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Celebrating BLACK HISTORY

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Los Angeles

Volume 33 Number 16

Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California

Thursday, February 15, 2018

City Council Could Seek Resignation of Anti-Military Teacher

FILE - In this February 1967, file photo, Muhammad Ali gets his gloves laced by trainer Angelo Dundee while training in Houston, Texas, for a title fight against Ernie Terrell. Ali never spent a day in prison for his actions even though he was sentenced to serve five years for draft evasion before the Supreme Court overturned his case on a technicality.

But many black athletes have paid when taking a stand, or a knee, for speaking out for social or political change. Ali lost the heavyweight title and spent three years in forced exile from the ring. (AP Photo)/File)

Ali at the Center of Any Talk of Activism by Black Athletes

By TIM DAHLBERG Associated Press Muhammad Ali knew he didn’t have much time left.

His career was at stake — but more importantly, so was

FILE - In this March 1, 1964, file photo, world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, right, is shown with Black Muslim Leader, Malcolm X, outside the Trans-Lux Newsreel Theater on Broadway at 49th Street in New York City. They had just watched a screening of films on Ali’s title fight with Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Feb. 25. After beating Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in 1964, Ali announced that he converted to Islam and was a follower of the Nation of Islam. (AP Photo/File)

his freedom — as he awaited the day he would formally refuse to be inducted in the armed forces of the United States.

So he embarked on a grand tour to make some money before his fighting days came to an end.

The heavyweight champion fought in a soccer stadium in England, and at an ice rink in Germany. He defended his title twice in the sparkling new Astrodome in Houston, part of a flurry of seven bouts in less than a year.

Revered by many at his death, Ali was equally reviled at that time. Like many black athletes who stand — or take a knee — to speak out for political or social change, he paid a price for his actions.

But he never wavered, despite nearly going bankrupt and drawing the wrath of a good portion of a country that viewed him merely as a draft dodger.

He had announced after beating Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in 1964 that he converted to Islam and was a follower of the Nation of Islam.

“He believed 1 million percent,” said Gene Kilroy, Ali’s longtime business manager. “He never wavered because he believed Allah was on his side. People didn’t believe him, but he believed.”

Today’s black athletes are part of a tradition of the intertwining of race, sports and society in America. From boxer Jack Johnson to Serena Williams, each generation has had to reckon with their era’s racial climate to help move the US forward. (Feb. 1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said it was important for black athletes to stand with Ali, to show he had support within his community.

“That was important because America didn’t think black Americans had any voice whatsoever,” the basketball legend said. “We had no political muscle. No legal means to help the brother. But we let him know that we were behind him and eventually he won his case.”

But Ali lost the heavyweight title and three years of what would have been the prime of his career during his forced exile from the ring.

The 70-year-old Abdul-Jabbar, who has had conversations with Colin Kaepernick , said the former NFL quarterback who sparked league protests by kneeling during the national anthem before games, is paying a similar price.

Ali “sacrificed a lot to take that position,” said Abdul-Jabbar, author of “Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court.” That was a great sacrifice on his part. That was the height of his career in his mid-20s, the heavyweight champion of the world.

“The same thing happened to Colin. Anybody that knows anything about football will tell you that he is a talented athlete and should be on somebody’s team.”

Black athletes have a storied history of being sidelined for speaking out , dating as far back to Jack Johnson in the early 1900s.

“It’s a testament to their commitment, their courage, their intellect, their understanding of the issues, and their potential role in rectifying some of these challenges that you have people like them in those positions who are willing to pay that price,” said Harry Edwards, longtime civil rights activist and a sociology professor emeritus at University of California, Berkeley.

None stand taller than Ali. Ali’s final fight in the ring before taking on the government was at Madison Square Garden, where he punished Zora Folley before stopping him in the seventh round to remain unbeaten.

In this March 22, 1967, file photo, champion Muhammad Ali stands over, Zora Folley during their heavyweight title fight in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

(AP Photo/File) “What’s my name?” he kept asking Folley, who had Continued on page A2

Expanding Voter and Civic Engagement The Board of Supervisors called for expanding a Los Angeles County voter education and registration plan for eligible individuals involved with the criminal justice system.

Authored by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Board Chair Sheila Kuehl, the motion directs the Office of Diversion and Reentry to collaborate with the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, as well as other County departments and community stakeholders, to develop a voter and civic engagement plan over the next three months.

“There are still rampant misconceptions about voter’s rights, accessibility, and the qualifications of individuals with current or previous involvement with the criminal justice system to participate in elections,” Supervisor Ridley-Thomas said. “Voter ineligibility disproportionately affects people of color, especially African-Americans.”

“This motion intends to elevate and expand Los Angeles County’s current efforts to assist the disenfranchised to become more civically engaged,” he added. “Regardless of circumstance, every citizen is worthy of having their say,

and active participation in the democratic process is still the loudest bullhorn.”

The Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy center based in Washington, D.C., estimates that nearly 6 million Americans are ineligible to vote because of laws targeting those with previous criminal convictions.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas and Board Chair Kuehl’s motion centers on improving civic and electoral engagement by expanding on and enhancing the County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s current program, Voting While Incarcerated. The motion would also ensure that youth and adults involved with justice system have access to vital records, such as birth certificates and I.D.’s, to help them reintegrate back into their communities.

“With this motion, we are moving to lessen one of the daunting barriers faced by men and women being released from jail who are trying to get back on their feet and become successful members of society,” Supervisor Kuehl said. “Imagine trying to register for social security or rent an apartment without a personal identification card.”

“I am also very happy that this motion prioritizes the right to vote by those who are eligible but in jail, on probation, or on post-release community supervision,” she added. “This Board wants to strongly urge the participation of every person who is eligible to vote.”

Judge Peter Espinoza, director of the Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR), the entity tasked with leading the effort, said work is already underway to provide vital records to the mentally ill population coming out of the jails. He added, “Expanding access to vital records and educating those eligible to vote is an essential element of the holistic reentry process that ODR provides.”

Susan Burton, founder of the nonprofit A New Way of Life, which has been working since 2008 to register incarcerated voters, said her organization is helping train 75 volunteers to register incarcerated individuals to vote in time for the primary elections. “People who are eligible to vote need information, but they also need meaningful access to the ballot,” she said.

PICO RIVERA, Calif. (AP) _ A Los Angeles-area city council will consider a resolution Tuesday asking for the resignation of a councilman who bashed U.S. military service members while teaching at a high school.

Gregory Salcido is expected to make his first public appearance at the Pico Rivera city council meeting since making the comments Jan. 26.

Salcido has been on leave from El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera after video surfaced of him scolding a 17-year-old student who was wearing a U.S. Marine Corps sweatshirt. Salcido’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.

The student recorded Salcido in a government class urging him not to join the military and referring to service members with a crude term for stupid.

“They’re not like high-level thinkers, they’re not academic people, they’re not intellectual people; they’re the frickin’ lowest of our low,’’ Salcido said on the recording.

“I don’t understand why we let the military guys come over here and recruit you at school. We don’t let pimps come in the school,’’ Salcido added.

The video was posted to social media by a friend of the student’s mother. It went viral and has drawn millions of views, along with outraged comments.

The resolution council members will vote on states that Salcido’s comments “have placed our city under a cloud of dishonor, disparagement, suspicion and criticism,’’ and that “taking such a drastic step is an effort to restore the positive image of our city.’’

