LAWT 05-19-2011

W E E K E N D E R

L.A. Watts Times Vol. XXX, No. 1232

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

HOROSCOPES

MAY 19 - 25

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RIES ~ You’ll have lots of contact with folks you wanted to hear from this week. Your telephone is your best tool, and you’ll enjoy talking and listening to many supportive and loving friends. A letter may arrive with an invitation.

AURUS ~ You are too kind this week and it’s a wonderful thing. By doing things for others without thought of a reward, you’re racking up beneficial vibrations for your future! Take personal pleasure in what you do for others this week.

EMINI ~ Exercise prudence this week in your handling of personal funds. Let your mind wander into the future and you’ll receive the happy answer that you are looking for. Time shared with a partner tonight will be very enjoyable.

ANCER ~ Work with a partner or colleagues goes exceptionally well this week. You receive praise for a job well done! Feel free to change your mind regarding a personal issue. News from a distance arrives.

EO ~ You are a superstar at work.

Efficiency seems to be your middle name. As you go your charming way, don’t forget to delegate tasks with a smile.

IRGO ~ A relationship may be heating up. Make sure you know what you want, then go ahead. Minor challenges on the home front are easily dealt with.

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IBRA ~ You make important progress at work this week by seizing the initiative and letting your leadership abilities shine. What you do makes things better for everyone around you, so rock steady.

Meetings and conversations go especially well.

CORPIO ~ Pay attention to the details in your big bright beautiful picture this week. You’ll handle everything that comes up if you keep your focus sharp. A grand social event is in store for the week.

AGITTARIUS ~ Things are going your way in wonderful ways this week.

Happy news may arrive from a distance, and on the home front, a romantic question may be answered. Friends are glad to be with you. All in all, a very pleasant week! Enjoy!

APRICORN ~ Your social life gives big rewards during the week.

However, give attention to e-mail contacts. Don’t be afraid as your mental horizon expands into new areas.

QUARIUS ~ Your relationships can receive a big boost from a trip that beckons. Business is also highlighted. Your strong mental energy is sustained through the week. Work it out by talking it out.

ISCES ~ Your vibes are calling to you this week to think fondly of all the love you are now giving and have given.

Love itself makes you a better you. So act the fool and love with all your big sunny self. If things get stressful repeat your magic word to yourself: LOVE!

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L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER Published Weekly – Updates 3800 S. Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90008 Administration – Sales – Graphics – Editorial 323.299.3800 - office 323.291.6804 - fax Beverly Cook – Publisher, Managing Editor 1976 – 1993 Charles Cook – Publisher, 1976 – 1998 Melanie Polk – Publisher 1998 – 2010 WWW.LAWATTSTIMES.COM Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. ..........Executive Publisher & Executive Editor Brenda Marsh Mitchell ................................Executive Vice President Tracy Mitchell........................................................................Controller Brandon I. Brooks ............................................Co – Managing Editor Yussuf J. Simmonds..........................................Co – Managing Editor Samuel Richard..........................................................Associate Editor Bernard Lloyd....................................................Director of Advertising Benjamin Samuels ..............................................Production Designer Chris Martin ........................................................Production Designer EMAIL: lawattsnus@aol.com Circulation ................................................................................50,000 The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the L.A. Watts Times.

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Black Facts May 19, 1968 Shortly after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., The Last Poets are born. David Nelson, Gylan Kain and Abiodun Oyewole were born on the anniversary of Malcolm X’s birthday, May 19, 1968, in Marcus Garvey Park.

They grew from three poets and a drummer to seven young black and Hispanic artists: David Nelson, Gylan Kain, Abiodun Oyewole, Felipe Luciano, Umar Bin Hassan, Jalal Nurridin, and Suliamn El Hadi (Gil Scott Heron was never a member of the group).

Source: blackfacts.com

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Congressional Black Caucus celebrates 40th anniversary

BY OFIELD DUKES SPECIAL THE NNPA Washington, D.C. — This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

The contributions of CBC members in ushering a new era of Black political empowerment are enormous.

Unfortunately, these history-making legislative accomplishments of Black members of the U.S. Congress are not as well known by their constituents and the new generation of young Black Americans as they should be.

So, in a classic contemporary alliance between Black politicians and Black publishers, Danny Bakewell, the chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), has invited present and former CBC members to submit commentaries that will appear in local NNPA newspapers about the challenges they faced across America, and especially in the U.S. Congress, in responding to legislative and societal issues relevant to African Americans.

I had the privilege of assisting in organizing and coordinating public relations for the first CBC dinner, held on June 18, 1971.

Rep. Charles Diggs Jr. (D-MI) as the senior Black member of Congress, began a deliberate process of organizing the CBC. Having a prior friendship with Diggs, a Democrat who was a popular Detroit funeral home director, I was aware of his concern that then-President Richard Milhous Nixon might try to dismantle the historic civil rights legislation and Great Society programs passed under the courageous leadership of President Lyndon Baines Jonson. Diggs also took umbrage that Nixon refused to meet with the 13 Blacks that were in the Congress at that time.

Ms. Carolyn P. DuBose, a former press secretary to Diggs, described in her well-researched book, “The Untold Story of Charles Diggs,” how Diggs began organizing the CBC by establishing a Democratic Select Committee in l969. She quoted Diggs as saying: “They did not call me. I am the one who called them. I am the guy that called the meetings.”

Added Diggs, according to Ms. DuBose: “I deliberately did not come

in there Pharaoh-style. I wanted things to come up through the group to set the pattern about what they wanted to do.”

In addition to a climate of White House hostility, in the Civil Rights Movement, there emerged a militant Black power movement led by Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown.

They both advocated meeting White with Thirteen members of the Congressional Black Caucus were the original founders of the organization in l971. The CBC has now grown to Black violence, 42 members as the CBC celebrates its 40th anniversary. The 13 founding members in the photo are (front row, from left) are Rep. Robert contrary to the N.C. Nix, of Pennsylvania; founding CBC Chairman Rep. Charles C. Diggs Jr., of Michigan; Rep. Shirley Chisholm, of New York; and non-violent Rep. Augustus F. Hawkins, of California. Standing are (from left to right) Rep. Parren J. Mitchell, of Maryland; Rep. Charles B. Rangel, approach of Dr. of New York; Rep. William L. Clay, of Missouri; Rep. Ronald Dellums, of California; Rep. George W. Collins, of Illinois; Rep. Louis Martin Luther Stokes, of Ohio; Rep. Ralph H. Metcalfe, of Illinois; Rep. John Conyers Jr., of Michigan; and Rep. Walter Fauntroy, a non-voting deleKing Jr. There was gate of the District of Columbia. also fear and anxiety in the White community in although Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D- $100 per plate banquet will be used to Black and poor America.”

The news release continued: “In linking such a radical effort by Black NY) actually ran for president in l972. by the Caucus to finance a permanent, In my initial news release on the independent staff to conduct in-depth a formal statement, the Caucus said, members in the U.S. Congress with CBC dinner, I wrote: “Funds from the analysis of issues and polices relevant the Black power movement.

See CBC, page 15 I was in the second year of operating my public relations firm out of the National Press building when Diggs called me out of great concern for White and even Black perceptions associating the newly formed Congressional Black Caucus with the Black power movement.

Diggs and I discussed a strategy of my firm convening a press conference at the National Press Club to clarify the objectives of the CBC. At the press conference, CBC members Rep. Louis Stokes and Rep. Williams Clay eloquently explained the political objectives of the Black Caucus and the planned first dinner that June.

A White syndicated columnist had written that the CBC dinner in June could be raising funds in support of a CBC member planning to run for president. The suggested candidate was Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI),

Actor, orator Ossie Davis (center) gave an electrifying speech at the founding dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus on June 18, 1971. Bill Cosby (left) also participated in the dinner that attracted a record crowd. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr.’s role in the Casey Anthony trial Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr.’s role in the Casey Anthony trial is significant to African Americans and the history of the justice system

BY RHETTA PEOPLES SPECIAL TO THE NNPA FROM THE FLORIDA SUN ORLANDO — The American justice system has often been scrutinized for being one-sided or biased when it comes to justice.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, African Americans make-up more than 38 percent of national prison inmates, who are also predominantly male.

However, the U.S. Census Bureau reports Black people are only approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population.

A chief judge in central Florida is proof that even national statistics have exceptions.

Often referred to as the “Judge’s Judge,� Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr., of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, is the highly respected African-American judge with a lead role in one of the most highly publicized court cases in history. Perry received his juris doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law and received both his Bachelor of Science degree in History and Masters of Education from Tuskegee University.

Judge Perry has served as Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court since 2001 and is a member of the Florida Bar, Orange County Bar Association, Texas Bar Association and Trial Court Budget Commission.

Perry said, “I’m humbled and grateful for the confidence of my fellow judges in re-electing me to this position.�

The irony of his position is significant in the overall view of criminal justice in America, because AfricanAmerican men highly populate U.S. prisons and jails. Specific to the Casey Anthony case, it is rare to see White women being a part of statistics that have been dominated by AfricanAmerican men in what is sure to be one of America’s most historical and watched cases.

