UpFront Keenan Anderson Death Brings LAPD Taser Policy Into Question

Keenan Darnell Anderson begged for his life as he was repeatedly tased by LAPD officers after a confrontation sparked by a traffic accident he admittedly caused as they attempted to take him into custody.

LAPD officers reportedly tased the 31year-old Washington D.C.-based schoolteacher six times and for a troubling 42 seconds as he cried out, “they’re trying to George Floyd me” in the January 3 incident.

Taken into custody, Anderson–the cousin of Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors– died several hours later of cardiac arrest after being transported to the hospital in a medical emergency.

The case, which marks the third fatal police shooting in a span of ten days has called into question the L.A. Police Department’s policy on the use of tasers.

LAPD policy states that officers “may use the Taser as a reasonable force option to control a suspect when the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officer or others.”

LAPD Chief Michael Moore said,” We still do not understand his medical condition and the department is pursuing through investigative channels his medical records and the actions taken and the underlying influences of what resulted in his death.”

“Regarding the use of the taser, our department policy states that there is no pre-set limit of the number of times a taser can be used in a particular situation. However, officers should generally avoid repeated or simultaneous activa- tions to avoid potential injury to the suspect.

To that end, my preliminary understanding of this incident is that the involved officer believed each activation was achieving some level of compliance only to be followed by renewed resistance when that activation ceased”.

A preliminary toxicology performed by the police and tested positive for cocaine and cannabis.

Moore went on to state that more information from the coroner’s office was needed to accurately determine the cause of death, while adding that Anderson had been in an altered mental state as the officer attempted to deescalate the event.

“In my preliminary view of this incident”, Moore said, “its’ unclear what role the physical struggle with the officers and the use of the taser played in his unfortunate death…As this investigation continues, I will pay close attention to the use of the taser.”

The use of tasers has long been one of

Macy’s Baldwin Hills to Close in March

After a long protracted bidding war, the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall was sold in 2021 to the Beverly Hills-based, Harridge Development Group and in the time since, residents have been anxious to see just what the next chapter of the mall–considered a historical cultural landmark for most Blacks– would look like.

The announced closure of the Baldwin Hills’ Macy’s will not help to allay those concerns. The 75-year old store has been one of the mall’s flagship retailers.

Activist/journalist Jazmyne Cannick dubbed the closing as “The End of An Era” in a recent op-ed.

“For quite some time now, I have watched the life slowly squeezed out of that mall. I think it started with the exodus of Walmart in 2016, followed by Sears just three years later,” Cannick wrote.

“There’s a lot of history and memories at that intersection that spans generations. Santa Barbara Plaza and the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza have been tied together from their beginnings. And now, with the departure of Macy’s, it’s only a matter of time before the mall completely flatlines.”

Macy’s announced in 2020 that they were going to close the store as part of a three-year plan to stabilize profitability, including the relocation of its headquarters from San Francisco to New York. The plan included the closures of its

“least productive stores”.

Just last week, shots were fired inside the store as two suspects robbed the stores jewelry counter and gunfire rang out as they fled.

“We are taking the organization through significant structural change to lower costs, bring teams closer together and reduce duplicative work,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “The changes we are making are deep and impact every area of the business, but they are necessary.

“Based on current macro-economic indicators and our proprietary credit card data, we believe the consumer will continue to be pressured in 2023.”

As part of the strategy, Macy’s announced that it would open new off-mall, small-format stores, but none have been scheduled to open in the L.A. area.

D.T. CARSON Staff

the more controversial issues in criminal justice.

In 2012, Amnesty International urged stricter limits on police taser use as the U.S. death toll reached 500, as the shock delivered to the chest by a Taser can lead to cardiac arrest and sudden death.

A Stanford study suggested that “prolonged and/or multiple use of a taser dramatically increases the risk of ventricular fibrillation and consequent cardiac arrest, even in healthy adults”.

"I think what's most important for people to organize around right now is 'no cops at traffic stops,'" said Cullors. "My cousin would be around right now if he hadn't had a police encounter. Professionals who know how to deal with a crisis should've been at that scene."