Mayor Gustavo Camacho said Pico Rivera “was founded on the principles and values and sacrifices’’ of military service members.

Salcido is currently the city’s longest serving council member. If he refuses to resign, according to the resolution, he will be censured, which will include the formal removal from city committee appointments as well as from any other positions, committees or boards for outside agencies affiliated with the city.

The mayor said he expects a big crowd at the meeting and he’s determined that any member of the public who wants to address the council should have the chance to speak.

“We’ll be there until midnight if we have to,’’ he said. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies will provide security, officials said. Salcido and his family have received threats since the video was posted to Facebook.

Fewer California Immigrant Students Seek College Aid LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A significant decrease has occurred in applications for college financial aid by California students who are in the country illegally after being brought to the U.S. as young children, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

College counselors say the decline reflects increasing distrust of government among immigrant families, as well as uncertainty over the status of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program _ better known as DACA, the newspaper said.

“The headlines about immigration make people feel like they’re really in the spotlight. Kids are more afraid for their families than they are for themselves,’’ said Jane Slater, a teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City who advises a club for students who are in the country without legal permission.

With the March 1 deadline approaching, 19,141 students had applied for aid under the California Dream Act as of Monday, a number that’s just over half of last year’s total.

Available aid for qualifying students includes private scholarships funded through public universities, state administered financial aid, university grants, community college fee waivers and Cal Grants.

This year’s decline follows a dip that occurred last year until state officials launched a campaign and ended up with a total of 36,127 applications. Advocacy this year includes a public service announcement by rapper DJ Khaled.

Yohana Ramirez, an 18-year-old Sequoia High student, was 3 when her family moved to the U.S. from Mexico. She wants to go to the University of California, Merced, and become a surgeon.

“Growing up, I knew I wasn’t born here, but I didn’t know what it means,’’ she told the Times. “I always assumed it was just a different point of origin _ but I didn’t think it would impact me in school.’’

Learning that DACA was in jeopardy scared her, she said.

“I was panicking _ about my family getting deported, with or without me.. I’m still kind of scared,’’ she said. “I’m just trying to keep my head up and keep pushing forward with my dreams, goals and aspirations.’’

An additional factor in the applications decline may be the workload of California’s student counselors.

World & Nation

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LOS ANGELES NEWS OBSERVER

Thursday, February 15, 2018

London Breed and the Black Press News Observer Los Angeles

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Amelia Ashley-Ward, the chair of the NNPA Foundation, says that the Black Press tells the stories that don’t get told anywhere else. (Amelia Ashley-Ward/Sun-Reporter)

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor The irony of a recent San Francisco Board of Supervisors decision to appoint Mark Farrell, a White venture capitalist, as acting mayor, and how it played out, still rubs Amelia Ashley-Ward the wrong way.

The board’s decision resulted in the removal of London Breed from that position, who was the first African American woman to serve in that post.

“Here we are in a city that’s supposed to be so progressive and then you watch about 50 White progressives tell this young, Black woman that they don’t want her, because she’d have too much power and she’d have the advantage of running for mayor; that’s B.S.,” said Ashley-Ward, the new NNPA Foundation chair and publisher and owner of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter. “When did a Black woman raised in public housing get an advantage over anyone?

London Breed isn’t begging for hand-me-downs, but this is another reason that the Black Press will live forever, because of injustices like this and my newspaper will keep this on the front page and we are going to call it like we see and no one else will do that.”

A single mother, Ashley-Ward raised her son, Evan, alone since he was seven years-old.

His father died when Evan was 15, but Ashley-Ward’s relentless push to keep her son from being just another statistic has helped him to become an Emmy Award-winning

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television news writer.

Born in Magnolia, Mississippi, Ashley-Ward and her family moved to San Francisco, where her mother encouraged her to apply for a job at the San Francisco Sun-Reporter; that’s where she met the legendary Dr. Carlton Goodlett, who owned the newspaper.

“At that time, we were about bringing something back to the community and my mother used to always read the Sun-Reporter, so she said told me to go and I went,” Ashley-Ward said.

Goodlett promised her a permanent job once she obtained a college degree.

In 1979, she graduated with a degree in journalism from San Jose State University, where she also studied photojournalism at San Jose State University.

Goodlett hired Ashley-Ward full-time after she graduated.

“I had a flair for writing and I was a photographer, who basically wrote with a camera,” said Ashley-Ward. “I was sort of a two-for-one deal in that I could write and take pictures.”

In just five years and after many achievements and accolades, Ward earned a promotion to the post of managing editor. A decade later, after Goodlett left the newspaper, Ward was promoted to publisher.

Her awards included the 1980 Photojournalism Award from the NNPA; the 1981 NNPA Feature Writing Award; and later, the 1998 NNPA Publisher of the Year.

After taking over as owner and publisher in 1997, Ward received the Woman of the Year award from the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce. In 1998, Ashley-Ward won NNPA Publisher of the Year. In 2004, she received the Alumnus of the Year award from San Jose State University, and was the commencement speaker for the university’s journalism department that same year.

In 2005, Ward was selected as Woman of the Year by California State Senator Carole Migden and, in 2008, she was named one of the 49 Most Influential People in San Francisco by “7x7” magazine.

“My work was also published in magazines like People, Jet and Sepia,” Ashley-Ward said.

Her belief in the Black Press led to ultimately owning the Sun-Reporter, where Ward prioritizes community news of interest.

She also started organizations like the Sun-Reporter Foundation and was founding president of the Young Adult Christian Movement.

Ward served on the boards of the NNPA and the San Francisco branch of the NAACP. That background made for an easy segue into her latest role as chairman of the non-profit NNPA Foundation.

“I took on the job as chair of the NNPA Foundation, because I’m good at event planning and fundraising and, with this being a 501(c3), I see it as a tool, where you can reach out to get the donations that are necessary to keep the foundation running,” Ward said. “I see the NNPA Foundation, as a critical tool in our struggle for Black America. To keep the doors open for up and coming Black journalists, which is one of the main goals of the foundation.”

Ashley-Ward sees the Black Press as vital to African Americans and the NNPA will also be necessary “as long as we have racism and sexism in our country,” she said. “We tell the stories that don’t get told anywhere else. The proud grandmother can always count on us to show that talented grandson who is award-winning athlete or the granddaughter who’s the track star.”

Ashley-Ward continued: “You can read in our papers about who won the school’s essay contest and you won’t get that in the daily papers.”

While newspapers continue to adjust to the Web, Ashley-Ward said it’s important that publishers don’t lose sight of their bread and butter.

“I’m adapting to the Web and I feel that we are still a few years away from being totally profitable with digital,” she said. “But, we must understand that we have an obligation to let our advertisers know that we are newspapers. We print newspapers and we can’t afford to shut down what we’ve been doing that’s kept the business going.”

Finally, Ashley-Ward said she’s most proud of her son, who also values the Black Press.

“My son is 25 and he’s on the computer but he’s not shopping or looking at advertisers,” she said. “I’m blessed, because I’ve been able to get Evan a solid education at Middle Tennessee State University and he now works for a local top market news station, where he’s gotten air time and where he’s part of a team that won an Emmy last year for coverage of the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland.”

Ashley-Ward continued: “I worked hard, even though I had the responsibility of running a newspaper and caring for my employees, I was able to be there for my son and it’s hard raising a Black male in America, who’s targeted by police and crime in the Black community.”

Ali’s Activism

Continued from page A1

refused to call him by his adopted Muslim name.

