LA Radio Personality Isidra Person-Lynn Interviews Judge Ross of America's Court & Rev. Mark Whitlock on New Show 'Sunday Morning Live!'

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Hosted by Isidra Person Lynn

Celebrated Morehouse College Glee Club Brings 100 Years of Its History To Los Angeles

Halfway through rehearsal, the basses got an earful.

"Your start is too aggressive! Like boom, boom, flap, flap, upside the head," conductor David Morrow shouted Sunday from a dark spot offstage in Club Nokia at L.A. Live. "It's not about the volume, it's about the quality."

And with that, the Morehouse College Glee Club — the world-renowned, historically black, all-male choir that has sung at the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the funeral of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — humbly cleared their throats and gave perfection another try.

The group was to perform its 100-year celebration concert to a sold-out audience in just a few hours. Among the songs they'd rehearsed for the occasion had the lyrics: "Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born can do it better."

Judging by the way the young men locked focus on Morrow — on his hands, on his eyes, on his faintest muttering and slightest facial expression — their aim was precisely that.

With a repertoire that encompasses spirituals, adapted operas and the work of contemporary composers, the Morehouse glee club has stayed in demand year after year, performing on national and international tours. It has become the principal ambassador of Morehouse, the prestigious, historically black, all-male college in Atlanta.

Now, if only they could get people to quit comparing them to "Glee," the television hit about a group of misfit teenagers who dance and sing in a high school choir. Ever since the show started airing in 2009, audiences have expected the Morehouse group to deliver jazzy, over-the-top musical routines.

"I get asked a lot, 'Who's your choreographer?,'" Morrow said. "And I say, 'What?' We only have one number where we move."

Still, the Morehouse glee club doesn't lack style: The men wear sharp suits even on plane flights, and they walk onstage with short, brisk steps.

Then there's its tight-knit history. Since its formation in 1911, the club has had only three official directors (Morrow is the latest). Each was taught by his predecessor.

Around their Atlanta stamping grounds, the men are a high-profile bunch.

"You come to expect that each time you see them walking across campus in their full regalia, something big is about to happen," said Darnell Holcomb, president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Morehouse alumni association.

Joining the choir, senior baritone Justin Shaw said, is not nearly as difficult as staying in it. There are four rehearsals a week, and the tour schedule is demanding. Some students quit within weeks of joining. Those who remain hold fast to the club's motto, which is repeated after every rehearsal: "The Morehouse College Glee Club is an eminent expression of brotherhood, a united force of dedication and commitment, and an unselfish labor of love."

"It's very much, 'no pain, no gain,'" Shaw said. "But those who commit are fully committed."

A good number of the songs they perform were born in slavery. Their writers are mostly unknown, but their messages of desperation, hope and survival continue to resonate.

Keep reading...

Black History Month Celebrations Kick Off In LA With The Kinsey Collection!

'What You Didn't Learn In High School' Comes To The Ebony!

On Saturday February 5th at 8pm, join us for a spectacular Southern California evening of inspiration as world renowned art collectors and philanthropists Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, along with their special guests, take you through the African American experience in a unique and engaging way.

The Kinsey's "What You Didn't Learn In High School History" will include performances by talented actress Cassandra Freeman (The Inside Man) and Danny "Coco" Brown, followed by a scrumptious champagne and dessert reception immediately after this 2nd Annual Los Angeles cultural gathering.

If you missed attending last year, please take a peak at the 2010 photos now on Facebook that were taken to see that this is no ordinary celebration.

Tickets are going fast so get your now at the Ebony Repertory Theater's Website.

See you there! And make sure you visit The Kinsey Collection, currently on display at The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.

Leimert Park Book Fair Celebrates What's Good About Black L.A.

Harmony Bailey, 5, sings along to a children’s song performed for youngsters.

Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr. is among the celebrities and authors on hand at the fair, which featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers.

By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times

Strolling down an aisle with hands clasped behind his back at the fourth annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair, Otis Wright noticed significant changes in the event as it unfolded Saturday in a neighborhood known as the cultural heartbeat of black Los Angeles.