Judge Perry is not only an icon in the African-American community but also an inspiration to African-American men. His direct manner and voice has been the subject of commentaries and radio mocks because of his southern accent or lack of what broadcasters may call a “general American speech,� like that of President Barack Obama or General Colin Powell, and is typically what mainstream Americans expect to hear from a per-

AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Red Huber

Chief Judge Belvin Perry talks Monday, May 10, 2010, as Casey Anthony’s defense attorneys and prosecutors hash out a string of legal motions. Jurors in the trial of Casey Anthony, charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter, will be picked from outside Orlando, Perry ruled Monday, May 10, 2010 after defense attorneys argued residents there were tainted by negative media reports. son of a higher position.

However, journalists and talk show hosts neglect the real issues when they focus on the accent. Dr. Cornel West, lawyer Willie Gary and the late lawyer Johnny Cochran, among others, also spoke with a cer-

tain flare of their culture; yet each left footprints in their areas of expertise.

Judge Perry is set to preside over the trial in which Anthony is charged with first-degree murder charge of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, who had not been seen for more than

a month before she was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, after she admitted to smelling an odor similar to that of a “dead body� in her Casey Anthony’s car.

Months later, Caylee was found dead only a short distance from the Anthony family home. The child’s death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner, even though the cause of death remains undetermined.

Anthony became a suspect after she neglected to report her daughter missing, exhibited strange behavior, searched numerous times online for chloroform, an ingredient in children’s medicine that is potentially hazardous, and after law enforcement found a mysterious stain in the back of her car that resembles a toddler in the fetal position and she gave authorities a vivid description of “zanny the nanny,� a female baby-sitter who she claimed mysteriously disappeared with her daughter. To date, none of her allegations have turned out to be credible.

Anthony still maintains her innocence, claiming she was protecting her daughter from people who she claimed threatened to hurt her and her family if she were to report the child missing.

Defense attorney Jose Baez has filed several motions requesting to dismiss key evidence from the trial, including the infamous stain that

See PERRY, page 15

Claudia Ann Caldwell, former social worker, counselor, passes

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After a brief illness, Claudia Ann Caldwell, a local who became a social worker, died April 27. She was 66.

Caldwell was born April 16, 1945, in Boulder, Colo.

When she was six months, her family moved to Oakland, Calif., so her father could complete his college education.

The family moved to San Diego in 1955, when her father was appointed manager of the district office for Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. Caldwell attended Mt. Vernon Junior High School and later graduated from Los Angeles High School. Heavily influenced by her grandparents and her mother, she was interested in politics and civil rights.

In the 1960s, Caldwell worked as a counselor for Teen Post. In 1965, while a community college student, she went with her mother to Atlanta, to participate in the Summer Community Voting Project.

This experience enabled her to travel to six southern states and 20 counties, registering voters, while meeting students as well as civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Caldwell attended California State University, Los Angeles, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Later, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. In 1975, she began a career as a social worker with the Los Angeles

Claudia Ann Caldwell County Department of Children and Family Services.

One of the highlights of her 35-year career was being selected to accompany wards of the court to Switzerland to testify before the United Nations.

In 1980, she married Robert Earl Caldwell, and the two had one son, Robert Earl Jr. Her husband died passed away in 2008.

She leaves behind her mother, son, sister and a host of family and friends.

www.lawattstimes.com 5

Thursday, May 19, 2011

President Obama meets with CBC at White House and debt ceiling discussions.

The CBC expressed to the president the importance of immediately identifying resources available for investment for critical programs that serve vulnerable communities. The caucus proposed the idea of youth jobs through aid and clean-up of the recent tornado and flood ravished areas. President Obama expressed his commitment

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to short- and long-term strategies to ensure economic growth, thereby creating a more prosperous America. The president also assured the caucus of its critical role as a partner in addressing the economic woes of our time. Obama expressed his goal to create a robust economy that will generate jobs for those in the African-American community and for all Americans.

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MetroBriefs The Congressional Black Caucus recently held its first full Caucus meeting with President Obama at the White House. The CBC emphasized the importance of innovative job and wealth creation, especially for the African-American

community, which is the hardest hit by the recession. Obama and the CBC discussed many issues, but jobs were the primary focus, including ways to address the conditions of the long-term unemployed. The CBC commended President Obama

on the successful military action taken by the administration and U.S. armed forces in capturing Osama bin Laden. Additionally, the CBC acknowledged the importance of Assistant Leader Jim Clyburn’s significant role in the budget deficit

Accused killer takes witness stand at Chauncey Bailey murder trial

BY THOMAS PEELE NEW AMERICA MEDIA OAKLAND — Accused killer Antoine Mackey took the witness stand in his own defense Tuesday in the Chauncey Bailey murder trial and spent most of morning describing how he joined Your Black Muslim Bakery in 2007.

Mackey, 25, has yet to be asked about any of the three deaths for which he is facing murder charges.

Under questioning from his attorney Gary Sirbu, Mackey said he harbors no hatred toward White people. One of his alleged victims, Michael Wills, was a White man; prosecution witness Devaughndre Broussard said Mackey and his codefendant in the triple murder case, bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV, bragged about killing “White devils.”

Bey IV is accused of ordering the deaths of Bailey, editor of The Oakland Post, and two other men, Odell Roberson and Wills, in summer 2007. Mackey is accused of killing Wills and helping in the deaths of Bailey and Roberson.

Bey IV and Mackey have pleaded not guilty; they face life in

prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Broussard has confessed to killing Bailey and Roberson and will receive a 25-year sentence in exchange for his testimony.

Mackey apparently decided over the weekend to take the stand, and his testimony will delay closing arguments that were expected to begin Tuesday. Mackey’s testimony was expected to take several more hours.

Mackey described himself as “a nerd” who joined the bakery after being shot in three separate inci-

dents in his hometown of San Francisco. He said he was fascinated with learning how to work the cash register at the bakery.

“I’m just a nerd that way,” he said.

Reach investigative reporter Thomas Peele at tpeele@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at twitter.com/thomas_peele.

Chauncey Bailey Project reports are also being featured at the Center for Investigative Reporting, Maynard Institute, San Francisco Bay Guardian and The Bay Citizen.

Black Facts May 19, 1965 Patricia Harris is named as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.

May 19, 1930 This is the birth date of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who was born in Chicago. Her only two plays, “A Raisin in the Sun” and “The Sign in Sidney Burstein’s Window,” became famous.

May 20, 1971 Pentagon report says Blacks constituted 11 percent of U.S. soldiers in Southeast Asia. The report said 12.5 percent of all soldiers killed in Vietnam since 1961 were Black.

Source: blackfacts.com

Join In “Dump The Pump Day” June 16 Now in its sixth year, National Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation and save money, instead of driving a car. In LA taking public transit could mean saving as much as $10,000 annually instead of paying for gas and parking. Find out how at metro.net and join in on June 16.

New Metro Bus Schedules June 26 Starting June 26, Metro is making changes in its bus service to improve e;ciency and e=ectiveness through better use of resources. For complete details on the service changes, visit metro.net. Revised timetables will be available online or on buses starting in June.

Bridge Demolition To Close I-405 On Weekend Of July 16-17 A weekend closure of the I-405 Freeway – between the US-101 Freeway and the Getty Center Drive ramps – is scheduled for Saturday, July 16 (beginning at midnight) thru Sunday, July 17.

The closure is required to allow safe demolition of a portion of the Mulholland Boulevard Bridge, part of the freeway improvements project. For the latest on road closures and construction delays, as well as project updates, go to metro.net/405.

Metro’s 30/10 Moves America Fast Forward Metro’s 30/10 Initiative has gone national as “America Fast Forward.” Other cities and counties are adopting Metro’s proposal seeking to leverage federal assistance to accelerate construction of local transportation projects. Metro is attempting to complete 30 years’ worth of transit and highway improvement projects in just 10 years. Find out more at metro.net/3010.

Take Your Bike On Metro Rail Anytime Riders with bicycles can now board any Metro Rail train in any direction at any time of the day. Previously, bikes were prohibited on Metro Rail during morning and evening rush hours. The restriction was lifted to help make bicycles a more viable alternative mode of transportation and encourage the use of transit.

If you’d like to know more, visit metro.net.

GEN-CE-11-012 11-1374Bd ©2011 LACMTA

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama meets with the Congressional Black Caucus in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 12, 2011.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Historic photos taken by Black photographers Clockwise: (1) A young Muhammad Ali can be seen on the right side of the photo shaking a man’s hand. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., on Jan. 17, 1942, Ali is considered by many to be the greatest boxer. In his career, Ali accumulated a fighting record of 56-5-0, with 37 knockouts. (2) Then-Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace (left of center) in his 1948 campaign for president. Although Wallace failed to become president, he was vice president of the United States. He also served as the Secretary of Agriculture in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.

(3) Malcolm X can be seen near the far left of the photo. In this photo, he was attending the funeral of local Muslim Ronald Stokes, who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police in 1962.