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass also questioned the absence on the scene of a mental health expert.

“As a former healthcare professional, I am deeply troubled that mental health experts were not called in, even when there was a documented history of past mental health crisis. When there is no immediate risk to others, law enforcement must not be the first responder when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Bass is pledging that the investigations will be transparent and reflect the values of Los Angeles.

Said Bass, “I will ensure that the City’s investigations will drive only toward truth and accountability…I have absolutely no tolerance for excessive force.”

D.T. CARSON Staff

"We are grateful to have served our customers in the Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw communities during the past 75 years and look forward to continuing to do so at nearby Macy's stores,” noted a Macy’s Spokesperson in a statement regarding the closure.

For those without cars, it is a matter of proximity, but for most community residents, the issue is a lot larger than convenience.

“I’m very saddened for the closure of a part of my growing up history in L.A,” said Sandi Hamilton, who grew up in the community and is a longtime resident. “It’s the first place my Mom took me to shop, so I have a lot of joyful memories. And it’s about more than convenience. I’m concerned about what happens next. We need to be clear on what’s happening. Is this a sign of another level of gentrification to come?”

Hamilton’s concern has been echoed throughout the community as word of the closing spread, particularly as there has been little to no communication from the mall owners of just what plans are in play for the community landmark.

A website featuring project updates was said to have been in the works when the Harridge Development Group purchased the mall nearly two years ago, but has not materialized.

Macy’s is set to close by March 31, 2023.

The 31st Annual Pan African Film Festival Kicks Off February 9

The 31st Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is set for February 920, in Los Angeles at the Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 and XD, and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The festival will kick off with the world premiere of “Chevalier”, which was inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a virtuoso violinist, celebrated composer and champion swordsman. The son of an enslaved African woman and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.

Featuring over 200 films, PAFF titles represent 55 countries and 18 languages. Of the films selected for the festival, 80% are directed by filmmakers of African descent. The goal of PAFF is to showcase a broad range of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and depict an expanded, realistic vision of the Black experience.

Cofounded by Danny Glover , the late actress Ja’net DuBois, and Ayuko Babu, PAFF’s executive director, the festival events will include a vibrant red carpet filled with Hollywood A-listers and many of the who’s who in the world of art. The lineup will also include informative panels and workshops featuring top industry professionals,and will showcase rare cinematic works followed by Q & A sessions with filmmakers. Additionally, the John Singleton Short Film Competition honors Singleton’s cinematic contributions while also celebrating his unapologetic approach to filmmaking.

In conjunction with the film festival, there will also be an art showcase, “Artfest”, held at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The Artfest will feature more than 100 established and emerging fine artists and quality craftspeople from all over the Black Diaspora. Featured artists present their creative works using oil on canvas, watercolor and pastels, acrylic paper, glass, ceramics, metal, cloth, plastic, wax, wire, leather, and stone. In addition to fine art and one-of-a-kind crafts, the Artfest also features the best in designer and traditional fashions, jewelry, home decor, fashion accessories and so much more!

The full schedule and ticket information can be found at www.paff.org.

HeadToHead

Police Reform in the Wake of Tyre Nichols?

Black man. Need I note the victim was Black? Would we be less or more traumatized if the victim were white?

But the rule seems to be the victims are Black.

What Does It Take to Ensure That Policemen Are Human Beings?

Everyone sees there is a problem. Everyone wants to fix it. But how?

The first question in the pursuit of a solution invariably is, "What is wrong with the system?"

How about we start this time by asking a different question. What is wrong with the men who did it?

The shocking video certainly doesn't give us the whole story. What were the circumstances that lead to the police apprehending this man, forcing him defenseless on the ground and beating him to death? Can we imagine any circumstance that would justify this behavior?

Suppose somehow all this occurred under the radar. That these policemen beat this man to death, but no one found out about it.

Could they live with themselves? Could they just go home to their families after doing a day's work without a second thought that their law enforcement work left a man dead with little justification why this happened?

We in the pro-life movement ask how women can destroy the child in their womb and live with themselves. Those who rationalize it say they don't see this unborn child as life.