Folley wasn’t alone. No one knew what to call this heavyweight champion, or for that matter knew what to think about him.

The Associated Press used his birth name, Cassius Clay, in the story that fateful day in April 1967 in Houston. But as he stood with 11 other inductees, the U.S. government called upon Muhammad Ali not once but three times to take a step forward for induction in the U.S. Army.

He didn’t take the step. His religion, Ali said, did not allow him to kill in Vietnam in the name of others.

“I am going to die a Muslim,” he said the day before.

“They don’t think I’m serious. I will show them I am.”

The decision never cost Ali a day in prison, even though he would be sentenced to serve five years for draft evasion. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned his case on a technicality.

In this Jan. 11, 1967, file photo, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali ponders a question during his news conference after his arrival in Houston. (AP Photo/Ed Kolenovsky, File) He didn’t set out to be a game changer. Ali wanted little more than to be the heavyweight champion, and to be free to practice his religion.

“I don’t have to be what you want me to be,” Ali said.

“I can be what I want.”

But with the war raging, the Army needed recruits — and lots of them. Ali had been disqualified for service after failing an intelligence test, but the standards had been changed by the time the government came around to having him take it again — and this time he passed.

Ali was not going to go, something cheered by a small group of protesters in Houston but widely criticized by much of mainstream America. “‘Take my tail and put it in jail,’ he would say,” Kilroy recalled. “We would discuss the Vietnam War and how the rich people in Vietnam went to Paris to live and our guys

went over there and got killed. It wasn’t fair and Ali knew that.”

He spent his time in exile traveling to visit sick kids in hospitals and speak at college campuses. Kilroy was often at his side as Ali tried to make a few bucks with a sometimes confusing message that included his view at the time that the races should be separated.

“I know blacks and whites cannot get along,” he told The Boston Globe. “This is nature. It just gets worse every day.”

He would later be revered for taking a principled stand. Indeed, Ali would have gone to prison for his beliefs, though during much of the three years in exile he seemed just as concerned with making a living as he did with changing society.

Still, he managed to put words together that that perfectly expressed the views of many blacks, who made up a disproportionate percentage of draftees during the war.

They came from the teachings of the Black Muslims, but somehow coming from Ali they seemed less threatening to the nation.

“Why should they ask me, another so-called Negro, to put on a uniform and travel 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied human rights?” he said.

Ali would eventually fight again — and do so magnificently at times. He stopped George Foreman in Zaire, nearly fought to the death with Joe Frazier in Manilla.

But he would never get his three years of exile back, and the many punches he took in his return ended up taking a big toll.

He never stopped advocating for his religion up until the time he died at the age of 74, his voice long since muted by the effects of Parkinson’s.

“He never had one regret,” Kilroy said. “He was convinced that there was a power above us that takes care of everything. And for Muhammad that was good enough.”

Prison Worker Turned Killer Into Her Sex Slave SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) _ A U.S. jury awarded $65,000 to a convicted murderer in California’s San Quentin State Prison after finding a female prison instructor turned him into a “sex slave.”

William Cordoba, who is serving a life sentence for a 1981 second-degree murder and robbery, sued vocational instructor Silvia Pulido because he said she coerced him into trading sex acts after promising to get him a lawyer to help him get out of prison.

After a six-day trial last month in U.S. District Court in Oakland, jurors awarded Cordoba $15,414 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

Cordoba, 57, said the abuse began in 2010 when he became a clerk for Pulido, who taught janitorial skills at San Quentin.

After months of being her “sex slave,” Cordoba tried

to break it off and Pulido retaliated, accusing him of disciplinary violations that landed him in solitary confinement for nine months, the lawsuit said.

Cordoba sued Pulido in 2012, saying the experience left him needing psychiatric care and alleging cruel and unusual punishment.

“All people have a right to be free from sexual abuse, that includes women and that includes men, and that doesn’t change because the person is incarcerated,” said attorney Julia Allen, who helped represent Cordoba.

Pulido no longer works at the prison, and she and her attorneys didn’t return the newspaper’s calls seeking comment. In court, Pulido’s attorney said Cordoba was “delusional.”

Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Bill Sessa declined to discuss the case.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

LOS ANGELES NEWS OBSERVER A3

Features

Los Angeles Softball Unit Goes Visual

The Ump-Cam is used to scope umpires during practice games. (Earl Heath Photo)

By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer The Los Angeles Softball Unit began the 2018 softball season in a unique way. Recording its umpires on tape during game situations. The games were practice game that involved some 12 teams from the CIF Los Angeles City Section.

The Banning Sports Complex hosted the teams that included Venice High, Taft High, Lincoln High, Southgate High to name a few. The teams would play one hour twenty minute games and umpires would be evaluated and told what they need to improve on.

Since this is the first time many worked since the off- season it was a chance to get the “kinks out” before the season starts. Umpires and batters got to see live pitching under game-like situations.

The games were recorded and placed on a DVD by umpire and cameraman Kaloni Ongias, they will be reviewed by L.A. Unit instructor Billy Smalls.

Each umpire in full game gear umpires two 20 minute segments one as a field umpire and one behind the plate. Over the weekend the will be reviewed and later in the week during a classroom session Smalls will tell the umpire what he she did wrong and how to improve their game He also review safety measures that need to be taken for protection of the players. “I like this time of year,“ said Smalls. “I get to let every umpire know what they are doing wrong.” If their shirt is stained, or if their pants have one crease to many Smalls will let them know. In they need to make mechanical adjustment’s he’ll let them know.

Smalls is an Army veteran who spent year’s in special services at Fort Ord near March Air Force Base in Southern California. He’s been a classroom instructor for those who have umpired 10 years or more.

If there’s a dispute with what an umpires say’s the crafty Army Veteran has support. ”Then we can go to the video. The video never lies.”

Army Veteran Billy Smalls shares a moment with veteran Benny Nickleberry during practice games at Banning Sports Complex. (Earl Heath Photo)

NNPA Members Take the Chevrolet Bolt EV for a Vegas Test Drive

By Freddie Allen Editor-In-Chief, NNPA Newswire When Karen Carter Richards, the publisher of the Houston Forward Times, saw the orange burst metallic Chevrolet Bolt EV parked in front of the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa, her first impression was “look at this little, ‘bitty’ car.”

That perception changed when she sat behind the wheel.

“When I got in…it was unbelievable,” said Carter Richards. “You can’t hear anything, the ride is smooth; it has a very fast takeoff.”

Carter Richards, who is more than six-feet tall, said that she was most surprised by the legroom.

“My legs are very long, I moved the seat all the way back, then I had to move it forward, because there was so much room,” said Carter Richards. The Houston publisher also said that the Bolt EV had the “feel” of a much larger car.

Fred Ligouri, a communications manager for Chevrolet’s electric vehicle (EV) program, said that the Bolt EV’s unique form factor contributes to that spacious feel.

“We have more interior volume space for the occupants in a Bolt EV than you’ll find in a Tesla Model S,” said Ligouri.

The Bolt EV is a 100 percent, pure electric vehicle (EV) and “the first of its kind: a long-range and affordable EV,” added Ligouri.

Ligouri explained: “Previously, if you were going to buy an EV you would’ve had to settle for a very high-priced vehicle that would carry the capabilities of our vehicle or you would have to spend the same amount of money for a vehicle with one-third to a half of the range.”

