song Sales charts and earned SOV a Stellar Award nomination for Choir of the Year.

“At the end of the day, it was all about my mother and everyone knew it,” assures Bohanan, a self-described “choir-head.” “She played an important role in the choir’s foundation because she wanted to support whatever I was doing…My mother put up money, invested her time, was at every rehearsal, and even rented buses to make sure we got where we had to be.”

In August of 2017, Bohanan paid a morning visit to the hospital to check in on his mother. Leaving her to get some rest, he whispered in her ear that he would return that evening following an SOV engagement. That moment would be their last exchange.

Later that day, one of his sisters called to say their mother “didn’t make it”. Bohanan was at a gas station about to refuel his car and denial kicked in. He began to insist doctors do something to immediately bring his mother back to life. “Tell them to at least try,” he asserted to his sister believing his prayers for healing were to be answered and there was no way her time was up.

“That was very traumatic for me,” recalls Bohanan. “I was broken. I was surprised because we prayed so much. It was crazy and it still is to this very day.”

Within two weeks after his mother’s funeral, Vincent Bohanan & Sound of Victory were back to work despite the many recommendations for Bohanan to take an extended break to rest, process, and grieve.

“Touring, writing, and producing really helped me to release,” Bohanan reasons. “It helped me to laugh and smile again. If I would have taken a break, I probably wouldn’t have the same zeal and the same push that I have today.”

Now in the senior pastor position of the ministry his mother launched, Bohanan recently changed the church’s name to The Winners Assembly New York (TWANY).

The effort to keeping his mother’s legacy alive is also a source of healing for him. He reflects on the lessons of his mother (and father) about prayer, studying the Bible and even being on time to church. All of which he is

now imparting to the congregants of TWANY. “For a moment we were all at a lost,” s a y s Bohanan of b o t h SOV and the congregation he inherited. “I didn’t know how I was going to do it because she was so involved in everything. It was hard because we all had unanswered questions, but we were able grieve with each other.”

Still coming to terms with the loss of the women he describes as “courageous, loving, patient, strict and victorious,” Bohanan accepts the reality of her absence but also admits, “it still hurts to this very day.”

Continuing, “I was her only little boy. Whatever I wanted she wanted to make sure I had it. She invested her life in all of this and is why I take it very seriously.”

Confident his mother would be so proud of him, Bonhanan can boast of two more Stellar Award nominations with SOV, appearances on major stages alongside A-lists names from CeCe Winans to P. Diddy, and more recent recordings landing on the Billboard charts.

“I don’t think the hurt will ever totally not be there, but we know how to handle it now,” says Bohanan. “In everything we do we try to honor my mother.”

L.A. Focus/February 2022

f it were not for his gift of music and the subtle success of The Sound of Victory Fellowship Choir, Vincent Bohanan, 31 doesn’t believe he could have endured what is, to date, his life’s darkest season. At the age of 26, when news reached Bohanan that the woman who raised him to be the man he is today died, it was a blow to the gut that continues to resound even now—almost five-years later.

As the youngest of three children and the only boy, Bohanan admits (and his sisters agree) that his mother spoiled him “rotten.”

In fact, to say that he was “mama’s favorite” would be an understatement. And while Bohanan came up in a two-parent home, even his father understood and endorsed the special mother/son bond the two shared.

“I was a total mama’s boy,” admits Bohanan, who was born in Queens, New York but grew up in Brooklyn. “I was up under her my entire life—choir rehearsals, prayer meetings and church all the time—until she passed away.”

But more than her son’s beloved mother, the late Rev. Marie Bonanan was a 20-year veteran police officer with the New York City Department (NYPD).

Her dedication to the force had a sordid end three months before her retirement date when she was called to respond to the site of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

That unforgettable day in American history would years later prove to be the source that led to Bohanan’s major bout with grief. His mother was among the many first responders who survived the initial destruction but were sent to Ground Zero to clean up the rubble and debris.

It was that line of service when a high number of police officers, firefighters and emergency caregivers were reported to have developed significant respiratory illnesses and disease, including cancer. Such was the case with Bohanan’s mom who was diagnosed in 2014 with lung cancer related to inhaling toxins that filled the air in Lower Manhattan.

“That day changed everything,” laments Bohanan.

“She was all set to retire and then the bombing happened.” The signs of his mother’s sickness really began to show up in 2016 when he says, “the cancer seemed to just spread throughout her body.”

Faced with a new normal, Bohanan’s first course of action was to accelerate his prayer disciplines and invite others to join him. With church members, choir members and intercessors on board, “We were literally praying night and day. There were morning and evening prayer calls,” explains Bohanan. He then, along with his father and siblings, took to providing regular care for his mother which included the dreaded trips to chemotherapy, accompanying her to medical specialist appointments, lifting her in and out of the car, cooking and serving meals, among countless other demands and duties.

“All of a sudden I became a caregiver,” said Bohanan who was serving in leadership at House of Hope Ministries where his mother was the lead pastor—a

19

ChurchNews The Wedding Is On: One of L.A.’s Most Eligible Single Pastors is Getting Married area.

“We decided that the best way forward would be to sell the property, continue our online offering that had proven a successful alternative and maintain our hands-on community outreach operations, which includes our food bank that feeds thousands of families per year,” Roberts said.

The church maintains its physical location in Los Angeles.

Kenneth C. Ulmer to Serve As Senior Advisor to Biola University President

Bishop Jones and Loretta in a scene from “Preachers of L.A.”

B

ishop Noel Jones, the senior pastor of the City of Refuge Church in Gardena, California and formerly one of the cast members of Preachers of L.A., has decided he is finally ready to marry his longtime lady love, Loretta. The decision comes after being in a relationship with his longtime partner for twenty-eight years and was made public during a recent church event.

Standing center stage, Bishop Jones started to talk to the congregation about what it might look like when he gets older before surprising his congregation when he said, “I decided that I’m gonna get married.”

After hearing cheers from the congregation, the 72year-old pastor said, “Loretta come up here please.”

Once she arrived, he looked at the congregation and said, “I thought about should I give up my freedom coat for a strait jacket? Should I get married to someone younger than me? Should I give up not having to answer to anybody,” He continued to question several other things he might have to give up. Then changing his tone, he said, “But then when I look at her…(now speaking directly to her), should you have to push a wheelchair when I can’t walk? Should you have to deal with an old man when you have had many suitors who were young?

Should you have to listen to a man who was intoxicated with the exuberance of his own verbosity or who is set in his ways?

Pausing for a moment, he added, “If I keep on thinking about these shoulds, I won’t get this thing done.”

Bishop Jones then reached for a cracker jack box and pulled out a ring. Holding up the ring, he announced, “I got away from all of the shoulds and I’ve decided simply to say”, going down on one knee, and placing the ring on her finger, “Will you marry me?”