But can we say these police did not see Tyre Nichols as a living man?

When these incidents get spun as racial, the answer comes forth that racists do not see those whom they hate as human. There was a historic data point in this regard in our nation's history in the Dred Scott decision.

But in this case, the police officers were Black.

How about if we ask if each of those policemen felt they live in a world with a Creator and that every human being is a creation made in that Creator's image? If they believed this, could they have done what they did?

Rep. Jim Jordan summed it up well saying, "I don't know there is anything you can do to stop the kind of evil we saw in that video."

Something very bad has happened in our country.

This nation was founded as a free country under God, not as a "system."

The Constitution is an operating manual creating the basic structure of government and to assure that it would be kept limited and not interfere with citizens taking personal responsibility and living free.

Yes, it began with the horrible reality of slavery. But this reflected the sin of man and not a systematic flaw in the country.

George Washington said it, and I quote him all the time, that there is no freedom without religion.

But today we are going in the opposite direction. We want to use courts and legislatures to produce systematic answers to our lives rather than turning to our parents and our pastors for eternal principles. The answer is not in the system; it is in ourselves.

Regarding the police, they need more personal responsibility for their behavior. One path to this is getting rid of qualified immunity, which shields them from exposure to lawsuits. Qualified immunity allows police to violate constitutional rights of others without concern they will be sued. Per this judge-created doctrine, as long as there is not another identical precedent, with all the same

Headlines From Africa

Burkina Faso: French troops fighting Islamist militants have been ordered to leave Burkina Faso. Security forces freed 66 women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in the Centre-North province.

Burundi: The Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated $3.5 million to support life-saving food aid in the nation struggling to emerge from an ethnic-based civil war.

Congo: Fighting has intensified in the eastern Congo as the M23 rebel group seeks to expand the territory it controls, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee their homes.

Djibouti: Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has signed a technological cooperation agreement with the Chinese company Hong Kong Aerospace Technology to build a $1bn satellite and rocket launch site.

Eritrea: Eritrean forces withdraw from towns in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, where they had been fighting alongside Ethiopia’s government troops against rebels nearly three months after a cease-fire agreement that appears to be bringing calm to the region.

Ghana: Ghana's government and trade unions agreed to increase all public servants' salaries by 30% for 2023 as the country struggles to reduce debt and tackle rampant inflation.

Kenya: Kenya’s accelerated urbanization and urban transition has encouraged stakeholders to collaborate and implement appropriate strategies to support affordable house policies in order to accommodate their growing metro centers.

Malawi: The death toll in Malawi’s cholera outbreak has surpassed 1,000 according to health officials who added that cultural beliefs and distrust towards health workers has slowed efforts to curb the infection rates.

Mozambique: An Irish project to bring socially inclusive, edible infrastructure to African cities was launched. The project will explore the potential of edible urban green infrastructure in two rapidly growing cities.

WIt became national, indeed, international news that five Memphis police officers grabbed, punched, beat, pepper-sprayed and stun-gunned a black suspect, named Tyre Nichols, who later died at the hospital. A picture of him in his hospital bed showing his swollen, battered and bloodied face went viral on social media.

Racializing the Death of a Black Man by the Police, Part I

The city police chief, a black female, said she was disgusted: "In my 36 years ... I would have to say I don't think I've ever been more horrified and disgusted, sad ... and, to some degree, confused." The cops were fired; all face second-degree murder charges.

The body cam video, as well as video from an outdoor camera, was released. No video exists of what first caused the police to begin Nichol's traffic stop.

Nichols' mother, at a press conference arranged by her attorney, said, "I hate the fact that us as black people, we out here killing each other. I don't know why?" That's right, the five officers facing charges of second-degree murder are all black.

But not to worry, it did not take long for Democrats and the Democratic media to still racialize the issue. Few things are more creative than a Democrat playing the race card. Barack and Michelle Obama called this a "painful reminder" of America's cop problem.

The new mayor of Los Angeles, a black female, said in an interview, "Even with the black officers, I wonder how they would have reacted if it was a young white person?" The white male reporter did not push back, raised no objections. This makes him and his media colleagues part of the problem by allowing such in- cendiary statements to go unchecked.

