L.A. Focus Newspaper February 2019

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Church News: Pastor K.W. Tulloss Elected President of Baptist Minister’s Conference PAGE

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Red Carpet Style: Stars Dazzle on Red Carpet As Award Season Gets Underway PAGE

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UPFRONT

Jan Perry Throws Her Hat Into Race for County Supervisor District 2

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Jan Perry, former Los Angeles City Councilwoman for the 9th District, has declared her candidacy for Los Angeles County Supervisor District 2 seat. If elected, she will fill the vacancy left by Mark Ridley-Thomas who will term out in 2020. “I am running because I believe every family in the 2nd District should have a pathway to economic prosperity”...

Hollywood Buzz : Terry Crews Takes On D.L. Hughley In War of Words

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L.A. Focus Publications

FEBRUARY 2019

Left: Councilman Curren Price and Congresswoman Maxine Waters are among those welcoming Zambia’s first lady Esther Lungu, to Los Angeles; Middle: (L-R) Senator Steven Bradford, Stevie Wonder and Antonio Villaraigosa attend City of Inglewood’s 36th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration; Right: (L-R) Kimberly Goode, Sr. VP of Blue Shield of Caifornia, Grand Marshal, Dave Roberts, LA Dodgers, Dr. Adrian Dove, Kingdom Day Parade CEO, Sen. Maxine Waters and ABC co-anchor Leslie Sykes pose together at the kick off breakfast for the MLK, Jr. Kingdom Day Parade.

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From The Editor If You Give Up, You Set Us Back

Commentary Frederick Douglas & Voting Rights

UpFront Former Councilwoman Jan Perry Enters Race for Los Angeles County Supervisor; Court Finds Systemic Constitutional Violations

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Head to Head Who Came Out The Winner In the Nation’s Shutdown

Headlines From Africa Feature Story Ramping Up For 2020; The Race Is On For Black Votes

Money Matters Making Headway In A Billion Dollar Fashion Industry

Biz News Briefs Cathy Hughes Inducted Into Hall of Fame

On The Money Superbowl Paydays

staff Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Staff Writers Production Photographer Advertising Social Media

Lisa Collins Keith DeLawder, Gerald Bell Kisha Smith Ian Foxx, Rickey Brown Leatha Davis Antoinette Banks

L.A. Focus–On the Word, is published monthly.

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.

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Red Carpet Style

22 Pastor Profile 23 First Lady Files 24 From The Pulpit 25 In Good Taste 26 Saving Grace Markees Williams The Sanctuary Church of Refuge

76th Golden Globe Awards

Eye On Gospel A Stellar Gospel Year

Calendar/Around LA Hollywood Buzz Black Panther To Return To Theaters; War of Words; Terry Crews & D.L. Hughley

One On One Sterling K. Brown

Tori Dyson Greater Faith Baptist Church

A New Level For A New Year (Exodus 23)

Celebrity Chef J.J. Johnson

Angela Lewis

17 19 Through The Storm 20 Church News Game Changers

America’s Largest Black Film Festival is Ground Zero for Up & Coming Filmmakers

Heart Attack Gives Veteran Pastor New Lease On Life

K.W. Tulloss Elected President of the Baptist Minister’s Conference; Bishop Clarence E. McClendon new location

The question of what Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will do once he terms out as Supervisor has been answered with news that RidleyThomas will run for the 10th District Council seat that will be vacated by Herb Wesson in 2020.

honorary advisors 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 Mt. Zion MBC Jacob’s Ladder

Bishop Charles Blake Bishop Noel Jones Pastor Michael Fisher Rev. Xavier L. Thompson Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer Pastor Emeritus Melvin Wade Rev. Edward V. Hill II Bishop Robert T. Douglas, Sr

advisory board Napoleon Brandford Pastor Beverly Crawford Lem Daniels Bob Blake

Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co. Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church Morgan Stanley Bob Blake & Associates

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Commentary

LINDA CHAVEZ Guest Columnist

Frederick Douglass and Voting Rights

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have been reading – more accurately, listening to – David Blight's new biography, "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom." It is a welcome respite from the day's news but also a sober reminder of a racial history that still scars America. Douglass emerges in the book as a far more complicated, occasionally unlikable hero of the antislavery movement. Brilliant, self-taught in the arts of literature and rhetoric, Douglass was a fugitive slave who became one of the most famous and important men of the 19th century. But it is Blight's descriptions of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War that most moved me. The city became a muddy tent town when thousands of former Southern slaves emancipated in January 1863 fled north with nothing but hope, a group of their children learning to read in a smokehouse-turned-school on Robert E. Lee's estate in Arlington, Virginia. Government buildings became temporary hospitals filled with sick and dying Union soldiers, amputees who might never be able to support themselves or families. And Douglass, facing this human tragedy, became all the more convinced that such suffering and bloodshed could be justified only if blacks – former slaves and freemen alike – were given full and complete rights of citizenship, most importantly the right to vote.

For Douglass, the Civil War was necessary to expiate the sin of slavery. Until the slavesupporting South was mercilessly defeated and the black man granted his rightful status as an equal in every way before the law, America would never be truly free. Douglass locked horns with Abraham Lincoln over the issue of equal wages for black soldiers – 180,000 of whom fought in the Civil War but were paid less than their white counterparts and did not receive commissions as officers – and, more importantly, over granting all black men the right to vote. Without the right to vote, Douglass correctly predicted, blacks would be subjected to continued discrimination and would never be truly free or equal. Douglass understood that especially in the South, whites, with fresh memories of the cruelties of war, would seek vengeance on blacks.

The bitter years of Reconstruction and the adoption of Jim Crow laws throughout the

From the Editor

South proved Douglass right – despite the eventual adoption of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which established "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It would be another 95 years before the promise of the 15th Amendment would become a reality, largely through the changes brought about with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today voting rights and black voter suppression remain topics of heated dispute, largely along partisan lines.

Differences in turnout between blacks and whites remain significant, especially in midterm elections.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 65.3 percent of whites turned out in 2016, while only 59.6 percent of blacks did, compared with 2012, when 66.6 percent of blacks voted, exceeding the rate for whites for the first time. In the 2018 midterms, black voting was again lower than white participation, amid charges of voter suppression in states such as Georgia.

It is not hard to imagine that Frederick Douglass would be disappointed were he alive today to see that a right won by such sacrifice has not been exercised to its fullest. He would, of course, lament that some politicians still aim to suppress the votes of AfricanAmericans – as much because they vote overwhelmingly Democratic as because of their color – but I imagine he would be disappointed, too, at apathy and indifference among too many Americans. We take for granted the freedom to pick our leaders. But when too many of us refuse the responsibility to vote, we should not be surprised at the sorry state of our leaders. Would that there were a Frederick Douglass out there who could remind us of the duty of citizens in a democracy Linda Chavez is chair of the Center for Equal Opportunity and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. To find out more about Linda Chavez, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

LISA COLLINS Publisher

“If You Give Up, You Set Us Back”

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confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.–who was a frequent visitor to our home–but he was also a Tuskegee Airman. And if that wasn’t enough, he could sing–a talent that got him cast as an extra in the classic 1959 Hollywood musical, Porgy & Bess in an allstar cast that included Dorothy Dandridge, Sidney Poitier, Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll and Sammy Davis Jr (with whom he would later team for fundraising efforts in support of the civil rights movement and Dr. King).

My paternal grandfather pastored First AME in the 1940s before founding his own church, Neighborhood Community Church, whose members included such talents as Lillian Randolph, best remembered as the maid in “It’s A Wonderful Life”; and pioneering songwriter Jessie Mae Robinson, one of whose tunes was recorded by Elvis Presley. My maternal grandfather was the first black to operate a chain of small grocery stores in Omaha, among whose patrons was a teen Malcolm X. My stepmother, Evelyn Boyd Granville, was the second African American woman to receive a Ph.D in mathematics in the nation (the first from Yale University). She went on to work on orbit computations for NASA’s space program, ultimately becoming one of their “hidden figures.” And last year, I had the privilege of honoring one of my first mentors, Xernona Clayton, a civil rights activist who became the first African American from the South to host a daily prime time talk show before going on to found the Trumpet Awards.

To be sure, there is a lot ¬to celebrate in our rich history and the powerful testimonies of faith that have seen us through. I take pride in knowing that the fruits of those who labored, sacrificed and died for us to have all we have today resulted in a rich harvest of talents that have powered our progression and bred a new generation of dreamers and achievers.

In a month where two blacks–Cory Booker and Kamala Harris– have declared their candidacies for president of the United States, we proudly remember and celebrate those on whose shoulders we stand.

Keep the faith.

Pictured above: My dad (directly behind Dr. King) ushers him into a welcome reception held for Dr. King who’d just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; Below: my Dad and Dr. King posing with Dr. King as he arrived in L.A. during one of his many visits to the West Coast.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

here are days when Andrew Gillum, who rose to prominence last year in his bid to become the first black governor of the third largest state in America–spends more time comforting others about his high profile loss.

“I’m like, ‘nobody wanted to win governor more than me so it’s very hard for me to have to comfort you in this moment when I’m trying to get through this thing myself,’” laughs Gillum, whose near dead-heat gubernatorial race–which ended in a recount– was one of most watched during the recent mid-term elections.

I had the chance to meet the former mayor and charismatic politician turned CNN/Harvard fellow last month and couldn’t have been more impressed.

Said Gillum, “I always understood that this election...what we were trying to do was build more of a movement…an army of people that are there to help you either get it done, hold you accountable for doing it, and in the instances where you’re not successful, they recognize that sometimes change is a process that takes a little bit of time.

“The last thing we can do is give up. What people ought to take some hope in, is that Stacy Abrams got closer than any Democrat for that office in a generation in the state of Georgia. I got closer to the office of Governor than any Democrat that has competed in the state of Florida in the last 24 years.”

“Now, I don’t take great pride in second, but the truth is that this is about forward movement, so while we may have lost that transaction, the movement has to continue. If you give up, you set us back.”

In fact, ours is a history of firsts. Growing up, it was about the first black to do this or that and those days when blacks gathered around the television to cheer on an African American who’d made some historical mark, appeared on some milestone show or like Barack Obama, rose to the highest office in the nations with the support of blacks who went to the polls in record numbers–some for the first time–to vote for him.

What we were celebrating most was the forward motion all those historical firsts seemed to validate. This month’s cover story reflects that same forward motion in the remarkable progression of black women who have finally come to be seen as one of the most powerful voting blocs in this nation while also coming into the realization of their own transformative influence. (See our story staring on Page 10).

In his famed letter from the Birmingham jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that among the real heroes the South would one day recognize were “the old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy-two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest."

In the bitter fought electoral campaigns of Gillum in Florida and Stacy Abrams in Georgia, the South’s political titans went toe to toe with the heirs of those women, who would have been more than proud of the political might and fortitude demonstrated in moving forward an agenda once only dreamed of.

When asked where do I get my drive and hard work ethic, the answer is that I was fortunate enough to be raised by history makers. My Dad was not only a dear friend and

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UpFront

News Briefs

Former Councilwoman Jan Perry Enters Race for Los Angeles County Supervisor an Perry, former Los Angeles City Councilwoman for the 9th District, has declared her candidacy for Los Angeles County Supervisor District 2 seat. If elected, she will fill the vacancy left by Mark Ridley-Thomas who will term out in 2020.

“I am running because I believe every family in the 2nd District should have a pathway to economic prosperity,” said Councilwoman Perry. “I see tremendous potential in our communities, if we are creative and tenacious, we can attract good-paying jobs, build affordable housing, ensure every child in the district receives a quality education and has access to social services that can help them meet their full potential,” she continued.

As a public service veteran, Perry has learned what it takes to run a competitive race having run for City Council as well as a 2013 campaign for Mayor.

“From my past experiences I’ve learned to start early, connect with people in their communities by going door to door, let people people share how they perceive their problems, listen more than you speak and respond with a plan,” says Perry.

She plans to draw on her twelve years as City Councilwoman to inform her in serving the entire county.

“It’s a much bigger area in which to serve,” says Perry. “While many of the issues are the same, they’re on a much more broad scale.”

The Councilwoman is known as one of the architects of the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles. Perry brought $15 billion in private investments, $52 million in net new tax revenue, 90,000 full-time jobs and 1,000 affordable housing units to the 9th Councilmanic

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District of Los Angeles. She is viewed as one the most effective and visionary legislators in recent memory.

“Jan Perry is innovative, compassionate and views public service as a calling.

Her entrance into this race is timely,” said former Council Member and Chief of Police Bernard Parks who announced his endorsement of the Perry campaign. “We desperately need Jan’s integrity to combat the criminal element that has undeniably permeated our public service community in local government. I was proud to stand by her side as we both attempted to cut out City Hall corruption at its root.

And today, I am proud to support her bid to become our next County Supervisor.”

Perry has identified jobs and the cost of living as the cornerstones of her campaign.

“Everywhere I go people are talking about homelessness and mental health issues,” she says.

From July 2013 to December 2018 Perry served as the general manager of the City of Los Angeles Economic Workforce Development Department (EWDD) where she oversaw a broad range of programs offering assistance to business, job seekers and disconnected youth. During her tenure, the department enrolled 91,000 people in its training and placement programs.

“Much of the funding we received for the EWDD was from the county, so if elected as county supervisor I would be working on the other side of this issue.

My experience working on the city level has made me very knowledgeable on how to direct funding for workforce development,” says Perry.

“The primary initiative at EWDD is to not only be a job generator, but to place people at all skill levels in jobs through a

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

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Rally held in 2014 to end solitary confinement.

Photo Credit: Denise Mewbourne

violations end, the courts will be watching.”

Under a 2015 landmark agreement, nearly 1,600 prisoners were released from isolated Security Housing Units (SHU) and CDCR agreed to substantially reform the process by which prisoners were placed and held in the SHU. Prisoners are no longer sent to SHU based solely on gang affiliation — often established on the basis of extremely insubstantial evidence — but only due to specific and serious rules violations.

The judge’s decision underscored the

Staff Writer

network of worksource centers.

Says Perry of the EWDD going forwards, “I know what works and what needs to be changed.”

The field of competition also vying for the 2nd seat includes fellow former City Councilman Herb Wesson and first-time candidate Sharis Rhodes. Despite the potentially contentious race ahead of her, Perry remains unfazed.

“I wouldn’t enter a race if I didn’t believe in our message and know based on statistical analysis that I have that I have a very strong chance of winning,” says Perry.

“When I run a race I don’t worry too much about my competition, I just focus on myself. They have their own narrative to tell and that's their job, not mine. The facts will speak for themselves.”

Currently, Perry serves as the executive director of the Infrastructure Funding Alliance, a national initiative to meet future infrastructure, economic development, and environmental challenges. She lives in Ladera Heights with her daughter and her rescue dog Frank.

Court Finds Systemic Constitutional Violations

by California Department of Corrections ast month, a federal judge found that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is systemically violating the due process rights of prisoners. The judge ruled that CDCR is violating the Constitution by repeatedly relying on unreliable and even fabricated confidential information to send California prisoners to solitary confinement. The court also found CDCR is using constitutionally flawed gang validations to deny people in prison a fair opportunity for parole.

As a result of evidence submitted by the prisoners’ legal team, the judge extended by one year the terms of an historic settlement agreement to end indefinite solitary confinement in California prisons, including a provision allowing monitoring by plaintiffs’ counsel.