Ligouri noted that the Bolt EV gets 238 miles on a single charge and even though the retail price is $37,495 (with the destination freight charge), after federal and state tax incentives and other benefits are included, customers could save about $7,500.

Carole Geary, the publisher of the Milwaukee Courier, said that she was most impressed by the Bolt’s safety features.

“I think it’s really an amazing car,” said Geary. “The [rear-vision camera] shows you the traffic behind you, and it has sensors that gives you signals, if you try to change lanes and there is a car in your blind spot.”

The rear-vision camera comes standard in all Bolt EVs. The premier model also includes a “Driver Confidence

Package” with features like Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Rear Parking Assist.

Carter Richards said that Chevy’s pursuit of innovation in the electric car segment is a great idea.

When it comes to a “no-emission” vehicle’s environmental impact, Ligouri said that there’s no division in

wanting an increased quality of life and a sustainable future for all of our kids.

“The place that you could conceivably do the most good with emission-free vehicles is in urban areas,” said Ligouri. “For that reason, the Bolt EV is a really good avenue for increasing sustainability and increasing the quality of life for all city residents.”

Geary said that any age group would be comfortable driving the Bolt EV, from baby boomers to millennials.

Carter Richards agreed.

“The Bolt EV has a nice, sporty look,” said Carter Richards. “I can see a college student driving it and someone like myself driving it, too.”

Karen Carter Richards, the publisher of the Houston Forward Times, gets ready to take a drive in the all-new Chevrolet Bolt EV, during a “ride and drive” event at the 2018 Mid-Winter Conference in Las Vegas. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

A4

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2018007035 The following persons) is (are) doing business as: S&B LIEN SALES 10948 Atkinson Ave, Inglewood, Ca. 90303 Mailing Address: Same County: LA County REGISTERED OWNER(S) WARREN R. WOOLFOLK, 10948 Atkinson Ave, Inglewood, Ca. 90303 This business is conducted by: Individual Registrant Signature: WARREN R. WOOLFOLK The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 01/2007 FILED: Jan 9, 2018 I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS COPY IS A CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ON FILE IN MY OFFICE. DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk by: JUANITA CARPENTER, Deputy

NOTICE: In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A Fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration effective January 1, 2014, The fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by the affidavit of identity form.

The filing of this statement dies not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 Et Seq., business and professions code).

EXPIRES: Jan 9, 2023 LOS ANGELES NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Feb 1, 8, 15, 22, 2018

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Thursday, February 15, 2018

Credit Report Accuratcy (NAPS)—Every year, millions of Americans are denied loans for homes and cars due to errors on their credit reports. While a late payment or derogatory mark from a creditor may seem harmless, it can have long-standing consequences on your credit, most notably your credit score.

Credit scores are important as 90 percent of banks use this number to determine a person’s creditworthiness.

The more errors on one’s report, the lower the score and therefore, the harder it may be to obtain credit.

Credit errors that can affect your score are most commonly found in: • Merchant Trade Lines—department store cards, auto loans, mortgages and credit cards. If you have a history of late payment, or if the trade line was included in bankruptcy, charged off or put into repossession, that’s bad for your credit.

• Collection Account—was your account referred to collections because of delinquency or a bad check? Any type of collection account, whether paid or not, is considered very negative by all credit grantors.

• Court Records—bankruptcies, judgments, liens and divorces. All court records, including satisfactions, are considered negative by all credit grantors.

• Credit Searchers—Every time a potential credit grantor looks at your credit file, a credit inquiry appears on at least one of your credit bureau reports. If too many recent inquiries show up on your credit report, credit grantors may become nervous.

The more questionable negative items on your credit report, the lower your credit score and the lower your chances of getting the money you need at an interest rate you can afford—and one in every five Americans has mistakes on his or her credit report.

Fortunately, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to challenge the information recorded on your credit reports. That, however, is not always easy. Effective, enduring credit repair requires taking appropriate action with your creditors rather than simply creating ineffective disputes for credit bureaus.

That’s where a credit repair company can come in.

For example, Lexington Law will challenge questionable items on your behalf through direct, electronic commu-

nications with all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Although it has a relationship with the three, it doesn’t hesitate to ask tough questions that affirm all three reporting standards: A credit report should be accurate, fair and substantiated. The firm challenges information that may be technically accurate but still unfairly reported or unsubstantiated. It finds out where the information on your report came from and how it’s been documented. It knows which laws to leverage and how to leverage them appropriately, legally and ethically. The end result is a fair, accurate and substantiated report.

As best-selling author and consumer credit expert Dr. Randy Padawerput it, “If the credit industry is going to buy and sell consumers’ personal and private information for profit, they need to be able to answer a lot of tough questions about it. Lexington Law is a center for advocacy rather than just simple disputation. While other folks leverage one law, Lexington leverages many laws.”

That can help you have a fair chance at getting approved for what you want and open up opportunities to achieve your dreams.

Ad Industry Rooting Out Bias in Response to Alleged “No Hispanic/No Urban” Requests

Sherman Kizart, the managing director at Kizart Media Partners, said that the Fair Play Charter is an important step toward helping to create a level playing field in the trillion-dollar media landscape. (Kizart Media Partners)

By Freddie Allen Editor-In-Chief, NNPA Newswire The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) recently issued a “Fair Play Charter” to its members, in an effort to “to recommit to fair and equitable treatment of minority media owners,” according to a statement by the organization.

The Fair Play Charter was issued in response to perceived “no Hispanic”/“no urban” directives in the media-buying process, which “describe a practice in which agencies and the brands they represent make media-buying decisions that are non-inclusive of media owned by or targeted to African Americans or Latinos,” the statement said.

Louis Jones, the executive vice president of Media & Data for the 4A’s, said that Sherman Kizart, the managing director of Kizart Media Partners, and other industry insiders raised 4A’s awareness about the lack of clarity around some of the decision-making practices in the media buying process. Jones said that, as head of a media agency and as a member of the Media Leadership Council in 2011, he was familiar with the undercurrent of “no urban” dictates.

Jones said that these situations happen from time to time and that it was important for the 4A’s and its members to recommit to fairness in their business practices.

“It is important that we remain cognizant of unfair treatment and not let it affect industry practices or societal perception,” Jones said in a statement about the charter.

“This is a great step toward raising the bar in the media community.”

Founded in 1917, the 4A’s is the leading authority representing the marketing communications agency business, according to the group’s website, and “it serves 740 member agencies across 1,400 offices that control more than 85 percent of the total U.S. advertising spend.”

In the statement about the charter, Kizart said that it

was a privilege to work with the 4A’s executive leadership team and their Media Leadership Council to develop the Fair Play Charter and work toward creating equal opportunity access and equal consideration for all media.

“It’s an important step toward helping to create a level playing field in the trillion-dollar media landscape,” said Kizart.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, said that the NNPA welcomed the announcement about the charter and 4A’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the advertising industry.

“We believe that this can be a game changer for increasing awareness about the importance of fairness and equity in how advertising agencies conduct business,” said Chavis. “African American media companies play a major role in raising public awareness not only on the issues that affect the African American community, but also on those companies and products that affect the quality of life of 47 million African Americans.”

The NNPA is the oldest and largest trade group representing more than 200 African American-owned media companies that reach more than 20 million readers in print and online every week.

Jones said that a collaboration between 4A’s and the NNPA could lead to any number of business opportunities and added that engagement between 4A members and African American owners of media companies could be a great thing.

Chavis agreed.

