Sentinel; Los Angeles, Calif.

Stafon Johnson a Football and a Community Injury

It was fitting for someone known for his big heart. As his father ironically put it, "He'd be the one to call people when they're down." "I never had any problems with him growing up," [Stan Johnson] said, "He's such a lovable guy." "He had a great personality so whether he played athletics or not, he still would've been a popular person on campus," Dorsey head football coach Paul Knox said, "He was somebody the kids liked and respected and the teachers did top." The outpouring of support has...

Dr. Cornel West Comes to Town

In has latest book. Living and Loving Out Loud, Dr. Cornel West discusses his life's great passions.... loud and clear. The author's note states 'this is a work of non-fiction. Conversations have been reconstructed to the best of my recollection.' The book reveals a man who many believe redirected the conversation on race and justice in America, and who is often at the center of the storm in any intellectual, social, religious or educational activity/debate pertaining to the suffering masses,...

Quincy Jones Goes to School

"HOPE and our 5MK partners believe that financial literacy is American's first 'silver right,' and an essential component in any effort to promote personal self-sufficiency and empowerment," said John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE founder. "Working with leaders from government, community and the private sector, we are looking forward to the official launch of 5MK, our financial literacy initiative targeting youth in a nation-wide campaign to "Make Smart Cool and Sexy." "Everyday I went to schoo...

Councilmember Bernard C. Parks to Offer $50,000 Reward

On August 24, 2008, at approximately 8:40 pm, [Melvin James Comeaux, Jr.] was fatally shot and killed by two armed men. Comeaux was walking on the sidewalk in the area of Normandie Avenue and 94th Place when he was approached by two men on bikes. Councilmember Bernard C. Parks introduced a Reward Motion to assist in the search for the suspects involved in the shooting death of Melvin James Comeaux, Jr.

Charisse Bremond-Weaver Honored

Logan's local newspaper, the Herald Journal, featured [Charisse Bremond-Weaver] and the other three honorees in its local news titled "USU alumni honored at homecoming"; and so did the USU quarterly magazine titled "Here, there, everywhere - USU Homecoming 2009." The magazine highlighted her accomplishments as the first woman president of the Brotherhood Crusade - a position she currently maintains - and went on to report 'Bremond-Weaver has generated over $20 million that has subsequently be...

Voices of Our Community: Speaking for Themselves

LATIN LAZER, Sheroe, Los Angeles, CA-President [Obama] was left with an Executive Office that had made numerous bad decisions related to our nation's policies. Obama's critics are not considering the mess he was left to clean-up. Bill Cosby recently agreed with former President Carter that conservatives are critical of President Obama because he is Black.

Andre Birotte Jr.-Inspector General of the Lapd

Armed with impressive credentials, [Andre Birotte Jr.] said, "I was fortunate enough to get hired in 2001 as an assistant Inspector General," a position that would test his bilateral experience. "And in 2003, the Board of Police Commissioners appointed me as the Inspector General; so that's how I got here." In reference to working in the Inspector General's Office, he commented, "What I thought was interesting about it was the fact that you're not an advocate for one side or the other, per se...

The 100 Black Men of Los Angeles Celebrate with 28th Annual Gala Dinner

The Flagship Program, The Young Black Scholars (YBS), began as a solution to the 1982 California Post Secondary Education Commission Study. To date, the program continues to thrive and produce future leaders for America. Approximately 19,000 students have matriculated through the YBS Program. The 100's newest initiative, the "See Your Future" mentoring program, mentors young men, 6th grade through college and started in June of 2007 with grants from Supervisor Yvonne Burke and the Annenberg F...

Crystal Stairs Ceo Presents at Annual Congressional Black Caucus

There continues to be a disparity in funding between prison and education costs. Families in the Crystal Stairs service area who receive child care subsidies continue to earn thousands less on average than those not receiving subsidies, around $18,000 a year on average for a family of three. The volume of child care facilities continues to be threatened because of a lack on government investment Of the 11,000 child care centers in California, 716 are accredited (nationally recognized as a hig...

Hud to Launch Fair Lending Education Program

"In order to combat discriminatory lending and fraud, community advocates must be armed with education, training, and strategies to help the public," said [John Trasvina], HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "These seminars will allow participants to begin to obtain advice and, if necessary, file fair housing complaints." "Education and training are the keys to preparing individuals and professionals to deal with the current lending crisis," said Percy Thomas, Exec...