“The purpose of the settlement was to eradicate constitutional violations related to CDCR’s use of solitary confinement. Unfortunately, California is still violating our clients’ fundamental rights to due process. This ruling is an opportunity to remedy those continuing violations,” said Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights Rachel Meeropol. “It also sends a clear message to CDCR and California’s new governor: until the constitutional

KEITH DELAWDER

CENTER OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS Contributor

serious problems in California’s old gang validation system and the way it continues to impact prisoners: “Plaintiffs have provided the court with ample evidentiary examples that demonstrate that the CDCR’s old process for gang validation was constitutionally infirm (for example, because CDCR’s interpretation of the word ‘activity’ also included something described as, ‘nonaction piece[s] of evidence’). As a result, prisoners’ validations were sometimes based on as little as … having received correspondence (regardless of the content) or artwork, a birthday card, or other possessions from a validated gang member … or for the artwork they possessed (such as art containing Aztec or Mayan images … Plaintiffs also provide evidence from a number of class members’ parole transcripts in support of the contention that gang validation is a highly significant, if not often a dispositive factor, in parole consideration, and that when prisoners dispute their validation at their parole hearings, Commissioners consider the challenge itself to constitute evidence of dishonesty and a manifestation of a lack of remorse or credibility.”

“Now that a judge has determined that California’s gang validation system is deeply flawed, the Parole Board must Constitutional Violations continued to page 24

Empowerment Congress Holds Annual Summit Nearly 1,200 people came to celebrate the many ways that civic engagement can transform communities for the better during the 27th Annual Empowerment Congress Summit.

The Summit, which was held at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Willowbrook, featured speeches from Los Angeles County Supervisor and Summit founder Mark Ridley-Thomas; as well as U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan; and Humboldt County Supervisor Virginia Bass, president of the California State Association of Counties.

“The beauty of the Empowerment Congress is that it is a vehicle from which people can directly and consistently participate in their government,” said Congresswoman Bass. “For years, members of the Empowerment Congress have stuck with the hard work of representing the conflicting interests in our community and working together to help our community. If this body existed around the nation, Americans everywhere would understand their responsibility to participate beyond the voting booth. I’m honored to be a part of this.”

Since 1992, the Empowerment Congress has worked to educate, engage and empower individuals and communities to take control of their futures. A precursor to neighborhood councils, it is a partnership among neighborhood groups, residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses, religious institutions, and community leaders within the diverse communities of L.A. County’s Second Supervisorial District.

“My Body is Strong, But My Soul is Stronger”; Jussie Smollett Speaks Out About Hate Crime "Let me start by saying that I'm OK," said Jussie Smollett in a statement after the vicious hate crime attack he suffered. "My body is strong but my soul is stronger."

The 35-year-old “Empire” star was leaving a Subway eatery near Chicago home at 2am when two men began yelling racial and homophobic slurs as they approached and attacked him. The men also threw a chemical substance that appeared to be bleach on Smollett and one man tied a rope around his neck.

Smollett relayed to authorities in a that his attackers yelled, “This is MAGA Country,” during the assault. The suspects fled the scene and have not yet been identified.

"I am working with authorities and have been 100% factual and consistent on every level," Smollett continued. "Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served.

"I want to say thank you," Smollett added.

"The outpouring of love and support from my village has meant more than I will ever be able to truly put into words.

"Most importantly, during times of trauma, grief and pain, there is still a responsibility to lead with love," he said. "It's all I know. And that can't be kicked out of me."

Chicago police have released photos of potential persons of interest they are asking the public for assistance in identifying.

HeadToHead Who Came Out The Winner In The Nation’s Longest Shutdown?

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he president of people who port the UFC has reached, his Trump Bends support the Covington announcement to reopen the govthe Knee to Catholic crew proved that ernment has effectively ended the Pelosi, his dealmaking abilities were limlongest government shutdown in Temporarily ited to threats and intimidation American history. The reopening and has effectively bent the knee Ends Shutdown comes amid reports that the FAA He Created to Nancy Pelosi and agreed to was forced to halt flights at some temporarily reopen the governmajor airports due to staff shortment for three weeks as Congress contin- ages created by Trump’s hostage negotiaues to negotiate border security funding. tions over funding for his wall.

During a speech from the White House What the president Rose Garden, Trump announced that he effectively admitted would sign a bill that would reopen the by conceding to what government until Feb. 15 and will continue looks a lot like the to push for his funding for the wall that Democratic proposal only he wants. is that he overplayed The president also noted that he could his hand by shutting have gone nuclear and declared the need down the government for a border wall as a national emergency, in the first place. He but he didn’t want to use that option and essentially created a Stephen he wants that to be nationally recognized. hostage situation that Crockett He also thanked the federal workers held some 800,000 fedwho’ve missed paychecks for their support eral workers livelihood over a barrel while (although the many people he keeps men- he fought for funding to stop the imaginary tioning most likely don’t exist). invasion of drug smuggling murders along The president also claimed that a deal the southern border. had been reached but no one seems to During his announcement, the president know what the deal entails. also went on a tangent about human trafTrump might be referring to ficking and women being bound with tape a secret deal he’s made over their mouths getting smuggled into with himself since he the United States, but that was the started this shutdown MAGA-hat rabble rousing speech to some 35 days ago only to excite his base, so I stopped listening. end it without one penny So for three weeks, those whose for his wall. jobs were affected because the presiWhite House officials dent crossed his arms and refused were reportedly cheering to eat his veggies can rest his announcement to assured that they will be end the government allowed to work, but with the shutdown, which is president and Democrats hilarious considering being so far apart there are that this might be the no guarantees that once the biggest defeat in the three weeks are up, the govpresident’s abysmal ernment won’t be shutpresidency. The only down again. wall that the presiSomewhere, Fancy Pelosi dent has built in the is being fitted for her past 35 days is one new shades so she can between 800,000 fedstunt on these GOPers eral workers and when she goes to give financial security for her speech about how them and their famishe Debo’d the presilies. dent and punked him In whatever into opening the governagreement the presiment. dent of people who sup-

Headlines From Africa Burkina Faso: President Roch Marc Christian Kabore appointed Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire as the West African nation’s new premier in a decree read on Burkina Faso National Television following mass resignations from government officials. No reason was reportedly given for the resignations, but the government faces a growing extremist threat with increased attacks.

Congo: New president, Felix Tshisekedi, was sworn in last month in the first peaceful handover of power since independence, despite a chaotic and bitterly disputed election and as outgoing President Joseph Kabila called for "a grand coalition of all the progressive forces”. Tshisekedi—the former opposition leader— will now have to deal with the nation’s poverty, corruption and high unemployment.

Cote d’Ivoire: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has declined to rule out running in next year’s presidential election amid speculation he will seek a third term, a move that the opposition says would be unconstitutional and sure to shake up the nation’s politics.

Liberia: Liberia has joined 11 West African countries to embrace the “50 Million African Women Speak (50MWS) Project”, a women’s economic empowerment initiative that is meant to improve the ability of women to grow and sustain their businesses by providing access to financial and non-financial information relevant to developing and growing a business.

Mozambique: Mozambique’s Parliament requested that the country’s former finance minister Manuel Chang be held in preventative custody as he awaits extradition to the US following his arrest for a $2 billion debt deal. The scandal has led to growing indications of involvement by senior Angolan political leaders which could undermine the Angolan government’s high-profile anti-corruption drive, while embarrassing senior politicians and posing new risks for investors.

Nigeria: The suspension of a judge just weeks before an election has led to a constitutional crisis with the Nigerian Bar

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A look at current news from the continent of Africa Association accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of an "attempted coup" against the judiciary and constitution and both the United States and European Union expressing concern.

Senegal: China is willing to work closely with Senegal to promote bilateral ties and China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership as the nation has taken the lead in West Africa in signing cooperation documents with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Its role as co-chair of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has opened up new scope for bilateral ties Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone has banned female genital mutilation as part of a clampdown on initiation ceremonies by secret societies. With nine in 10 girls cut, Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of FGM in Africa, according to U.N. data, and is among only a handful of African countries where the practice remains legal. Girls are cut during initiations into powerful secret societies – known as the Bondo - which wield significant political clout.

Somalia: Christians worship in secret out of fear of persecution in a country where no official churches exist. Hundreds of Christians in Somalia, typically foreigners from nearby countries who work across the East African nation, fear Muslim extremists — both jihadists in al-Shabab, a group linked to al-Qaida, and rogue elements among their otherwise peaceful neighbors — would kill them if they knew they held Christian services.

Zambia: The First Lady of Zambia, Esther Lungu, was in Los Angeles for programs aimed at cementing the relationship between Lusaka and the City of Los Angeles as twin Cities and to mark the beginning of collaboration between the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the Zambia Fire and Rescue Service.

Lungu said the move has been necessitated by inadequate fire-apparatus in the country.

Zimbabwe: Government officials in Zimbabwe have pledged to thoroughly investigate allegations of abuse and rape levelled against its security forces during a brutal crackdown to quell last week’s anti-government protests. Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s announcement that fuel prices were being more than doubled in a country already suffering from spiraling inflation and necessity shortages have sparked national demonstrations.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

Ethiopia: Officials of Ethiopia and Djibouti say infrastructures developed by the two countries to enhance cooperation such as electrified railway and telecom interconnections are contributing to a possible economic integration that will boost economy in the Horn.

he media is having another from NBC ran: "The behavior of Trump Is field day at the alleged exthis administration while denying Leading, Not pense of President Trump.

800,000 people paychecks was as Caving Supposedly, per what we read, imperious as Marie Antoinette's the president "caved," "folded," or "lost" in apocryphal offer of cake." the government shutdown showdown with Of course, no federal worker is being House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. denied a paycheck. All pay will be made Except it's not true. up. But it's also important to keep in mind Our elite spends so much time inside that federal worker compensation is on the Washington, D.C., bubble that they're average higher than the private sector. sealed off from any According to the Congressional Budget sense, connection or Office, federal employees earn on average interest in what this 17 percent higher in salary and benefits nation is about. than private sector counterparts. And Ours is a democracy. according to Bureau of Labor Statistics Remember? In the data, private sector employees are three end, the people decide. times more likely to be fired and five times Trump, who these more likely to quit. All in all, federal worksame pundits love to ers have a pretty cushy situation. One of call "dictator," has not the risks is a periodic shutdown disrupStar Parker forgotten. tion. But again, they receive back pay and It's the president's job to lead, to put on overall receive good compensation to cover the line what he believes is best for the these rare inconveniences. nation. But ultimately, the people decide.

Now, rather than "caving," Trump is As put by our first Republican presi- making a new effort – advancing in dent, Abraham Lincoln: "In this age, and another direction – to get the nation's in this country, public sentiment is every- business done. He's signed an order to rething. With it, nothing can fail; against it, open the government for three weeks to nothing can succeed. Whoever molds pub- open the door for negotiation. lic sentiment, goes deeper than he who In his remarks, the president noted, "in enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial the last two years ICE officers arrested a decisions." total of 226,000 criminal aliens inside the Sometimes at the first try, the message United States." In each of the last three doesn't get through. It means you try again months, he said, there were "60,000 apprea different way. This is exactly what hensions at our southern border."

Trump is doing. In the words of General As of 2016, there were 10.7 million illeMacArthur: "We are not retreating. We are gal immigrants in our nation, 7.8 million of advancing in another direction." which are in our workforce. Of the 10.7 The president must negotiate through million, two-thirds have been in the U.S. the fog of a hostile media and now with a for more than 10 years.

Democratic congress more interested in A just released Wall Street Journal/ inflicting political damage on the president NBC poll shows Trump's approval at 43% than implementing policy that serves our and disapproval at 54%– exactly where he nation. was last month. Pelosi's approval stands at Trump tried to move negotiation for- 28% and disapproval at 47%, up from 41% ward after the shutdown by offering to last month. extend DACA protections – protection President Donald Trump deserves credagainst deportation of those who arrived it for courageous leadership regarding the illegally as children – and also for immi- need for a wall on our southern border to grants with temporary protected status. serve our security interests.

What was response from Democrats?

If he had a good faith negotiating partNo response. Counteroffer? None. ner in congressional Democrats, we might Why? Because the Democratic objective be able to get somewhere. is inflicting damage, not advancing soluStar Parker is an author and president tions for the American people. of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Democrats sat back, actually enjoying Education. Contact her at www.urbanthe shutdown, while headlines like this cure.org.

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LISA COLLINS Editor In Chief s the nation’s spotlight turned to hard-fought battles in Georgia and Florida during the highoctane mid-terms that captivated the nation, the profile of one powerful voting bloc came more clearly into focus–that of black women. It was that force that fueled Stacy Abrams’ quest to become the first black female major-party gubernatorial nominee in nation’s history and powered Andrew Gillum’s rise in Florida. And as the primary season for the 2020 election gets underway, the race is on for black voters,–black female voters in particular.

A recent Wall Street Journal headline heralded, “Black Women Voters Emerge as Top Target in 2020 Democratic Race”. An NBC news post read: “Democrats' race for black voters is on. It could decide everything.”

“The numbers clearly show that the real juice for Democrats rests with women of color,” wrote Donna Edwards in a Washington Post op-ed. “No candidate can ignore black women in the primary season and still hope to engage them after winning the party nomination – that won't fly. Black women are the most reliable base of the Democratic Party.”

They proved it when they turned out for former president Barack Obama both in 2008 and 2012 and voted at a higher rate than any demographic group.

“I don’t want anyone to elect me because I’m black, and I don’t need anyone to pick my name because I’m a woman,” Abrams told an audience in Macon last year.

“But I need you to know that because I’m a black woman, I understand the barriers to opportunity in the state of Georgia; because I’m a black woman, I understand how hard you have to work sometimes to get as far as you can; and because I’m a black woman, I know that when I make history, I make history with you.”

“We are seeing that black women may be accounting for the gender gap that gives Democrats the edge in the women’s vote,” reported University of Georgia political

A

science professor Audrey A. Haynes.

Black women were clearly a base Kamala Harris was playing to with her campaign launch on the King holiday, while paying tribute to another powerful black woman pioneer, Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972 became the first black candidate for a major party's nomination for president of the United States.

Among Harris’ first appearances was at the Alpha Kappa Alpha’s annual Pink Ice Gala. The sorority is one of the “Divine Nine”, a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities, viewed as a key voting bloc–along with the church–in African American communities across the nation.

"She recognizes black women are the absolute key voters to win over and it's a crowded field," said Aimee Allison, whose organization She The People released a straw poll of activists that named Harris the most popular candidate.

Harris demonstrated her own wide appeal last month when she drew upwards of 20,000 people to her first campaign rally in Oakland and garnered high ratings for her CNN Townhall, heralded as “the most-watched cable news single-candidate election town hall” ever among the 25-54 news demo.

"Across the country, we know it's a very powerful bloc," said Harris of the impact of black women. "We know that, even in the Senate Democratic caucus meetings, there are people who have been elected such as (Alabama senator) Doug Jones who…understand the power of black women to elect candidates and to be a very powerful voice of leadership in the community, equal to everyone else."

It was a point echoed by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) on a tele townhall hosted by the NAACP last month on the power of black women.

“The Democratic Party in particular realizes the importance of Black women,” Fudge said. “I think the party, and even now the Republican Party, is realizing that they can’t be successful without Black women. The most educated voters are Black women who are the single largest voting bloc per capita and everyone is taking

notice of the power we have.”

