Vol. 50 No. 36
December 26, 2019 -January 1, 2020
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Shocked By Family Drama Every Year? Here’s How to Prepare …
Lifestyle News
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Battle over police records reaches California appeals court Daisy Nguyen, Associated Press
Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP
In this Dec. 4, 2019 file photo California Attorney General Xavier Becerra discusses settlements reached with 52 automobile parts manufacturers for illegal bid rigging during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Bacerra's office urged a state appeals court Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 to refrain from ordering it to review and publicly release a massive trove of records documenting investigations into police shootings, use-offorce incidents and officer misconduct.
Let’s face it, for some of us, the holidays are more like a horror film than a Hallmark movie. Our families don’t always get along and every dinner doesn’t end on a happy note. Patients often come back to me after the holidays with terrible stories of holiday gatherings gone wrong that have led to some sort of worsening of depression or anxiety. Every time, I ask if this was the first time this has happened and the answer is always “no”. Each person is able to admit that they could have predicted this level of holiday drama but they are always hopeful that this time will be different. While we want to believe that people can change, we have to remember that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and plan our holidays with that in mind.
Don’t be so hard on yourself – The behavior of those who disrupt our gatherings has everything to do with them and very little, if anything, to do with us. It is notuncommon for those present to think they could have done something different to prevent this from happening and take the events very personal. They may find themselves planning annually to try to prevent the drama, only to find themselves disappointed due to the behavior of others. You are not responsible for the behavior of others. You can put forth the best holiday spread imaginable and provide the warmest environment, but that may not be enough to stop people from acting out. 1. Give Yourself Permission to
“Check Out” if Necessary There is no written rule that you need to be at every family function from start until finish. As a matter of fact, to preserve your mental health you may have to find ways to step away. Going late, leaving early, or finding moments to take breaks for relaxation and deep breathing can be lifesavers for moments like these. 2. Set Firm Boundaries If you have a repeat offender relative who tends to be the primary disrupter on the holidays, set boundaries with that person before the event. It helps if youhave the support of other relatives. Being firm with that individual about what behavior is problematic, how it affects
everyone else, and what you all plan to do if the person doesn’t respect the boundaries being set can help with creating a more peaceful day. The best boundaries are clear and concise with no room for misunderstanding. Boundaries that are too loose don’t typically stop the behavior. Boundaries that are too firm and rigid, tend to be unrealistic and set the person up for failure. As difficult as it sounds, practice makes perfect! Taking the time to prepare for the drama we know is likely coming is the best way to deal with family drama. We can’t pick our family and we can’t prevent all the drama. With some planning on our part and setting realistic expectations we can decrease our level of surprise and disappointment when it comes our way.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber Is Coming To Fontana By Dianne Anderson
Social justice activist Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is coming to town to talk about the dark side of the American dream – the poverty crisis that has barely budged since the last time the rich-poor gap was this wide in America. Over 50 years ago, Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign in conjunction with SCLC hoped to galvanize the 35% of the nation
mired in destitution. Just four months from first announcing the plans, Dr. King was assassinated. Today, Rev. Barber is reawakening that campaign to give voice at this critical point in history, and continuing Dr. King’s quest for economic justice. On January 18, Pastor Emory James is excited to welcome Dr. Barber as the featured guest speaker at a free Dr. Martin Luther
King Celebration sponsored by Ephesians New Testament Church and the city of Fontana to be held at 3:00 p.m. at Westside Baptist Church, located at 15006 Randall Ave. Seating is limited, call 909.823.2319 for tickets. “He is a very brilliant man. He’s addressing the systemic elements of people’s living in poverty, and poverty concerns that he has with this country,” said Senior Pastor Emory James of Ephesians New Testament Church of Fontana. Over the past three decades, James said Ephesians Church has led the charge to bring inspiring speakers to the community. He said it’s urgent the community understand the deeper meaning behind current issues, and to promote Dr. King’s legacy. James has featured Dr. Cornel West. They also hosted Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr., one of the top preachers in the nation. They’ve held jazz events, as well as the distinguished gospel quartet, Mighty Clouds of Joy. Several years ago, they hosted the Emmy award-winning playwright Jeff Stetson of the plays, Blood on the Leaves and The Meeting, a fictional play about a meeting between Dr. King and Malcolm X. James said that Barber’s message ties in tightly with the
life and goals of Dr. King, and addresses the ramifications of systemic poverty not only in California, but nationwide. Rev. Barber is the president of the NAACP North Carolina state chapter, and originator of the Forward Together Moral Mondays Movement. “He’s become part of the leg moving with people to march on Washington. He’s coming here to speak about poverty, the homeless and veterans,” James said. Last year, James held a conference on homelessness to help bring the local problem to the forefront. Various agencies spoke about what they are doing in the Inland Empire, especially in the Fontana area, to tackle homelessness. “A lot of people like to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to poor people and the homeless, with children outdoors and hungry,” he said. But for churches, he believes the situation has been a burden because the demand has increased dramatically over the years. “We seem to be the ears and voices for people that can’t speak for themselves, and do things ( continued on page 8)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California attorney general's office urged a state appeals court Thursday to refrain from ordering it to review and publicly release a massive trove of records documenting investigations into police shootings, use-of-force incidents and officer misconduct. Lawyers for Attorney General Xavier Becerra said a transparency law that took effect this year never intended for his office to commit the extraordinary resources needed to vet so many records. They sought to reverse a lower court's order to turn over the records to news organizations that sued his office. Deputy Attorney General Jennifer E. Rosenberg told a three-judge panel that state lawmakers may not have considered imposing “this enormous burden” on Becerra's office when drafting the bill. “It might have been an oversight,” she said. The First Amendment Coalition and KQED brought the lawsuit against Becerra and The Associated Press and many other news organizations have joined it. Their attorney, Michael T. Risher, said the Legislature specifically considered the cost of the attorney general's compliance when they passed the law, and argued the public's right to know about police misconduct outweighs the cost of disclosing such information. “It was a watershed law; it eliminates decades of police secrecy. Of course it's going to create a burden," Risher said. The law took effect Jan. 1 but many local agencies rebuffed media attempts to obtain existing records, arguing the law only was intended to require the disclosure of new records. After lower courts ruled for disclosure, police unions representing San Francisco and Los Angeles police departments and the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's sworn personnel withdrew their lawsuits seeking to block the release. But the attorney's general's office, which is a repository for years of local police investigations, has continued fighting. At a news conference earlier in the week, Becerra said his office has released pre-2019 documents on agents from its Division of Law Enforcement. He doesn't oppose the release of older documents involving local agencies but said those agencies should be the ones to disclose them. “For us it would be an onerous obligation to have to redo what the (local) agency is already obligated to do,” he said. “It would grind to a halt so many of the other things we have to do if all of a sudden we have to redirect our resources away from law enforcement and public safety to do data assessment and release of information that other agencies already are doing." Risher submitted to the appeals court evidence that some agencies may have or did destroy records of internal affairs before the law took effect. He said it was possible those records may still reside at the attorney general's office because California law requires state agencies to hold onto records longer than local governments. The California Reporting Project, a coalition of 40 media outlets, was formed to mine documents made available by the new law. Its members have filed hundreds of public records records seeking police records. The appeals court in San Francisco has up to 90 days to decide on Becerra's appeal. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that the arguments happened Thursday, not Friday.
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