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The photos with Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X were taken by Harry Adams. The photograph with Henry Wallace was taken by Charles Williams. They were provided courtesy of Kent Kirkton, curator and director of the Institute for Arts and Media at California State University, Northridge.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

The frivolous attacks on Obama and Common

BY GEORGE E. CURRY NNNPA COLUMNIST If you thought nothing could be more frivolous than conservatives questioning whether the President was born in the United States, think again. The recent criticism of Obama’s decisions to worship on Easter Sunday at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and invite poet/rapper Common to participate in a White House celebration of poetry illustrates how far his critics will stoop to manufacture a controversy.

Fox News was hysterical over the Obamas’ decision to worship at the predominantly Black church founded in the 1800s by former slaves. Sean Hannity, co-host of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, aired a clip from the speech the Rev. Wallace Smith, the pastor of Shiloh, had given at Eastern University, in Davids, Pa. “It may not be Jim Crow anymore,” said Smith. “Now, Jim Crow wears blue pinstripes, goes to law school and carries fancy briefs in cases. And now, Jim Crow has become James Crow, esquire. And, he doesn’t have to wear white robes anymore because now he can wear the protective cover of talk radio or can get a regular news program on Fox.” After the clip aired as part of Hannity’s criticism of the president, Smith said his church received more than 100 threats via telephone and e-mail.

“We received a fax that had the image of a monkey with a target across its face,” he told the Washington Post. “My secretary has received telephone calls that have been so vulgar until she had to hang up.”

On his show, Fox host Bill O’Reilly tried to dismiss the Rev. Smith as a “racial activist” and kept objecting to Smith’s observation on Easter that the original U.S. Constitution was a flawed document that did not count African descendants as full human beings.

O’Reilly made the mistake of inviting the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of Third Baptist Church, in San Francisco and president of the local NAACP chapter, to discuss the Obama decision to worship at Shiloh. Brown noted that Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton had attended the same church as president without being criticized.

When O’Reilly said they attended under different circumstances, Brown corrected him: “It was the same church with the same pastor with the same views.”

After Brown refused to back

George Curry down, O’Reilly quickly ended the interview. But, Fox did not end its assault on President Obama and his wife, Michelle.

The first lady hosted an event at the White House to celebrate American poetry. Among the performers invited was Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., the poet/rapper better known as Common.

Various Fox News personalities criticized Common for his work, titled “A Song for Assata,” written in honor of Assata Shakur, the Black Panther Party member who was convicted of the 1973 murder of New Jersey State trooper Werner Foerster. The trooper was shot twice in the head with his own gun. Black Panther Party member Zayd Malik Shakur was also killed in the New Jersey Turnpike shootout. Assata Shakur and another state trooper, James Harper, were injured in the exchange of gunfire. Assata Shakur escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984.

In his tribute, Common wrote: “Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldna done. Medical evidence shown she couldna shot the gun.” Although Fox led the recent campaign against Common, the network’s Jason Robinson told Common last year: “Your music is very positive. And you’re known as the conscious rapper.”

Fox also sent out birthday greetings to rapper Ice-T, whose song “Body Count” celebrated the murder of police officers. And, it never criticized Sarah Palin, who sees nothing wrong with placing shooting targets around photos of liberal Democrats.

On the Aug. 24, 2007 edition of Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity introduced video of Ted

Nugent, a musician and rightwing activist, calling President Obama “a piece of s---” and referring to Hillary Clinton as a “worthless b----.”

When Bob Beckel, a guest on the program, challenged Hannity to disavow Nugent, he declined, saying: “No, I like Ted Nugent. He’s a friend of mine.”

It is unfair to hold Obama responsible for the lyrics of Common and not apply the same standard to other presidents.

“Daily Show” comedian Jon Stewart drove home that point when he cited the lyrics of Johnny Cash: “Early one mornin’ while makin’ the rounds/I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down.”

Cash was invited to the White House by presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush invited rapper Eazy-E to the White House.

His group, NWA, released a song titled, “F--- tha Police.” Among its lyrics: “A young ni--- on a warpath And when I’m finished, it’s gonna be a bloodbath Of cops, dyin’ in L.A. … Taking out a police would make my day.”

Where was the outrage from conservatives then?

Again, there was no public outrage.

By today’s standard, Common’s lyrics are mild. So mild that The Gap featured him in an ad for its 2006 fall collection. He has also appeared in such movies as “American Gangster,” “Terminator Salvation,” and “Date Night,” featuring Tina Fey and Steve Carell.

Lost in the controversy over Common was the purpose of the White House event, which was to honor poetry.

As President Obama said at the event: “The power of poetry is everybody experiences it differently. There are no rules on what makes a great poem. Instead, a great poem is one that resonates with us and challenges us and teaches us something about ourselves.”

George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA news service, is a keynote speaker, moderator and media coach. He can be reached through his website, www.georgecurry.com/.

He can also be followed at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.

Black Facts May 19, 1991 Willy T. Ribbs becomes the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Source: blackfacts.com

National solution to Black high school dropouts

BY DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS JR. NNPA COLUMNIST For the last several years, there has been an endless stream of negative reporting about the growing and persistent problems of the terrible rate of high school dropout rates for Black American students across the United States. Of course, it is always important to focus on the most critical problems that beset the quality of life of the AfricanAmerican community. Certainly, there is no greater challenge than encouraging our young sisters and brothers to stay in school to complete their high school education, and to prepare for their life careers by going on to finish college and graduate school or to enroll in some type of hands-on career training or to start their own businesses that may require special entrepreneurial internship and mentorship.

But, to just keep describing and analyzing the “problems” of Black American high school dropouts or pointing the fingers at the internal and external forces or contradictions that plague the African-American community will do very little to change this situation. It is not a hopeless state of being that cannot be changed. There are solutions to this problem. Brother Malcolm X reminded all of us that in life you are either going to be part of the problem or part of the solution to the problems that confront the daily life circumstances of Black people in America and throughout the world.

Recently, there was a related article in The Economist magazine that typically described the problem of the direct causative relationship between the high rate of Black unemployment and the high rate of Black high school dropouts. Among African Americans, 70 percent of those who have dropped out of high school are also devastatingly unemployed. But, the article in the Economist offered no solutions. It painted, what may appear to most of its readers, a hopeless situation for Black high school dropouts.

During my 50 years or more in the Civil Rights Movement, we were always confronted with sometimes life-threatening problems and challenges. But, we never let fear or hopelessness determine our strategies for progress and success in the very face all those forces of oppression and repression. We kept our faith in God and in our own abilities to participate in the development and implementation of “movement for change” organizing, mobilizing, and in the institutional-building process so necessary to move our race and community forward. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), along

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. with countless Black churches and other grassroots organizations including organized labor, helped to build and sustain a movement that irreversibly changed America for the better.

Now today in 2011, we must address today’s educational problems and challenges with that same kind of fortitude, alternative institutional-building and resilience. The education of our children and young adults, and in particular the millions who have dropped out of high school during the last 10 to 20 years, is of paramount concern. During the last couple of years, I have been blessed to work directly with innovation in the educational system.

Education Online Services Corp. has gained invaluable experience in helping Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) enter successfully onto the online degree program global marketplace. The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) continues to lead the way to encourage Black parents and students to explore and select the best educational options available today to give students from our communities the best quality education inclusive of considering charter schools and other innovative educational models that have proven to be effective in 2011.

Thus, today, through the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), America’s Black Press, I am announcing a unique solution and my personal contribution to make this solution available as an option for those who may have dropped out of high school, for whatever reason, to be able to return to high school and to complete their high school education online and receive an accredited high school diploma together with career training, job placement, and college entrance incentives built into this “High School Reengagement Program.” That’s right, See CHAVIS, page 12

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L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott recently sparked debate over a piece she wrote in Essence. She ‘winced’ when she found out her Black friend was married to a White woman. Where do you stand on interracial relationships?

By Jennifer Bihm Contributing Writer “Emotions are powerful,” the Black woman said.

“You never can say who you will fall in love with.”

That sentiment, however, doesn’t stop the lady — who identified herself as “K” in order to speak freely — from what she feels and wonders when she sees a Black man with a woman who is not the same race.

“I sometimes think, ‘What is she doing that a Black woman can’t do? Is it money? Is it sex? Is she less outspoken?’ ” Actress and singer Jill Scott probably could have wondered the same thing. Her commentary in a recent issue of Essence magazine sparked a heavy debate online when she revealed she felt her spirit “wince” once she found out her Black male friend was married to a White woman. She had seemed diplomatic in her piece, telling readers that she is not racist and has respect for all people, but the floodgates were opened nonetheless.

“For those of you who wince when a black and white couple walk by, there IS something wrong with YOU, not them,” Jennifer Powell, a woman who appeared to be White, wrote on Essence’s website.

“They have simply chosen each other and to be happy and you have chosen to judge based on what... slavery from 50+ years ago. It’s like we all want change, but we also want to be able to dwell on the past. Personally, I think it shows that people who ‘wince’ just aren’t confi-

dent enough in themselves…”

On the surface, Americans seem to agree with Powell.

According to Census Bureau statistics as recent as 2008, most of country says interracial dating and marriage does not bother them. About 60 percent say they would be OK with family members dating outside their race.

The statistics also show Blacks as more approving than Whites, younger adults more approving than older adults, and residents of the western region more tolerant of interracial coupling than the middle or eastern regions.