It is something Andrew Gillum, who rose to prominence with his hard-fought campaign to become governor of the third largest state in America also knows firsthand.

Gillum, admittedly ran one of “the brokest campaigns for the primary maybe in the history of a state where the African American population is 11%”, and still became the Democratic nominee.

“Nobody thought we had a chance of making it through the primary and we didn’t do any advertisement outside of the black community in the primary,” Gillum said as he answered questions put to him by a group of black newspaper publishers at the mid-winter meeting of the National Newspaper Publishers Association last month.

“We had 8.2 million people vote...two million more people than anticipated, and by the way with black voters we overperformed. We blew it out of the water. A large part of that had to do with our relationship.”

To that end, one Democratic strategist observed of 2020 presidential hopefuls, “if they don't have African Americans in senior decision-making positions and as consultants then they probably should drop out now."

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who directs the Los Angeles-based African American Voter Registration, Education & Participation Project (AAVREP) concurs.

“Black consultants, validators and the black press are more in demand, not just the weekend before the election but throughout the campaign” Ridley Thomas states.

“Gavin Newsom had the first black gubernatorial campaign manager in California history in Addisu Demissie and big campaign jobs that were once exclusively white are more and more being secured by blacks.

“The black press is also gaining in significance especially in light of the recent backlash CBS received with its announcement of a 12-person digital team covering the 2020 presidential race that did not include one single African-American.”

Gillum believes that race will be a continued theme leading up to 2020.

“I believe the president has found a sweet spot and

A History of Poll Taxes & Literacy Tests Can you spell backwards forward? How about printing the word vote upside down but in the correct order? Does enumeration affect the income tax levied on citizens in various states?

Imagine having to answer 30 questions similar to these in a tenminute time frame, in order to vote during the Jim Crow South.

In 2014, Harvard students were asked to answer these same questions to raise awareness on the unfairness of literacy test. Just like literacy test were designed to limit the participation of AfricanAmerican voters, all the Harvard students taking the test failed.

Literary tests were developed by states to undermine the 14th & 15th amendment, which granted African-American men in the U.S the right to vote in 1868. Following the end of the reconstruction era, Jim Crow laws were put into place by Southern legislators. During this time, life was extremely dangerous for blacks in the South. In addition to the threat of violence and lynching by whites for exercising their right to vote, they had to deal with separate but almost never equal that is if he could drive us to our tribes, then it has the effect of coalescing constituencies–largely his –in ways that perform. There’s no accident that Donald Trump showed up in my state more than he did in any other state in America, including coming here two times in the last week of the election.”

Looking back, Gillum says he’s learned about gaps existing in his state that he believes to be real barriers to Democrats winning.

“In spite of all the new voters we turned out –and young voters turned out at a higher rate in this election in the state of Florida then they could track in the history of 18-25 year olds, and I think that had to do with representative leadership. It isn’t just the color of your skin, it is your lived experience that gives people permission to say I can see myself there and they come out and vote,” said Gillum who while recently accepting a short term teaching post at Harvard is working on building an organization whose mission to re-engage and register a million voters between now and the 2020 election.

“If I would have had the resources in the primary and maybe before the primary, voter registration would have been a big theme for us,” Gillum continued. “By comparison, when Barack Obama competed in this state for president, Democrats enjoyed the registration advantage of about 850,000 more registrations than Republicans and in my race our advantage shrunk to fewer than 300,000.

What that means is that not guarantee that all those voters go out and vote, Probably not, but if we’re only playing with the marbles that are on the table in an electorate where Republicans are expected to have a 3 point advantage, it’s really important that we enter those races with a pretty sizable lead from a registration standpoint.

“If we’re not adding new voters and we’re not growing the base of people we can get to go out and vote, it diminishes our ability to be successful in these highly competitive races, especially when we’re playing on the turf where the rules have been written by Republicans who have been in charge for 20 years. So not only do you have to win big, you have to win bigger.”

To Gillum’s point, Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election with 88 percent of the black vote. The problem was that according to the Washington Post, 4.4 million 2012 Obama voters stayed home in 2016–more than a third of them black.

Democrats hope to remedy that with voter registra-

“

The Democratic Party in particular realizes the importance of Black women,” Fudge said. “I think the party, and even now the Republican Party, is realizing that they can’t be successful without Black women. The most educated voters are Black women who are the single largest voting bloc per capita and everyone is taking notice of the power we have.

”

access to opportunities and institutions under Jim Crow.

Test administrators (who were mostly always white), had pure discretion if a person failed or passed, even if the test-taker knew all the questions. These restrictions were instrumental in limiting interactions between ‘persons of color’ and Whites, as well as shutting African-American’s out from the “Democracy” of America. Poll taxes were also enacted to decrease the level of African-American voters.

Mississippi was one of the last states to outlaw their poll tax of $2.00 in 1966, which would equal $15.44 in 2013.

It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that African-American’s (including women) were granted protections over their right to vote.

For Black History month this year, lets continue to reflect on how far we have come as a country and community, thanks to those who have made the sacrifices. In addition, we can reflect on how the present issues of voter suppression are rooted in past practices of deliberate exclusion. tion efforts aimed at registering more voters and reengaging voters that didn’t vote in the last cycle. Of course, the latter will depend on who’s running. Though he hasn’t officially thrown his hat into the race, Joe Biden (the person most believe would carry Obama’s legacy and is sure to get the former president’s full support) had consistently led the pack of potential Democratic nominees in the polls until Harris’ announcement last month.

Beto O’Rourke, who proved to be a magnet for money and celebrity endorsements, is someone that is sure infuse excitement into the race should he run, though the 46-year old three-term congressman also has yet to announce whether or not he will run. And just recently, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker declared his candidacy for president.

Californians will have more say in the process with the move of its primary from June to March–coinciding with Super Tuesday. It is a move sure to prompt candidates to compete more aggressively for votes here in the Golden State.

According to Ridley-Thomas, that will mean addressing a black electorate that has become extremely sophisticated.

“AAVREP did three polls of the statewide black electorate. Our big takeaway was voter sophistication and voter cohesion around liberation policy and candidates that speak to liberation policy –healthcare, homelessness, quality public schools and criminal justice reform.

More importantly black voters are not playing with people who can’t speak to their issues or who they don’t believe can deliver.

“More candidates are using the language of faith and the black church is critical because African Americans go to church. That is where get information and insight from they develop a perspective they will execute on election day.”

AAVREP– who undertook a massive WokeVote18 Voter Registration Drive last year–hopes to double the black vote in 2020.

“There has consistently been a black undervote in California,” Ridley-Thomas reports. “Those who do vote, vote often, but there are many who don’t vote. Doubling the black vote would transform the attention we got at City Hall, at the state house and even at the White House.”

California Expands Measures to Insure —and Expand Voters’ Rights Allegations of voter fraud and suppression gained national attention in the mid-terms spiked by bitter fought campaigns in Georgia and Florida. States across the nation have beefed up their efforts to crack down on voter fraud. Despite a California Department of Motor Vehicles voter program— intended to expand access to voting— has been plagued by missteps, registering thousands of voters by mistake, some of whom may not even be eligible to vote, and the uncovering of an election fraud scheme involving the use of cigarettes and dollar bills to in return for their signatures on petitions and voter registration forms, California’s irregularities were— according to the Secretary of State Alex Padilla—a fraction of 1 percent of the state’s voting population.

The data shows there is no evidence of any widespread voter fraud or illegitimacy in California's voting process, according to Paul Mitchell, the vice president of Political Data, Inc. "We in California can have a lot of trust in our registration

and election system," Mitchell said.

In stark contrast to states that adopted laws creating additional obstacles for voters when, in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key protections in the Voting Rights Act, California is among the states that have made registering to vote easy and inclusive. Not only can voting be done online but if your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, it can arrive up to three days late and still count and beginning this year, you won’t even need a stamp. What’s more, with what is known as “conditional voting,” voters who miss the deadline to register can request conditional ballots in the 14-day period leading up to and including election day.

Legislators also introduced pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, expanded the languages in which voting material is available, made it more difficult for people to be removed from the polls and allowed anybody to turn in a mail ballot if it is signed by the voter.

MoneyMatters

On the Money

Making Headway In The Billion Dollar Fashion Industry rom hair to style, reggae to hip hop, Superfly to Black Panther, Diana Ross to Beyonce, African Americans have long influenced American fashion and culture, the impact of which has exploded onto runways and into retail stores.

“The most visible impact is a freedom of expression that derives from the current political and social climate,” states Love designer fashion Collins. “Black designers aren't clinching their creativity to maintain trends that are dictated by editors and European fashion houses. Instead stories and artwork such as the Birth of Oshun are showing up in resort collections on slip dresses.

In streetwear, logo tees have shifted to overt messaging like "Ghetto until proven fashionable" by AVNU. I think black designers are feeling limitless and finding their unique audience along the way.”

This month, Collins returns to the Pan African Film Fest Institute for her second year as moderator to present a fashion focused discussion, titled “The Open Door: Black Creative’s in The Fashion Industry on the presence of emerging and professional black creative’s within the fashion industry.

“Black Designers, such as Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton, Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, and even the overdue collaboration of Harlem’s Dapper Dan with Gucci, are receiving promotions within luxury brands as head designers”, Collins notes. “But designers who have their eyes and talents focused on competing in this market continue to hit a glass ceiling due to a lack of funding and interests from investors.

“It is another form of appropriation’, says Collins.

“We still make up a large buying margin of these brands and the response isn’t investing in the creators instead its hire them. I believe in both avenues, but if our community shifted its dollars and street promotion toward black owned fashion companies we in turn create the demand ourselves. There is still work to do even though we’ve come a long way. Black designers will receive recognition, red carpet placement, editorial exposure and collaborations, but we are still looked over when it comes to awards and funding.”

Collins, while designing since the age of fourteen, began her fashion journey as a dresser for the Congressional Black Caucus Fashion Show while attending Howard University. By her sophomore year she was hired to coordinate the Spring Black Arts Festival Fashion Show. After moving to New York and

F

attending FIT, she became visual merchandising manBrooklyn. Once leaving the retail ager and trainer arena, Love expanded her fashion experience working for and with notable companies such as New York Fashion Week, Cotton Inc, Teen People, and more. Her work as a designer and stylists have been featured in Essence Magazine, Ceremony magazine, Vogue.com, Glamour, E! Fashion Police, NY Daily News, and more. Collins even served as Style Editor for LA Focus and worked with the High Tea during her return to California.

The custom designer with a 20-year career in fashion recently re-entered the retail space as curator for CJ2w/Love, a contemporary division geared toward a 20 something to 40+ style muse. “CJ2 is the second generation of CJ’s Elegance.” The legendary brand owned and operated by Carol Shaw is now entering its 50th year in business featuring globally sourced apparel, accessories, gift and home goods.

“I am so proud of my Aunt Carol, so proud to watch her seamlessly work this industry, so proud to stand on the shoulders of what she and her mother Orlean Debuclet have built and mastered.”

CJ’s Elegance and CJ2w/Love are the premier shopping destinations for the Windsor Hills — View Park and surrounding communities. Reasonably priced, CJ2wLove houses apparel, accessories, unique finds, exclusive ready —to- wear and one of kind pieces designed by Love. Entering its second year, Collins is looking forward to hosting events and collaborating with artisans and emerging brands.

“I’m hoping that through sharing our unique stories and individual paths the audience will see a common thread of passion, raw talent, and how hard work opens doors. I hope to inspire young artists to pursue and explore every inch of their creative interests–to believe that if they already own the gift the land is waiting for them to possess it. Black creatives in this billion--dollar industry are the exception, but the door is open and their gifts are the necessity of forward movement in this arena.”

“The Open Door: Black Creative’s in The Fashion Industry will take place Sunday, February 17.

Panelists include stylists, retailers, and industry players. Visit PAFF.org for more information on the free panel. Find out more about Love Collins by visiting https://www.lovecollins.com. You can also follow her at @ilovecollins or visit the store Cj2w/Love @cj2wlove 323.299.1141 4446 W. Slauson Ave, LA 90043.

Superbowl Paydays With the 2019 Super Bowl pitting the February 3 against the Los Angeles Rams against the New England Patriots in Atlanta, all of the attention is shifted to the players and what they stand to gain or lose. But the truth is, there are really no losers when it comes down to the huge payday an event like the Superbowl generates. Win or lose, every player in the Super Bowl still gets paid.

Fact is, while players on the winning team take home a minimum of $118,000, their opponents don’t go home emptyhanded, receiving $59,000 each for their efforts.

In addition to receiving a ring and the title of champion, certain players who have negotiated for post-season incentives in their contracts, can make more than their peers for the Super Bowl. NFL team owners are willing to dish out more funds for talent they believe will be vital in leading their teams to winning the championship.

But playing in the game isn’t the only way players get paid.

The biggest night in sports brings in revenue for players, coaches and host cities. These host cities, however, have to pay a considerable fee to host the Super Bowl.

NFL players going to the Super Bowl are allotted 15 tickets and just two of them are free. Back in 2016, they paid around $1800 for the tickets, which many turn around and sell to ticket brokers for a profit, though the practice is officially banned.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are listed at $2,733-$3,650 on ticket sites, but can go as high as $15,000, while renting out a private suite for yourself and up to 30 of your friends can set you back upwards of half a million bucks!

Last year, NFL television views were down but the league still received an estimated $8.16 billion in revenue. This means that each of the 32 teams received about $255 million.

The Super Bowl is also expected to generate $190 million in spending throughout the Atlanta metro area.

Of course, the city of Atlanta had to pay for the privilege, shelling out $46 million in their bid to host the game.

Next stop? Miami in 2020.

Biz News Briefs

February 2019

Cathy Hughes To Be Inducted Into Broadcasters’s Hall of Fame

Cathy Hughes, the founder and chair of Urban One, Inc, is set to be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Hall of Fame. The induction will occur during the Achievement in Broadcasting Dinner on April 8 in Las Vegas.

Hughes grew Urban One, formerly known as Radio One, into the largest African-American owned, diversified media corporation in the nation. The company is an urban market leader with 59 broadcast stations across the country. As such, Hughes became the first woman to own a radio station that was ranked number one in a major market.

Urban One, Inc. also owns TV One, a television network serving more than 60 million households, and maintains controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc. (blackamericaweb.com), which provides several syndicated pro-

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grams, including the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.” The company also provides social content, news, information and entertainment through its digital platform, iOne Digital, with popular websites including “Cassius” and “Bossip.” Urban One maximizes its reach to more than 80 percent of the African-American market by offering crossplatform marketing opportunities with its marketing firm, One Solution.

Bennett College Makes Headway in Fight To Keep Accreditation Bennett College is $1 million closer to reaching its goal of $5 million by the first week in February to save one of just two the nation’s all female historic black colleges thanks to two $500k donations from The Papa John’s Foundation and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. At press, Bennett College had raised upwards of $2.7 million in donations.

In early January, Empire star Jussie Smollett and his brother Jake joined the fight to save the school. The Smollett brothers took to social media to share a picture of themselves in matching #StandWithBennett shirts, to help spread awareness and encourage those who can donate to the cause.

“In the 1930s we had 121 #HBCUs now we’re at 101,” Jussie captioned their photo. “Don’t let us be down to 100 if #BennettCollege, who has made the education of black women a priority since 1926, closes its doors.”