She accepted the ring and as she began to receive hugs from friends and loved ones, Jones said, “What did you say,” and she replied ‘yes, to which he proclaimed, “I’m getting married.”

T.D. Jakes’ Potter’s House of Denver Is Sold, Church Moves Online in Wake of Pandemic

L.A. Focus/February 2022

The 32-acre site that once served as home for the Potters House of Denver, most recently under the leadership of Co-Pastors Toure Roberts and wife, Sarah Jakes Roberts, is now set to be a residential community with a five-acre park.

“COVID-19 forced every church in America to rethink how to best serve their parishioners and the broader community,” Roberts told the Denver Post.

“Due to the inability to gather and the economic instability of the pandemic, our church, like many other churches in the nation, experienced declining donations.”

Given that the building was also in need of repair, Roberts, who also pastors “One–A Potters House Church in Los Angeles”, decided to remain fully virtual and forgo a physical location in the Denver

20

Agape Church of Los Angeles Worship Center: Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center 4305 Degnan Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008 Corprate Office: 4602 Crenshaw Blvd, Suite 2A, Los Angeles, CA 90043 (323) 295-5571 www.agapela.org Bishop Craig A. Worsham, Founder & Senior Pastor Sunday School: 10:00am Morning Worship: 11:00am Loving, Lifting & Liberating Humanity Through The Word Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of South L.A. 10905 S. Compton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (323) 566.5286 Pastor Alvin Stafford Jr. Sunday School: 9:30am Morning Worship: 10:30am Book by Book Bible Study (Wed.): 6:30pm Sunday service broadcast on Facebook live Sunday school and Book by Book Bible Study services are conducted on Zoom For more information, visit www.bethelsola.com

Dr. Kenneth C. Ulmer–senior pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church–has been appointed to serve as Bethesda Temple Apostolic Faith Senior Advisor to the Biola University President, Dr. 4909 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90043 (323) 299-2591 • thevoice4904@att.net Barry H. Corey, on community reconciliation. In this role, Dr. Ulmer will help the University expand its Pastor Kyron S. Shorter imagination on ways they will walk and live into their Sunday Morning Prayer: 9:00am biblical calling for being a reconciling community, Sunday School: 9:30am Morning Worship: 11:00am working with other leaders on campus toward a graceChildren’s Church: 11:00am filled culture of Christian unity amidst their diversity.

Sunday Evening Service: 6:00pm Dr. Ulmer’s focus will be consulting with Talbot School of Theology to consider how to assist their faculty and students prepare future congregational Brookins-Kirkland Community AME Church leaders for the increasing diversity of the church – in- 3719 West Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043 cluding those from different backgrounds, family sys- (323) 296-5610 • www.bkcamechurchla.org tems, denominations, ethnicities and cultures.

Rev. Mary S. Minor, DMin,Pastor Additionally, he will be working with Talbot leaderWorship virtually: Facebook Live at Brookins-KirklandCommunity AME Church ship on recruiting and retaining African-American stuFor prayer: Call or email to be added to the dents and building collaborative partnerships with prayer list black churches throughout the greater Los Angeles Bible Study Thursdays: 6pm Via Zoom area and beyond. The work is plentiful as the Univercall or email office:bkcamechurchla@gmail.com sity seeks to live out its institutional value of biblical diversity outlined in its Unity Amidst Diversity statement.

Bryant Temple AME Church 2525 W. Vernon Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90008 (323) 293-6201 • F: (323) 293-0082 Pastor Dwaine Jackson Sunday School: 8:15am Morning Worship: 9:15 am Bible Study (Tues): Noon Pastor’s Bible Study( Tues): 6:00pm

Calvary Baptist Church 4911 W. 59th Street,Los Angeles, CA,90056 (323)298-1605•F: (310) 568-8430 • calvarybaptistla.org

A respected national and global Christian leader, Dr. Ulmer has served Faithful Central for nearly 40 years. He is the past president and founding board member of The King’s University and serves as dean of The King’s annual summer session at Oxford University.

In other religious news, former AME Zion Bishop Staccato Powell pleaded not guilty to four fraud charges stemming from an alleged scheme profit from loans obtained by using properties owned by congregations throughout California as collateral.

Powell, 62, is accused of conspiring with Sheila Quintana, to secure grant deeds from local pastors to take out new mortgages on properties housing sanctuaries and church properties that were either paid off or had little debt. The properties were re-deeded in the name of Western Episcopal District, Inc., an entity created in 2016 after Powell was selected as bishop of the Western Episcopal District of the AME Zion Church. Pastors were reportedly threatened to comply or be removed. Congregations in Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto and Los Angeles were targeted.

Each of the four counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Rev. Dr. Virgil V. Jones Sunday Prayer: 8:30am Sunday School: 9:30am Sunday Worship: 11:00am Wednesday Bible Study: 12:00pm & 7:00pm We are the Church on the Hill where the Light Shines Bright!

Crenshaw Christian Center 7901 South Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 758-3777 • F: (323)565-4231 • www.faithdome.org Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr. Sunday Service: 9:45am Bible Study (Tue): 11:00am & 7:30pm Tue. Night Children’s Ministry: 7:30pm Tue. Night Bible Study (Teens): 7:30pm Alcohol & Drug Abuse Program (Wed): 7:30pm Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship 2085 S. Hobart Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018 Phone: (323) 731-8869 • F: (323) 731-0851 www.christianfellowshipla.org Pastor James K. McKnight Sunday LiveStream: 10:00am (facebook.com/christianfellowshipla) Sunday Conference Call: 10:00am (310-372-7549 / code: 342408) Tue/Thurs Morning Word & Prayer: 7:00am Wed. Bible Study w/ Elder Stephen Brown (701-802-5001 / code: 825252#

God’s Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ/ Prayer Clinic & Deliverance Ministry P.O. Box 561368, Los Angeles, CA 90056 (323) 293-7566 • www.gfdjc.org •gfdjc@att.net Dr.Ruby I. Cottle, Ph.D., Pastor/Teacher Services every Friday: 7:00pm We meeet at: St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church 3901 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca 90018 Watch Dr. Cottle on HBN TV Wed’s 7:30am Channel 886 Dish,Smart TV Local Channel 35.2 Listen to Dr. Cottle Sundays on KJLH at 5:30am

Grant AME Church 10435 S. Central Avenue • Los Angeles, CA 90002 (323) 564-1151 • F: (323) 564-5027