Like similar literary festivals across the nation, the fair featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers, as well as readings, panel discussions and performances by singers, including a Lena Horne impersonator. The thousands of visitors who turned out had plenty of opportunities to meet authors and celebrities such as Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr.

But Wright, 72, a real estate broker and minister who has lived in the Leimert Park Village area for 55 years, was particularly pleased by what he described as "progress: more people, a younger crowd this year, and lots more children. I like that."

Nearby, 9-year-year-old Jada Salazar was exploring rows of long tables where dozens of independent authors were showing off their self-published efforts.

"It's so inspiring that as soon as I get home I am going to write something about it," said Salazar, vice president of the student body at Saturn Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. "I'm going to write about all the authors selling books and the people singing on stage."

The festival was founded in 2007 by Cynthia E. Exum and Associates in partnership with Los Angeles Councilman Bernard C. Parks, whose district includes the southwest Los Angeles neighborhood rich with Art Deco apartments and office buildings, Afrocentric boutiques and shops such as Eso Won Books.

In a kick-off activity Saturday, Parks presided over the unveiling of a 44-cent U.S. postage stamp honoring Oscar Micheaux, the son of former slaves who went on to write, produce and direct 44 feature-length films between 1919 and 1948.

"This festival can be appreciated on many levels," Parks said. "It is a celebration of the written word and presents role models from famous actors to little-known artists just starting to make their mark. It is also an economic stimulus because the crowds of book-lovers spill over into local shops and restaurants — and it's getting bigger."

Invited authors included Dr. Scot Brown, author of "Fighting for US: Maulana Karenga, the US Organization, and Black Cultural Nationalism," Douglas A. Blackmon, author of "Slavery by Another Name," and fashion consultant Daisy Lewellyn, author of "In Style with the Queen of Effortless Chic."

On a panel about a collection of scholarly essays titled "Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities," Paul Robinson, director of the Medical Geographic Information Systems Laboratory at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, presented a history of Los Angeles from its founding in 1781 by Spaniards of mostly African descent to the first decade of the 2000s, a time when the cultural fabric of American-born blacks is being challenged by new immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa.

These new immigrants share the same living spaces, he said, but have different cultural backgrounds and social identities.

Leimert Park is a microcosm of those changes. Developed in the late 1920s, the neighborhood was restricted to whites and known for its golf courses and several airstrips. Howard Hughes learned to fly there. The area began attracting African American musicians and artists in the wake of the 1965 Watts riots.

The Leimert Park Village shopping district features Jamaican shops and restaurants and Southern-style eateries offering live jazz music. The bustling neighborhood surrounding the intersection of West 43rd Place and Degnan Boulevard celebrates Kwanzaa and Christmas and is the last stop on the annual parade honoring Martin Luther King Jr.


Noted philanthropists Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, whose extensive collection of art, books and manuscripts chronicle the African American experience from 1632 to the present, know the area well.

They are coauthors of "The Kinsey Collection," a 155-page coffee-table edition that Bernard Kinsey said "is more about the African American experience in terms of 'How we overcame' than 'Isn't it awful?' "

Surveying the passersby, many of them with children in tow, Kinsey smiled and said, "I love what I see here today. This is the soul of the African American experience in Los Angeles. We are privileged to be a part of it."

The Smithsonian Institute: October 15, 2010 - May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC

With items dating to 1632, The Kinsey Collection exhibition will spotlight moments in African American history through rare books, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts and vintage photographs. Among the featured art will be works by such major African American artists as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Artis Lane, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry O. Tanner. From rare slave holder documents to glimpses into private 18th- and 19th-century lives, The Kinsey Collection reflects the richness of the African American experience.

Organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

LAKERS REPEAT WITH 2010 NBA WIN! I LOVE LA PARADE KICKS OFF JUNE 21

This pretty much says it all about the Los Angeles Lakers and the fans who love them. It was a spectacular game that resulted in a Game 7 win of 83-79 between the reigning champions and the Boston Celtics!

Haters (including all you Celtics fans) to the left -- to the left!!!