VISA Launches Initiative to Support Female Entrepreneurship As part of its commitment to support female entrepreneurs, Visa has launched the She’s Next global initiative to encourage women small business owners as they build and advance their businesses. The global rate of female entrepreneurship has been increasing more quickly than that of male entrepreneurs,1 with more than 163 million women around the world starting a business since 2014 and black women among the fastest growing segment.

“Starting and growing a business can be both incredibly rewarding and daunting. That is why Visa is committed to empowering women business owners through a year-long program of education, cutting-edge digital payment technology and a powerful peer network,” said Suzan Kereere, global head of merchant sales, Visa. “There is never enough time or resources, but when we work together to support each other, amazing things can happen.”

She’s Next, will be supported by the Female Founder Collective — a network of businesses led by women, supporting women — that launched in 2018 and quickly grew to over 3,000 members. From streamlining payment methods to linking women small business owners with like-minded peers and experts, the collaboration will provide unmatched resources and opportunities for female entrepreneurs.

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RedCarpet Style

KIKI LAYNE looked like a princess in this pale pink Dior ballgown.

THANDIE NEWTON rocked this silver Michael Kors formal.

The stars sizzled on the red carpet at last month’s Golden Globe awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Here are some of the looks that got our attention.

REGINA KING dazzled in this strapless Alberta Ferretti stunner.

JANELLE MONAE struck a pose in Chanel for the Golden Globes.

LUPITA NYONG’O shimmered in this blue gown from Calvin Klein.

Eye On Gospel A Stellar Gospel Year Nominees for the 34th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards were announced last month and leading the pack was Jonathan McReynolds whose nine nominations included Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and CD of the Year stemming from his 2018 CD, “Make Room”. Make Room debuted at #1 on Billboard Gospel and was streamed 1.3 million times the week of its release. The album spawned his first-ever Billboard #1 song, “Not Lucky, I’m Loved,” which is the Stellar-nominated “Best Song” and fan-favorite “Cycles” which is Grammy-nominated for “Best Gospel Performance / Song.”

“This time around,” Jonathan explains, “I felt like I owed it to my team, the songs, and the Kingdom to give Make Room all I had. It feels so good to have our hard work recognized on the highest level."

Maranda Curtis, whose album “Open Heaven” debuted at number one on the Billboard gospel charts and has amassed more than 13 million streams, garnered seven nominations, including of Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year, CD of the Year, Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year.

Curtis posted just one word to her twitter account–“Humbled.”

Todd Dulaney earned six nominations for “Your Great Name” (Entertainment One) for Artist of the Year, CD of the

Year, Producer of the Year, Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary CD of the Year, and Praise & Worship CD of the Year. Following close behind was Jekalyn Carr with five nominations.

Other multiple nominees included Koryn Hawthorne, Kelontae Gavin, BLishop Noel Jones & City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir, and Jarrell Smalls and Company solidified their staying power in gospel music, representing contemporary and traditional gospel, with four nominations each, The four nods Gavin earned capped off what was a huge breakthrough year for the 19-year old artist whose radio smash, “No Ordinary Worship,” which spent 48 weeks on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart and accumulated over 10 million streams. L.A.’s own Bishop Noel Jones’ The City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir’s sophomore album, Run to the Altar also earned four nods. Tammi Haddon, who solos on the title song, was recognized for her work with a Traditional Female Vocalist nomination.

Also among the nominees was Snoop Dogg, who scored three nominations for CD of the Year, Contemporary CD of the Year, and Special Event CD of the Year with his hit CD “Bible of Love”.

Kirk Franklin has signed on to host the two-hour long TV special that will be taoed at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, March 29, 2019.

A partial list of nominees is as follows: Artist of the Year: Jekalyn Carr, One Nation Under God; Jonathan McReynolds, Make Room; Maranda Curtis, Open Heaven; Todd Dulaney, Your Great Name Song of the Year: Nobody Like You Lord, Maranda Curtis & Anthony Rachel; Not Lucky, I'm Loved , Jonathan McReynolds, Terrell Demetrius Wilson & Anna B. Warner; Won't He Do It, Makeba Riddick, Richard Shelton & Loren Hill; You Know My Name (Live), Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Brenton Brown Male Vocalist of The Year: Brian Courtney Wilson; Jonathan McReynolds; Kelontae Gavin; Tye Tribbett; Female Vocalist of The Year: Jekalyn Carr; Koryn Hawthornee; Maranda Curtis; Tasha Page-Lockhart; Tori Kelly Duo/Chorus Group: Donald Lawrence & Tri-City; Isaiah D. Thomas and Elements of Praise; Judah Band; The

Walls Group New Artist: Cheryl Thomas Fortune; Jabari Johnson; Phil Thompson; PJ Morgan CD of the Year: Bible of Love, Snoop Dogg; Make Room, Jonathan McReynolds; Open Heaven, Maranda Curtis Your Great Name, Todd Dulaney Choir of The Year: Bishop Noel Jones/City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir; Dexter Walker & Zion Movement; Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis Contemporary Male Vocalist: Jonathan McReynolds; Kelontae Gavin; Todd Dulaney; Tye Tribbett Traditional Male Vocalist: Earnest Pugh; Jarrell Smalls; Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson; VaShawn Mitchell Contemporary Female Vocalist: Benita Jones; Koryn Hawthorne; Tasha Page-Lockhart; Tori Kelly Traditional Female Vocalist: Jekalyn Carr; Maranda Curtis; Shana Wilson-Williams; Bishop Noel Jones/City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir Contemporary CD: Bible of Love, Snoop Dogg; Make Room, Jonathan McReynolds; The Higher Experience, Kelontae Gavin; Your Great Name, Todd Dulaney Traditional CD: A New Season, Jarrell Smalls & Co; One Nation Under God, Jekalyn Carr; Run to the Altar, Bishop Noel Jones & City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir The River, Keion D. Henderson Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year Forever, Jason Nelson; Never Alone ft. Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly; Not Lucky, I'm Loved, Jonathan McReynolds; Reckless Love, Israel Houghton, Traditional Choir: Bishop Noel Jones & City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir; Demetrius West & Jesus Promoters; Dexter Walker & Zion Movement; The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir Contemporary Choir: New Direction; Brent Jones & the Waco Community Choir; Dr. Alyn E. Waller Presents Fresh Anointing; Vincent Tharpe and Kenosis Quartet of The Year: Gospel Legends; Jarrell Smalls & Company; Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson; The Wardlaw Brothers Praise & Worship CD: The Higher Experience, Kelontae Gavin; Your Great Name, Todd Dulaney; Open Heaven, Maranda Curtis: Everlasting, Shana Wilson-Williams

Calendar of events

Ongoing Exhibits: Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963 Coined the “Los Angeles Freedom Rally,” it was one of the largest civil rights rallies in the country featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Through March 3, 2019) Also: California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848 - 1865 (Through January 21, 2019) Free Admission (Parking = $12) California African American Museum 600 State Drive Contact: (213) 744-7432 http://caamuseum.org

Sat., February 2 L.A. Cookie Con Free.samples, celebrity chefs, baking demonstrations, and classes or workshops at the biggest baking and pastry convention on the West Coast (Thru February 3) 9am — 5pm • $12 — 90 Anaheim Convention

Center 800 W. Katella Avenue lacookiecon.com

Tuesday, February 5 Lights Out: Nat King Cole Starring Dule´ Hill (An imaginary meeting between Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr.) (Through March 17) $30 - $120 • Visit online for showtimes Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Contact: (310) 208-5454 www.geffenplayhouse.org “Refuel Revival” with Bishop Rudolph McKissick & Dr. Bernard Mitchell; Hosted by Pastor Johnteris Tate (Thru Wednesday, Feb. 6) Noon/7PM • Free Mt. Moriah Baptist Ch 4269 S. Figueroa Street Contact: (323) 846-1950 www.mtmoriahbaptistchurchla.com On Stage: Ragtime: The Musical (Through March 3, 2019) Check online for showtimes/prices Pasadena Playhouse 39 S. El Molino Avenue Pasadena

L.A. Focus/February 2019

Halle Berry turned up the heat on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month

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olden e 76th G ttends th daughterIsan a a lb E Idris ow with re wards sh Sabrina Dhow Globe A ce n a fi d n a a Elb

Taraji P. du,James Lopez, (L-R) Erykah Ba and Will an km Adam Shan Henson, Director “What of g in een scr LA e Packer attend th t” Men Wan

Tickets: (626) 356-7529 pasadenaplayhouse.org Fibroids Update New Treatment options 1PM — 2:30PM • Free Oasis Baldwin Hills 4005 Crenshaw Blvd Must sign up on website Contact: (800) 516-5323 connect.uclahealth.org

Wed., February 6 On Stage: The Mountaintop A theatrical exploration of What MLK has meant to American history (Through March 10) Call for showtimes/prices Info: (818) 955-8101 Garrymarshall theatre.org

and workshops, music, comedy, spoken word and an artfest with over 100 established and emerging fine artists and craftspeople.Check online for prices/schedule Baldwin Crenshaw Plaza 3650 W. King Blvd Contact: (310) 337-4737 Opening Night Screening: Amazing Grace 6PM Red Carpet • 7:30 showing Director’s Guild 7920 Sunset Blvd www.paff.org

Friday, February 8 Travis Scott — Astroworld: Wish You Were Here Tour

7:30PM • $59 - $179 The Forum 3900 W. Manchester Blvd Info: (310) 330-7300 www.fabulousforum.com Race Relay: A Multimedia Production about Race Relations An interactive theatrical production that explores race today, presented over the course of three days (Through Sunday, Feb 10) Free (Parking = $12) Check website for times California African American Museum 600 State Drive Contact: (213) 744-7432 caamuseum.org

Thursday, February 7 The Pan-African American Film & Art Festival (Thru Monday, Feb. 18) America’s largest black film festival with 150+ new films from over 40 countries. Also features panels

EVENT SPOTLIGHT West Angeles CDC 25th Annual Unity Awards Dinner Gala Honoring Debbie Allen, Norm Nixon and Related California CEO Bill Witte Hosted by Bishop Charles Blake 6-9PM • $300 Intercontinental Hotel 900 Wilshire Blvd Info: (323) 751-3440 www.westangelescdc.org

Harlem G lobeTrott er Chris “A Hyche am nimal’ Dodgers M d 2019 Grand Ma rshal anager D a v e Roberts a Annual K t3 ingdom D ay breakfa 4th st

Tyler Perry on the red carpet at the 76th Golden Globe Awards

The cast of Black Panther wins Outstanding Performance by a cast in a Motion Picture durning the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ca. (L-R) Sterling K Brown, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, Michael B. Jordan, and Andy Serkis

Saturday, February 9 Building Strong Marriages Conference Hosted by Pastor Larry and First Lady Patricia Weaver 8AM — 4PM; $30 -$60 Atherton Baptist Church 2627 West 116th Street Hawthorne www.athertonbc.org An Evening of Comedy hosted by Ajai Sanders Featuring Jackie Fabulous and Kente Scott 8PM • $20 Nate Holden Performing Arts Center 4718 W. Washington Blvd Info: (323) 964-9768 www.ebonyrep.org

Sunday, February 10 15th Annual Pastoral Appreciation of E.V. Hill II Guest speakers include Pastors R.A. Williams andJohnterris Tate 11am • Free (Also Feb. 17, Feb. 24) Annual Musical–March 3 Mt. Zion MBC 1300 East 50th Street Contact: (323) 235-2103

Tuesday, February 12 Book Signing: DeVon Franklin (The Truth About Men: What Men and Women Need to Know) 7PM • Free Barnes & Noble 189 The Grove Drive Info: (323) 525-0270 www.barnesandnoble.com

Thursday, February 14 In Concert: Tank $58 - $99 • 9PM The Saban 8440 Wilshire Blvd Info: (888) 645-5006 www.sabantheatre.com Ja Rule & Ashanti Valentine’s Day Special 8PM • $34.50 - $45+ The Novo 800 W. Olympic Blvd Info: (213) 765-7000 www.thenovodtla.com

Saturday, February 16 Valentines Super Love Jam Featuring The Whispers, The Delfonics, Heatwave, GQ, The Moments, Peaches & Herb, The Masqueraders, Dorothy Moore and Barbara Lyn

Honda Center 7:30PM • $35- $85 2695 E. Katella Anaheim www.hondacenter.com William Grant Still & The Harlem Renaissance: Symphony No. 1 (Through Sunday Feb 17) Sat: 8PM; Sun 2PM Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Avenue Contact: (213) 972-7211 www.laphil.com

Sunday, February 17 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour 2PM • $25 - $275 Staples Center 1111 S. Figueroa Street Contact: (213) 742-7340 www.staplescenter.com

Wednesday, February 20 In Concert: Lauren Daigle 7:30PM • Check website for tickets The Novo 800 W. Olympic Blvd Info: (213) 765-7000 www.thenovodtla.com

Decision Makers Breakfast Honoring Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Gloria Gray, Monique Earl 8AM — 10AM • Millenium Biltmore Hotel 506 South Grand Avenue Contact: (310) 815-8444 info@upgradeLA.com

nic food, hip hop/ break dancers, Mardi Gras second line dancers and storytellers.

9am–5pm • $17.95-$29.95 100 Aquarium Way Long Beach Info: (562) 590-3100 aquariumofthepacific.org

Friday, February 22

African Dance Competition 13 dance finalists compete in traditional and contemporary African dance for $6000 in cash prizes in traditional and contemporary African dance 4-9pm • $15 — 150 California African American Museum 600 State Drive Free (Parking = $12) Info: (310) 676-7300 www.africandancela.com

Tiffany Haddish: #SheReady Tour 8pm • $50 - $150 Microsoft Theater 777 Chick Hearn Court Tickets: (213) 763-6020 www.microsofttheater.com Honoring George E. Hurtt for 10 Years of Ministry 7PM • $75+ Doubletree Hotel 6161 W. Centinela Avenue Culver City Info: (323) 291-1121 Sinai.church

Saturday, February 23 Aquarium of the Pacific 16th Annual African American Festival (Through Sunday, Feb 24) Featuring live entertain ment, arts and crafts, eth

Sunday, February 24 59th Annual Concert of Negro Spirituals Presented by Holman United Methodist Church 4PM — 7PM • Call for ticket pricing 3320 West Adams Blvd Contact: (323) 731-7285 www.holmanumc.com

around los angeles Thursday, February 21

Upgrade LA Meet The

Yara Shahidi smiles for the camera at the Screen Actors Guild Awards

her fiance Kelvin Taraji P. Henson and for the camera Hayden strike a pose the Hollywood on r while receiving a sta 28,2019 n Ja on me Fa of Walk

Discussion: Leveraging Influence: Black Celebrity and Activism With KRS-one and history curator Tyree Boyd-Pates 7-9PM • Free Admission (Parking = $12) California African American Museum 600 State Drive Contact: (213) 744-7432 caamuseum.org

Saturday, March 2 Funk N’ LA: Morris Day & the Time, Cameo, Zapp, SOS Band, The Bar-Kays 8pm • $44 - $230 Microsoft Theater 777 Chick Hearn Court Tickets: (213) 763-6020 www.microsofttheater.com

Sunday, March 3 In Concert: Toni Braxton With Special Guest “Babyface”& SWV 8pm • $59.50 - $125 Microsoft Theater 777 Chick Hearn Court Tickets: (213) 763-6020 www.microsofttheater.com

Taraji P. Henson enjoys a laugh with her mother and grandmo ther as she accepts her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

d wife Ryan Sterling K Brown an dashing coua de ma e Michelle Bath tors Guild ple at the Screen Ac Awards

Tuesday, February 26

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INSIDE HO L LY W OOD with Neily Dickerson Hey LaaaYdieees, if you want to know WHAT MEN WANT, go see Taraji P. Henson’s, new movie, with the same name. Here’s what happens, Taraji plays, Ali Davis, a sports agent surrounded by a boys club that does its best to shut her out, and preventing her from climbing the executive ladder.