Here in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw community, Black men and women approached the subject as tactfully as Scott did in her commentary, saying things like, “It’s a personal choice.” Or, “it doesn’t bother me.” After hesitating, though, some oơered a little more insight.

“I try not to look at (interracial couples) any differently than I would anybody else because after all, love is love,” said L.A. resident Willie Walton. “But, take into consideration the political, cultural and social eơects of the whole baggage that (an interracial relationship) has; it’s just too much for me. I couldn’t date outside my race.”

Three men who were part of the lunchtime crowd at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza this week gave many reasons why they have dated non-Black women.

“Yeah, I’ve dated outside my race,” said one of the men who wanted to remain anonymous.

“You get the same things: stares, you get dirty looks … depends on where you’re at.

His friend “Scorpio,” who said he is married to a Hispanic woman, elaborated. “(Black women) were taught as slaves that the White man can

treat her better than her own Black man because he’s a slave. He doesn’t have anything. After the Black man raised up after the (Civil Rights) Movement and started doing things, you still weren’t enough for the Black woman because she’s been taught, ‘If you don’t have a car,’ … Material things drove our women away.”

“That’s real talk,” agreed one man who chose not to give his name, as well as another friend, Leon.

Leon, who is married to a Black woman, said he always knew that when it came to marriage, he would marry a Black woman. But he has dated women of other races.

“I’ve been married for a long time to a Black sister, but I’ve been with Caucasian women. And when I talk, they listen to me more than my own wife,” he said.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Hassan Scott maintains that Black women are indeed beautiful and desirable.

However, though he has never dated outside his race, he would consider it. His reasons are very similar to those of the lunchtime trio.

“My experience has been that (Black women) are very outspoken, strong-willed. Not that we (Black men) mind that, but sometimes at some point in the relationship, it’s like, ‘Let me be a man.’ ” Hassan did admit that doesn’t only apply to Black women and that it most likely has to do with how a woman is raised. All of his dating experiences have been with Black women so far. He basis his current views on those experiences, but is still open to dating a variety of women, he said.

“Kind of the first question they ask: ‘Do you work? What kind of car do

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

9

Film critic Roger Ebert applauds his wife, Chaz (AP Photo/Charles Rex)

Tiki Barber and wife Ginny Cha (AP Photo/Jennifer Graylock)

Meyers Family: (L-R) Lyjah Meyers, Rosie Tablam Meyers and Lourin (Photo courtesy of the Meyers Family)

you drive?’ ” Hassan said in reference to Black women.

“Those may be questions that people would usually ask to get to know someone but when (a black woman) asks it’s like … a thing that clicks in the back of my head because right now I don’t make a lot of money.

So, if I tell you that and we still talk, but then three months down the line, ‘You need to find another job because you’re not making enough…’ There are pressures and time limits now. So, it’s like, if I don’t find another job, then we’re not going to be together?”

But, said Scott’s friend, a 23-year-old Black female named Denise, “Black women have to work harder than other (races of women).

“You can have a car, your own house, take care of your kids on your own… why do I have to work so hard to get the successful Black man, when ‘others’ can get him with just looks. ‘Others’ can get by with just beauty, but as a Black woman, you have to have the education, you have to have all of these other things to be accepted by a successful Black man.

“A Black woman plays a big part in a Black man’s life. His mother, for example, raises him, makes him who he is, helps him get everything he has and then he turns around and dates and marries someone of another race. It starts out with us; you wouldn’t be who you are if it wasn’t for the Black woman.”

Both young adults said they believe a deep sense of self-hatred within the Black community is another factor contributing to interracial dating. “ Yo u see it on Facebook all

the time: Black women dating (men of other races) so they can have babies with ‘good hair,’ ” said Denise.

“Yeah,” Hassan agreed.

“Or you see stuơ on Facebook like, ‘I’m going to date outside my race because Black guys are nothing; they don’t take care of their babies, they don’t have jobs …’ ” But, real relationships have nothing to do with race, according to 38-year-old Christopher Hannah, a Black man who has been married to a White woman for about six years. The couple has three children.

His romantic philosophy is simple.

“I married someone with qualities that I like,” he said. “My wife is a true friend, she is non-hypocritical about her life, she is a person of integrity and she cares about people.

She is a giver. When a human being is an unselfish giver, that’s attractive.”

Hannah, who lives in Atlanta, said for the most part, no one that he or his wife knows has expressed any negativity toward his relationship.

Jaye Barry Jones, a Washington D.C. native who now lives in Los Angeles, shared similar sentiments with Hannah. He’s dated women of diơerent races and believes the subject of race in this day and age is irrelevant.

“If you were to close your eyes and I stood in front of you and cut a Korean man, a White man and a Black man and their blood spilled to the ground, when you open your eyes you will not be able to tell whose blood is whose,” says Jones. “While Americans are preoccupied with

race we’re falling behind the rest of the world.”

Both Jones and Hannah said that if people would become more enlightened and less ignorant, race would be less of an issue.

“Hate is a disease that cannot survive,” Hannah said. “That’s why you see more interracial couples today.”

10

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

CNN anchorman Don Lemon comes out as a gay man

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo/CNN

In this publicity image released by CNN, CNN anchor Don Lemon is shown.

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN anchor Don Lemon has come out as a gay man in his new book, a disclosure he knows comes at a risk.

While Lemon’s memoir, titled “Transparent,” also covers his journalism career, he’s prepared for much of the reaction to focus on more personal matters, which include growing up without a father and his revelation that he was sexually abused as a child.

In his book, the 45-year-old Lemon writes of having lived with “dark, ugly secrets” that took him years to bring into the light.

Being black made being gay feel even worse, he said in an interview Monday, “because of how the black community perceives a gay person. An AfricanAmerican male is taught that he has to be masculine.

“And our community is steeped in religion, with the church preaching against homosexuality. I prayed a lot growing up that I would change, that I would be straight,” he said. “But no matter how good I was, how much I prayed and denied what I was, it was always there.”

Lemon says it would be naive to assume that the public won’t have strong opinions about what he has written, and he’s braced for some people to react negatively.

“But it’s important for everyone to be truthful about who they are,” he said, adding that CNN has been “very supportive” of his decision to go public.

Few national television news anchors have publicly acknowledged being gay, with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow perhaps the best known.

Lemon, who serves as a correspondent and anchors “CNN Newsroom” during weekend prime time, joined the network in 2003. “Transparent” will be released next month.

Online: http://www.cnn.com.

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M-Bone, aka Mante Ray Talbert

‘Dougie’ rapper M-Bone slain in drive-by

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS INGLEWOOD, Calif. — MBone of the rap group Cali Swag District, which scored a hit last year with the song “Teach Me How to Dougie,” was killed in a weekend drive-by shooting as he sat in a car outside a liquor store, police said Monday.

The 22-year-old Inglewood man, whose real name is Mante Ray Talbert, was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car shortly after 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

“Another car pulled alongside, gunshots were fired, and the victim was struck twice in the head,” Lt. James Madia said. A man sitting in the passenger seat of Talbert’s car was not injured, Lt. Gabriel Garcia said.

Talbert was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Lt. Steve Overly said the motive for the attack was under investigation. Several theories have been put forward on social media sites and detectives were following up on some of those to see if they were credible, he said.

Talbert was “the victim of a random act of violence,” Cali Swag District’s publicist Greg Miller said in a statement.

“He was a hardworking, pas-

sionate artist and dancer that will be deeply missed,” Miller said.

Witnesses gave varying descriptions of the fleeing car, Madia said.

Bandmate C-Smoove tweeted Monday that his life changed drastically in the blink of an eye, and added “rip mbone.”

“He was the life of the group,” C-Smoove told KABC-TV as he wiped away tears with his shirt. “He made us laugh, he was the energy.”

Dozens of friends, fans and family members gathered outside the liquor store Monday evening and held a vigil for Talbert.

Cali Swag District’s hit “Teach Me How to Dougie” is based on the “Dougie” dance, which first appeared in Texas and is noted for its leaning stances, shoulder and arm movements.

The dance was not only performed in dance clubs and the streets but by celebrities as well, from Wolf Blitzer to Washington Wizards star John Wall; even first lady Michelle Obama recently performed the dance as part of her “Let’s Move” initiative.

“Teach Me How to Dougie” spent several months in the top 10 of Billboard’s hot rap songs. The group also performed the dance on several television shows.

www.lawattstimes.com 11

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Actor Roger Guenveur The White House Celebrates Smith honored by American Poetry board of supervisors FROM NNPA.ORG First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a workshop for students from California to New York at the White House to celebrate

Photo by Fred Watkins

First Lady Michelle Obama during a celebration of American poetry.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

In this Dec. 3, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama greets rapper Common at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington. Michelle Obama’s “evening of poetry” at the White House set off Republican critics before the artists had uttered a word. Common, who is considered fairly tame as rappers go, is known for rhymes that tend to be socially and politically conscious.

Roger Guenveur Smith and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark RidleyThomas.

OFFICE OF MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS Actor and Leimert Park native Roger Guenveur Smith was honored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors May 10 for his dramatic work that is often informed by his roots in African-American Los Angeles.