Tues. Pastor’s Bible Study: 6:30pm Wed. Noon-day Prayer: Noon www.mtzionla.org

FIRST LADY FILES

Rev. Dr. J. Arthur Rumph, Pastor

Greater Ebenezer Baptist Church 5300 S. Denker Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062 (323) 759-4996 Rev. DeNon Porter Early Worship: 8am Sunday School: 9:30am Mid-Morning Worship: 11am Radio-KALI 900AM: Sun. 11-Noon, 7-8pm KTYM 1460AM Sundays: 5:30pm Bible Study (Tues, Wed & Thurs): 7pm

Holman United Methodist Church 3320 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323) 703-5868 • www.holmanumc.com Email: holman@holmanumc.com Rev. Dr. Ken Walden, Senior Pastor Sunday Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Sunday Radio: KJLH 102.3FM at 11am Sunday School: 9:30am (Children/Youth) & 9:45am (Adults) Bible Study: Every Thursday @ Noon We Gather,Grow,Go and Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ Macedonia LA 1751 East 114th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (323) 569-9561 • www.macedonia-la-org Senior Pastor Shane B. Scott Sunday Worship Service: 7:30am|10:00am Live MondayBible Study: 7:00pm (Log-in to Zoom Meeting ID: 377-818-648 or Dial In: 346-248-7799)

McCarty Memorial Christian Church 4103 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323) 731-4131 • www.mccartychurch.org Senior Pastor Edward Anderson Sunday Worship: 10:45am Bible Study: Tues @12:30pm/Wed @6pm Zoom Call: (605) 472-5454 Access:188857 Online Stream Live: Sundays@10:45am to www.mccartychurch.org Give: Text 77977 Instagram@mccartyconnect Mount Moriah Baptist Church of Los Angeles, Inc. 4269 South Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90037 (323) 846-1950 •Fax: (323) 846-1964 Rev. Johnteris Tate-Pastor Sunday Church School: 8:00am Worship Service: 9:15am Baptist Training Union: 7:00am Tues. Bible Study/Prayer: Noon & 7:00pm

Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 3669 W. 54th St. Los Angeles, CA 90043 • (323) 291-1121 F: (323) 291-1133 • office@sinai.church • www.sinai.church George E. Hurtt, Pastor-Teacher Sunday Worship: 8am,10am,Noon Tuesday Night in the Truth: 7:15pm Radio: KKLA 99.5 FM (Sun): 6:00pm All services stream live on our website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.

During the pandemic, pre-registration is requested to attend in-person services.

KAREN A. BROWN Contributor

Osie Hill

Reappointed to Grant AME Church Los Angeles Rev. Dr. James A. Rumph

Sunday School: 8am Worship: 9:30am Wed. Bible Study: 11:30am •6pm

Park Windsor Baptist Church 1842 W. 108th St. Los Angeles, CA 90047 (323) 756-3966 • RevTerrellTaylor@sbcglobal.net Rev. Terrell Taylor

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1300 E. 50th Street Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 235-2103 • F: (323) 235-3177 • Rev. Joshua Daniels, Pastor Morning Worship: 10am Children’s Church: 9:30am Sunday School: 11:30am

Morning Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Bible Study Wednesday: Noon & 7:00pm Communion: 1st Sunday at 8:00am & 11:00am

Phillips Temple CME Church 973 East 43rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 233-4783 Rev. Dr. Darrell Wesley, Pastor Sunday Worship: 10am Bible Study: Wednesdays at Noon Online: Facebook.com/ PhillipsTempleCME.LosAngeles

Love & Unity Christian Fellowship

W

ith almost 50 years of marriage and 40 years of ministry, First Lady Osie Hill and Pastor Ron Hill have modeled the key to a successful partnership: love, leadership, loyalty and lon-

gevity.

“Being able to walk in concert with my husband,” is my greatest blessing, said Hill, who currently serves as the administrator at the Compton-based, Love and Unity Christian Fellowship under the leadership of her husband.

The two met in 1971, as young adults when Pastor Ron shared Christ with her and invited her to church.

It was at this meeting that Osie discovered they shared the same last name. “To make a long story short, I am a Hill-Hill. I never got a chance to change my name when I married this gentleman” she said.

Fast forward, the Hills will celebrate 50 years of marriage on February 19, 2022.

The third of ten children, Hill–a native of Shreveport, Louisiana–was a go-getter from the start, leaving her family and moving to Los Angeles, California to become a computer programmer with the Job Corps.

A mother of three daughters and two sons, First Lady Osie, mentors and empowers young women every day. She reminds them that, “You can only be true to the Call on your life and you must play to the audience of one, our Heavenly Father.”

After 40 years in ministry, Hill, has learned some valuable lessons about herself and her ministry. She says, “We have the opportunity as pastor’s wives to see fruit in ministry. To be a part of growth and love in service to the Lord.”

Further, to pastor’s wives she offers, “Don’t seek to fight your husband’s battles or betrayers. Your greatest weapon against betrayers is prayer and divine love for all.”

New Antioch Church of God in Christ 7826 So. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 778-7965 • www.newantiochcogic.org Superintendent Jeffrey M. Lewis Sunday Early Worship: 8am Sunday Morning Worship: 11am Sunday School: 9:30am Tuesday Bible Study: 11am Wednesday In The Word: 7pm All services streamed: Facebook and YouTube @New Antioch Church of God In Christ ONE LA Potter’s House Church 614 N. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 (818) 763-4521 • hello@one.online Pastor Touré and Sarah Roberts The ONE Experience Online: Sundays: 7A |9A |11A |1P |6P Thursdays: 5P |8P (PST) @toureroberts @sarahjakesroberts @one.online ONE.ONLINE

St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church 5017 S. Compton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 231-1040 • stmarkmbcofla.org Reverend Dr. Lovely Haynes, Pastor Sunday Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Sunday School: 9:30am Mon-Wed Corporate Prayer: 6:00 - 6:55 pm Monday Night Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday Noon Prayer: 12 Noon Wed. Exposition of Sunday School Lesson: 7:00pm

Trinity Baptist Church 2040 W. Jefferson Blvd., L.A., CA 90018 • (323) 735-0044 F: (323) 735-0219• trinitybaptistchurchofla.org Rev. Alvin Tunstill, Jr Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 am YouTube: tv.trinitybaptist.cloud Sunday Radio Broadcast KJLH-FM: 9am Wed. Night Virtual Bible Study: 7pm (Log into zoom.us,click“join in a meeting” enter meeting ID: 480-271-5449.