Frustrated, because she knows she has what it takes to handle top athletes, she is looked over for a promotion. One night while hanging out with her friends, Olivia, played by Wendi McLendon - Covey, suggests she go see a psychic named, Sister, played masterfully by Erykah Badu.

Sister whips up a special potion that Ali takes and later gains the special power to hear men’s thoughts. After realizing what has happened, Ali

begins to use her powers to her advantage, to not only climb the professional ladder, but to break the ceiling. After handling things in the work place she begins to use her powers to handle a romantic matter and my, oh my, does she come out on top. Taraji’s love interest in the movie is, Aldis Hodge, Noah from “Underground,” and he’s

DUE IN THEATERS THIS MONTH

HOLLYWOOD BUZZ

Miss Bala February 1

What Men Want February 8

Black Panther To Return to Theaters Free To Moviegoers For One Week

If you didn’t see Black Panther, now’s your chance to see the mega-hit that became a cultural phenomenon and the highest grossing film of the U.S. in 2018–all free of charge. In honor of Black History Month, Disney is releasing the mega film hit, Black Panther for a oneweek engagement at 250 AMC Theater locations around the country. The film will run from February 1 through February 7, with two showings per day at each theater courtesy of Disney, which is also presenting the United Negro College Fund with a $1.5 billion grant.

“Black Panther is groundbreaking for many reasons, including the rich diversity of voices behind its success,” said Disney chairman/CEO Bob Iger. “The story also showcases the power of knowledge to change the world for the better, and the importance of ensuring everyone has access to it.”

Theaters taking part in the L.A. a r e a include Century City 15, A M C Covina 17, AMC Norwalk 20, AMC Galleria at South

gotten even finer y’all. The movie is filled with cameos from some of the NBA’s top stars - Lisa Leslie, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, and Mark Cuban.

Tracy Morgan is humorous as always, and Richard Roundtree is slowly but surely becoming my favorite on-screen Dad. Other stand out performances are given by, Pete Davidson, Tamala Jones, Max Greenfield, Phoebe Robinson, Jason Jones, Brian Bosworth, and the best ever is, Josh Brener.

“What Men Want” is destined for the #1 movie slot, and I say we make it happen for Taraji and everyone involved. The story is great, funny, dramatic, romantic, and everything in Hometown: Olivette, Missouri between. Go see “What Men Want” two Big Break: “This Is Us” or three times. You’ll enjoy it!

Current Films: “Black Panther” Upcoming Projects: “Frozen 2” “The Angry Birds Movie 2”

Q&A

Sterling K. Brown

The Lego Movie 2 February 8

Bay, AMC Del Amo 18 and AMC Universal City Walk.

War of Words: Terry Crews and D.L. Hughley Face Off On Twitter Terry Crews was not pleased with comments D.L. Hughley made about him in an interview with respect to his #MeToo story of being groped at a party by a talent agent that questioned his response to the incident, stating that he found it difficult to believe someone with all those muscles couldn’t tell an agent to not touch his a—.

“Are you implying I ‘wanted’ to be sexually assaulted?,” Crews tweeted.

Hughley responded, “You saw the video!” To which Crews replied, “Sir you said I should have pushed him back or restrained him and I DID ALL THOSE THINGS… but you act like I didn’t.” Hughley then went on to suggest that the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor should have been more forceful, “That’s different than slapping the s— t outa him.”

Crews’ retorted, “If you feel that is a correct way to deal with toxic behavior…should I slap the s—t out of you?”

“That’s different than slapping the s— t outa him,” Hughes responded.

Crews went on to tell Hughley that he’d lost a fan, adding “You are an example of when comedy turns to sarcasm and cynicism and you find it extremely easy to get jokes at someone else expense. You mock my success, but all I ever did was support you.”

Family Matters Seems as if things have turned ugly between Tisha CampbellMartin and her estranged actor husband, Duane Martin, who are in the throes of a bitter divorce battle. Campbell-Martin is claim-

Fighting With My Family February 15

ing that Martin has been abusive and that as recently as last month flew into a violent rage leading her to file for a restraining order against the 53year old actor who must now keep his distance from her…And members of one very famous family are still furious over the recent screening of Leaving Neverland at the Sundance Film Festival. In a statement the Jackson family, called the film–a four-hour documentary profiling two men who say they were molested by Michael Jackson– a public lynching.

“We are furious that the media, who without a shred of proof or single piece of physical evidence, chose to believe the word of two admitted liars over the word of hundreds of families and friends around the world who spent time with Michael, many at Neverland, and experienced his legendary kindness and global generosity,” the statement read. “We are proud of what Michael Jackson stands for.

The creators of this film were not interested in the truth… The truth is on our side. Go do your research about these opportunists. Michael Jackson was and always will be 100% innocent of these false allegations.

Briefly: Vanessa Williams may be headed back to TV, signing on for a lead role in Happy Accident, a singlecamera family comedy pilot from ABC about two Pittsburgh families forced together after a decades-old secret is revealed… The Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah and RZA are set to produce a suspense horror thriller, titled Angel of Dust. The film–to be directed by RZA–was inspired by some of the true–and often bizarre and tragic– stories that happened around the hood to members of the iconic rap group when they were growing up in the Staten Island projects.

Sterling Brown gave up on his business degree and decided to dedicate his life to his acting craft after his freshman year at Stanford University. Brown performed in theater in New York, and later Los Angeles where he moved to get into acting for the small screen.

He appeared in a string of T.V. shows including “ER”, “NYPD Blue”, “JAG”, “Boston Legal”, “Alias”, and “Without A Trace”, before getting more extended roles on shows such as “Supernatural”, “Person of Interest”, and “Army Wives”. Brown gained public recognition playing Christopher Darden in the mini-series “The People v.

O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” where he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He also became the first African American actor to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Drama and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his part in the television series “This Is Us”.

“This Is Us” has been a heartwarming hit thus far, what have you taken from your character Randall Pearson?

What I like about Randall is I feel as if he’s always giving 100 percent. I strive to be the kind of person who always gives 100%. I think sometimes when I’m sloughing off, it could fall down to about 89.2 percent or something like that, but I love his desire to give, his desire to make his family first and foremost.

Were you always striving for an Emmy win or were you pretty content along the way?

I think I was really content. I didn’t know if an Emmy was ever necessarily in the cards because it’s not for most actors. It’s a cool club [to be in].

What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?

A teacher of mine in grad school said, “Be very careful about how you use your time, it’s the one thing you can never get back.” I find that invaluable. When you’re an actor there are a lot of people who are trying to have your time and innocuously so– like not even in a malicious sort of way. Sometimes you’re like, “I need to memorize lines, or I need to think about where this character is in this particular time.” So every once in a while, you have to politely excuse yourself so you can go do your work and then come back and be a gracious human being.

Was there a moment when you first “caught the acting bug”, as they say?

I discovered that I love being on stage in high school.

My first play was Godspell–I was a member of the ensemble. One night in particular, people were standing up and applauding. My buddy and I got up onstage and bowed, and we’re like, “We gotta keep doing this sh*t.” It was the first time I’d experienced a high outside of athletics. I was a basketball player, football player, but this high was so pure–you get bit, and you just keep chasing that.

Who is your biggest fan?

My mom. She’s been my rock through it all. She’s come to every play, she goes to every movie opening, and she’s a fairly harsh critic.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

17

Game Changers:

KEITH DELAWDER Staff Writer

^ãÉêáÅ~∞ë=i~êÖÉëí=_ä~Åâ=cáäã=cÉëíáî~ä=áë=dêçìåÇ=wÉêç=Ñçê=ré=C=`çãáåÖ=cáäãã~âÉêë tories of black culture from across the globe will be alive and on display right here in Los Angeles at the 27th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF), February 7th through the 18th at the Cinemark Rave 15 Theater at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.

“For twelve days you won’t need a plane ticket to travel around the world,” says Ayuko Babu, the festival’s CEO and CoFounder. “We have 170 brand new black films from all across the planet, as well as 75 fine artists, painters, clothes designers, and jewelers on display right here in your backyard.”

Babu, who is an international, cultural, political and legal consultant specializing in Pan African affairs, started PAFF in 1992 with fellow Co-Founders and Hollywood veterans Ja’Net DuBois (Good Times) and Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Proud Mary) with the goal of creating a showcase for a broad spectrum of black creative works, and particularly those that reinforce positive images and help destroy negative stereotypes.

“It is absolutely crucial in this historical moment that we know and understand our stories,” says Babu. “Because if you don’t know your story, you’ll start following somebody else’s story.

“Twenty-seven years ago, we made the political, cultural and intellectual decision to get involved in film festivals as it became clear that a platform to showcase black films was needed. The Pan African Film Festival is a way of showing distributors the stories that matter to people of color.”

Over the years PAFF has been a critical

S

institution for up and coming black artists to show their independent works to audiences while attracting distributors that can potentially further their film’s reach.

Past festival contributors include now industry stars such as Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Ryan Coogler, Berry Jenkins, Taraji P. Henson, and Ava Duvernay-- with films such as “Think Like A Man”, “Love & Basketball”, and “Black Panther” getting their start at PAFF screenings.

This year’s opening night feature is “Amazing Grace”, the documentary film that gives audiences a behind the scene look at the making of the late Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s classic gospel double album of the same name. The album would go on to be Franklin’s most beloved and successful works, becoming the topselling gospel album of all time. The footage of this historic performance, directed by the late Sydney Pollack, had been shelved by its distributors due to technical problems and conflicts over rights, remaining unreleased for decades.. until now!

“It’s such a blessing to open the festival this year with “Amazing Grace”,” expressed Co- Founder Danny Glover.

“Aretha Franklin is a rare treasure. To be graced with this film is an honor and a testament to the perseverance and long standing prominence of the festival’s impact.”

“We want every spiritual ministry and church to consider coming down and seeing one of the all-time greatest gospel films that's ever been done,” says Babu of “Amazing Grace”. “It's a spiritual, cultural and intellectual experience-- something

that you will not ever forget.”

Along with “Amazing Grace” Babu is excited for other standout films in the PAFF lineup this year including the Nigerian drama “Dry”; “Have You Heard From Johannesburg”, the story of Oliver Tambo who was one of the heroes of the South African liberation movement; and “Inglewood Morning Session”, which chronicalizes the journey of the ‘94-’95 Inglewood High men’s basketball team which produced NBA Champion and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.

Babu, who grew up and Cheyenne, Wyoming and later received a Law degree from California State University of Los Angeles, says he never imagined himself working in the film industry growing up because back then he “didn’t have any sense of black folks working in the film industry”, but took inspiration from important black films of the time such as “A Raisin In The Sun” and “Black Orpheus”.

He did however have the vision and understanding that he would be participating and working towards improving the conditions of black folks, and helping black folks to understand how the film industry works.

While Babu is proud of all that PAFF has accomplished, he recognizes that it would hardly be possible without the loyal support of public leaders such as Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson.

“Herb really understands what we are doing and has made a commitment to do everything he can to make sure that the festival is always there,” says Babu. “He’s been a tremendous support.. we need a

100 more H e r b Wessons!”

As PAFF CEO, Babu is doing his part to ensure to young black children have access to black films and their creators so they can see filmmaking as a possibility for themselves. That is why for the last two decades PAFF has worked closely with Los Angeles schools to bring over 6,000 students to the festival through a program they call StudentFest.

StudentFest offers a free showcase of films that introduce youth to conscious and creative filmmaking and their as well as content that deals with issues important to youth, such as teen pregnancy, AIDS prevention, literacy, cultural and racial respect, teen self-esteem and gang prevention.

“What we try to do,” explains Babu is to get these young people to interact with the artists themselves so they understand these art forms-- these films, clothes designs, jewelry, etc.-- are part of our culture that’ve been around for many generations, and are still going strong in the 21st century.”

Through the Storm

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KEITH DELAWDER Staff Writer

“Heart Attack Gives Veteran Pastor New Lease On Life”

Every forty seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack with sudden cardiac arrest killing about 1,000 people a day, –that’s one person every 90 seconds.

On March 3, 2018, Lovely Haynes, senior pastor of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church almost became one of them. While the lead up to a heart attack can have many different symptoms, the day started as a very routine one for Haynes who had taken part in a full slate of Sunday church activities and preaching, when at around six in the evening, he was struck with tremendous headache pains.

“It got so severe that the paramedics had to come and they took me to the hospital. At some point in time, the heart attack took place,” recounts the 77 year-old Haynes.

He was barely conscious upon his arrival to the hospital.

“I really don’t remember having the heart attack it to be honest,” says Haynes. “All I know is that my son told me he was holding me in the hospital and I was fighting for my life.”

Haynes survived the initial incident, spending a day and a half at Gardena Memorial Hospital before being transferred to have seven stents surgically inserted in his heart in order to permanently prop open his arteries and allow blood to flow to the heart.

Ironically enough, this was when things got really dangerous.

“During the surgery to put the stents in my heart, I was told I flatlined,”says Haynes.

Pastor Haynes heart had an irregular rhythm which caused his heart to suddenly stop altogether, in what is known as a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Those who have recently had a heart attack are at a higher risk to have a SCA which are deadly in up to 95% of cases.

Fortunately for Pastor Haynes, he was already in the care of surgeons who used a defibrillator to restart his heart beat.

“When I woke up, I asked them, ‘Did a bomb go off?’,” Haynes went on. “They said, ‘A bomb?’, I said ‘Yeah, I heard a bomb go off!

“It really wasn’t a bomb, but they had put that thing on my chest, and I had felt my body going up and down,” said Haynes of getting hit with the electric shock of the defibrillator.

“I was told a day later that I had nearly died! It’s amazing that I’m still here,” says Haynes.

Before leaving the hospital, the veteran pastor would also have need to have a pacemaker surgically inserted in his heart. The small metal device now monitors and regulates his heart rate and stimulate the heart with tiny electric charges should it stop or hit an irregular beat.

Since his heart episode, Haynes has had to make lifestyle adjustments including getting regular exercise and cutting out high risk foods from his diet to boost his overall health and decrease his chances of another event.

“My whole diet has changed tremendously,” says Haynes. “I eat more fruits and vegetables, low sodium

STORM WATCH

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America in amongst nearly every ethnic group (including African Americans, at 23.8% of all deaths) and men and women alike with 1 in every four deaths attributed to heart disease, totaling about 610,000 annually. February is American Heart Month-- a time to focus on improving our heart health and actively spreading awareness to the fight against heart disease.

Here are some things to remember: •A heart attack occurs when an artery—which leads oxygenrich blood to a section of the heart—becomes blocked due to a buildup of plaque (from cholesterol, fat and other substances).

•Interrupted blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle.

•The survival rate is around 90%.

•Symptoms include: chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats, nausea, lightheadedness, or discomfort in areas such as the arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach •Immediate medical attention is required.