Smith, who is also a writer and director, is performing in a new show opening May 19 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. “Juan and John,” which Smith authored, tells the story of a brutal incident at a Giants-Dodgers game.

This one, however, occurred in 1965.

“Juan and John” tells the story of the game in which Giants pitcher Juan Marichal, in a fit of anger, clubbed Dodgers catcher John Roseboro on the head with his bat, opening a big bloody gash in his head.

The show touches on themes of violence and race, as well as the Watts rebellion of the same year. It is also a tale of forgiveness — Roseboro and Marichal became friends.

When Marichal failed for four years to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Roseboro made a public appeal that Marichal not be excluded due to the beating incident. When Marichal was inducted into to the hall of fame, he thanked Roseboro in his acceptance speech.

L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who presented Smith to the board for recognition, called Smith “a true actor-intellectual who has drawn on his roots in our community to inspire audiences worldwide.”

At the board of supervisors meeting, Smith evoked his Leimert Park childhood and called on the supervisors — who also sit on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board — to build a rail station in Leimert Park Village.

“Leimert Park Village, along with the Watts Towers, is one of those places that is a must-stop for anyone interested in culture in this city,” Smith said. “It should be a convenient and very accessible stop on our public transportation system.”

Smith has appeared in numerous films by the director Spike Lee, such as “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X,” as well as in such acclaimed works as “Eve’s Bayou” and Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster.”

Smith’s stage work “has ambitiously combined history, the politics of race and a fearless pursuit of universal truths, even when the truth hurts,” RidleyThomas said. His plays include, “Frederick Douglass Now,” “The Watts Towers Project,” and, with Mark Broyard, “Inside the Creole Mafia.”

Smith grew up in Leimert Park. His mother, Helen Guenveur, was a dentist, and his father, Sherman Smith, was a judge.

After going to Loyola High School, Smith attended Occidental College.

This year Occidental awarded Smith the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his work.

Smith began graduate studies in history at Yale University, but also enrolled in the university’s storied school of drama.

Ridley-Thomas said Smith, “has devoted his career to challenging us all to find the compassion and grace that lies beneath the often rough surface of our existence.”

American poetry, which she said “helps us see the world in an entirely different way.”

The workshop was designed to educate and inspire talented young people, who met and worked with the First Lady’s invited guests, including prominent writers such as former poets laureate Rita Dove and Billy Collins; Elizabeth Alexander, who wrote and delivered the poem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration; musician Jill Scott; and Grammy Award-winning rapper and actor Common, who drew strong criticism from Republicans, who contended the rapper advocated violence against former President George W. Bush and the police.

Common later tweeted: “… The one thing that shouldn’t be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day.”

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Another round of SPORTS BEAT B B NFL talks ends without agreement

Y RAD PYE JR.

BY DAVE CAMPBELL AP SPORTS WRITER MINNEAPOLIS — The NFL and its locked-out players wrapped up another round of court-ordered mediation Tuesday without any signs of a new agreement and the clock ticking on the 2011 season.

Officials and attorneys for both sides said they will return for more closed-door talks with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan on June 7, four days after a key appeals court hearing in St. Louis on the legality of the lockout.

NFL lead negotiator Jeff Pash and Hall of Famer Carl Eller both said the talks went well, but there was no indication of any significant progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement. Pash said he thought Boylan had done a good job of “pushing the parties,� but he said he doesn’t believe the dispute over the future of the $9 billion business will be settled in court. “The only way we’re going to solve this is by sitting down together,�

Pash said, echoing the NFL’s preference for traditional negotiations in a collective bargaining setting and adding: “We owe it to our game. We owe it to our fans. We owe it to each other, to the players and to the clubs, to sit down and negotiate.�

Said Pash: “I think we got some work done today, and we’re going to keep at it.�

They’ve been at it for a long time.

The two sides met for 16 days before talks fell apart March 11 and the lockout began. Boylan, who presided over four days of mediation last month and two more days this week, also had lunch with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Pash was coy when asked about the significance of that separate meeting. “We weren’t invited. Us staff guys, you know, we didn’t rate for the big power lunch, so we’re eager to hear about it ourselves,� Pash said.

The two sides are not scheduled to meet again until June, just a month before training camps typically begin and just eight weeks before the first preseason game on Aug. 8. “I feel we really got some movement between last night and today,�

Eller said, declining like the rest of the participants to discuss details.

Linebacker Mike Vrabel, one of the plaintiffs on the antitrust lawsuit against the league, questioned the NFL’s commitment to striking a deal outside the courthouse after mediation concluded. “I don’t know if there’s any sense of urgency on their part,� Vrabel said. “I certainly understand that the closer you get to training camp, and the dates as players we’re used to reporting for training camp and playing preseason games and playing regular-season games, this thing becomes a lot more real for everybody involved. The play-

AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

National Football League Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith listens to an opening statements on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, prior to testifying before a House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection subcommittee hearing on “The NFL StarCaps Case: Are Sports’ Anti-Doping Programs at a Legal Crossroads?�. ers aren’t out there doing the work they’d normally be doing. They’re doing it on their own and they’re taking a lot of risk. I think that people appreciate the fact that guys are still preparing for a season.�

Vrabel added: “I think the most important thing is that we continue to meet.�

Owners have a regularly scheduled meeting next week, but Pash said they won’t be putting together a “plan of attack.� “We’re not at war with anybody.

These players are an integral part of our business, and we want to work with them,� he said.

There are some huge court matters looming, including the June 3 hearing before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the legality of the lockout, with a ruling likely a few weeks after.

The same three-judge panel handling the hearing has already ruled twice in favor of the league, keeping the lockout in place.

U.S. District Judge David Doty is also deciding whether to award players more than $707 million in damages and to bar the NFL from using $4 billion in broadcast revenue. Doty has already said the league failed to secure the most income for the players when it re-negotiated those broadcast contracts.

Also, the federal antitrust lawsuit filed against the NFL by the players is still pending.

AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in New York and Associated Press Writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Only two of the NBA’s Final Four — the East’s Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls and the West’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks — will make it to the NBA championship.

The Bulls threw the first blow Sunday against the Heat, with a 103-82 win, to take a 1-0 lead.

The Bulls and Heat are tied now, however, as Miami beat Chicago, 8575, Wednesday night.

The Heat was hoping to even the series at 1-1 and got their wish. Now the series heads to Miami for games 3 and 4.

It’s my guess that Miami’s Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will bounce back against MVP Derrick Rose and his depth-laden teammates and win the whole thing.

My prediction for the ThunderMavericks series: Oklahoma City’s Big Duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will go for all the marbles — and get them — in a seven-game clincher against Dallas.

Like the donut kitchen worker who threw all the donuts away because they had holes in them, the Dallas Mavericks threw the Los Angeles Lakers away in four straight because they had holes in their defense.

The Lakers will miss coach Phil Jackson big time. Jackson has 11 NBA titles (six with Michael Jordan and the Bulls and five with the Lakers).

It’s possible that Brian Shaw could be selected as the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach to replace Jackson.

Other potential Black candidates include ex-Laker Byron Scott, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Nate McMillan, Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks and the New Orleans Hornets’ Monty Williams.

The fine and suspension of Andrew Bynum for five games without pay, plus a $25,000 fine, seems too harsh. His teammate Lamar Odom was slapped with only a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul. Isn’t Bynum’s five-game suspension and $25,000 fine overkill? I think so. Will the Players Association appeal Bynum’s case? I hope so.

Former local high school and college stars have done their things in the NBA playoffs.

Included are the Memphis Grizzlies’ O.J. Mayo (USC), Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce (Inglewood High), Thunders’ Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and the Dallas Mavericks’ Tyson Chandler (Compton’s Dominquez High). Westbrook led the Thunder with 40 points in that 133-123, triple overtime win over Memphis in Game 4

Miami Heat’s LeBron James, center, goes up for a shot against Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah, left, and Luol Deng during the first quarter in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals basketball series Sunday, May 15, 2011, in Chicago.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

on May 9.

I chatted recently with ex-Lakers star Flynn Robinson after his operation to remove a cancerous brain tumor.

Robinson starred for the Lakers during their days at the House That Jack Built — The Fabulous Forum.

He’s recovering at his Wilshire District condo.

And the beat continues‌ While her famous uncle Tiger Woods’ career seems to be fading away, Cheyenne Woods’ career is on the rise. Cheyenne is competing this week in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.

And the beat continues‌ They helped me celebrate my 24 years of service to the late L.A. County Supervisor Kenny Hahn and the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services.

E.J. Jackson of the famous Jackson Limousine Service for athletes, entertainers and the general public came out of the blue and provided limousine services for my family and I for the April 16 dinner in my honor at The Proud Bird in Los Angeles.

Jackson was an all-city linebacker and team captain at Manual Arts High, on the 1968 and ’69 all-city, title-winning teams.

Thanks, E.J. Like beer in a glass,

you’ve got class.

And the beat ends.

Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at switchreel@aol.com.