Playing from the same sheet music, the Rev. Al Sharpton said, "(Tyre Nichols' death) is an outrage and race is still involved." CNN's Van Jones said that even though the cops were black, "they might still have been driven by racism."

Here are the facts. It is rare for cops to kill anybody – an average of about 1,000 people annually over the last eight years, 82% of them armed (most with guns), out of a population of more than 334 million, with over 61.5 million civilians having at least one police contact in 2018, and almost 54 million having contact with police in 2020, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Odds are much less for an unarmed black person to be killed.

A former Thompson Reuters data scientist – more on him later – wrote in 2021: "Over the past five years, police have killed 39% more unarmed whites than unarmed blacks. ... The raw statistics suggest that there is actually a slight anti-white bias (emphasis added) in police applications of lethal force."

In 2020, according to the Washington Post database, cops shot and killed 459 whites, 26 unarmed, and they shot and killed 242 blacks, 18 unarmed. In 2021, police killed 446 whites, 8 unarmed, and 233 blacks, 11 unarmed. In 2022: 389 whites, 9 unarmed; 225 blacks, 7 unarmed. In 2019, police killed 12 unarmed black men. But according to a poll in Policemag.com, among those who self-described as "very liberal" over 50% thought the police killed 1,000 or more unarmed black men in 2019. Thirty-nine percent of self-described "liberals" also estimated the number at 1,000.

Criminal behavior is evenly distributed among the population. Heather Mac Donald, author of "War On Cops" says, "In the 75 largest counties, which is where most of the population resides,

A look at current news from the continent of Africa

Niger: Forced displacements and massive school closures have drastically increased the number of children out-of-school in Niger, threatening the future of a generation. Currently, 42 percent of children are out-of-school, up from 34 per cent five years ago thus reversing the progress made in previous decades, in a country where half the population is under 15.

The U.S. has announced visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election. Additional persons who undermine the democratic process in Nigeria—including in the lead-up to, during, and following Nigeria’s 2023 elections—may also be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy.

Rwanda: Tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo escalate as Rwanda’s defense force shot at a Congolese jet that it claims violated its airspace.

Senegal: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday helped kick off a new rural electrification project in Senegal that will bring reliable power to 350,000 people, while supporting some 500 jobs in 14 U.S. states.

Sierra Leone: President Julius Maada Bio has signed into law the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment bill, which will allow women equal rights as men to own, lease, or buy land in the country. Under the new provision, any person who discriminates in providing access to land resources, based on gender “commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than $2,600 or to imprisonment for a term not less than 5 years or both.

Tanzania: Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu returned home after more than two years in exile, after the government lifted a ban on political rallies.

Amonthlong series of events held this month have been set aside to mark the retirement of Bishop Kenneth Ulmer as senior pastor of one of L.A. County’s largest churches, Faithful Central Bible Church. For four decades Ulmer has shaken up the region’s church scene and transformed not only the way faith leaders do church, but the way people view church–with bold moves like the purchase of the Inglewood Forum, the hiring of a gospel superstar to revamp his youth ministry, partnerships with white evangelicals, a controversial church name change that followed his high-profile Bapticostal transformation as a co-founding Bishop in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship; and his masterful synchronization of music to the pulpit with the aid of the late Barbara Allen.

Along the way, he’s authored a string of books including “The Champion in You” and “Spiritually Fit to Run the Race”; preached in the Orange Bowl before an audience of over 100,000 white evangelicals at Promise Keepers; taught an annual summer course at London’s Oxford University for the last 25 years; and currently serves as Presiding Bishop of the Johannesburg, South Africa-based, Macedonia International Bible Fellowship. All of which has made him an international force in the global faith community.

Locally, nothing major happens in the city of Inglewood–where he has been considered a key stakeholder–without his knowledge. He’s prayed with Whitney Houston and Britney Spears, stood for the likes of Madonna (who while performing at the Forum aided the church when the unions were trying to shut it down), been a key stop for politicians seeking office, and in his quest to build a congregation of champions has helped to transform the lives of thousands through the more than 75 ministries and outreaches the church operates.