“The NNPA is looking forward to the engagement that will be a fulfillment of the commitment announced by the 4As in the ‘Fair Play Charter,’” Chavis said.

Louis Jones said that a collaboration between the 4A’s and the NNPA could lead to any number of business opportunities.

(4A’s)

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Entertainment

LOS ANGELES NEWS OBSERVER A5

Trade Deadline Closes Strong

The NBA’s All-Star Weekend Embarks on Los Angeles

By Cameron Buford Contributing Sports Writer In the NBA teams have only a few different ways to improve their teams. Team development, Individual player development, free agency, the annual college draft and player trades. Player trades have had now become commonplace within the league, as it is often the quickest way to change the talent, culture or dynamics of a particular team.

Though there were multiple trades that have been announced prior to the NBA’s trade deadline which ended on February 8th. I thought it would be a good time to review the most notable trades that were made by teams looking to changes their rosters.

Often times, championship teams do not make impactful in-season trades, though that wasn’t the case this season.

The biggest trade of note was the trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Smarting after their offseason trade, which sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, the Cavaliers traded Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and their 1st round draft pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. This trade was complimented by an additional threeway trade that’s brings an infusion of more versatility and athleticism. The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Rodney Hood and George Hill from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose. Additionally, Iman Shumpert and Joe Johnson go to the Sacramento Kings.

Lastly, in appreciation for Dwyane Wade and his services, the Cavaliers sent back to the Miami Heat for a 2nd round pick.

Even though the Cavaliers acquire Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., to get younger and more athletic, the Lakers win in this specific trade. Not only do they get rid

of Clarkson’s expiring contract they get the Cavaliers 1st round draft pick. In addition, they are well positioned for potential Free Agency opportunities once this season is over.

In surprising fashion, the Los Angeles Clippers all of their fans with their trade of Blake Griffin! Willie Reed, Brice Johnson and Griffin are being sent to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanovic a 1st and 2nd draft pick. The Clippers lose a top 20 player in the league but gains multiple pieces and draft picks they may make them better in the future. The Piston win the trade because they get the best player.

It became somewhat of a frenzy Many teams made trades around the NBA as teams were working to beat the trade deadline. The Pistons stayed busy by trading Forward Willie Reed for Chicago Bulls’ Guard Jameer Nelson and Brice Johnson to the Memphis Grizzlies for James Ennis.

The Miami Heat send Okaro White to the Atlanta Hawks for Luke Babbit. Not wanting to be left out the mix, the Phoenix Suns trade a 2nd round pick for Elfrid Payton.

In another three team trade between teams the New York York, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets. The Knicks acquire Guard Emmanuel Mudia, as the Mavericks get a 2nd round pick and Forward D McDermott, while the Nuggets receive Guard Devin Harris and 2nd round pick.

The New York Knicks also trade Willy Hernangomez to the Charlotte Hornets for Johnny O’Bryant.

As with any trade, teams have different goals in mind and not each of them are done with the intent to win. Most NBA fans will keep notice if how these trades impact the league, though some trades we will have to wait through the summer to realize the value these teams find themselves in. Which was the best trade made or which will have the most impact? I loved to know you opinion, let’s me me know what’s good about these trades at www.whatsgoodinsports.com.

By Cameron Buford Contributing Sports Writer The NBA’s All-Star Weekend has become a celebration of many events for which many NBA fans will enjoy. This season, Los Angeles will be the host the NBA’s mid-season spectacle. The weekend will culminate with the NBA 67th All Star game itself, though their fans will get to enjoy multiple events throughout the weekend.

This weekend will be kicked off by NBA on TNT’s American Express Road Show. Beginning with the Fan Fest to Tip Off with Lil Uzi Vert on Thursday night.

Additionally, they would provide their fans an engaging experience during this weekend with performances

by Kendrick Lamar on Friday night and the Killers on Saturday night.

Just outside STAPLES Center a 30,000 square foot fan fest will highlight interactive experiences, basketball clinics throughout the weekend themed around TNT’s popular Sports Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA, which will be conducting their pre and post-game show “Inside the NBA,” live from Los Angeles.

Other activities that the fans will be able to enjoy are the Tissot 24-Second Shot Clock Challenge. Fans will get to test their NBA knowledge against the iconic Tissot shot clock throughout the weekend. As part of the Tissot 24-Second Challenge, visitors will be able to sit behind the NBA on TNT desk and compete against each other and the countdown clock to win prizes.

The 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented

by Ruffles, will takes place on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.

ET, on ESPN exclusively and the ESPN App. Though the game itself will be played from the Verizon Up Arena at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Ruffles Celebrity All Star game will honor LA themed event. As the teams will be named “Clippers and Lakers” after the local teams. The Celebrity Coaches will be Rachel Nichols will be joined by HOF Tracy McGrady and Actor Michael B. Jordan while Katie Nolan will lead Team Clippers LA native Paul Pierce and recording artist Common. While Cassidy Hubbarth and Mark Jones will be doing the Play by Play commentators. Included in the telecast will be some special access from mic’d up celebrities and coaches!

This game will unveil the game’s first-ever 4-point

line, dubbed “The RIDGE.” This 4-point line, will appear during the second half of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Ruffles will then make a $4,000 donation to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, with a minimum of $20,000 going to the charity (up to $40,000).

The Celebrity rosters are listed below; \ Team Clippers Anthony Anderson- Black-ish Brandon Armstrong- Social Media Star Miles Brown- Black-ish Win Butler- Arcade Fire Common- Recording Artist Andre De Grasse- Olympic Sprinter Stefanie Dolson- WNBA Chicago Sky Jamie Foxx- Actor Paul Pierce- NBA Legend Dascha Polanco- Actress Bubba Watson- Masters Champion Jason Williams- NBA Legend Team Lakers Sterling Brim- MTV’s “Ridiculousness” Nick Cannon- Actor Terence Crawford- Boxer Rachel DeMita- NBA2KTV host, actress, model Jerry Ferrara- Power Marc Lasry Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Tracy McGrady- NBA legend Caleb McLaughlin- Netflix’s “Stranger Things” Candace Parker- WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks Nate Robinson- NBA legend Drew Scott- HGTV’s “Property Brothers” Kris Wu- actor, singer As popular as the Saturday night festivities have become, this is just the lead up to the All-Star game at Staples on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles has rolled out the red carpet for this years NBA All Star celebration, I wanted to share this weekends events with you so that you may get out and enjoy as may events as possible. I would be interested in how you feel about the NBA All Star weekend coming to Los Angeles as well as if you are able to get out an enjoy the ceremonies. Please let me know What’s Good by commenting in the comment section at www.whatsgoodinsports.com.

“A Wrinkle in Time “

Nissan Collaborates with Disney NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan North America today announced its collaboration with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures for its forthcoming film “A Wrinkle in Time” based on the classic 1962 novel by Madeleine L’Engle. The film’s star-studded cast includes Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Storm Reid, and hits theaters on March 9.

“This epic adventure which takes audiences across dimensions of time and space depicts a world where intergalactic travel is possible,” said Jeremy Tucker, vice president, Marketing Communications & Media, Nissan North America. “It’s fitting that the all-new Nissan LEAF, equipped with Nissan’s latest advanced technologies, makes an appearance in the film. Nissan is proud to support “A Wrinkle in Time” as well as its cast and director who are working to imagine tomorrow, today.”