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Continued from page 7 I am going establish and run a national online high school expressly to reclaim, redeem, and encourage the re-engagement of Blacks and Latinos, in particular, back to high school with the mission of high school completion together with career training, job placement, and a direct access to a high-quality college education. We will announce the name of this special and focused online high school in the near future. But, I wanted to let our read-

ers know now that we are serious about providing and participating in the “solution� process concerning this issue. We are serious about institutional building and capacitybuilding for the future. Education is the key to liberation and economic empowerment.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is senior adviser to the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) and president of Education Online Services Corp.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Abiding in God’s Word

BY THE REV. SHIRLEY CORLEY LACOUR MINISTER OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP BETHEL A.M.E. CHURCH

AP Photo/Matt Houston

Johnathan Rodgers, president of TV One, a cable channel geared to blacks, stands in the channel’s editing studio Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004, in Lanham, Md.

Person of the Week

TV One President and CEO, Johnathan Rodgers, to retire at the end of July After a 45-year career in the media business, TV One President and CEO Johnathan Rodgers will retire July 31.

Under his leadership the last seven years, TV One, a cable network available in 53 million homes, has become recognized as the quality programming alternative for AfricanAmerican adults. The network, profitable after only five years, also set successive viewership records over the past three television seasons. TV One has won multiple NAACP Image Awards and was recognized with the National Association of Black Journalists Best Practices Award in 2009 for its coverage of the Democratic convention and election night in 2008.

Educated as a journalist at the University of California at Berkeley, Rodgers began his career as a writerreporter for Sports Illustrated in 1967 and in the succeeding years worked for NBC and CBS as a television writer, reporter and producer. After moving into media management, Rodgers eventually became an executive producer at CBS News and later the president of the CBS Television Stations group. In 1996, he joined the cable industry when he went to Discovery Communications as the president of the U.S. Networks group. While at Discovery, he oversaw the conversion of The Learning Channel into TLC and the successful launches of Animal Planet, Discovery Kids and Discovery Health.

“Running TV One has been an honor, a privilege and a labor of love for me,” said Johnathan Rodgers. “I was able to bring all my experiences from my previous jobs to help create

this wonderful network. I want to thank Brian Roberts and Comcast for their support, and especially Alfred Liggins for his vision in creating and funding TV One and for allowing me to run it for the past seven years. There could have been no better way to cap off a long and satisfying career in the television business for me than to help build a sustainable channel that African American adults, indeed all Americans can be very proud of.”

“When I realized that there was a business opportunity for launching a black cable channel nearly a decade ago, Quincy Jones told me there was only one person I should pursue to develop the channel, and that was Johnathan Rodgers,” said TV One Chairman and Radio One President and CEO Alfred Liggins. “That was great advice, and Johnathan’s involvement in TV One has been invaluable in its success on so many different levels.

He is leaving the network on very solid footing for the future.”

“Having Johnathan as a friend and partner in TV One has been a real honor. We knew we were in good hands from the beginning of our relationship, with Johnathan’s industry knowledge, experience and strategic skills and Alfred Liggins’ solid business plan,” said Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of the Comcast Corp. “Johnathan’s personal commitment and dedication have helped build TV One into one of the cable industry’s great success stories.”

Radio One earlier this month announced it had increased its ownership interest in TV One to approximately 50.9 percent, giving the company a majority interest in the channel.

Scripture reference: John 8:31-32 God’s Word is unlike any other word, because when God speaks, things change. All creation exists because God said, “Let there be” and it was.

By God’s Word, the world was formed, and by His Word, we are transformed. 2 Timothy 3:17 reminds us to fill our lives with God’s Word so that “the man or woman of God may be thoroughly furnished and equipped for every good work.”

God’s Word generates life; creates faith; produces change; beats the devil; causes miracles; heals our hurts; builds character; transforms circumstances; imparts joy; overcomes adversity; defeats temptation; gives hope; releases power; and guarantees our future. His Word is the spiritual nourishment we need to fulfill our purpose. Abiding in God’s Word requires three things: We must believe it, receive it, and then achieve it.

The Bible should be the believer’s benchmark for evaluating everything that we do as we ask ourselves the question, “What would Jesus do?” Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all scripture is given by God and is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

Many of our troubles come because we base our choices on culture — because everyone is doing it; on our traditions; because we have always done it this way; because it seems so logical; or due to our emotions — because it feels right.

All these excuses are flawed because of the Fall of Mankind into sin. We need a more perfect standard. Psalms 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is

The Rev. Shirley Corley LaCour the man that trusteth in him.”

The most important decision we can make today is to settle the issue of what will be the ultimate authority for our lives; not family, not friends, not culture, tradition, reason or emotion; but the Word of God, the Bible, our basic instruction before leaving earth. Sow it in your hearts, harvest it on your lips that you may reap it in your lives.

The blessings of God come from obeying His Truth and not just knowing it. John 13:17 says, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” When you know better, you should do better.

Count up the cost before it’s too late. Abide in God’s Word and His Truth shall set you free. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

14

www.lawattstimes.com

Thursday, May 19, 2011

EVENT 5-20-11 JOB AND RESOURCE FAIR (ASSEMBLYMEMBER MIKE FEUER’S OFFICE) — A free community job and resource fair will take place May 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood, 1749 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. The event is open to the public. Employers include Alta Med Health Services, Goodwill, the Youth Policy Institute and many more. Parking is available at the Hollywood and Highland parking structure, at Hollywood Boulevard and North Orange Drive. Parking is $2 for up to four hours with validation from shops, restaurants or cinemas. The daily maximum cost is $10. Street parking is also available around the Woman’s Club. RSVP: Nicole Carcel, nicole.carcel@asm.ca.gov, (310) 285-5490. List of other employers: http://asmdc.org/members/a42/.

LISTINGS

IMAGES (L.A. DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS) — The exhibit “IMAGES:” — which gives glimpses into the lives of Black lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and their significant others in Los Angeles from 1940 until now — will run from May 21 through July 9 at the William Grant Still Arts Center. The opening reception will take place May 21, 3 to 6 p.m., at the center, which is at 2520 W. View St., Los Angeles. The event is free to attend.

Information: (213) 847-1540.

WALK FOR EDUCATION (UNCF) — The 29th Annual Walk for Education, hosted by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), will take place May 21 in Exposition Park, 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles. Registration begins at 7 a.m. The walk will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Post-walk festivities and entertainment will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

The annual UNCF Los

5-21-11 HEALTH FAIR, FAMILY FUN DAY (QUEEN PUBLICITY) — Great Beginnings for Black Babies’ Black Infant Health program will present a free health fair geared for the entire family May 21. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, 5001 Rodeo Road, Los Angeles.

The “Celebrating Healthy Babies ~ Past, Present & Future” Health Fair will include free mammograms, HIV/STD testing and more.

There will be a special guest appearance by Mablean Ephriam, who presided as judge of “Divorce Court” for several seaMablean Ephriam sons. The event will also include a “Beautiful Black Pregnant Woman” contest and musical entertainment by local rapper Cliff Savage and D.J. Rico. More information: Ms. Willis, (310) 677-7995.

WORKSHOP (CONCERNED BLACK MEN) — A workshop titled “College isn’t for everyone” is scheduled to take place May 21, 1 to 3 p.m., at the Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Library, 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles. The Concerned Black Men of Los Angeles, a nonprofit mentoring organization, offers a series of youth mentoring workshops through its Welcome-to-Manhood Program. Workshops and youth activities are free. Workshops are designed for youth 11 to 19 years of age. Call (213) 359-3378 to preregister.

FASHION SHOW — A fashion show, which will include giveaways and prizes, will take place May 21, noon to 3 p.m., at the Watts Senior Center’s Rose Garden. Tickets cost $10. The center is at 1657 E. Century Blvd., Los Angeles.

More information: Toni Hester, toni.hester@lacity.org, (323) 564-9440.

COMEDY — A comedy show featuring comedians from the Caribbean will take place May 21, 7:30 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza LAX hotel, 5985 Century Blvd., Los Angeles. The event will also include dancing. Attendees must pay $28 for admission. More information: (310) 922-4005, marcusbgt@earthlink.net, www.marcusbentertainment.com.

05/11 - 07/11

happening these months 6-4-11

FREE LAUDRY WASHES — Four normal laundry washes will be free to people in the city of Long Beach on June 4, courtesy of The ROCK Christian Fellowship in Long Beach.

The ministry will pay for the normal washes and four dryers.

It will offer the public this free service at Coin Laundry, beginning at 8 a.m. Coin Laundry is at 1920 Ximeno Ave., Long Beach. More information: (562) 597-7481, therockcf@therocktoday.com.

BLOOD DRIVE AND HEALTH FAIR (SNAP PRODUCTIONS) — The Fifth Annual Dr. Charles R. Drew Blood Drive and Community Health Fair will take place June 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Kenneth Hahn Plaza, 11700 Wilmington Ave., Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public.

There will be free medical screenings for STD/HIV/AIDS, blood pressure and diabetes, vaccinations and information on dental care, and exercise and nutrition from a variety of speakers.

Information: Brenda J. Breaux, (323) 859-1393, bjbreaux1@sbcglobal.net.