Or call 1-699-900-6833; give zoom ID Sign-in at 6:55pmrchofla.org

Weller Street Baptist Church 129 S. Gless St, Los Angeles, CA 90033 (323) 261-0949 • F: (323)264-6601 • www.wellerstreetlive.com Pastor K.W. Tulloss Sunday School: 8:00am Sunday Morning Worship: 9:00am Tues. Bible Study: 6:45pm www.wellerstreetlive.com

West Angeles Church of God In Christ 3600 Crenshaw Bvld, Los Angeles, CA 90016 (323) 733-8300 Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 8:30am-5:30pm Bishop Charles E. Blake Sunday Services: 10am Sunday Radio Broadcast– KJLH 102.3FM: 10am Websote: Westa.org Citizens of Zion Missionary Baptist Church In Compton 12930 No. Lime Ave., Compton, CA 90221 (310) 638-0536 • F: (323) 636-2080 • www.citizensofzion.org Rev. Bobby Newman, Jr., Senior Pastor; Rev. B.T. Newman, Pastor (Pastor Emeritus) Service Time: 10:45 Virtual Worship: Youtube Greater Zion Church Family 2408 North Wilmington Avenue, Compton, CA 90222 (310) 639-5535 • (Tues - Thurs 10am -4pm) Dr. Michael J. Fisher, Senior Pastor Sunday Worship: 9:00am Online Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00pm FB: GreaterZionChurchFamily IG: GZCFamily www.gzcfamily.com

Holy Chapel Missionary Baptist Church In Compton 1016 E. Rosecrans Avenue, Compton, CA 90220 (310) 537-3149 • F: (310) 537-3149 Rev. Dr. George L. Thomas Sunday School: 9:45am & 10:15am Early Morning Worship: 7:30am Mid-Morning Worship: 11:15am New Members’ Class: 9:45am Communion (1st Sunday): 7:30 & 11:15am Mid-Week Prayer & Bible Study (Wed)- 7pm Broadcast (KALI 900AM - Sunday): 2pm3:00pm Love and Unity Christian Fellowship 1840 S. Wilmington Ave, (P.O. Box 5449), Compton 90224 (310) 604-5900 • loveandunity.org • info@loveandunity.org Apostle Ronald C. Hill, Sr. Founder and Pastor Live Stream Sunday Worship:10am/6:30pm Live Stream Bible Studies: Wed.7:30pm&Sat 9am Live Stream Prayer w Apostle: Fri: 9am Food For Your Soul TV Ministry Impact Televison Network: Mon-Fri @6:30amPST KJLH 102.3 Sundays 9:00pm The City of Refuge 14527 S. San Pedro Street, Gardena, CA 90248 (310) 516-1433 Bishop Noel Jones

In Gardena

Morning Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Evening Worship: 6:00pm Bible Study (Wed): Noon & 7:00pm BET/Fresh Oil (Wed): 7:00am

Atherton Baptist Church 2627 W. 116th Street Hawthorne,CA 90250 (323) 757-3113 • www.athertonbc.org F: 323-757-8772 • athertonbaptist@sbcglobal.net Pastor Larry Weaver

In Hawthorne

Sunday Morning Worship: 8:00 & 11:00 am Sunday Bible Enrichment Class: 9:45am Mon.-Thurs. Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday Bible Study: 12:30pm & 7:00pm

Center of Hope LA 9550 Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90305 #centerofhope•#cohla•Info@GO2HOPE.com Give: Text COHLA to (833) 246-7144 Pastor Geremy L. Dixon Service Times: 8:00am & 10:00am Watch Via: Facebook|YouTube|Live Stream Closer To People...Closer To God! www.GO2Hope.com

Bible Enrichment Fellowship International In Inglewood 400 E. Kelso, Inglewood, CA 90301 (310) 330-4700 • www.bamcm.org Dr. Beverly “BAM” Crawford Morning Worship: 9:30am Tues. Bible Study: 7:30pm Wed. Mid-Week Prayer: 5am, Noon & 7:00pm Wednesday Pathway: 7:00pm Thurs Bible Study: 10:00am Sat Marriage & Family Prayer: 7:30am

Blessed Family Covenant Church 325 North Hillcrest Blvd, Inglewood, CA, 90301 (310)-674-0303 • F: (310)-674-0303 Pastor Wendy Howlett Sunday Morning Worship & Word: 9:30am Wednesday Prayer & Bible Study: 7:00pm View Sunday Worship: www.youtube.com (Under Blessed Family Covenant Church) www.blessedfamilycovenant.org

Faithful Central Bible Church 333 W. Florence Ave. Inglewood, CA 90301 (310) 330-8000 • F: (310) 330-8035 Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer, Ph.D. Senior Pastor/Teacher Sunday Services: 7am, 9:30am & 11:45am Wed. Mid-Week Service: 7pm The Tabernacle is located at 321 N. Eucalyptus Ave., Inglewood www.faithfulcentral.com

Jacob’s Ladder Community Fellowship, inc.

1152 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90302 (866) 330-1702 • F: (310) 674-0760 Watchman/Shepherd Dr. Robert T. Douglas Sr. Sunday Fresh Start & Prayer 9:00am Sunday School: 10:00am Morning Services: 11:45am Evening Service: 7:00pm Wed. Lock & Load Prayer: 7:00pm Wed. Bible Study: 7:30pm 3rd Friday Youth Night: 7:30pm www.jacobladderschurch.com

Pastor Profile: Douglas E. Nelson Church: True Zion Missionary Baptist Church How Long at church: Two and a half years Hometown: Carson, CA Family: Wife Shannon of 17 years How did you get into ministry?

Essentially, I got a traffic ticket in college and it was a ticket to my destiny.

How so?

I get this traffic ticket and I’ve racked up about $2500 in fees, so I have to go to court. The judge says, ‘What do you do here in town?’ And I said, ‘I'm a college football player.’ And he says, ‘Well, you’re going to have to come up with a lot of money. You need to get a job.’ I lived five blocks from the courthouse, so I ran home, got my resume and ran back to the courthouse. They were on lunch break, but somehow I got in to see the judge.

I showed him my resume. He said, “Why are you here?’

I said, ‘You said I needed a job. Can I get one with you?”

And he said, “I didn't tell you to get a job with me, but he's looking at my resume and says, ‘Is this really you – you've accomplished all this stuff?’ I said ‘yes’. He calls my references in Los Angeles and they all said, ‘Doug is who he says he is.’ ‘Okay, he says, I'm going to give you a chance and hire you as a court clerk.’ I was the first black male to work in that courthouse in Vinton County, Oregon ever.

What was on that resume that he was so impressed by?

I h a d been a

junior city councilmember here in Los Angeles. I'd worked in the district attorney's office. There were just a number of things I did as a youth that somehow the Lord prepared me for whatever I was going to do in my future. I was actually hired as a staff member for Tom Bradley as a 16-year-old and ran a summer program for two years in the mayor's office.

How old were you when you received the ticket?

I was 20 attending Oregon State University on a football scholarship.

How did that experience lead you to ministry?