While the majority of heart attacks are not fatal, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is fatal most (95%) of the time, as it must be treated within minutes. SCA is triggered when the heart has an irregular beat suddenly and without warning, stops completely-- no longer pumping blood to the major organs.

•Symptoms include chest discomfort, loss of consciousness, shortness of breath and no pulse.

•Having a heart attack increases the chances of having SCA by 10%.

• One is at higher risk for SCA 30 days following heart attack and during recovery. foods, salads-- I have no problem with that, I love Margarine is gone. No alcohol, but I was never much of a drinker. You can eat meat but only once and a while-you’ve got to restrict yourself to that. Man, do I love steak, but all that is out!

“Besides that I’m at the gym trying to keep my weight down and strengthen my heart.”

After resting and recouping to gain his strength back, Haynes began physical therapy sessions to regain the strength in his heart.

“I’m paying attention to my body more, I’ve taken too much for granted in the past-- working long hours a day,

and stress factors. I’ve had to learn to manage them better. Now I do cardio therapy workouts at the gym up to four times a week,” says Haynes.

Having a near death experience has also had a great impact on his outlook on life.

“I have a new birthday-- March 3rd, 2018,” says Haynes with a smile. “I value life more. I enjoy life and I’m more committed. I thought I was really committed and dedicated to ministry, but I’m more committed now as it relates to teaching and sharing and just loving -- genuinely appreciating people.

“I’ve had the support of the church and all the people have been amazing as far as my recovery, and the openness as it relates to my condition,” says Pastor Haynes who says he began preaching again two to three months after the incident.

“I tell people, ‘don’t be sorry for me! I’m grateful!’ It’s nothing for me to really brag about because if it had not been for the Lord, and the skilled professional people with the CPR team, doctors and nurses, I wouldn’t be here today!’

The experience has inspired Haynes to put more a spotlight on the overall health of the church and its surrounding community, with the South L.A. church how hosting periodic health fairs where members and neighborhood residents can get screened to see if they are at risk of heart disease.

“One man who came in found out he had an artery that was 90% clogged and was on the verge of a heart attack,” says Haynes. “He was very fortunate they caught it in time.”

If there is one thing Pastor Haynes cannot stress enough to anyone listening it is to have their heart checked, adding “If you feel pain, don’t become your own doctor. Over the counter medications can be helpful, but you can be doing more harm than good.”

“I’m just grateful to be alive,” stresses the pastor.

“The little things mean so much more to me now.”

jáäÉëíçåÉë Harris leads the Bay Area Research Consortium on Toxic Stress and Health, a partnership between CYW and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, to advance scientific screening and treatment of toxic stress.

She serves as a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ National Advisory Board for Screening and on a committee for the National Academy of Medicine. She is an expert advisor on the Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force, a former member of the Boys and Men of Color Trauma Advisory Committee and a former appointee by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom to the San Francisco Citizens' Committee for Community Development.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie– who serves as the 117th elected and consecrat-

ed bishop of the Methodist African (AME) Episcopal Church–will be an honoree at Black Enterprise’s Women of Power Legacy Awards on February 28 in Las Vegas…Now in its 14th year, the Women of Power Summit features influential speakers and one-onone keynote sessions with top executives– many of whom are women of color themselves. In addition, the Summit offers more than 20 hours of lifestyle, leadership, and professional development workshops with countless opportunities to network with like-minded peers. Other honorees and speakers include Valerie Jarrett, Alice Walker, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams and Chaka Khan.

Bishop T.D. Jakes (TDJ Enterprises) is teaming with Black Enterprise in a partnership between the black-owned two media and event companies, to present its inaugural SOAR! Empowerment Series of events, which will kick off in Atlanta on April 6, 2019.

Inspired by The New York Times bestselling book SOAR! Build Your Vision From The Ground Up by T. D. Jakes, SOAR, a one-day liftoff event series, is the perfect opportunity for those focused on maximizing their earning power, gaining optimal health, and spiritual well-being while creating multi-generational wealth.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

Gavin Governor Newsom named Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as California’s firstever Surgeon General last month.

A pediatrician, entrepreneur and nonprofit CEO, Harris has dedicated her professional career to understanding the link between adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress in children, and the effect both have on future health outcomes.

Harris is also the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) — a national leader in the effort to advance pediatric medicine, raise public awareness, and transform the way society responds to children exposed to adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress.

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ChurchNews K.W. Tulloss Elected President of the Baptist Minister’s Conference y overwhelming vote, Rev. K. W. Tulloss, senior pastor of the Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church and L.A. Chapter president of the National Action Network, has been elected president of the Baptist Minister’s Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California. Tulloss, who had served as a vice president of the group, edged out Pastors Marvis Davis and Donald Robinson for the post in an election that took place on February 14.

“This is a huge day for the Baptist denomination in Los Angeles and I hope to assemble a cabinet of clergy who are ready to get to work,” Tulloss stated. “There are so many pressing issues in our city…in our community and we have to do what we can to prepare our constituents in areas where we’re lacking. It’s time for the church to go beyond the four walls and this vote today sends a clear message that we’re ready to take our place as clergy on the front lines when it comes to the many issues affecting our community, while partnering with organizations and elected officials to bring about much needed change.”

Tulloss takes the post as the group has been challenged by declining membership and internal restructuring.

“We all run into challenges and issues,” Tulloss noted. “I believe God has appointed me for such a time as this and I stepped away from the National Action Network to focus on this endeavor. That’s how important it was, so it’s my responsibility to get us to come together–to give us a reason to come together, to put the work in and let people know that the church is relevant and is reaching millennials.”

At 41, the L.A. native who has long been active on the frontlines of the city as a community activist, is among the youngest pastors to lead the conference.

“I’m going to bring in many of our young pastors to serve,” he continued. “We want to make sure that we get and keep people engaged. Of course, we want to embrace our history of leaders and preserve that legacy because they set the blueprint. All I have to do is follow it. The reality is that through our actions and a communityminded agenda–I believe we can get our clergy and community back on track. There is a need for organizations like the BMC and we do plan on showing the world how important it is.”

Tulloss’ official installation is set to take place on February 18 at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.

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Bishop Clarence E. McClendon Celebrates First Service in New Location Bishop Clarence E. McClendon has begun a new chapter of his ministry with his first service at The Place Of Grace Cosmopolitan Center in Inglewood, CA to full house of congregants last month.

The 14,930-square foot state-of-the-art facility located at 2541 West Manchester Blvd (near Crenshaw) seats over 1,000 and had formerly been the home of St. Paul Baptist Church under the leadership of Joe Ward.

Faithful Central Bible Church Offers Support to Furloughed Members

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

In the wake of the longest government shutdown in history, Faithful Central Bible Church offered both spiritual and tangible support to congregants–who are furloughed government employees– facing immediate hardship during its Martin Luther King Jr observance service.

“As a family, when one suffers, we all do,” said Bishop Ulmer. “In this time of uncertainty, it’s important for us to do whatever we can to encourage others.

The ripple effects of the shutdown extend far beyond the nearly one million federal employees impacted.

Until government officials sort out a solution, the faith community must let families know they are not alone during this season. We call upon other faith communities to assist according to their means and never underestimate the power of corporate prayer.”

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Agape Church of Los Angeles Worship Center Consolidated Plaza: 3725 Don Felipe Drive, 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 Bethany Baptist Church of West LA 4115 W. Martin L. King Jr. Bl • LA 90008 (323) 296-7223

Grant AME Church 10435 S. Central Avenue • Los Angeles, CA 90002 (323) 564-1151 • F: (323) 564-5027 Rev. Dr. J. Arthur Rumph, Senior Pastor Reappointed to Grant AME Church Los Angeles Rev. Dr. James A. Rumph

Sunday School: 8am Worship: 9:30am Wed. Bible Study: 11:30am •6pm Grace Temple Baptist Church 7017 South Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90047 (323) 971-8192

Dr. L.A. Kessee, Senior Pastor Sunday Worship: 8am •11:00am Sunday School: 9:45am Communion, First Sundays 6:00pm Prayer Service: 10:00am

Sunday L.I.F.E Group: 8:30am Sunday Worship Service: 9:30am Wednesday Intercessory Prayer: 6:30pm Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00pm

www.bethanywla.com

E-Mail: gtbcla@gmail.com

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of South L.A. 10905 S. Compton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (323) 566.5286 Pastor Reginald A. Pope Sunday School: 9:30am Morning Worship: 8am • 11am Children’s Church: 11am (2nd/4th Sundays) Evangelism Training/Bible Study/Independent Prayer: (Mon): 7:29pm Mobile Prayer/Bible Study: (Wed) 11am Book by Book Bible Study (Wed.): 6:30pm 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

Christ The Good Shepherd Episcopal Church 3303 W. Vernon Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90008 (323) 295-4139 • F: (323) 295-4681 Rev. Joseph Oloimooja Sunday School: 10:00am Early Worship: 8:00am Morning Worship: 10:00am Mon. Centering Prayer/Meditation: 6:30pm Mon. Overeaters Anonymous: 7:00pm Wed. Bible Study & Eucharist: 7:00pm Wed. Alcoholic Anonymous: 7:00pm E: cgshepherd4041@sbcglobal.net

Grace United Methodist Church 4112 West Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043 (323) 294-6653 • F: (323) 294-8753 • graceumc1@earthlink.net Rev. Dr. Cedrick Bridgeforth, Pastor • www.graceumcla.com Early Morning Worship: 7:45am Sunday School (all ages) : 9:45am Morning Worship: 10:45am Tues. Mobile Prayer: 6:15am Wed. Bible Study: Noon Follow us on Facebook 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 Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr., Senior Pastor Sunday School: 9:30am(Youth) & 9:45(Adult) Sunday Worship: 8am and 11am Morning Worship: 11:00am Bible Study (Thurs.): Noon Sun. Radio: KJLH 102.3FM: 11:00am

Gather, Grow,Go and Live The Gospel of Jesus Christ!

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 Sun. Early Worship: 8:00am Prayer Meeting: 10:30am Morning Worship: 11:00am Wed. Afternoon Bible Study: 1:00pm Wed. Prayer Meeting: 6:00pm Wed. Evening Bible Study: 7:00pm View Pastor McKnight’s Sermons on YouTube

The Sanctuary Church of Refuge 888 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90037 (323)519-2341 • Sanctuarycor@gmail.com Pastor Markees Williams

Crenshaw Christian Center 7901 South Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 758-3777 • F: (323)565-4231 • www.faithdome.org Apostle Price, Founder

Mount Moriah Baptist Church of Los Angeles, Inc. 4269 South Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90037 (323) 846-1950 •Fax: (323) 846-1964 Reverend Johnteris Tate-Pastor

Sunday Service: 9:45am Bible Study (Tue): 11:00am & 7:00pm Tue. Night Children’s Ministry: 7:00pm Tue. Night Bible Study (Teens): 7:00pm Alcohol & Drug Abuse Program (Wed): 7:00pm

First AME Church (FAME) 2270 South Harvard Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323) 735-1251 • F: (323) 735-3353 • www.famechurch.org Pastor J. Edgar Boyd, Senior Pastor/CEO Sunday School: 10:00am Worship: 8:00am, 10:00am, Noon Teen Church (2nd Sundays):Noon,Allen House Wed. Prayer Service: Noon Wed. Bible Study: 7:00pm Radio: 10:30am on KJLH-102.3FM First AME is the oldest Black Church in the City

Sunday School: 9:30am(Youth) & 9:45(Adult) Sunday Worship: 8am and 11am Morning Worship: 11:00am Bible Study (Thurs.): Noon Sun. Radio: KJLH 102.3FM: 11:00am

Gather, Grow,Go and Live The Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Sunday Church School: 8:00am Worship Service: 9:15am Baptist Training Union: 7:00am Tues. Bible Study/Prayer:Noon & 7:00pm

Mt. Sinai 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: 8:00am, 10:00am Noonday Prayer (Mon): 12pm Tuesday Night in the Truth: 7:15pm Noonday Bible Study(Wed): 12:00pm Radio: KKLA 99.5 FM (Sat): 9:00pm Please call for our Sunday School & Discipleship Schedule Our Goal:To glorify God by winning more Christians and developing better Christians. (Matt. 28:18-20)

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1300 E. 50th Street Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 235-2103 • F: (323) 235-3177 • www.mtzionla.org Dr. Edward V. Hill, II, Pastor Sunday Intercessory Prayer: 9:15am Morning Worship: 9:30am Children’s Church: 9:30am Sunday School: 11:30am Baptism: 2nd Sun. & Lord’s Supper: 1st. Sun. Tues. Pastor’s Bible Study: 6:30pm Wed. Noon-day Prayer: Noon

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

New Antioch Church of God in Christ 7826 So. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 778-7965 Elder Jeffrey M. Lewis

People’s Independent Church of Christ 5856 West Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90043 • (323) 296-5776

Sunday Early Morning Worship: 8:00am Sunday School: 9:30 am Morning Worship: 11:00am Tuesday Prayer and Bible Band: 11:00am Wednesday Bible Study: 7:30pm Wednesday in the Word: 7:30pm

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

Sundays: Morning Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Wednesday Bible Study & Mid Week Worship: Noon & 7:00pm Prayer Meeting: 6:30pm

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

St. Matthew Tabernacle of Praise “The S.T.O.P.” 1740 West 59th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90047 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 56608, Los Angeles, CA 90056 (323) 291-1115 • F: (323) 293-0471 Rev. C.Barry Greene, Pastor Sunday Worship Service: 8:00am PrayerLine: (Tuesday & Wednesday): 6:00am WordLine (Tuesday): 7:00pm ( (712) 775-7031 Access Code: 814352108) E: thechurchstop@yahoo.com pastorcbgreene@aol.com

CHURCHES CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARIES AND REVIVALS OR OPPORTUNITIES

SHOWCASE YOUR CHURCH ANNIVERSARY OR REVIVAL HERE

You’re Invited

St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church 5017 Compton Ave, L.A, CA 90011 Dr. Lovely Haynes, Pastor February 10: The California State University Super Sunday —11AM Loretha Battle, Director

with our

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER of just $199

For information, call 310.677.6011 One Church International 614 N. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 (818) 763-4521 • www.onechurchla.org Sr. Pastor Toure’ Roberts Sunday Worship: 9:00am, 11:00am & 1:00pm Wednesday Midweek Service: 8pm www.Channel1Live.tv–View live streaming

Paradise Baptist Church 5100 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90037 (323) 231-4366 Dr. Aaron Iverson Pastor’s Bible Class & Sunday School: 8am Morning Worship: 9:30am Tues. Prayer: 7:00pm Tues. Bible Study: 8:00pm

www.pleasanthillbaptistchurch.org

March 17:Annual Church Revival begininng Sunday, 11AM and March 18-20, 7PM Speakers: Dr. J.W. Brown and Rev. Roderick Walker For Information, call (323) 231-2040 Praises of Zion Baptist Church (“Praise City”) 8222 So. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90003 (323) 750-1033 • F: (323) 750-6458 Dr. J. Benjamin Hardwick, Sr. Pastor Early Morning Worship: 6:45am Educational Hour: 9:15am Mid-Morning Worship: 10:45am Wed. Bible Study: Noon & 7:00pm Sunday Morning Broadcast: 5:30am Live Streaming Sundays: 12:00pm http://www.pozlive.com

Price Chapel AME Church 4000 W. Slauson Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90043 (323) 296-2406 • pricechapel@sbcglobal.net Rev. Benjamin Hollins Sunday Worship Service: 10:00am Sunday School: 8:30am Power Lunch Bible Study (Wed): 11:00am Praise & Worship Bible Study (Wed): 6:30pm