2018 Nissan LEAF to appear in “A Wrinkle in Time” Science and break-through technologies play an important role in “A Wrinkle in Time.” Nissan is the world leader of electric vehicle sales, selling more than 300,000 units since its first introduction in 2010. As the halo vehicle for Nissan Intelligent Mobility, it was a natural tie-in for the all-new Nissan LEAF to be in the film.

The all-new 2018 Nissan LEAF further strengthens Nissan’s position as the global leader in zero emission electric vehicles (EV). The best-selling electric car of all time has been completely reinvented for its second generation, combining greater range with a dynamic new design. The new Nissan LEAF also comes with Nissan’s latest advanced technologies, including e-Pedel and ProPILOT Assist, to create the ultimate EV package.

“A Wrinkle in Time” inspired 2018 LEAF ad campaign The world leader in electric vehicles, Nissan is debuting a new “A Wrinkle in Time”-inspired ad campaign for the all-new Nissan LEAF in tandem with the film’s premiere. The ads feature Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies and are running nationally beginning in early February.

“Searching for the Next Visionary Filmmaker” contest sponsored by Nissan Nissan is also working with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and the film’s director, Ava DuVernay, to promote the “Searching for the Next Visionary Filmmaker.” The contest seeks to inspire innovative directors – especially female filmmakers – to step up and share their voice.

To enter, aspiring directors ages 18 and up must submit a two-minute video showcasing their journey as a filmmaker. Submissions will be judged on their unique storytelling voice, their creativity and originality, and their depiction of one of the most powerful lines of dialogue in the film, “Be a Warrior.”* One lucky winner will receive $100,000 from Nissan

to create their own film, a trip to Hollywood to attend the world premiere of “A Wrinkle in Time” and meet with DuVernay, plus an all-new Nissan LEAF. Visit www.AWITFilmChallenge.com to submit your video and to access official contest rules*. Contest ends February 2.

“Nissan is committed to storytelling that makes a difference and this opportunity to help the filmmakers of tomorrow aligns with this commitment,” Tucker noted.

Nissan “Forward Faster Class” celebrating Black History Month Ava DuVernay is the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with a production budget over $100 million. To celebrate other visionary African Americans, Nissan and DuVernay are rolling out the “Forward Faster Class.” This series of digital video vignettes will feature the insights of forward-thinking African American influencers sharing their tips for other self-starters looking to blaze a path to success. These vignettes will debut in mid-February during Black History Month on NissanUSA.com.

“For Nissan, Black History Month represents the opportunity to celebrate African history and history makers while keeping an eye on what’s yet to come,” says Lanae Jackson, Nissan’s Multicultural Marketing Manager. “The ‘Forward Faster Class’ does just that.” *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 US/DC, 18 years & older only. Void in U.S. territories/possessions & where prohibited. Ends 2/2/18 at 6:00:00 PM PT. For Official Rules and complete details, including prize description, visit www.AWITFilmChallenge.com. Limit one entry per person. Sponsor: ABC, Inc. d/b/a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any portion of the prize in its sole discretion.

About the Film From visionary director Ava DuVernay comes Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” an epic adventure based on Madeleine L’Engle’s timeless classic which takes audiences across dimensions of time and space, examining the nature of darkness versus light and, ultimately, the triumph of love. Through one girl’s transformative journey led by three celestial guides, we discover that strength comes from embracing one’s individuality and that the best way to triumph over fear is to travel by one’s own light. Directed

by Ava DuVernay from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee based upon the beloved novel by Madeleine L’Engle, “A Wrinkle in Time” stars: Oprah Winfrey as Mrs. Which, Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Mrs. Murry, Michael Peňa as Red, Storm Reid as Meg Murry, Levi Miller as Calvin, Deric McCabe as Charles Wallace with Zach Galifianakis as the Happy Medium and Chris Pine as Mr. Murry. “A Wrinkle in Time” opens nationwide on March 9, 2018.

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Thursday, February 15, 2018

Empower Women by Inspiring Self-Love TINA CAMPBELL OF GOSPEL DUO MARY MARY AND TINA KNOWLES-LAWSON TO AT THE UPCOMING K.I.S.S. WOMEN’S DAY RETREAT IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA Nationwide (BlackNews.com) -- The K.I.S.S. Women’s Day Retreat will host its groundbreaking retreat Saturday, February 24th at the Ramada Burbank Airport Hotel, (Burbank, CA), 1pm. It will feature gospel legend Tina Campbell as keynote speaker, a motivational appearance

by Tina Knowles-Lawson, a rousing One-Woman stage play presentation and an enlightening discussion with the all-male “What Men Really Want” relationship panel hosted by KTTV’s Fox News 11’s own Leah Uko. Participants experience a curation of inspiration emphasizing self-love, preventative practices, and women’s health in efforts to build a strong female community.

K.I.S.S. (Keep inspiring Strong Sistahs) is a K.I.S.S. is an alternative beauty outlet for women who struggle with caring for their (emotional, mental and physical) well-being. The K.I.S.S. Retreat encourages women to. Revive, Rebuild and Rekindle the self-love that, may have been stolen, given away, or lost to unfortunate circumstances of life’s journey.

Tina Campbell, of the gospel duo Mary Mary, is ac-

complished and awarded singer & songwriter. Now recognized as a solo performer author, and keynote speaker for the K.I.S.S retreat. Tina will deliver a rousing self-love message catalyzing transformation as the only tool for turning her most dreadful test into a beautiful testimony. Tina Knowles-Lawson, designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, motivational speaker and the creative matriarch to Beyoncé and Solange will appear at the K.I.S.S. retreat in support of her mission to uplift and encourage women as established with the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth in Houston, Tina’s Angels and the non-profit WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles.

Stephanie Singleton, the founder of K.I.S.S. Women’s Retreat is also a Celebrity hairstylist and self-relationship coach enhancing both women’s inner and outward beauty for 20+ years. As an accomplished writer, Singleton will debut her one-woman stage play, also entitled KISS anchored by powerful newcomer, Vivia E. Armstrong. The play explores one woman’s powerful journey to self-love.

For more details and/or to register for the event, visit www.kissretreat.eventbrite.com

Los Angeles Rams Courage House to be Dedicated Rams OL Darrell Williams selected as 2017 honoree of the team’s Ed Block Courage Award LOS ANGELES – On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Los Angeles Rams will join with the Ed Block Courage Foundation to name A Place Called Home (APCH) the team’s official “Courage House.” The Rams 2017 Ed Block Courage Award recipient, offensive lineman DARRELL WILLIAMS, will join REGGIE SCOTT, the Rams’ director of sports medicine and performance, to make the announcement in front of APCH children and families.

Following the conclusion of the 2017 season, Rams

named Williams as the club’s 2017 Ed Block Courage Award recipient for his display of courage both on and off the field. Set in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country, APCH provides children, teens and young adults in South Central Los Angeles with love, safety, enrichment, training, and opportunities through proven programs in arts, education, wellness, counseling and mentorship.

Since 1993, APCH has served more than 19,000 at-

A Roadmap for Probation Reform

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced a moand our communities.” tion to accept the final recommendations of a study that “Accepting RDA’s primary recommendations, and evaluated ways to reform Los Angeles County’s trou- directly linking them to the efforts already underway on bled Probation Department. It endorsed the findings Probation reform, is the responsible thing to do,” he addof the LA County Probation Governance Study, which ed. “The ultimate goal is a transformed department with was the culmination of 18 months of work by Resource clients’ well-being at its core.