What happened was all the staff at this courthouse hated me because this is not how black folks or anybody was supposed to come into the courthouse, but there was one lady who took a liking to me. I shared my life story with her, and this lady happened to sit on the Statewide 4-H club board. They had a convention coming up and she told these people she had the perfect speaker. So, I was chosen as the final speaker at the statewide student 4-H convention on a Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. in Salem, Oregon.

What were you speaking on?

I was asked to speak about leadership, and they contacted me months in advance, so I had plenty of time to memorize the speech. But I get there the day before and they tell me I had to change my speech because the speaker the night before spoke on leadership. I called my grandmother, who was my prayer partner and my grandmother said, ‘Baby, just tell them about Jesus.’

And I'm just like, they didn't ask me to speak about Jesus. I called my mother and she said, “Tell them what God has done in your life,’ but that's not what they asked me to do. I go to the lady and ask her and she says, ‘Just tell him about your life’. At that point, I was convinced by the Lord that he just wanted me to speak for Him. So what I got up and did was to talk about what I’ve done and that I was able to do it because God had been active in my life.

Over the course of the next four weeks, I received nine letters from kids who were at the event saying my testimony had encouraged them and their faith. With each letter I received –it was like a nail in a coffin because I recognized God was calling me to something greater than what I was doing.

I went to my pastor who was W. Jerome Fisher at Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church and he told me

to go back home and pray about it for a couple weeks.

He then put me up to preach my first sermon and on August 3, 1997 he licensed me to preach.

Did you stay at his church?

I stayed at his church for about two years and then it was sort of a journey to several different churches, searching for what was my path going to be. Those experiences infused my ministry and grew me as I continued working with the Amateur Athletic Foundation, UN Health Foundation and briefly at World Vision– and some entrepreneurial stuff. I also worked for Antonio Villaraigosa as a city councilmember and served as the director of his mayoral campaign in South LA. We won the election, and I went on to work for the mayor's office. After about a year, I was let go. I think it was the Lord pushing me to ministry. As it happened, while helping Antonio run for mayor, I met R.A Williams and he took a liking to me.

You served under him for quite a while?

Yes, I did in a lot of different capacities from his driver to his armor bearer and assistant. I was with him every day for 15 years.

How did you decide it was time to move on?

The Lord did that as well. For 20 years, I had been preaching at True Zion Missionary Baptist Church every year for their youth day. The pastor, Major Lovett, was kind to me, giving me an opportunity to preach.

I'm sure my first year he said, ‘He didn't do that bad, but he didn't do that good. Let's give him another chance.’

In the last five years, he increased opportunities for me to preach and had me preach more than just one time and finally for weeks at a time. Then in November of 2019, Major Lovett announced he was going to retire and turn over the church to me as pastor and that I would begin by preaching the whole month of December 2019. Well, on December 14, 2019, he died.

On December 15th, I arrived at the church and the secretary handed me a letter Dr. Lovett left for me. In that letter, it said, “In the event of my untimely death, you become pastor immediately with all rights and privileges.” So essentially on December 15, 2019, I began pastoring the church.

What was the state of the church?

The church was just surviving. Had they not had Pastor continued to page 24

From the Pulpit

In commemoration of black history month, our spotlighted sermon is from the late Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. The New York-based pastor was not only one of the most prolific preachers of his time, but served as Chief of Staff to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Be Careful Who You Try To Hang”—Esther 7:10

T

he Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where God’s name is not mentioned.

Haman, viceroy to Ahasuerus, the King of Persia, is one of the most sinister characters of Bible lore.

Ahasuerus was the presiding monarch over 115 vassal states whom he gathered once a year in a celebration that lasted for an entire week.

On a certain night during the course of these festivities, the king’s heart was merry with wine,–that is to say he was considerably drunk. He had been bragging about how fine Queen Vashti was.

When several of the princes in their inebriated state expressed some disbelief about her beauty, Ahasuerus dispatched a chamberlain to fetch Vashti so they could see for themselves. The chamberlain returned to report that Vashti refused to come since it was about three in the morning.

The other princes began to mutter that if Vashti refused the summons of the head king and word traveled back to their kingdoms, their wives would disrespect them. The king was so furious that he de-queened Vashti. She was banished forthwith prompting the immediate search for a new queen.

Just because God’s name is not mentioned does not mean God was not working in this situation. The choice for the new queen of Persia turned out to be Esther, cousin to Mordecai the Jew, the spiritual leader of the house of Israel in exile. [But] before she took residence in the palace, she inquired of Mordecai as to whether she should reveal that she was a Jew. His reply was emphatic, “Not now, just be cool.”

At about the same time, evil Haman was elevated to second in command in the kingdom. Among the special perks that were his as viceroy to the king was

that at every appearance of Haman in public, the trumpets would play, and everyone was required by royal decree to bow to him.

With Esther’s elevation to the queenship, Mordecai had taken a daily post in the king’s gate to monitor his young cousin’s newfound honor and glory.

Every day at quitting time, when Haman emerged from the palace, everyone bowed as the king had decreed except Mordecai the Jew. Mordecai’s religious discipline would not allow him to bow to a human. The smile on Haman’s face quickly turned to a scowl as he observed Mordecai the Jew standing while all others bowed. By the time his chariot deposited him at his place of residence, Haman was in a blue funk.

His wife, Zeresh inquired, “What is wrong with you today?”

Haman’s answer became an oft-repeated refrain, “Mordecai would not bow down!” It was this slight by Mordecai the Jew that caused Haman to consider him his mortal enemy.

A careful study of his life can be instructive. The first lesson we learn from the evil Haman is that we must guard against allowing one disappointment to poison our spirit.

Haman had it made. He was second only to the king of Persia with access to anything his heart desired. But all of this didn’t matter because Mordecai’s refusal to bow robbed Haman of all the joys his life might have had because he allowed that single disappointment to poison his spirit.

Pastors and preachers are prone to the temptation to get derailed because some precious and dear ambition is not realized. It could be a pulpit of our heart’s desire or some denominational office in the convention we think we should have.

True Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 7901 South Van Ness Ave. Inglewood, CA 90305 (323) 750-7304 Rev. James A. Perkins Sunday School: 9:30am Early Worship: 8am Morning Worship: 10:45am Bible Adventure Hour (Tues): 6pm Bible Study (Tues): 7pm Bible Study (Thurs): Noon

Antioch Church of Long Beach 350 Pine Ave. ,Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 591-8778 •www.antiochlb.com Senior Pastor Wayne Chaney, Jr.

In Long Beach

Online Services Stream live: Sun 10:00am at antiochlb.com Give: text antiochib to 77977 Social Media: facebook.com/antiochlb instagram.com/antiochlb youtube.com/antiochlongbeach Christ Second Baptist Church 1471 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 599-3421 • Fax: (562) 599-6175 • www.csbclb.org Rev. Welton Pleasant II, Senior Pastor Sunday School: 8:30am Sunday Worship Service: 9:40am Wed. Bible Study: 7:00pm Wed Youth & Young Adult Ministry: 7pm

When someone else is chosen, the ashes of our disappointment make our cup bitter. It does not have to be if we keep our lives centered in Jesus Christ.