6-25-11 Angeles walk-a-thon and the money raised supports 60,000 students who attend more than 900 colleges and universities nationwide, 39 of which are historically black colleges and member institutions of UNCF. The walk’s stage, sponsor booths and food area will all be located together in the park, at the corner of Menlo Avenue and North Coliseum Drive. Parking cost $10. To form a team, join an existing team, or register as an individual — or for more information — visit http://give.uncf.org/LAWALK, (213) 639-3800.

5-23-11 MEETING (MACK ENTERPRISES UNLIMITED) — The Empowerment Congress Central Area Neighborhood Development Council will have its community meeting May 23, 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Amistad Plaza Community Room on the second floor at 6050 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles. If you live, work or conduct business within these boundaries — north, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; south, Florence Avenue; east, Vermont Avenue; and west, Van Ness/Arlington avenues — then the council needs you. Meetings are held every fourth Monday. Refreshments will be served. More information: (323) 789-1449.

5-31-11 BUSINESS WORKSHOP (PACE LA) — A workshop titled “Contracts for Business: Avoiding Common Mistakes” will take place May 31, 9 a.m. to noon, at IKEA Burbank, 600 N. San Fernando Blvd., Los Angeles. This workshop will focus on issues that arise in many agreements that affect small businesses. Part of the discussion will include the often-overlooked provisions in contracts to buy or sell products, as well as contracts to provide or obtain services. Fee: $10 if paid at the time of registration; $15 at the door. More information: Phone: (213) 353-9400.

6-1-11 SONGFEST (PEPPERDINE) — The 16th annual SongFest, entitled “Breaking the Song Barrier,” will be held from June 1 to 27, on the campus of Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. SongFest is a summer festival for singers and collaborative pianists that covers different aspects of the art of song: musical interpretation, literary interpretation, historical perspective and effective public presentation. All concerts are free and open to the public.

Seating is limited. The history of SongFest is available at www.SongFest.us. More information: (310) 506-7511.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (PORT OF LONG BEACH) — Photo Courtesy UNCF There will be a celebration June 25 to mark the Port of Long Beach’s 100-year-old birthday. The free event will include music, cupcakes, a history panel discussion and more. The event will be from 2:30 to 8 p.m. on Pier E. The address for the Port of Long Beach is 925 Harbor Plaza. Pier E is south of Gerald Desmond Bridge, at Ocean Boulevard and Pico Avenue. More information, map: www.polb.com/birthday.

7-16-11 QUEENS’ CAMP (SORENSEN MCQUEEN GROUP) — BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Inc.’s program — titled the “Queens’ Camp: For Leadership & Excellence” — will be launched by the organization’s founder, Beverly Bond, this summer. The camp is for exemplary teenage girls of color, ages 12 to 17, from various social, economic and geographic backgrounds. The leadership program will be held at Ramapo, located in Rhinebeck, N.Y., from July 16 to 30. Through a highly selective application process, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! will accept female applicants who exhibit strong leadership qualities, high moral character and excellent academic standing. All accepted participants will be awarded full scholarships to attend the camp, made possible through the generous support of private Photo Courtesy of donors and corporate sponBLACK GIRLS ROCK ! sors. The application deadline is June 3. More information: (718) 789-ROCK. Application: www.blackgirlsrockinc.com.

The deadline for receipt of calendar listings is Friday, noon, at least two weeks prior to events.

Fax to: (323) 299-3896, e-mail us at wattsweekender@yahoo.com or mail to: L.A. Watts Times, 3800 Crenshaw Blvd., L.A., CA 90008.

All calendar items are received from various sources and are subject to being edited.

www.lawattstimes.com 15

Thursday, May 19, 2011 Trustee Sale # CA0948010-2 Loan# 1009140052 Order # 090440602 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 01/08/2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 05/27/2011 at 01:00PM, MTC FINANCIAL INC., dba TRUSTEE CORPS as the duly appointed Substituted Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 01/17/2007 as Document No. 20070088704 of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CALIFORNIA, executed by, SUSANA PULIDO, A MARRIED WOMAN AS HER SOLE AND SEPARATE PROPERTY, as Trustor, INDYMAC BANK, F.S.B., A FEDERALLY CHARTERED SAVINGS BANK, as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash a cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). AT: At the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building, 350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". All right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County and State describing the land therein: APN # 5469-026-023 AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED ON SAID DEED OF TRUST. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 5364-5366 IRVINGTON PLACE , LOS ANGELES, CA 90042 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein.

Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Trustee's Sale is: $444,305.87 (estimated amount). Accrued interest and additional advances, if any, will increase this figure prior to sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. The Beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the County where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2924f: The Beneficiary or Beneficiary's agent has indicated that the requirements of California Civil Code Section 2924f have been met. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2923.52: 1. Pursuant to California Civil Code 2923.54 the undersigned, on behalf of the beneficiary, loan servicer or authorized agent, declares as follows: X Servicer does hereby state that Servicer has obtained from the commissioner a final or temporary order of exemption pursuant to Section 2923.53 that is current and valid on the date of the notice of sale is filed. 2. Timeframe for giving notice of sale specified in subdivision (a) Section 2923.52 __ Does X Does not apply pursuant to section 2923.52 or 2923.55 Dated: 05/05/2011 MTC FINANCIAL INC., DBA TRUSTEE CORPS, as Successor Trustee By: ERNIE AGUILAR, TRUSTEE SALES OFFICER TRUSTEE CORPS 17100 Gillette Ave, Irvine, CA 92614 FOR SALE INFORMATION CONTACT: (714)786-5351, (949) 252-8300 FOR REINSTATEMENT / PAY OFF REQUESTS CONTACT: (949) 252-8300 RPRequests@trusteecorps.com Ad #12104 2011-05-05 2011-05-12 2011-05-19 Trustee Sale No. CA09000279-11-1 Title Order No. 110025837CA-LPI Loan No. 1010277620 APN 7465-002-013 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED July 26, 2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On June 7, 2011, at 01:00 PM, At the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building,350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA, MTC FINANCIAL INC. dba TRUSTEE CORPS, as the duly appointed Trustee, under and pursuant to the power of sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust Recorded on August 1, 2007, as Instrument No. 20071815703 of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CA , executed by: THELMA FALSIS, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, as Trustor, in favor of INDYMAC BANK, F.S.B., A FEDERALLY CHARTERED SAVINGS BANK as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, in lawful money of the United States, all payable at the time of sale, that certain property situated in said County, California describing the land therein as: As more fully described on said Deed of Trust. The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 522 524 526 A AND B WEST 23RD ST, LOS ANGELES , CA 90731 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest theron, as provided in said Note(s), advances if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligations secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of this Notice of Trustee`s Sale is estimated to be $609,449.27 (Estimated), provided, however, prepayment premiums, accrued interest and advances will increase this figure prior to sale. Beneficiary`s bid at said sale may include all or part of said amount. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept a cashier`s check drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the California Financial Code and authorized to do business in California, or other such funds as may be acceptable to the trustee. In the event tender other than cash is accepted, the Trustee may withhold the issuance of the Trustee`s Deed Upon Sale until funds become available to the payee or endorsee as a matter of right. The property offered for sale excludes all funds held on account by the property receiver, if applicable. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder`s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. DATE: May 12, 2011 MTC FINANCIAL INC dba Trustee Corps TS No. CA09000279-11-1 . 17100 Gillette Ave Irvine, CA 92614 949-252-8300 Paul Gutierrez, Authorized Signature SALE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED ON LINE AT www.NoticeSolutions.com AUTOMATED SALES INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 714-786-5351 TRUSTEE CORPS IS A DEBT COLLECTOR. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Ad #12314 2011-05-12 2011-05-19 2011-05-26

Trustee Sale No. CA09001509-10-1 Title Order No. 4523957 Loan No. 501707731 APN 5033-017-007 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED November 5, 2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On June 9, 2011, at 01:00 PM, At the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building,350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA, MTC FINANCIAL INC. dba TRUSTEE CORPS, as the duly appointed Trustee, under and pursuant to the power of sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust Recorded on December 3, 2007, as Instrument No. 20072640898 of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CA , executed by: MARCUS D. THOMAS, AN UNMARRIED MAN, as Trustor, in favor of FLAGSTAR BANK, FSB. as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, in lawful money of the United States, all payable at the time of sale, that certain property situated in said County, California describing the land therein as: As more fully described on said Deed of Trust. The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 3862 CHERRYWOOD AVE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90008 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest theron, as provided in said Note(s), advances if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligations secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of this Notice of Trustee`s Sale is estimated to be $418,670.22 (Estimated), provided, however, prepayment premiums, accrued interest and advances will increase this figure prior to sale. Beneficiary`s bid at said sale may include all or part of said amount. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept a cashier`s check drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the California Financial Code and authorized to do business in California, or other such funds as may be acceptable to the trustee. In the event tender other than cash is accepted, the Trustee may withhold the issuance of the Trustee`s Deed Upon Sale until funds become available to the payee or endorsee as a matter of right. The property offered for sale excludes all funds held on account by the property receiver, if applicable. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder`s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. DATE: May 19, 2011 MTC FINANCIAL INC dba Trustee Corps TS No. CA09001509-10-1 . 17100 Gillette Ave Irvine, CA 92614 949-252-8300 Paul Gutierrez, Authorized Signature SALE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED ON LINE AT www.NoticeSolutions.com AUTOMATED SALES INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 714-786-5351 TRUSTEE CORPS IS A DEBT COLLECTOR. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Ad #12449 2011-05-19 2011-05-26 2011-06-02 Trustee Sale # CA0956547-2 Loan# 1008985093 Order # 090658531 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 12/04/2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 06/13/2011 at 1 :00PM, MTC FINANCIAL INC., dba TRUSTEE CORPS as the duly appointed Substituted Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 12/15/2006 as Document No. 06 2794180 of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CALIFORNIA, executed by, CALVIN W. NICKELS AND LINDA D. NICKLES HUSBAND AND WIFE AS JOINT TENANTS, as Trustor, ALLSTATE LENDING GROUP, INC., as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash a cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). AT: At the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building, 350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". All right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County and State describing the land therein: APN # 6037-004-018 AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED ON SAID DEED OF TRUST The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 8931 SOUTH DENKER AVENUE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90047 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Trustee's Sale is: $397,365.44 (estimated amount). Accrued interest and additional advances, if any, will increase this figure prior to sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse.

The Beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell.

The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the County where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2924f: The Beneficiary or Beneficiary's agent has indicated that the requirements of California Civil Code Section 2924f have been met. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2923.52: 1. Pursuant to California Civil Code 2923.54 the undersigned, on behalf of the beneficiary, loan servicer or authorized agent, declares as follows: X Servicer does hereby state that Servicer has obtained from the commissioner a final or temporary order of exemption pursuant to Section 2923.53 that is current and valid on the date of the notice of sale is filed. 2. Timeframe for giving notice of sale specified in subdivision (a) Section 2923.52 Does X Does not apply pursuant to section 2923.52 or 2923.55 Dated: 05/19/2011 MTC FINANCIAL INC., DBA TRUSTEE CORPS, as Successor Trustee By: ROWENA PAZ, TRUSTEE SALES OFFICER TRUSTEE CORPS 17100 Gillette Ave, Irvine, CA 92614 FOR SALE INFORMATION CONTACT: (714)786-5351, (949) 252-8300 FOR REINSTATEMENT / PAY OFF REQUESTS CONTACT: (949) 252-8300 RPRequests@trusteecorps.com Ad #12492 2011-05-19 2011-05-26 2011-06-02

CITY OF LOS ANGELES $50,000 REWARD NOTICE The City of Los Angeles offers a reward payable at the discretion of the City Council to one or more persons in the sum or sums up to an aggregate maximum total sum of $50,000 for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the person or persons responsible for the act of murder against, COMMODORE LENOIR, in the City of Los Angeles. On Monday, March 7, 2011, at approximately 1:20 a.m., Commodore Lenoir, a 29-year old man, was shot multiple times in front of 2000 West Manchester Boulevard. LAPD is still searching for the suspect(s) and encourages witnesses to come forward, even anonymously, to assist them in their investigation. The person or persons responsible for this crime represent an ongoing threat to the safety of the people of Los Angeles. Unless withdrawn or paid by City Council action, this offer of reward shall terminate on, and have no effect after, NOVEMBER 13, 2011.

The provisions of payment and all other considerations shall be governed by Chapter 12 of Division 19 of the LAAC Code, as amended by Ordinance Nos. 158157 and 166666. This offer shall be given upon the condition that all claimants provide continued cooperation within the criminal justice system relative to this case and is not available to public officers or employees of the City, their families, persons in law enforcement or persons whose misconduct prompted this reward. If you have any information regarding this case, please call the Los Angeles Police Department at 1-877-LAWFULL, 24 hours.

C. F. No. 11-0010-s23 5/19/11 CNS-2099395# WATTS TIMES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2011026562 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Kennedy Abdullah Childcare, 1118 W. 104 St., LA, CA 90044, County of LA Registered owner(s): Angie Kennedy Abdullah, 1118 W. 104 St., LA, CA 90044 This business is conducted by an individual The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on n/a I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)

S/ Angie Kennedy Abdullah This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 10, 2011 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.

The filing of this statement does 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).

Original 5/12, 5/19, 5/26, 6/2/11 CNS-2100048# WATTS TIMES

GOVERNMENT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP# 7550) PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (“Authority”) invites proposals from qualified professional Public Relations firms interested in providing the Authority with public relations and communications services including but not limited to: strategic counsel; media relations; crisis communications; research; creating various written materials and other communication as directed by the Authority’s Intergovernmental Relations Department on an “asneeded” basis.. Copies of the RFP may be obtained beginning May 6, 2011 online at www.hacla.org/ps.

Proposals will be accepted at 2600 Wilshire Blvd, #3100, Los Angeles, CA 90057, until 2:00 P.M., May 27, 2011.

5/12, 5/19/11 CNS-2096546# WATTS TIMES

Black Facts May 19, 1925 Malcolm X is born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Neb. Source: blackfacts.com

CLASSIFIED

HELP WANTED

Grayling / Rose & Kindel, an international Public Relations company with offices in Los Angeles, is seeking to partner with Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) for a project. Please e-mail Fred Muir, CEO, at fred.muir@grayling.com for more information.

Administrative Assistant $3,350 - $4,047 per month

CBC

Continued from page 3 ‘Rumors, news reports, editorials and other media statements are appearing frequently, implying sponsorship of the dinner is related to secret plans in support of a black member of Congress for the presidency in the l972 elections. The Congressional Black Caucus categorically denies that any money raised by us at this affair will go to support one black or white, Democrat, Republican, 3rd party or 4th party who is a candidate for the presidency.”

In my firm’s handling the public relations for the first dinner, there was concern about people coming to the nation’s capital paying as much as $100 to attend a dinner. That was quite a sum of money at that time.

But at the dinner, there was an overwhelming crowd. The hotel ballroom had a capacity of 2, 400, 10 persons at 24 tables. However, there were 2,800 excited people squeezed into the ballroom, a standing room only crowd.

We had an anxious moment at the hotel when the fire marshal threatened to do something about the unsafely of such an overflow crowd.

That could have led to a riot and a public relations disaster.

The Community Development Department is looking for one highly energetic and motivated self-starter to perform administrative support for Community Development, including providing clerical support for the Architectural Commission.

Additional information about job duties and qualifications are available on the City website at www.ci.claremont.ca.us or from the Personnel Office at (909) 399-5450. Completed application required and must be received by Thursday, May 12, 2011, by 1:00 p.m. EOE

The dinner itself was a huge success, with entertainment by singers Nancy Wilson and Billy Eckstein, humor by Dick Gregory and Bill Cosby, and an electrifying speech by actor/orator Ossie Davis.

Davis told the audience that: “It’s not the man; it’s the plan; it’s not the rap; It’s the map.”

Davis went on to say: “At the time when Dr. King died … he was in the process of organizing his forces and calling upon his people to come one more time to Washington, D.C. And, I have a feeling that had he come that time he would not have said, ‘I have a dream.’ He would have said, ‘I have a plan.’ And, I feel that that plan … might have made a difference.”

Ossie Davis’ profound remarks that inspired the founding 13 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the thousands who attuned that first dinner 40 years ago are as relevant today. And, so is the work of the Congressional Black Caucus.

PERRY

Continued from page 4 appears to resemble a child in the fetal position found in the back of Anthony’s car. Perry ruled the evidence could be admitted into evidence. Also, Perry denied the request of the defense to exclude the expert opinion testimony of Dr. David Hall, a botanist who testified that he analyzed fragments of roots from the area in where the victim’s body was recovered.

Recently, Perry denied the defense motion to exclude alleged identification of the chemical composition of human decomposition odor, or testimony relating to air, carpet samples or paper towels tested by Oakridge Laboratories.

Perry is not only known as a well-respected judge, but also for his days as a prosecutor. His reputation as a sound prosecutor was solidified in what came to be known as the Black Widow trial, in which Judy Buenoano was sentenced to death by electric chair for the 1971 murder of her husband. She was also convicted for the murder of her son and attempted murder of her fiancé in 1983. She was also believed to be responsible for the 1978 death of her boyfriend in Colorado.

The court, under the direction of

Perry, kept the location of the selection of the jury unknown until the actual day of jury selection. Currently, the jury is being chosen in Pinellas County, an area located on the outskirts of Tampa, Fla. Reportedly, there are four African Americans currently in the jury pool.

Once the jurors are selected, they will be transported to the Orlando area where they are expected to stay in area hotels for the duration of the trial, which is expected to take up to eight weeks. Perry has dismissed dozens of jurors based on conflicts with the case.

He said, “I do not want to have to do this again,” respectfully referring to not having the taxpayers or the court spend time, energy, and money to retry this case. Perry said, “I am not naïve enough to think we’ll encounter no one who has heard this case, but the goal is to find people who have not been oversaturated with the media.”

More than 600 media credentials were requested for this case. The Florida Sun will be in the courtroom and will report on the trial. Stay current with the print publication, electronically at floridasunreview.com, and on Twitter and Facebook.

16

www.lawattstimes.com

Thursday, May 19, 2011

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