Southern Saint Paul Church 4678 West Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016 (323) 731-2703 • smbc@smbcla.org Rev. Xavier L. Thompson, Senior Pastor/Teacher Corporate Prayer: 8:30am L.I.F.E. Groups: 9:45am Morning Worship Service: 11:15am Baptism & Communion (First Sunday): 4:00pm Pastoral Bible Study (PBS)Wednesdays:7:00pm North Campus: Worship Service: 8:00am 11137 Herrick Av • Pacoima 91331 (818) 899-8031 st.paul@smbcla.org •“Loving People Making Disciples”

For young people’s choir ST.ANDREWS MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 1794 W. 36TH PLACE LOS ANGELES, CA 90018 BISHOP ALEX TOUSSAINT, PASTOR Must be able to play piano and organ and direct

Contact: (323) 735-0201 For additional information

Trinity Baptist Church 2040 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323) 735-0044 • F: (323) 735-0219 Rev. Alvin Tunstill, Jr Sunday Worship: 7:30 & 10:30am Sunday Church School: 9:00am Radio Broadcast KJLH FM: 9:00am Wed. Prayer & Bible Study: Noon-7:00pm www.trinitybaptistchurchofla.org

Walking In The Spirit Ministries Double Tree (Sonoma Grill) 13111 Sycamore Drive, Norwalk CA 90650 (213) 248-6343 P.O Box 1597 Norwalk CA,90651 Tim & Leshia Brooks Morning Worship: 11:00am Services Held Every 2nd & 4th Sunday and Free Breakfast Is Served Bible Study: 8:30am (Every 5th Friday)

Victory Baptist Church 4802 South McKinley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90056 (323) 231-2424• Pastor Dr. W. Edward Jenkins Sunday School: 10:45 am Morning Worship: 9:00am Bible Study Wednesday:Noon Radio Sundays: KPRO 1570AM: 9:00pm

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church 2009 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90062 (323) 293-6448 • F: (323) 293-6605 Dr. Sylvester Washington Sunday School: 8:00am Morning Worship: 10:00am Tues. Bible Study: 11:00am Wed. Evangelism Class: 6:30pm First Sun. Holy Communion Service: 4:00pm

February 10: Black History Calendar Tea 3:30PM, Terrell Smith, Chairperson March 16: 20th Annual Women’s Fellowship 8AM Ann Woodmore, Director

MINISTER OF MUSIC

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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 “We have not walked this way before” Joshua 3:1-6

West Angeles Church of God In Christ 3045 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016 (323) 733-8300 Bishop Charles E. Blake Sunday School: 8:00am & 10:30am Early Worship: 8:00am Morning Worship: 11:00am Evening Worship (North Campus): 7:00pm Wed. Mid-Week Worship: 7:00pm Sun. Radio Broadcast KJLH 102.3FM: 10am www.westa.tv

Lifeline Fellowship Christian Center In Altadena 2556 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, CA 91001 (626) 797-3585 • F: (626) 797-3233 • www.lifelinefcc.org Pastor Charles D. Dorsey Sunday School: 9:00am Early Worship (Glory Prayer): 8:00am Morning Worship: 10:30am Evening Worship (1st & 2nd Sun.): 5:00pm Wed. Bible Study: 7:00pm

Peace Apostolic Church 21224 Figueroa Street, Carson, CA 90745 (310) 212-5673 Suff. Bishop Howard A. Swancy

In Carson

Sunday School: 10:00am Morning Worship: 11:45am Evening Worship: 6:30pm Wed. Noon Day Bible Class: 12:30pm Wed. Bible Class: 7:30pm

Greater Zion Church Family 2408 N. Wilmington Avenue, Compton, CA 90222 (310) 639-5535 • (Tues - Thurs 10am -4pm) Dr. Michael J. Fisher, Senior Pastor Sunday Worship: 8:00am|10:45am| 5:00pm Wednesday Bible Study: 12pm|7:00pm FB: GreaterZion IG: GZCFamily www.gzcf.us

Resurrection Church L.A. In Altadena 1135 East Janis St., Carson, CA 90746 Office Address: 1143 East Janis St., Carson, CA 90746 (310) 626-4864 •www.resurrectionchurchla.org Pastor Joseph Carlos Robinson Worship Services: 8:00am & 10:00am Bible Study Tuesdays: 7:30pm

Love and Unity Christian Fellowship 1840 S. Wilmington Ave, P.O. Box 5449, Compton 90220 (310) 604-5900 Fax: (310) 604-5915 Dr. Ron C Hill

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)

The City of Refuge 14527 S. San Pedro Street, Gardena, CA 90248 (310) 516-1433 Bishop Noel Jones

Sunday School: 9:00am Morning Service: 10:45am Wed. Mid-Week Bible Study: 7:00pm

Sunday Morning Worship: 8:00am & 11:30am Sunday Evening Worship: 6:30pm Bible Studies: Wed. 7:30pm & Sat. 9am Food for Your Soul Radio & Television Ministry: beblessedwebradio: Mon - Fri. 6:30am Church Channel: Tues. 5:30pm & Fri. 2:30pm

In Gardena

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

Pastor Profile: Markees Williams Church: The Sanctuary Church of Refuge How Long at Church: Nine months Hometown: Los Angeles Family: Wife Ashley, one daughter Education: Bethany Bible College

First off, congratulations on your album – It’s In Your Praise –that is getting a lot of radio play. That said, do you consider yourself more a singer or a preacher and which came first?

A preacher who sings and actually, my artistry came first. The music kind of opened the door for the preaching.

I would be on stage singing and out of nowhere would come what my wife calls ‘the switch”. She says that when I’m performing, I start prophesying to people in the audience. Coming off the stage and ministering directly to the people God places in my heart to minister to.

I’d been wrestling with pastoring and ministering for years and I finally sat down with my Bishop–Horace Allen– and he said you’re not going to be able to run too much longer from this pastoral calling on you. You naturally have people who want to follow you not because of your musical gift but because they believe in the word you have on the inside of you.

So you were raised in the church?

Yes, at Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church under Pastor William Brent, who was my godfather.

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

Why were you running?

Afraid. I didn’t think I was going to be successful in it and started listening and believing other pastors who were telling me you’re crazy for thinking about opening up a church in this market and in this season. Ain’t nobody going to follow you. And God kind of told me either you’re going to listen to me or you’re going to listen to them. So I finally said forget fear because fear sometimes can stop us from getting the blessings and miracles that we really need.

Fear aside, it is difficult to start a church in L.A… Yes, because in L.A. there’s a church on every corner.

If they come to worship with you, count it a blessing because they could have stopped at the church down the street from their house or around the corner. We’ve been open just nine months and in that time, we’ve taken in 60 people so God has been good.

We started in a rec room on 70th and Figueroa on April 8, 2018. At the first service we had over 100 people come. Two weeks later I was driving down Western and saw a building for rent. I called the owner and he

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said you can have this building for X amount of dollars and I said, I’m really in the one next door, is it available?

He said yes and I asked if I could see it and when I did, I said this is where God wants me to be.

My trustees–who were with me– said pastor are you crazy. This isn’t going to work. I said, ‘Listen, this is all a faith move. If we’ve got to have folding chairs and I’m on the floor with a little mic system, we’re going to do what we’ve got to do by faith.’

Two weeks after we launched in that rec center, we were in our own building because I stepped out on faith and said God, I trust you. That’s how the church has been growing and what we’re standing on. Our motto is it’s a church focused on relationship and not religion. Religion has driven so many people away from church to the point where people are hungry in this new season for a pure relationship with the Lord where they can go to church and not be worried about who’s going to judge them based on what they know about them, but instead love them through it because God’s loving them through it too.

How are most people finding out about your church and is your record helping?

I think the record is helping. When people who hear it or who’ve heard me sing before ask well, when is your church going to open. Or they come by word of mouth or Facebook. At church I try to separate the preacher from the artist, which is sometimes hard because of those times when you’ve got to lead praise and worship and you’ve got to be the choir. People tell me I don’t care how great you preach the gift sometimes has still got to be used.

The response has been great here in L.A. –is it mostly regional?

The response I’m getting is that people have been waiting on some new material to follow up the single, “Yes, He Did It”, which was released last year. People had kept asking when is the album coming out and I would say it’s coming. We were just waiting for the right time and we felt it was time now in this season to release this powerful praise and worship, spirit-filled album. Now, everyone is saying how incredible the project is and want to know what’s next. KJLH is giving the project a lot of love. Growing up on all their stages in L.A., everything has come full circle.

Do people come to church expecting you to sing?

Yes. Sometimes people look at

my wife or pass notes and say can he sing this song. “Yes, He Did It” is everyone’s favorite song right now so they ask if I’m going to sing it today or when are you going to do a concert. They come in expecting me to sing.

Is it difficult balancing the preaching with the singing?

By the grace of God my Sundays are still my Sundays.

I don’t know for how long. But trying to balance out a musical career and pastoral duties, I’m a little nervous because I don’t want to be too absent from my people.

Who specifically are you trying to reach?

Everybody says they want the unchurched but they’re not doing the work to get them. I want people who have been through the church hurt, the ridicule, the scandals– the people that people are telling on to let them know that there’s still hope no matter what. I don’t believe we’re supposed to be beat up from the pulpit. I want people to come into my church knowing that no matter what they’ve done or how far they’ve fallen, that God is a God of love and forgiveness. So right now, we’re focused on soul winning.

What is your vision?

I have three mottos I’m teaching my church: “upward, inward and outward”. Inward you have to deal with self-examination and growth. Upward is that once you’ve dealt with yourself, you can get into a good personal relationship with God. Then you can serve outwardly.

The Liberty Church 14725 S. Gramercy Place, Gardena, CA 90249 (310) 715-8400 Pastor David W. Cross Early Worship: 8:30am Morning Worship: 9am & 11am Children’s Church: Both Services Word Power Wed.: 7-8pm www.thelibertychurch.com

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

Victory Institutional Baptist Church 4712 West El Segundo Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250 (310) 263-7073 • www.vibconline.com Pastor Richard Williams, III Sunday Morning Worship: 9:00am Sunday Evening Worship: 6:00pm Wed. Mid-Week Worship: 7:00pm Bible Study Tuesday: Noon & 7:00pm

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 Leap of Faith Community Baptist Church 3502 W. Imperial Hwy, Inglewood, CA 90303 (310) 695-9925 Rev. Artis Glass Sunday School: 9:30am Sunday Worship: 11:00am Bible Study: Wednesdays Noon and 6PM

New Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church 434 S. Grevillea, Inglewood CA 90301 (310) 673-6250 Office • (310) 673-2153 Rev. Dr. Phillip A. Lewis, D. D., D. Th., Senior Pastor Early Worship: 8:00am Sunday School: 9:30am Morning Worship: 11:00am Mid-Week Bible Study (Wednesday): 7:00pm Afternoon Bible Study (Thursday): 1:00pm

First Lady Files

Tori Dyson

Greater Faith Baptist Church Big hats. Sitting in the front row. Wearing white on first Sundays. That’s what Tori Dyson– first lady of Greater Faith Baptist Church–thought of first ladies growing up.

“That’s what I saw most of the time,” recalls the L.A. native who has been married for the past 20 years to Pastor Darnell Dyson. “It just wasn’t that real to me.”

That was the conviction she carried right up until her husband was called to pastor the church.

“He was a minister, but he didn’t start pastoring until way after we were married and I had been apprehensive about dating a minister and turned him down a couple of times,” she recalls of first meeting him in church. “I just didn’t want to be in the spotlight and it’s like a whole other ballgame being married to a pastor.

“I was fine when he was an associate pastor but once he got the church, it was a huge awakening for me. And when I first got to Greater Faith, it was kind of rough. The older women tried to mold me into being something I wasn’t, so I had to let them know, ‘Hey that’s not me.”

“I’m very approachable, but I still don’t like the spotlight,” said the mother of four who has a Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration and has worked with Healthcare Partners Medical Group for the last 14 years.

“I sing in the choir. I head up the women’s ministry and I love being involved with the kids, because in the church I grew up in, people took me by the hand and led me, so I just want to be that for the young people in our church.”

In Inglewood True Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Bible Enrichment Fellowship International 7901 South Van Ness Ave. Inglewood, CA 90305 400 E. Kelso, Inglewood, CA 90301 (323) 750-7304 (310) 330-4700 • www.bamcm.org Rev. James A. Perkins Dr. Beverly “BAM” Crawford Morning Worship: 9:30am Sunday School: 9:30am Tues. Bible Study: 7:30pm Early Worship: 8am Wed. Mid-Week Prayer: Morning Worship: 10:45am 5am, Noon & 7:00pm Bible Adventure Hour (Tues): 6pm Wednesday Pathway: 7:00pm Bible Study (Tues): 7pm Thurs Bible Study: 10:00am Bible Study (Thurs): Noon Sat Marriage & Family Prayer: 7:30am

Family of Faith Christian Center 345 E. Carson Street, Long Beach, CA 90807 (562) 595-1222 • F: (562) 595-1444 Bishop Sherman A. Gordon, E.D. Min

Blessed Family Covenant Church 325 North Hillcrest Blvd, Inglewood, CA, 90301 (310)-674-0303 • F: (310)-674-0303 • blessedfamilycovenant.org

Gospel Memorial Church of God In Christ 1480 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 599-7389 • F: 562-599-5779 • gospelmemorial@aol.com Bishop Joe L. Ealy Sunday School: 9:30am Sunday Worship: 11:00am Evening Worship: 6:30pm Wed. Intercessory Prayer: 7:00pm Wed. Pastoral teaching adults: 7:30pm Wed. Youth Ministry Boot-Camp; Youth Bible Study: 7:00pm & Choir Rehearsal: 7:30pm

Rev. Wendy Howlett Sunday School: 8:30am Morning Worship: 9:30am Wed. Prayer & Bible Study: 7:00pm

Crusade Christian Faith Center 801 S. La Brea Avenue, Inglewood, CA 90301 (310) 330-8535 Bishop Virgil D. Patterson Sr.

Wed. Mid-Week Service: 7:00pm Sunday School: 9:00am Sunday Worship: 10:30am

Christ Our Redeemer AME Church In Irvine 45 Tesla, Irvine, CA 92618 (949) 955-0014 • F:(949) 955-0021 • www.corchurch.org Pastor Mark E. Whitlock, II Sunday Worship: 8:00am, 10:30am New Generation Praise Service: 10:30am Sun. Bible Univ.: 9:30am Tues. Interactive Bible Study: 7:00pm Wed. Pastor's Bible Study: Noon, 7:00pm Thurs. Bible Study: 7:00pm Fri. Singles Bible Study (1st Fri): 7:00pm St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church 1720 N. Walnut Avenue, La Puente, CA 91744 (626) 918-3225 • F: (626) 918-3265 Pastor Tony Dockery

In La Puente

Sunday School: 9:30 AM Early Worship: 8:00 AM Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Spanish Service: 9:30AM Bible Study: Every Wednesday 7:00 PM www.stsbc.org

In Long Beach

Faithful Central Bible Church 321 N. Eucalyptus Ave. Inglewood, CA 90301 (310) 330-8000 • F: (310) 330-8035 Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer, Ph.D. Senior Pastor/Teacher Services at The Tabernacle: Sunday Services: 7:00am, 9:30am & 11:45am Wed. Mid-Week Service: 7:00pm The Tabernacle is located at 321 N. Eucalyptus Ave., Inglewood www.faithfulcentral.com

Antioch Church of Long Beach 1535 Gundry Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 591-8778 • F: (562) 599-6048 Pastor Wayne Chaney Jr.