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: * Wake/Viewing was Thurs., June 17th, 6 pm.* The official funeral and burial will be Monday June 21, 2010 starting at The Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa Los Angeles, Ca. 90015....* Special invited guests include K. Bryant, D. Fisher, R. Artest, P. Gasol, L. Odom, S. Brown, and many more!* We ask that you wear...Purple and Gold...*

RIP Boston... you did your best, but your best was simply not good enough!

LAWEBFEST Controversy: TubeFilter Attempts To Silence Black Emmy Winning Writer Michael Ajakwe

Last week, a reporter from TubeFilter-- the ezine that likens itself as the online cousin to Daily Variety-- decided to do a story on LAWEBFEST Founder and Executive Director Michael Ajakwe Jr. The focus was going to to be on this weekend's innovative first all-web series festival. Days later, however, Tubefilter's stated that a decision was made to bury the LA Web Fest story. No reason was given as to why.

That interview-- the one Tubefilter conducted with the African American Emmy-winning writer and producer -- is under the hood. Since they won't run it... we will as an exclusive!

Tubefilter interview date: March 16, 2010

Reporter: Jenni Powell, Tubefilter

Subject: Michael Ajakwe Jr., Executive Director & Founder, LAWEBFEST

Tubefilter-- What inspired you to start this festival?

M.A.-- I have been saying for about two years now that somebody needs to start a film festival showcasing some of the really cool work being done on the web because it seems every day I am discovering a new show on the Internet that I think is really cool. Well, after waiting for "somebody" to step up and do it, I decided to be that "somebody"; or, as I like to kid, "I Am! Somebody!"


Tubefilter-- Can you share with me your background in New Media?

M.A.-- I have been watching online content for about three years. Like many New Media "experts", my background is in other related media like TV and film. I have been a TV writer-producer for 21 years, beginning with entertainment news ("Entertainment Tonight," "E!") and later crossing over to scripted comedies ("Martin," "Sister Sister", "Brothers Garcia," "Eve", "Talk Soup").

About 18 months ago, I created my own web series, "Who..." and spent most of 2009 filming Season 1 (12 episodes). I created, wrote, produced and directed the entire series. I also formed my own webvision channel, AjakweTV.com. I have done workshops in Los Angeles, Virginia and soon Chicago on writing and producing creative content for the web.

Tubefilter-- How is this conference unique from say IAWTV?

M.A.-- IAWTV is more like an unofficial union of web producers who network with each other and honor web series, performers and creators in an annual ceremony, The Streamy Awards; we are strictly a web series festival. LAWEBFEST is here to celebrate the web series by bringing creators together under one roof for three days and showing their work; we are honoring some of this work.

There is also an educational component to the festival. We are holding workshops and panels dealing with most every aspect of producing web content-- creation, writing, acting, marketing, etc. I feel we actually compliment what IAWTV does and I support them in the best way because I am also an IAWTV member (smile).

Tubefilter-- How were the "winners" picked? Such as Best Comedy, etc.?

M.A.-- Like many film and tv festivals, we have members of our staff and our board involved in the judging process. We also have outside judges. Some work in the web industry, some don't. I like mixing up the pot with different points of views. It keeps things fresh and unpredictable and gives more talent a chance to stand out. Our awards have less to do with who is "The Best" and more to do with "Outstanding Achievement" in a particular area of the creative process.

So at our awards banquet, you might see two or even three web series, performers or technicians recognized for their work as opposed to the traditional single "winner" per category concept. The only show in the festival that has no shot at winning any awards is my show "Who..." (for obvious reasons). Hopefully, no one is taking any of these awards too seriously since, at the end of the day, we know virtually ALL awards are subjective.


Tubefilter--Do you plan on making this an annual event?

M.A.-- Based on the response we received in our maiden year (nearly 100 applicants), yes. Unfortunately, we could only choose 50 (48 to be exact). Our goal is to not just show one particular type of web series. We are showcasing some of the other forms that have become popular as well-- VLOGS, Travel & Lifestyle, Talk, to go along with the traditional comedies and drama. But the response was amazing. We have web creators flying in from Canada, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York. But most of our entries were from right here on the west coast.