“Sometimes you can be so close to greatness that you don’t really see the impact until you step back”, said one pastor. But that is not really the case with Ulmer, who has been dubbed by Bishop Charles Blake as “one of the

LISA COLLINS Editor

most premier Pastors in the Los Angeles church area and the Kingdom of God”, while adding that his preaching of God's word surpassed the boundaries of denomination, race, gender and geography.

“Bishop Kenneth Ulmer changed the way our generation of leaders thinks of the black church,” observed Pastor Michael J.T. Fisher of the Compton-based, Greater Zion Church Family. “The purchase and sale of the Forum encouraged young pastors like me to think beyond offerings and bake sales to sustain the vision and the church.”

Dr. Frederick K. Price of Crenshaw Christian Center called him, “A scholar of scholars and a pastor of pastors, “who has transformed so many lives through his teaching of the Word and counseling God’s people.”

“Bold, brilliant and beloved; he’s a leaders’ leader. He’s not only a pillar in the Inglewood community; he’s a prophetic voice to the nations of this world. I thank God for the Bishop of champions,” noted Center of Hope Pastor Geremy Dixon.

And Pastor Joseph Carlos Robinson said of Ulmer, “If there was an ecclesiastical version of Mt. Rushmore, Bishop Kenneth Ulmer's face would deserve to be carved in it.”

Yet for all he has accomplished, nothing has come easy and while the accolades flow freely now, Ulmer can readily recall the resistance that came with his ascension in Christendom, which began in East St. Louis with a mother who raised all three of her children in church and a young Kenneth Ulmer who got his first check as a musician playing for Sunday School at the age of 12.

Looking back, he laughs, “While most of my friends started [preaching] in high school, I was old…in my 30’s. My journey was always through music.”

True to his word, he accepted his call to ministry while serving as minister of music at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.

“My father in the ministry, Dr. Melvin V. Wade Sr., was preaching a sermon on Jonah titled “You Can Run, But You Can't Hide”. I had been running for two years because what I saw as a model of effective ministry – the style, ambiance, and culture–were all pictures of a different kind of gift. Some folks even made jokes about me. They would say he's a pretty good Sunday school teacher, but he'll never be a preacher.”

More to the point, his gift was not so much preaching as it was teaching and just as importantly, discipleship, a word he says he never heard growing up.

Undeterred, he organized Macedonia Bible Baptist Church in 1980 with his wife, Togetta sister, Kathy and a friend as its first members. Two years later with the death of then Faithful Central Missionary Baptist Church Pastor W.L. Robinson, his name was floated as a possible replacement.

Though skeptical at first, in 1982, he took over as pastor of the church named for its “central location and faithful folks”.

In those early days, Ulmer said active membership was between 140-150 members with the church nearly half full, but with his fiery and colorful delivery of the word, that wouldn’t be the case for long.

But not everyone was happy about the church’s explosive growth over the next two years or some of the moves Ulmer was making, including the discontinuation of a Baptist staple, Sunday School.

“People were saying hateful stuff,” Faithful Central Associate Pastor Jordan Allen recalled. “One woman said, ‘You mean to tell me you’re going to cut off another man’s work,” as if Pastor Robinson had invented Sunday School.

“What they didn’t understand,” Allen continued, “is what he was basically saying is we need to teach the word in a Bible study format.”

Things got so bad that another minister was called in to mediate and bring peace, but some of the members closed the doors and wouldn’t let the minister in.

As peace was eventually restored, the church quickly outgrew its Hoover location and while believing for a larger location, began holding services at Washington High School. After two years, the church secured a deal to buy what is now its Trinity Building complex in the heart of Inglewood.

“We came over and did the Old Jericho march around the property,” Ulmer recounts. “We named it, claimed it and I announced one Sunday that God had given us this property. Well, a few weeks later, we were outbid, and the deal fell through. In what was one of my lowest points in ministry, a lady came up to me at Washington High School, put her finger in my face and said, ‘You are a false prophet. You said God gave us that property.’