Development Associates (RDA), a consultant team that Board Chair Sheila Kuehl said, “This report unincluded local and national experts in justice reform. derscores the need to continue many of the positive ac The commissioned report made seven primary rec- tions that the County has been taking in recent years to ommendations: strengthen and transform the nation’s largest probation • Develop a uniform mission statement, instituted to ad- department into a model for the rest of the country.” vance reform efforts; “It also provides a practical framework for contin• Reorganize the Probation Department with youth and ued implementation of these important reforms,” she FOR RELEASE adult divisions to create needed specialization for each added. “I, and my fellow supervisors, are committed to February population; 2018 seeing that this Probation Department provides not only • Strengthen community partnerships and develop com- oversight and supervision but also robust support systems CONTACT: urke Management munity-orientedB offices; for the adults and children in our care. Doing so better • Use structured decision making and validated risk/ ensures the safety of all County residents.”

Phone: 310-­‐809-­‐7298 needs assessments to better place and track services; “RDA has done the crucial work of drawing on past • Close and repurpose juvenile facilities, including one or reports, existing research, and input from the Probation Email: i nfo@burkemanagementfirm.com two juvenile halls; Department and community stakeholders to craft an • Address staffing, hiring and training issues; and important and comprehensive set of recommendations,” • Invest in IT systems and use of data. said Josh Green, criminal justice program manager at the “There is consensus that these primary recommenda- Urban Peace Institute, and an active community staketions are essential to reforming Probation,” Supervisor holder working on juvenile justice reform. “The opporRidley-Thomas said. “The key now seems to be how tunity we have now is to imagine an implementation to integrate, coordinate, and ensure that accountability plan that recognizes the essential role of Board, the Desystems are in place to advance this agenda to achieve partment and community members, while also thinking stated benchmarks, with outcomes, to support clients about how we can all hold one another accountable.”

risk youth and helped them attain higher education and economic independence through college and vocational opportunities by providing all-day access to personalized academic support and a dynamic array of wraparound services, including: tutoring, counseling, athletics, urban agriculture and nutrition, multidisciplinary arts training, college application support, scholarships, vocational preparation, community service, and field trips. The team and Foundation will work together to create a support network in order to help promote the facilities’ fundraising and awareness.

See below for event information. For additional information regarding the event, please contact Maria Sosyan of A Place Called Home at (323) 238-2417 or marias@apch. org or Tiffany White of the Los Angeles Rams at twhite@

rams.nfl.com.

The Rams are one of 27 NFL teams to dedicate a facility into the Courage House National Support Network for Kids. Named after the NFL team in a respective city, a Courage House is a facility that provides support and care to abused, neglected and/or at-risk youth and their families in that community. A Place Called Home, established in 1993, provides South Central children and teens 8 years old – 21 years old with love, safety, enrichment, training, and opportunities through educational programs, counseling, and mentorship. The team and Foundation will work together to create a support network in order to help promote the facilities fundraising and awareness.

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ognsc.com News Observer Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968

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Volume 44 Number 19

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King’s Lasting Impact on Equity in Education

**Media Advisory**

Saturday, February 17, 2018

The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program to launch it’s national campaign to screen and educate over 1 million men for diabetes and high blood pressure by the year 2020.

Oprah’s Barn Raiser Speech

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s influence on the Civil Rights Movement is indisputable, but his fight for equity in education remains a mystery to some.

That fight began with his own education.

“He clearly had an advanced, refined educational foundation from Booker T. Washington High School, Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University,” said Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “His education in his speeches and sermons and writings were apparent and he wanted us all to have that type of education.”

King completed high school at 15, college at 19, seminary school at 22 and earned a doctorate at 26.

“Dr. King laid down the case for affordable education for all Americans, including Polish children—from the ghetto and the barrios, to the Appalachian mountains and the reservations—he was a proponent for education for all and he believed that strong minds break strong chains and once you learn your lesson well, the oppressor could not unlearn you.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN), said that NAN works with Education for a Better America to partner with school districts, universities, community colleges, churches, and community organizations around the country to conduct educational programming for students and parents.

“The mission of the organization has been to build bridges between policymakers and the classrooms by supporting innovations in education and creating a dialogue between policymakers, community leaders, educators, parents, and students,” Sharpton said. “We’re promoting student health, financial literacy, and college readiness in our communities, just like Dr. King did.”

King was a figure to look up to in both civil rights and academia, Sharpton told the NNPA Newswire.

“Then, when you look at his values, he always saw education, especially in the Black community, as a tool to uplift and inspire to action,” Sharpton said. “It’s definite-

The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program Parteners Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program partners with local barbershops to offer free health screenings to address declining health of African American men. with Local Barbershops to Offer MLK’s Unheralded Victories Free Health Screenings Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King at a rally in Chicago’s Grant Park, in 1966.

What president?

A year after politics — and the newly elected occupant of the White House — dominated the conversation and tone of the Golden Globes, there was barely a mention of such things at Sunday’s ceremony. This year, it was all gender politics, and of course the #MeToo movement that has engulfed Hollywood and spread into the culture at large with astonishing speed. From the sea of glittering black gowns worn in solidarity on the usually multi-colored red carpet, to sly references to unequal pay and recognition for women, to Frances McDormand’s salute to “a tectonic shift” in the Hollywood power structure, it was a night for reckoning — crowned by Oprah Winfrey’s barn-raiser of a speech proclaiming “Their time is UP!” Some key moments: SERIOUS CARPET TALK: Usually, red carpet interviews focus on the provenance of designer gowns and jewelry. This year, there was talk of working conditions for farmers and janitors, and demands for equal pay across society. Several actresses, including Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams and Emma Watson, brought social activists with them , to focus on real-life solutions to gritty problems far from Hollywood.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will always be remembered as a social activist and Baptist minister whose role was integral in the Civil Rights Movement.

Publicly and privately, King fought for equality, justice and human rights for African Americans and others who suffered from racism, segregation and other injustices.

His sermons, including the “Drum Major Instinct,” and his speeches like, “I Have a Dream,” are as important as they are legendary.

But, those closest to King recalled some of his more unheralded feats. They also recalled the importance of the Black Press during the movement.

“I would say King’s abiding commitment to focus on poverty and to deal with the wealth and equity gaps, and particularly the conditions of the poor, has been less heralded than his other accomplishments,” said Dr. Clarence Jones, a visiting professor at the University of San Francisco and a scholar and writer-in-residence at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Institute.

Jones met King in 1960 when he was 29 and King was 31.

Jones served on King’s legal team and help draft many of his most important speeches, including the 1963 “I Have a Dream” masterpiece.

But, it was a speech that King delivered just five days before his April 4, 1968 assassination that Jones remembers most.

“I’ve said so often that the sermon he gave at the National Cathedral in Washington was most important,” Jones said. “He captioned the speech, ‘Sleeping Through a Revolution,’ and that’s exactly what he’d say today, if he were here.”

Many of King’s accomplishments were aided by his relationship with newspapers like the Atlanta Daily World, the Pittsburgh Courier and other Black-owned newspapers, Jones said.

“The two essential pillars of support of the Civil Rights Movement were the Black Church and the Black

“We feel emboldened in this particular moment,” Streep said, “to stand together in a thick black line dividing then from now.”