These talents are hungry for a place to showcase what they are doing beyond just the 'Net because, let's face it, even though the content is there to view online, a lot of people are still not watching. This gives them a chance to see what they're missing, go home later and tune in to see more and, of course, tell a friend. So, yes, I would say LAWEBFEST is here to stay.


Tubefilter-- What are some challenges you've faced in organizing this event?

M.A.-- The usual when you have something new-- credibility. Some people wonder how "legit" is this festival. Can we really deliver? And who's behind this event? Fortunately, I have 27 years of experience working in 6 different creative disciplines-- PR, journalism, TV, film, theater and now webvision. I have won various awards for my producing work (including an Emmy) so the curious can check out my website (www.michaelajakwe.com) or IMDB Pro or Google me, as I'm sure most have already done. My resume speaks for itself.

A lot of people in the web game maybe have a few years of experience working in the digital space and maybe that's all they've done; or they have a TV background; or a film background; or a business and finance background. Nothing wrong with that. However, I do feel that my broad range of experience is a big plus when it comes to producing a festival.

It doesn't hurt that I have my own webvision channel (Ajakwetv.com) and that I have actually produced a full season of a web series ("Who...") with more shows on the way. Despite my background, putting on this festival is still a ton of work. You can't pull something like this off if you don't know what you're doing or have a strong team behind you.

We aren't funded by any major corporations nor do we have any big sponsors. And yet, here we are. We exist and we are happening the weekend of March 26th. We're not big and flashy and we don't have to be. No one is coming to LAWEBFEST for that. People are coming for entertainment and substance. That is our focus -- to screen fun, diverse shows and hold fun, informative panels and workshops that will be helpful to our audience.


Tubefilter-- What has been the most rewarding part of planning the event?

M.A.-- The joy I hear in the emails and voice mails of those planning to take part in LAWEBEST. They are excited just to be a part of the weekend. Also, panelists and workshop participants are also enthused about the festival because something like this has never been done when it comes to web shows. I mean, there are a few all-web series festival that take place online. But we are the first one to ask folks to leave their homes and come out to a theater to watch original shows they cannot see on TV or at the movies; a new form of programming that is a part of an underground mass movement of creators-- some professional, some not-- who have found a way to by-pass the traditional Hollywood gatekeepers.

It's such a good feeling to know that so many people want to show their stuff. Just like how water will always find a way out, so will creative expression. The web has become that way and I think it's fantastic.


Tubefilter-- Anything else you'd like to plug or share?

M.A.-- Yes. LAWEBFEST is for the professional and nonprofessional; the "web expert" or just the "web curious." We welcome everyone. Webvision is still a very new medium of expression and so why not try new things? We're not married to the old way of doing things because the old way is not always the best way. We might be the first of our kind but we won't be the last.

I expect to see more of these type of festivals springing up all over the country over the next few years, which would be a very good thing because Hollywood (and I work in Hollywood-- that's what pays the bills) believes that it has a monopoly on creative talent-- in front and behind the camera-- but that's not necessarily true. Hollywood misses the boat on talent every day because Hollywood doesn't look for talent everywhere. Our theme this year is "new visions for a new frontier." But the LAWEBFEST motto is evergreen: "You can find greatness anywhere-- in anybody."

See you at LAWEBFEST, March 26-28 in LA. Click here for details.

Black Congresswoman Diane Watson To Exit, Leaving House of Reps Seat Up For Grabs

Rep. Diane Watson, a prominent African American woman in Los Angeles and national politics for three decadecs, announced today she will retire from Congress at the end of the year.

Now, the race is on as to which black democratic candidate is best positioned to replace the increasingly Latino populated area.

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass is obviously the front runner will commander the safely Democratic seat, which has been held by a minority as far back as most can remember. Bass is the first black woman to hold the speaker's post in Sacramento, and she is leaving the Assembly at the end of 2010. Perfect timing!

Diane Edith Watson, 76, who started on the local level before going on to become a California state senator and a Micronesia US ambassador under President Bill Clinton, said she was stepping down to spend more time with her 100-year-old mother, who recently broke her hip.