“Here's why that was the lowest point”, he explained, “because I know God said we had that building and if I missed God on that, what else did I miss God on?”

Hundreds of people left the church as did that very woman.

“Two years later,” Ulmer picks up the story, “I'm driving to the airport and I get a phone call. The voice says, ‘Well, Reverend, you can have your building now. The deal fell through and the property's back on the market’.

“Now, we marched around that property ready to pay $5.2 million. Two years later, we bought that building for $2.5 million. I'm still looking for that woman that called me a false prophet,” he jokes.

He can laugh at it now, but with every major move he made, the church lost people.

“When we left San Pedro, we dissolved that [existing church] corporation. That was the first time–wouldn’t be the last–that I was accused of following the devil.”

As the church grew, so did his popularity among White evangelicals, –a door opened by the late Dr. E.V. Hill Sr., who initially recommended him as a speaker for Promise Keepers.

“E.V Hill taught me the power of portability. He could preach for white Presbyterians in the morning and come back and speak to Church of God in Christ in the evening,” Ulmer notes.

The “portability” Ulmer went on to perfect would garner him invites to platforms that included the likes of Robert Schuller and lifelong friendships with Lloyd Ogilvie, Rick Warren and the late Jack Hayford, who would take $100K out of his retirement to help Ulmer close the Forum deal.

Ulmer’s exposure to different expressions of faith subsequently sparked a spiritual journey that led to a theological shift.

“That shift change started with a personal hunger for more of God,” Ulmer reveals. “It started when a friend of mine told me that I was going to Hell because I didn’t speak in tongues. That sparked the personal, private journey and theological shift.”

With that shift Faithful Central Missionary Baptist Church became Faithful Central Bible Church, sparking yet another controversy.

“When I made the shift from being traditionally Baptist to being more charismatic, more Pentecostal, speaking in tongues and gifts like that, I got shut out of a lot of places and ex-communicated from a lot of circles,” Ulmer said. “In fact, I had friends who stopped speaking to me, literally.”

And yet every step of the way, he says God kept telling him, ‘it’s bigger.’

So too, was his growing membership and once again, there were plans for expansion.

The goal was 5,000 seats but constructing an edifice to accommodate that on this current property was projected to cost them $44 million, according to developers, and even then, seating would be tight. At about the same time, Ulmer heard the Forum was up for sale and its price tag was just $22 million.

That was the first of several reasons the Forum deal made perfect sense for Faithful Central. Seating was another given the arena’s capacity of 17,500. They could also operate it as a business and at the same time, help the community of Inglewood considering that losing the Forum–one of Inglewood’s “Big Five” driving businesses–would have meant economic ramifications for the City of Inglewood as well as a loss of jobs for some of its residents.

“We were told the sale was a done deal,” Ulmer said. “That there was a contract signed and sealed to tear the Forum down. It was going to be like a residential area with a beautiful park. But, they said, if you can get the developer to change his mind, we're okay with that. So, I went to the guy and we cut a deal.”

Then, came the hard part–funding.

“Preachers made jokes about us,” Ulmer recounts of one of his most trying times. “The church community laughed at us. The business community laughed at us. Nobody wanted to fund the Forum sale. No one bank would take the deal.

“One banker told me, ‘I don’t want any parts of this. This deal will never happen. This meeting is over and put me out of his office.’”

But the church had no plan B. So Ulmer dug in deeper and the battle cry for Faithful Central members boiled down to one simple word: “Believe”.

Says Ulmer, “We had to put together a consortium of six banks to do that deal. That's how we got to buy it.”

With the final documents signed on December 31st, 1999, the sale of the Forum to Faithful Central made headlines across the nation and marked the first time a church had purchased an arena of that size. The L.A. Times wrote, “One of the state’s largest churches plans to announce today that it has acquired the Great Western Forum in Inglewood and will convert the storied arena into one of the largest houses of worship in the country while continuing to operate it as an entertainment venue.”

The move, for many, exemplified the power of the Black church.