Congresswoman Richardson Announces City of Long Beach to Receive More Than $1 Million

Congresswoman Laura Richardson announced the City of Long Beach has been selected to receive $1,189,000 in funding under the FIE Earmark Grant Awards Program. Congresswoman Richardson is a Democrat from California's 37th Congressional District. She is a member of the House Committees on Transportation & Infrastructure and Homeland Security. Her district includes Long Beach, Compton, Carson, Watts, Willowbrooke and Signal Hill. In partnership with the Broad Prize winning Long Beach Unified...

Talk to Danny!

This young man is absolutely fabulous. In the modern days of pumped up, over inflated egos of athletes, Stafon was the kind of kid who just said give me the ball, I will do what I do and as long as I do the right thing my blessing will come. So the question then is how did this tragic accident happen to such a great kid. The truth is I really don't know, but I do know that all of the good he has done is still relevant now more than ever. We need to lift him up in prayer, we need to lift his f...

Michael Jackson: Womanizer

"[Michael Jackson] understood that your indescribable beauty challenges the imagination of the most prolific poet," I wrote as we communicated by Facebook. "It scars the mind of the uninitiated He was aware that a mere gaze in your direction causes an eruption that ripples through the space-time continuum. He had to have known that with an instrument forged by the gods you were sculpted into perfection. Your ambiance, rivaled only by the loveliest of sunsets, is forever engraved on the psyche...

Housing Bias, Greed Hurting Us All Now

Mortgage brokers and banks such as Countrywide, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo allegedly went from redlining minority areas to targeting them-intensely marketing exotic mortgages in the name of extending home ownership-and then often systematically steering borrowers into sub-prime mortgages that they could not afford. For example, the Washington Post reports that from 1999 on, Chicago community groups met with the Fed and other banking regulators to warn them about the growth of abusive m...

Acorn

It's time to be brutally honest about the ACORN debacle. It's about politics; it's about the 2010 mid-term election; it's about power and maintenance of the status quo; it's about the right to vote; and it's about the continued oppression of an already suppressed group. I haven't forgotten about the attempts to juxtapose President Obama with ACORN during the campaign. I don't ignore the feet that ACORN has consistently been depicted as a Black institution, when in fact it is not. And I shudde...

The Public Option: The Third Way, Not the Third Rail

How can I be so sure? In Los Angeles, we have been doing it for more than a decade. L.A. Care Health Plan is the nation's largest public health plan with nearly 800,000 Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Medicare enrollees. We are a public entity governed by a stakeholder board, which includes representatives from safety net hospitals, community clinics, physicians and enrollees. Let's see here, an existing public plan model that has a track record of expanding coverage, supporting safety net pro...

Unity Is the Basis for Sustained Black Progress

A major reason Blacks have trouble coming together is their Blacks leaders' inability and/or unwillingness to set aside personal agendas for the greater good of the community. They tend to emulate white leaders without full access to white's benefits. Many feel that disunity is an intractable norm, and deeper than that, having internalized white's values, are reluctant to challenge the "system;" to do so is tantamount to attacking themselves. For instance, Black leaders have said virtually no...

Love & the Black Professional

The college experience can be a wonderful thing. As my fraternity's song goes: "College days swiftly pass, imbued with memories fond, and their recollection slowly fades away." Initiating contact and sharing the responsibilities of dating provides you with more control over your dating experience. The days of sitting back and allowing dating to happen to you are gone with girdles and the burning of bras. Darryl James * is an award-winning author of the powerful new anthology "Notes From The E...

What Is Poetry?

As poetry moves across my tongue, I live as a poem, I am what? poetry! Alfonzo Tucker * is an author, poet and inspirational speaker. Visit his website at www.AfonzoTucker.com. [...] live free, free within your own thought, free from negativity, Poetry is what you make it and after a period of life has pasted, your personal rhythm is what decisions you have made along a poetic path.

Leave It to Fox's 'the Cleveland Show' to Pick Up Where Bet's 'We Got to Do Better' Left Off

So given today's economy and the status of Blacks on television be it entertainment or news, I'm not sure which is worse. The fact that there's a new "Black" television series that doesn't feature any Black actors, or Fox's willingness-no make that ability-to capitalize off the continued objectification of Black women by using animation to over sexualize their physical characteristics. I mean at least if the show weren't animated, a Black woman would be getting paid cash money for being objec...