LAURA DERN’S NORTH STAR: It was a night of unusually powerful speeches, whether long or short, that touched eloquently on the #MeToo moment. One came from Laura Dern, who won supporting actress for “Big Little Lies,” a TV series that, aptly, depicts not only sexual abuse, but a group of women who only fully discover their power when they unite. Using her character to describe a past culture in which people were afraid to speak out, Dern urged Hollywood to support and employ survivors brave enough to come forward. And she went further: “May we teach our children,” she said, “that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star.”

A SLY NOD TO A GLARING OMISSION: One of the most glaring snubs in this year’s movie nominations came in the best director category, where Greta Gerwig was passed over for her much-loved “Lady Bird.”

Natalie Portman, presenting the director prize, was not about to let that go unnoticed. “And here are the all MALE

Continued on page A6

Press,” he said. “The Black Press was critically important, and King had a healthy appreciation for the Black Press.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., another close confidant of King, agreed.

“The kinship King had with [former EBONY and Jet owner] John Johnson, [National Newspaper Publishers Association founder] John Sengstacke and others was apparent, and he realized their value and they recognized his value,” Jackson said.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said he will always cherish the days that he worked with King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

“I witnessed, first-hand, the fearless courage of Dr. King as he spoke out against global racial injustice and war when it was not popular to do so,” Chavis said.

Chavis continued: “The mainstream press routinely mischaracterized Dr. King as a principle-less agitator.

But, it was only the Black-owned newspapers during the 1960s that would, without apology, tell the truth that Dr. King was both a theological and intellectual genius whose worldwide vision, activism and principles demanded a public stance against the unjust Vietnam War, and against the duel racist Apartheid in America and South Africa.”

Chavis recalled one of King’s most famous quotes: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Dr. Wornie Reed, the director of the Race and Social Policy Center at Virginia Tech, who marched alongside King in the 1960s, said too few people knew about King’s major project when he was assassinated, HYPERLINK “https://www.britannica.com/topic/Poor-Peoples-March” “The Poor People’s Campaign.”

“The Memphis garbage workers strike was a side issue, the kind he was frequently involved in. He was putting in long days and nights across the country, calling on all of us who cared to come to Washington to help him to put maximum pressure on the federal government to come forth with concrete plans to reduce poverty in this rich country,” Reed said. “King was promoting a level of pressure that the federal government had never faced

Continued on page A2

This image released by NBC shows Oprah Winfrey accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC via AP)

LosTheAngeles – On February 17, 2018, The Black Barbershop Black Barbershop HealthSaturday, Outreach Program to launch it’s national campaign to screen and educate over Health Outreach will address the growing concern of African 1 million men for diabetes andProgram high blood pressure by the year 2020 Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program American andto health disparities during the Los Angeles Initiative of partners with localmen barbershops offer free health screenings to address declining health of African American men the ground-breaking grass-roots Los Angeles – On Saturday, February 17, 2018, Theinitiative. The Black Barbershop Health Black BarbershopProgram Health Outreach adOutreach willProgram offerwillfrom diabetes and hypertension screenings dress the growing concern of African American men and health disparities during thebarbershops Los Angeles Initiativein of the in black-owned Los Angeles and surrounding areas. ground-breaking grass-roots initiative. The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program will offer from diabetes and hypertension screenings in black-owned barbershops in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Founded in 2006, The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program is the first initiative of its kind to exclusively address health care disparities among African American men on a national level. The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program has screened over 30,000 African American men across the country for cardiovascular disease as well as prostate cancer.

Now, the program is on a mission to screen and educate 1 million African American men for cardiovascular disease by the year 2020. The BBHOP will underscore the need for African American men to adopt healthier lifestyles and to promote early detection of diabetes and hypertension. Forty percent (40%) of African American men die prematurely from cardiovascular disease as compared to 21% of white men. Black men suffer far worse health conditions than any other racial group in America. There are a number of reasons for this. They include racial discrimination; a lack of affordable health services; poor health education, cultural barriers; poverty, employment that does not carry health insurance; insufficient medical and social services catering to black men.

Continued on page A8

Mainstream media often ignores Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fight for economic justice and his strong relationship with the Black Press. (Wikimedia Commons)

FREE!

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Mississippi Judge; Racial Bias Suit Against Coroner Can Proceed

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) _ Six black-owned funeral homes can proceed toward trial with their lawsuit alleging that a Mississippi Gulf Coast coroner discriminates in favor of white-owned competitors, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett on Friday ruled mostly for the plaintiffs, although he dismissed some of the claims against Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove. Ten of the original 13 legal grounds for the lawsuit remain alive.

The dispute revolves around cases where Harrison County pays for a body to be picked up, stored, autopsied or buried, usually at Hargrove's direction.

Starrett wrote that the plaintiffs produced enough evidence that Hargrove treated black-owned funeral homes differently from white-owned funeral homes for the case to proceed. One black funeral home owner has testified that Hargrove once told her that ``white bodies go to the white funeral homes and black bodies go to the black funeral home.''

The plaintiffs told Starrett there's plenty of evidence that Hargrove discriminated against them when directing who would get county-controlled business. ``Defendants have all but completely excluded plaintiffs from receiving mortuary business in their control,'' lawyer Steven Art wrote in November, urging Starrett to let the case go forward. ``Plaintiffs repeatedly have observed the coroner exercise his authority based on race; the coroner has said that his decisions are influenced by race; and thousands of the coroner's own files_produced by the coroner himself and extensively analyzed by plaintiffs and their experts_reveal racial discrimination.''

Hargrove and a lawyer for Harrison County deny discrimination, saying they follow the wishes of the deceased and their families. They say black-owned funeral homes have limited refrigeration facilities, and that a pathologist whom Hargrove didn't control had done all autopsies in the past at white-owned funeral homes. ``The limited exceptions occur when an autopsy is required or when a family member cannot be promptly located necessitating refrigeration of the body,'' lawyer Daniel Seawell wrote in October. ``Hargrove has no control over the sites where autopsies were performed and no control over a funeral home's decision to provide proper refrigeration with sufficient capacity.''

Child Living in Storage Container Dies in Fire BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ California author-

ities say a young child has died in a fire inside a storage unit where a family of five had been living.

Kern County officials say firefighters responding near Bakersfield early Wednesday found the storage unit engulfed in flames.

KABC-TV reports a child 4 or 5 years old died.

Three other family members were hospitalized with unknown injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Suspect Shot after Driving at Officer DELANO, Calif. (AP) _ Authorities in California

say an officer investigating a suspicious vehicle shot and killed the driver when he accelerated toward him.

Police in Delano near Bakersfield say the officer feared for his life when he opened fire Sunday, striking the driver.

KBAK-TV reports a passenger in the car got out after the shooting and ran to a nearby home. The man was arrested following a standoff lasting several hours.

The investigation is ongoing.

NAACP Wants Fans at Game to Wave Towels ATLANTA (AP) _ The NAACP wants to see white

towels amid the crimson, white, red and black worn by fans to send a message to President Donald Trump during the national college football championship in Atlanta.

Atlanta’s NAACP chapter said on its Facebook page that it wants fans inside the stadium for the College Football Playoff title game to wave white towels “Simulating a blizzard.’’

It’s one of several anti-Trump protests planned as Trump visits Atlanta on Monday night to attend the showdown between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama.

The NAACP also is urging people to hold anti-Trump signs and wear white to mock the “snowflake” label Trump’s supporters use to describe their opponents.

Another group, Refuse Fascism ATL, says they’ll “Take a knee against Trump”outside CNN’s world headquarters near the stadium before kickoff.

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