He called us to faithfulness and not success. If we allow the bile of disappointment to infect our spirits, it will corrupt our ministry and dishonor Christ.

It happens in our churches among our disciples. The music ministry of the church is especially vulnerable to the deadly virus of envy. We may think someone sings better or receives more praise than we do, and that envy becomes the prism through which we assign value to that person. It can lead us to dislike a person simply because we think they have received of the Lord something we desire or feel we deserve more.

That’s dangerous ground for a Christian to tread. Looking around at others with split vision, measuring what someone else has and comparing it with what we have and then wallowing in our discontent. Haman should be a stern admonition to warn us against letting one disappointment poison our spirit.

Haman’s venom against Mordecai was so deep that he decided from his position of power and influence that not only would he get rid of the hated Jew, but he would get everyone like Mordecai.

One evening, as he and the king reviewed the accounts of the empire, the weariness of the king had been propped up with two or three dry Martinis. When he saw his chance, Haman got Ahasuerus to sign the authorization for a plan of genocide against all Jews.

His plan began with his manipulation of the king’s uneasiness about a people who benefited from his largess but practiced another religion and cared nothing

Grant AME Church of Long Beach 1129 Alamitos Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 • (562) 437-1567 grantamelb@aol.com • www.grantamelb.org Rev. Dr. Michael W. Eagle, Sr. Sunday Worship: 10:45am Wednesday Food Bank: 9:00am-Noon Mothers of Murdered Youth/Children: Thurs by Appt.; (B.U.S) Blankets, Underware, Shoes: Thursdays Facebook Live•YouTube•Free Conf Call

Greater Emmanuel Temple 3740 E. Imperial Highway, Lynwood, CA 90262 (424) 296-0400 •www.greateremmanuel.org

about the king. The order of genocide detailed that on the 13th day of the twelfth month in all the provinces of the empire, all Jews were to be killed and all their goods and properties expropriated. A special budget allocation of 10,000 talents of silver was set aside to implement the insidious plan.

You must understand that if you allow your spirit to be poisoned by disappointment and envy, you are in danger of descending into the spiral of hate that will convince you that you need to get even with s o m e body.

T h e path y o u choose m a y cause you to set a trap for someone or to do them harm for no reason other than to satisfy your corrupted spirit. If you succumb to the wiles of the devil, you are surely on your way to Hell.

This was Haman’s ultimate downfall.

Mordecai sent word to Esther that genocide was planned for the Jews and it was time for her to reveal her ancestry and beseech the king to save her people.

Esther hesitated at first, but Mordecai’s stern rebuke jarred her back to reality. “What makes you think you can escape as a Jew just because you’re in the king’s house? If you don’t speak for your people now, God will find another way to deliver His people. Perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this!” continued to page 24

Arise Christian Center In Westchester 6949 La Tijera Blvd. Suite C,Westchester, CA,90045 (310)568-8445•F: (310) 568-8430 • Arisechristiancenter.com Pastor Ron Taylor Morning Worship: 9:00am & 11:15am Bible Study Wednesday: 7:00pm Intercessory Prayer Tuesday : 7:00pm Intercessory Prayer Sunday: 8am - 8:45am Thursday:11:30am-12:30pm

In Lynwood

Pastor Nissan Stewart Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00am Wednesday Prayer: 6:30pm Mid-Week Refuel/Bible Study: 7:00pm (Wednesday) Follow us: @GETFamilyNow The Greater Emmanuel Temple App Available in App Store

Walking In The Spirit Ministries In Double Tree (Sonoma Grill) 12623 Norwalk Blvd, Norwalk CA 90650 (213) 248-6343 P.O Box 1597 Norwalk CA,90651 Tim & Leshia Brooks

Norwalk

Morning Worship: 11:00am Services Held Every 2nd & 4th Sunday and Free Breakfast Is Served Bible Study: 8:30am (Every 5th Friday)

Excellent Rates Just three days a month Must have truck

Call 310.677.6011

COVID testing continued from page 6 testing site scams, as well as how to search and locate legitimate, verified testing sites.

First and foremost, he advised that people only get tested at verified COVID-19 testing sites or to check with local medical groups to see if they offer testing services within their facility. To find a testing site near you that is verified to perform COVID-19 testing, you are directed to use the California Department of Public Health’s test site search tool or your county’s public health department website at COVID19.CA.GOV’s Hotlines and Local Info web page.

Keep in mind fake websites that purposely look identical to those belonging to well-known, trusted organizations and state agencies. Among other red flags are (1) If a provider insists on documenting your nationality or immigration status; (2) If a provider does not offer a notice of privacy practices, or cannot explain how it will use and share your personal data; or (3) If a provider insists on accessing your passport or driver’s license when you have other documents that show your insurance status.

The federal government has launched a new federal resource where individuals can get free FDA-authorized at-home COVID-19 test kits. Visit COVIDtests.gov, or call 1-800-232-0233 to order. Remember that no one from the federal government will call, text, or email you to ask for additional information to help you with your order. If someone reaches out asking for additional information such as your credit card information or Social Security number, do not respond — it is a scam.

If you believe that you have been scammed by a fake COVID-19 testing site, report it to your local police or sheriff’s office and file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office online at oag.ca.gov/report.

Tioni Theus,continued from page 7 ing Black women and girls. The report will explore inequities in the rate of violence experienced by Black women and girls and the rate at which violent crimes against them are solved.

“The murder of Tioni Theus is shocking in its brutality,” said Capri Maddox, Executive Director of the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, also known as LA Civil Rights. “But the murders of Black women and girls that go unsolved is nothing new. Time and time again, our community faces higher rates of violence while being treated like less of a priority. We are so grateful to Councilmember Price and Councilmember Harris-Dawson for leading on this important legislation, and we look forward to working with them to shine a light on this issue. Black women and girls matter, their suffering matters, and they deserve justice.”

Pastor continued from page 22 some people who had the capacity to hold the church up, it would not have been in existence, but fortunately those people remained there and kept the church running and I'm so thankful to Dr. Lovett as well as those individuals that I was able to come in, put a plan together and begin to erect the church from the place where it was.

So, you come in, put a plan together, start seeing movement and then COVID hits, are you now thinking, maybe I’ve taken on too much?

Friends of mine who are pastors were saying, the Lord really must think highly of you to place you in a church like this and to pastor it through a pandemic. But my thought every day has been let's get better. That's what I'm about. It continues to be tough, but in all of that, in 2021 we had several outreaches where we touched more than 950 families and individuals.