“It showed the strength of what a church could do outside of their four walls, bringing communities to prosper, becoming part of the economic upswing of Inglewood and the entire region,” stated Gerard McCallum, a Board of Director on the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce and former Executive Vice President of Forum Enterprises.

But, says Ulmer, the story of the Forum has not been told well and he wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

“First of all, we never bought the forum to turn it into a church,” he states unequivocally. “We never put a cross in there. We never put a pew in there”.

“Number two, we never bought the forum to keep it,” he continued. “I wanted to keep it ten years and because of the dip in 2008 in the economy, we kept it 12 years before sell ing it to Madison Square Garden.

“We operated the Forum as an entertainment venue. There is not a group from 2000 to 2012 that did not play that room, in cluding Ma donna and Prince who played 13 dates. But on Sunday morning, something transformed that venue into the holiness of God.”

Ironically, one of the key factors Ulmer attributes to the church’s sustenance during the Forum years was what was happening in his 1,850-seat Tabernacle with his youth ministry.

“There was a different generation in there–a generation I could not reach,” Ulmer confesses.

In yet another bold move, he reached out to gospel superstar Kirk Franklin, who for the next five years would serve as youth minister of what was dubbed as “The Takeover”.

“I came over one Sunday and there were over a thousand kids on their faces weeping to the Lord,” recalls Ulmer, who pauses for a moment before continuing his thought. “This church would not be what it is now if God had not sent Kirk Franklin.”

Those youth –now grown up–are key to Ulmer’s thriving membership of more than 10,000, now holding worship at The Tabernacle.

The church’s return to the Tabernacle after selling the Forum was thought by some to be a step down. A notion that might have been fueled by an August 2010 L.A. Times article titled, “Forum’s struggles turn it into a financial drain on the church that owns it”, detailing the legal wrangling between the church and the management company it partnered with to acquire concerts, but would later accuse of scaring–and or steering–business away from the Forum.

Ulmer, however, insists, “It was not a step down. It was a change of seasons and God kept moving.”

Today at 75, he doesn’t have a lot of regrets.

“It's been a good ride,” he maintains. “I did my best and I'm comfortable in that because number one, I know those seasons have changed. Number two, because I really believe that God has sent the right man [in John-Paul Foster] and my first responsibility–which I see as a call– is to pastor the pastor. I want to be to him what I did not have.

“The second thing: I will be the spiritual advisor to this ministry,” he went on. “He’s the pastor, but I will be honored to be a Paul to this young Timothy. I'm not leaving the church. I'll be advisor. There are many people who are not going to ask him to do their funeral or weddings. He didn't go to the hospital and visit them. He didn't bless their babies. We both are okay with that. I want to be there for the people who are there so that he can have time and room to bring the people who are not there.”

While his last official service is on February 19, he will preach again on Father’s Day and every Father’s Day thereafter. In the meantime, he says he’s “repositioning” in the kingdom.

“I’m senior advisor to the president of Biola University,” he points out. “And some of the classes that people have paid $2000 for at Oxford, I'm going to do some of those same classes at Faithful Central now.”

Then there is his Macedonia International Bible Fellowship (MIBF) of more than 300 members representing 120 pastors, through which he has inspired a whole new generation of leaders.

States MIBF member, Bishop Van Moody, “Part of the reason he’s impacted so many leaders in our country, but also globally, is not just because he’s a great preacher, and he’s one of the greatest preachers of our generation; not just because he’s an academician par excellent (and yes, he is one of the greatest thinkers of our time) but it’s bigger. He’s a great man, a great husband, a great father. Those are the intangibles many in my generation look for as a sign of hope that we can make it and do it the right way.”

Pastor Touré Roberts, whose OneLA is one the city’s leading multi-ethnic churches, concurs.

“Over the course of my pursuit of God and His plans for my life, I’ve been blessed to learn from many great men and women of God”, Roberts says. “But there is one servant who stands out a great deal from the rest, and under his leadership I discovered the voice of God. That discovery would change the trajectory of my life forever. That servant is Dr. Kenneth C. Ulmer who has not only impacted my life in a truly transformational way, but the lives of an entire generation in this great city of Los Angeles and beyond.”