First Church of God Center of Hope 9550 Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90305 (323) 757-1804 www.go2Hope.com Pastor Geremy L. Dixon

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

Morning Worship: 8:00am & 11:00am Wed. Mid-Week Service: Noon Wed. Teaching Ministry: 7:00pm 1st Sunday Communion 5th Sunday Baptism

Worship Services: 8am, 9:30am, 11:30am Tuesday Youth Bible Study: 7:00pm WednesdayBible Study: Noon

Sunday School: 8:30am Sunday Worship Service: 9:40am Wed. Bible Study: 7:00pm Wed Youth & Young Adult Ministry: 7:00pm

Sunday School: 8:00 am Morning Worship: 9:00 am

Grant AME Church of Long Beach 1129 Alamitos Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 • (562) 437-1567 grantamelb@aol.com • www.grantamelb.org Rev. Michael W. Eagle, Sr. Sun. Worship Experience: 10:45am 3rd Sun. Healing & Annointing: 10:45am Wed. Bible Study: Noon & 6pm Mothers of Murdered Youth & Children Were all receive a little attention, affection and love.

New Philadelphia A.M.E. Church 6380 S. Orange Avenue, Long Beach, Ca 90805 (562)422-9300•F: (562) 422-9400 Pastor Darryl E. Walker, Senior Pastor Worship: 9:00am —1st & 5th Sunday Sunday School/New Member Classes: 8:00am 2nd thru 4th Sunday Worship:7:30 am &10:00am•Sunday School New Member Classes: 9:00am Sunday worship services streamed live on the web Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday Eve 7:00pm Mid-Week Bible Study: Thursday 12:00 noon www.nuphilly.org

Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church 980 Rio Grande Street, Pasadena, CA 91104 *Mailing Address: 1416 N. Mentor Ave. Pasadena, 91104 (626) 794-4875 • F: (626) 794-7815 Pastor W. Harrison Trotter Sunday School: 8:30am Sunday Worship: 10:00am Bible Study Wednesday: 7:00pm Intercessory Prayer (Fourth Wed.): 7:00pm Christians Uniting To Make A Difference -Eph. 4:13

From the Pulpit of: Faithful Cental Bible Church

A New Level For A New Year Exodus 23

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

The setting is at the beginning of the year, and God says, "There ought to be a celebration at the beginning of the year." He will go on to list three feasts or festivals. We would call it three holidays and these three feasts outlined the whole year. So, it is a view of the entire year and He says, "Now at the beginning of the year celebrate."

It sets up a kind of rhythm so that at certain appointed times, He says, you have to do certain things. I had a professor when I was in school at Oxford and the professor said, we are to, listen, order our lives around the rhythms of our relationship with God. Our lives are set in a rhythm. For example, many of us would say I can't put anything on my calendar at 7:30 on a Sunday morning because, for me, I'm in church. You want to find me? I'll be right there at church. I order [or] structure the rhythm of my life around that appointed time.

So God says in this year your relationship with God is to be the priority–a priority reflected in your schedule, in your time, in your values.

There ought to be an appointed time every day that you pray, or that you read the scriptures or that you do devotion, whatever it may be, but you get into a rhythm and some of us know what it's like to get into a rhythm and then fall out of that rhythm. It's hard to get back up in it, isn't it?

So, at the beginning of the year, call it a resolution, call it a recommitment, whatever. He says, listen, at the beginning of the year, make a commitment that God will be your priority. And so, there are certain appointed times I set aside to honor and affirm my relationship with God because He's been so faithful.

In order to do this, He highlights three feasts. The first is the feast of unleavened bread or Passover. The second one is the feast of the in-gathering. (We would call it Pentecost). The last is the Feast of Tabernacles.

So, the first feast is the feast of Passover or Unleavened Bread. It was a specific faithful move of God when the Bible says, and God says, "When he brought you out of Egypt." And so, it commemorates a specific event of deliverance. So, God says, "On a regular basis, remember how I delivered you?"

At the top of the year, remember specific deliverances–faithful moves of God where He moved in your life and you look back on those incidents and affirm if God had not brought you through, you would not have come through. It is a liberation celebration. God says, "Celebrate your deliverance. Celebrate specific circumstances that God moved."

He says, "Look back and don't take it for granted."

And so, He says, "At the top of this year, the top of this year, remember the Passover."

What does that mean?

That because of the blood over the doorpost, the death angel passed over. Some of us can look back at times, days, and seasons where we could have been taken out. That there were a couple of times when the enemy tried to take you out and missed his chance.

Because of grace, he passed over. Because of favor, he passed over. It is also a time of unleavened bread, which speaks of holiness.

And so, it is a call and a challenge to walk and live in holiness.

Then He says, "But remember also the feast of in-gathering."

That's where you look back again. It is also called the Feast o f

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Bishop Kenneth Ulmer

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

First AME Church Santa Monica In Santa Monica 1823 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404 • (310) 450-0331 F: (310) 450-4680 Rev. Reuben W. Ford, Pastor Sunday School: 9:30am Sunday Worship: 11:00am Bible Study/Prayer Meditation: Thursday 6pm “The Church In The Heart Of The Community with The Community at Heart” Email:famecsm@verizon.net Facebook: First AME Church Santa Monica

Second Baptist Church In Monrovia 925 S. Shamrock Avenue • P.O. Box 479, Monrovia, CA 91017 •(626) 358-2136 •F: (626) 303-2477 Bishop W.M. Larue Dillard, Phd. Sunday Worship: 7:45am, 10:45am, 4:45pm Ministry Worship to Children/Youth Sunday: 9:45am - 10:45am Prayer/Academy of Biblical Studies (Wed): 10:45am - 6:45pm www.second-baptistchurch.com Calvary Baptist Church 4911 W. 59th Street,Los Angeles, CA,90056 (323)298-1605•F: (310) 568-8430 • calvarybaptistla.org 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!

Our relationship with God is a relationship of growth. One version puts it like this. It says, "We go from milk to meat."

And so, the idea of giving is likewise a growth process. It is growing step by step.

Tabernacles. Why? Because Tabernacles or booths speak of their journey, because as they wandered in the wilderness, they would camp in booths or tents, and the tents that they pack up.

Every time they stopped, it symbolized the stop or the resting on the journey. So, here's what God says, as we come at the top of this year, remember specific incidences of deliverance, and then remember the journey of the deliverance.

Remembering the journey means that you would remember things that you didn't know about. My grandmom used to say, "He kept us from dangers seen and unseen." So, remembering the tabernacle speaks of those times when we were protected in the tent or booth, and didn't know what was out there.

Sometimes you ought to thank God for what could have happened but didn't happen. And so, you thank God for the journey Thirdly, remember the journey just in general.

Sometimes the best testimony that you can have is I made it. Things may not be the way I wish they were. Thank God it's better than it could have been, but I made it. That's a legitimate testimony.

Then He says as you remember and come before God, let no one come before me empty handed.

As you come into the presence of God, this is a reminder that worship is done in the presence of God. We worship before the face of God, but we worship with our hands.

Worship is demonstrative. One scripture says, "I lift up my hands onto Thee." And so, worship is demonstrative. It is participatory. And God says, now when you come before me, and you remember all that I have done, and you remember the deliverance, you remember the journey, He says, "Let none come before me empty handed."

That's a strong statement.

Watch this. He already said you come at the appointed time after you've been blessed. "You've been blessed before you got here." You've been delivered.

You've already had a harvest, you've already sown seeds. So, God says, it's not that you don't have it, you just didn't bring it.

The offering is the connection between your house and God's house. What does that mean? There is the assumption that your house has been blessed and the bringing of the offering to God's house is the acknowledgment that the blessings of your house came from God's house.

Our relationship with God is a relationship of growth.

One version puts it like this. It says, "We go from milk to

meat." And so, the idea of giving is likewise a growth process. It is growing step by step.

So, the first level is I make it a priority to come with something. Level two is systematic. The tithe is very simple math. The word tithe means, "a-10th portion of."

Listen, tithing is not about money. The principle of the tithe is the principle of priority. Maybe you've never tithed before, but let me tell you something. 10% is the only time that a specific amount of giving is mentioned in scripture.

As a matter of fact, in the New Testament it says don't try God, don't test God. Sixty-six books of the Bible and the only place in scripture where God says, test me is in the area of giving. This might be your year to test God. The third and highest level is giving bountifully. II Corinthians 9:6, a farmer who plants only a few seeds–one version says sparingly–will reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully, will have a bountiful crop. So the Bible says, each of you must decide in your heart how much to give because how much you give is related to how much you'll get back.

And so, God moves from your hand to your heart because it is your heart that says, God says, He accounts it in your heart that you would give it if you had it.

Level one is giving something. Level two is giving systematically. Level three is giving bountiful. My home church back home every Sunday we'd sing the same song at offering time. You can't beat God giving no matter how you try, the more you give, the more He gives to you. But here is the ultimate giving. The ultimate level of giving is yourself.

Constitutional Violations continued from page 6 immediately stop relying on these old validations and give our clients a fair chance to earn release,” said Carol Strickman of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children.

The judge’s decision also focused on how California distorts confidential information, describing one disciplinary case where “the potentially exculpatory part of the [confidential informant’s] account was never disclosed, and instead it appears to have been replaced by an inculpating statement that the [confidential informant] never uttered;” another case where a “prisoner was told that the evidence against him included two confidential sources … however, according to the underlying confidential memorandum, there were not two sources; there was only one, and that person stated that he did not witness the event in question;” and many more, leading the judge to conclude that “time and again, the shield of confidentiality for informants and their confidential accounts is used to effectively deny class members any meaningful opportunity to participate in their disciplinary hearings.”

Lead counsel at the Center for Constitutional Rights, Jules Lobel, explained: “CDCR relies extensively on confidential in-custody informants, even though the California Legislature and experts around the country recognize they are often unreliable. We hope this decision will provide momentum for California and other state prison systems to take steps to ensure that this type of unreliable evidence is not used to send people in prison to solitary confinement.”

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SavingGrace

Angela Lewis

A

L.A. Focus/ February 2019

fter a decade of doing off-Broadway theater, then scoring appearances on T.V. shows such as “The Good Wife” and “Law And Order: Special Victims Unit”, Angela Lewis finally got her big break as a series regular on the FX Network breakout hit Snowfall, which is returning for its third season later this year. Lewis appears effortless playing Aunt Louie on Snowfall-- the crime drama created by John Singleton (Boyz N The Hood, Hustle & Flow) which tells the origins of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the early 80’s.

The role is fresh ground for the multi-talented and artistically adventurous Lewis, which is something she doesn’t shy away from.

“I definitely have never played a drug dealer before,” says Lewis of her hot-tempered and long-suffering character. “I've played women having a hard time in life from urban areas and things like that, but Louie is by far the most hardcore person I've ever played.”

The show has given Lewis, along with the viewing audience, a moment of pause and reflection on how good hearted people can ultimately fall into patterns of addiction, and criminal behavior. Lewis’ time playing Aunt Louie on Snowfall created a compassion in her for people’s unfortunate circumstances, understanding that addiction is something that can happen to anyone, which informed her portrayal of the character.

“It was really a matter of understanding how she got to the place she was in,” says Lewis on becoming Aunt Louie. “And that is from a lot of heartbreak and being told ‘no’. ‘No, you can’t be this. No, you can’t do that. No, no, no,’ and then feeling like you don’t have any other options.”

“When you feel like you need a way out and you don't have any other outlets or resources, then drugs become that for you. Drugs become that way of either escape, opportunity or doing what you need to do.”

And as the opioid epidemic currently rages through America, and a new generation (and different demographic) of people find themselves addicted to narcotics, Snowfall works as an experience where people can reexamine the nature of addiction and how society’s labeling “addicts” has evolved.

“We talk a lot about the fact that crack took over the communities of people of color-- but we didn’t do that to ourselves. Now we can observe the difference in how communities that were addicted to crack were treated versus communities who are now addicted to pharmaceutical drugs and opioids. With crack, it was the ‘War Against Drugs’ but now it’s an ‘epidemic’ and we need to heal.

“Addiction is not mutually exclusive to one kind of person. People on the street get addicted to things just like doctors and lawyers get addicted to things.”

While Snowfall may be a new space for Angela Lewis artistically, the career actress tells L.A. Focus that being uncomfortable and diving into the creative process is not only part of the job she enjoys, but it’s where she thrives.

After graduating from University of Michigan’s theater department, the East Detroit native moved to New York to be on stage-- where she would spend 13 years wading

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You hear people talk about how hard it is to navigate in this industry when you see in on paper. It’s an impossible thing that we’re doing. I just try to show up every day as my best self, knowing that impossible is just a word. into the depths of modern off-Broadway original productions.

“I really felt like I was standing at the brink of American theater there,” says Angela of her time in New York.

“My favorite part of theater is the rehearsal process.

It's the time where everybody's hearts are wide open, and everybody comes to the table to work and explore. From the actors to the director, to even the writers, everybody is trying to find the best way to tell this story.

“In the rehearsal process, you're trying new things.

Nothing is set in stone. Everything is fresh, new, scary and exciting. You're creating this world,” says Lewis.

“Granted, the audience absolutely brings that last element to reenergize the process, because you can only edit so long.”

Lewis worked on original plays by up-andcoming playwrights such as Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Projects), Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) , and Tarell Alvin McCraney who would go on to write the “Best Picture” winning film, Moonlight.

It was working on one of these original productions outside of New York, during a run at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, where Angela met the love of her life, fellow actor Jamal Mallory McCree (Quantico, Homeland).

Upon falling in love with the sunshine and natural beauty of Southern California, the couple made it their plan to move out to Los Angeles after their marriage.

It was a move Lewis describes as “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” and has proven to be prosperous thus far.

“I hear the saying, ‘you are your ancestors’ wildest imaginations,’ and I can really relate,” she says. “You hear people talk about how hard it is to navigate in this industry when you see it on paper. It’s an impossible thing that we’re doing. I just try to show up every day as my best self, knowing

that impossible is just a word.”

In following her dreams, it’s been faith that has anchored her and filled her heart and mind with reassurance.

“About three-quarters into my time in New York, I realized faith is in action word,” Lewis said. “It’s easy to say, but if you don’t believe that everything is going to work out when things aren’t working out, do you really have faith?

“When I learned this, it's not that I stopped having challenges, but my life became so much easier-- the understanding that God has always had me. I am supported by life itself. Life is for me, just like life is for you.

When that became clear, it really helped to make my path easier,” says Lewis who is a regular at Agape International Spiritual Center and takes inspiration from the work of Reverend Michael Beckwith.

“I practice prayer and meditation. There's nothing like taking time to get quiet and to observe the understanding that I am not my thoughts. Everyone has a billion and one thoughts per day-- I might think bad thoughts or sad thoughts or they might even be exciting thoughts, but they do not define me.

“Feeling my connections to all of that there is, is just one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever been exposed to-- and so, I try to be in that space all the time.”

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Mt. Moriah Baptist Church 4269 S. Figueroa Street â&#x20AC;¢ Los Angeles, CA 90037 For More Information, Please call 323.521.3477