What is your outlook for the church?

I want it to be a beacon in our part of the city where individuals can come and feel their needs are being met and that they're spiritually being fed to be better individuals, better children of God in their experience.

What would you say is your biggest strength?

Against all odds, I still believe in the Lord. I love the scripture, Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans for me to prosper me, not to harm me, but to give me hope and a future’. In all I've been through, in all I've suffered, his plans have still worked in my life.

Sermon continued from page 19 Esther knew that to go to the king unsummoned was to go under the threat of death. It was then that she made her immortal declaration of faith and trust in God. “If I perish, I perish. I’m going to see the king!”

When she entered, the king was so struck by her beauty that he told her she could have half the kingdom.

Esther requested of the king that she be granted permission to host a very private banquet the following evening for the King and Haman. Once informed of the private party to be hosted by the new queen, Haman went skipping out of the palace anxious to get home to tell his wife Zeresh that he would be allowed in the presence of the new queen. As he burst out of the front entrance of the palace, the trumpets began to blare and everyone in the kings court bowed down on cue except Mordecai.

Haman was furious again. His plan of genocide was in place, but he was sick of Mordecai. He sent instructions over to the palace for the royal artisans to build a gallows 50 cubits high by the next morning.

Chapter six of this book in which God’s name is not mentioned begins with this verse: “On that night the king could not sleep.” Ahasuerus ordered the royal scribe to read to him from the chronicles of the kingdom. As he read, it was discovered that Mordecai had been instrumental in foiling an assassination attempt on the king’s life. Ahasuerus inquired if there was any mention of honor and dignity shown this Jew. “No honor” was the report. With this, the king fell asleep.

The next morning, Haman is anxious to secure the king’s approval for his plan to hang Mordecai. Ushered into the king’s presence, the king interrupted him midsentence and said to his second in command, “Haman, what would you suggest that I do unto him whom the king delighteth to honor?”

Haman concluded immediately that the king wanted to honor him. “O king, live forever, for him whom the king delighteth to honor. Let the royal apparel be brought

which the king wears and the royal stallion that the king rides and the crown royal of the king. Let all of this be delivered to one of the king’s most noble princes that the man whom the king delighteth to honor be so arrayed and bring him on the horseback through the streets of the city proclaiming, “Thus unto him whom the king delighteth to honor.”

The king said to Haman, “That’s a splendid idea and I want you to carry it out exactly as you have said. The man whom I delight to honor is Mordecai who sits in the king’s gate. Make haste.”

Can you envision Haman holding the tether of the royal stallion with Mordecai, his arch enemy, dressed in the royal apparel of the king with the crown jewel upon his head and Haman crying out at the top of his voice, “unto him whom the king delighteth to honor”, as they paraded through the crowded streets.

Haman went home sensing that his world was coming down around him. Zeresh reminded him of his banquet date with the new queen. As the banquet commenced Ahasuerus pressed Esther to tell him what she really wanted. Then Esther revealed her petition, “If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, let me life be spared and the lives of my people!”

The king was stunned when Esther divulged her Jewish ancestry and the plot of genocide concocted by Haman. Ahasuerus realized that his trusted viceroy had tricked him. He exploded in anger and rushed out into the royal garden to cool off. Haman knew his only chance for survival was to seek the mercy of Esther. He prostrated himself at her feet on the banquet couch.

When the king returned to the banquet hall, still seething in anger, he sees Haman in the queen’s lap begging for his life. The king’s anger explodes a second time when Haman disrespects his wife in front of him.

One of the chamberlains told the king there was a gallows on the west side of the palace. The king commanded that Haman be hanged.

You and I must not allow ourselves to submit to the tyranny of envy and hate. We must come to grips with the reality that is world is big enough for you and whomever it is you can’t get along with and we don’t need to be uneasy about whatever gifts and blessings other people may have. We need to be generous enough in our spirit to thank God that while He’s been blessing us, he’s had time to bless someone else as well.

Haman’s dark and sinister life is a lesson for us to resist the temptation to be envious of others whom the Lord has blessed in a different way. His wickedness reminds us to avoid trying to get even with someone we don’t like. Jesus says to His disciples, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.”

If ever you are tempted to indulge in envy, hatred or inflicting harm on someone, close your eyes and remember the scene near the king’s palace– the limp body on a gallows 50 cubits high, swinging back and forth in the soft morning breeze.

“So, they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.”

InGoodTaste

’ Mac & Cheese James Hemings Ingredients:

Chef Spotlight James Hemings

his signature le developing hi w ch e ar s ity chef rginia, half-Fren Today, celebr style of half-Vi ld d ou w an n he vi sh ar om G. G cluding a di commonplace fr ld d cuisine, in ou w an l It . al e" H pi a i rl on to Ca r to as "macar fe re Sylvia Woods ac e m th as in t we know Brown, but evolve into wha Delicious Miss ng hi yt an se. ey were aroni and chee late 1700’s th ly James Hemfferson reported re Je he , w 01 is 18 at In e but. Th th k ac at bl a position first famous offered Hemings ings–America’s de gs in em hich H s mark.

White House, w a chef– made hi t, gs et in ss em Fo H ith y, er Ed Born into slav clined. Instead, Monticello was bsequently freed om su fr d an ok d co ne eow av sl was te r de el t Jefferson’s Whi fferson. An sent to Presiden

by Thomas Je lfrha ’ fe ef gs (J in gs em H in Hem She taught brother of Sally okco g of House. on in si bl si fu lf ch ha en d an half-Fr son’s mistress) gs Virginian white , Martha, Hemin to Jefferson’s ife e w yl ’s st on rs g in ffe Je e it rer ffe th Je ny om d fr accompa French chef an was chosen to as e! e id w tim ld s or hi w ring kitchens son to Paris du he spread to peance. It was there from his Euro an e Fr id of r As te is in M e Hemth , in se d ee and ch ally traine style macaroni was profession ucing tic od en tr pr in ap g, ith okin credited w is gs in art of French co g and tin , meringues efs and perfec crème brulée ing to pastry ch ice , em m H ea . cr es hipped specialti French-style w other culinary erro Am Eu to e s th ie to fr dishes and French m ea cr ings served his en m s and states ica. pean aristocrat vited to dinner in the Jefferson

g dish Butter, for greasin elbow macaroni 16 ounces, large 3 cups, milk flour 2 tsp, all-purpose lt sa , ½ tsp black pepper ¼ tsp, fresh ground eese dded parmesan ch 2 cups, freshly shre se ee ch lla zare 2 cups, grated moz o cheese an m Ro , ps cu 2 2 tbsp, butter

Directions:

king dish 13 X 9 inch ba grees. Butter a de 0 45 to en • Preheat ov les until tender and set aside. , cook the nood er at w ng ili bo t of • In a large po t rinse.

Drain pot; do no ). until es ut in m 0 -1 (8 ilk, flour, salt m e th in ch hi w l, w bo e • In a larg the blended. e cheeses. Add cups of the thre 2 1/ 1 in ir St • coat. tter and toss to noodles and bu rinkle the reSp . sh di ng ki ba e th to er sf • Tran , and Romano an, mozzarella es rm pa ng ni mai re. e noodle mixtu cheese over th s rn tu se e chee • Bake until th 14 min).

2(1 n ow br light re fo be • Let stand serving.

L.A. Focus/February 2022

25

SavingGrace

L.A. Focus/February 2022

I

t’s been 30 years since Phylicia Rashad was propelled to stardom as beloved matriarch and feminist, Clair Huxtable in the long-running NBC hit sitcom, The Cosby Show. For her near decade long run in the role, she was dubbed at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards as “the Mother of the Black Community”.

Ironically enough, the now 73-year old actress is as busy and in-demand as ever. Over the last two years, she’s had recurring roles in two TV series–the award-winning “This Is Us” and OWN’s David Makes Man–starred in “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey; voiced a role in Disney Pixar’s Academy Award-nominated film, Soul; and guested on Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19.

She’ll reprise her role as Mary Creed in Creed III with Michael B. Jordan, which is currently filming and last month she opened on Broadway to rave reviews in the stage production of Skeleton Crew directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Last year, she was named Dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts.

“I can think of no one individual better suited to take on this role than Ms. Phylicia Rashad,” said Howard’s president, Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick. “Given Ms. Rashad’s reputation as well as her capabilities and impressive lists of accomplishments, she will undoubtedly empower the college to transcend even our incredibly high expectations. Under her leadership, Howard will continue to inspire and cultivate the artists, and leaders who will shape our niche and national cultures for generations to come.”

“It is a privilege to serve in this capacity and to work with the Howard University administration, faculty and students in reestablishing the College of Fine Arts,” said Rashad, who has also served as a guest lecturer at a number of different colleges and universities including Vassar College, and Juilliard.

She’s come a long way since the Cosby Show debuted in 1984 and shot to the top of the Neilsen ratings, but she wouldn’t take anything for her journey.

“When you look back on the work you’ve been a part of and see you’ve b e e n privi-

26

Phylicia Rashad leged to work in a way that has meant so much to so many people, you realize what a gift that is,” says Rash d.

The seasoned thespian–and the first black woman to win a Tony for best actress for her portrayal in “A Raisin in the Sun” on Broadway– has since added directing to her body of talents, with a growing list of credits that includes Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at the Mark Taper Forum.

Rash d admits that directing hadn’t been on her radar until she was approached by August Wilson’s widow, Constanza Romero to direct a Seattle Repertory Theatre production of “Gem of the Ocean,” marking her 2007 directorial debut.

“It was quite a learning process,” says Rash d, who began her career on the stage playing a munchkin on “The Wiz” and as an understudy for Sheryl Lee Ralph in the Broadway production of “Dreamgirls”.

“I enjoy working with actors,” Rash d says of directing. “There’s so much that goes into the creation of theatre which most audience members may not know, –designers and creative directors all the behind-thescenes people, and I enjoy working with all those people.”

Growing up in Texas, Rash d realized at eleven years old that she wanted to be an actress after taking the stage as the mistress of ceremonies at a citywide music festival while still in elementary school.

“I didn’t read the script because we had rehearsed it so much I knew it by heart. And when the presentation was over and mothers came to collect their children, I heard a few of them say, ‘There she is. There’s the little girl who spoke so beautifully. Isn’t she beautiful?’ Well, that meant a lot to me because beautiful was the one thing I wanted to be, and thought I wasn’t and would never be.

“That’s it! I thought, ‘When I grow up I’ll be an actress so I can be beautiful all the time.’

“What I didn’t understand and wouldn’t understand for a number of years was that beauty had nothing to do with how I looked. It was communication from the heart.”

What came natural, however, was her love of the arts. Rash d’s childhood home was a place where creativity and the arts was fiercely supported and encouraged by her mother Vivian Ayers, a Pulitzer-prize nominated poet, and Rash d’s constant inspiration.

“Growing up with a mother like that had its implications,” says Rash d. “One of those implications was that we were not allowed to sit in front of television for interminable amounts of time. She always created distractions for us.”

Rash d recalls constantly being engaged in various artistic disciplines, including studying three instruments.

There was nothing Rash d’s mother wouldn’t do when it came to

encouraging her children to strive for more, once moving with her children to Mexico for a break from the southern Jim Crow traditions, which is why to this day Rash d and her sister, famed choreographer and Emmy-Award winning actress Debbie Allen, are fluent in Spanish.

The Houston native–who says there’s a little of her mother in every role she plays–went on to study theatre at Howard University, her orthodontist father’s alma mater. But it was the opportunity to study at the Negro Ensemble Company in New York the summer after her sophomore year that really changed her life.

“This was a year after an instructor at Howard, a well-meaning Irish woman, misplaced and mistaken, said to the class that we should consider another occupation because there was no place for the Negro in the theatre.’

“But when I went to New York after my sophomore year and spent those sixty days at the Negro Ensemble Company, that was all I needed. I wanted to be like the actors I was seeing. They were great, and all of them different…all of them masterful.”

The fateful trip almost didn’t happen as Rash d’s father was reluctant to send his daughter to New York by herself.

“But my mother said to me, ‘I’ve been saving this money and I didn’t know why I was saving it. Now I know why. You are going.’ She had saved exactly what was needed for me to have a ticket and to spend sixty days there,” Rash d recalls.

“These are the things that help shape and form a human being–that kind of unfailing support you need in those formative years.”

The discipline she learned in those formative years laid the foundation for a stellar reputation on the Broadway stage from Melvin Van Peeble’s Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death and Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opposite James Earl Jones and her Tony award-winning role in Raisin in the Sun. “I was grateful of course,” she reports of the history-making moment. “But when I was informed of that, my initial response was ‘What happened?’ Great actresses have preceded me. Nobody was ever nominated before?”

In 2008, she resumed her award-winning role in a television adaptation of “A Raisin in the Sun,” which earned her the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

Rashad’s love of acting and respect for the craft has been passed down to her daughter, Condola, who costars on the Showtime series, Billions.

The divorced mother of two says grace itself is her saving grace and remains humble despite it all.

“I don’t think of myself as an icon,” Rashad reflects.

“I’m a woman who has had children, who’s fried a lot of chicken, who’s walked the dog and fed the cat. I think of myself as an artist who continues to develop.”