Watson's claim to fame came in 1975 when she was elected the first black woman to serve on the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Her entry into the political arena came at a time of racial friction over mandatory school busing.

Many recall the bruising campaign she waged against her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister, former Congresswoman and County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, that fractured the black middle class and saw various political camps stem from Burke's ultimate victory. Burke herself was on the losing end of a campaign to become the first woman and African American to serve as Attorney General of California.

Ironically, now San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is striving to accomplish that same goal this year.

Assemblywoman Bass issued a statement calling Watson a mentor and praising her for fighting for better schools and health care in the district, which covers a swath of Los Angeles County running from Culver City to the Hollywood section in Los Angeles.

Photos courtesy of Leroy Hamilton

America I AM Exhibit Makes The Case About The Importance of Black History And Culture

By Sandy Banks (LA Times)

An exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles marks nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the U.S.

My visit to the California Science Center's black history exhibit this week was intended as rainy day relief; an emotional lift and respite for me from those relentless images of Haitian grief.

I hauled my college daughter along because it seemed a fitting way to celebrate the holiday honoring Martin Luther King. She had just wrapped up a freshman "ethnic studies" course where the historical narrative seemed to be WASPs against the rest of us.

It reminded me that history depends on who's doing the telling. When I was her age, people of color were asterisks, not narrators. Tomorrow's version will depend on today's storytellers.

This exhibit -- "American I AM: The African American Imprint" -- leaves no doubt about its vision: to "celebrate nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the U.S."

So I wasn't surprised by the visitors wending their way through the gallery:

The trio of elderly black women, trading recollections before a display of Jim Crow-era "White Ladies" and "Colored Women" markers. The teenagers in hip-hop gear crowding around a glass case featuring Tupac Shakur's handwritten lyrics. A family of five from Inglewood, wearing designer jeans and Barack Obama T-shirts.

I noticed the slight, bespectacled white man who studied the giant slave trade diagram for 20 minutes before moving on. The silver-haired woman talking in Spanish to her bored young grandson about Rosa Parks. The young Asian woman in a UC Davis hoodie, who listened dutifully at every exhibit to the narrated monologue on her rented headset.

And the pretty blond woman explaining the horrors of the Middle Passage -- the torturous voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic -- to her wide-eyed, auburn-haired daughter.

In Los Angeles, at least, American WE ARE ALL, it seems.

::

The exhibit, created by broadcaster Tavis Smiley, is on its third stop in a 10-city, four-year tour. It opened in Exposition Park in October and runs through April. On Monday, the day I visited, more than 700 people bought tickets to see it.

It has gotten off to a slow start in Los Angeles, where the black population is not as concentrated or politically active as the cities of its previous stops, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

"The challenge here is we crave entertainment . . . but we have a problem appreciating culture," Smiley said.

But the upside of Los Angeles, he told me, is the diversity it offers. "L.A. is truly a microcosm of the world. So there's no better place to introduce Americans to each other."

Field trips from local schools come during the week, while weekend visitors tend to be families, church groups and history buffs, said Tamika Lamison, who coordinates the exhibit's docents.

The journey begins with an explanation of slavery -- complete with artifacts like a slave ship manifest and ancient shackles and chains.

The docents keep a box of tissues on hand, "because some people get pretty worked up about it," Lamison said. "You look at these things, and you can imagine the pain."

"It's not just black people," she said. "The little children are bothered by it. . . . They don't understand, how could people be so mean. And we get a very visceral reaction from Jewish people. They feel a connection to us because of their history; of what's been done to their people."

I understood what she meant as I watched my own daughter wrestling with a new awareness of things she's already learned in school.

The slave trade looks different when, instead of reading a textbook about the Civil War or the importance of the cotton gin, you are staring at a life-size image of Africans shackled and stacked like cordwood on a slave ship.

::

The exhibition starts on a somber note, but it ends with a triumphal tone, chronicling the influence of black culture on this country's politics and pulpits, stages and sports.

Still, it was sobering to me to watch the young people in the gallery struggling to absorb what they heard and saw.

How does a young girl reconcile the promise of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, on exhibit in one glass case, with the receipt in another from the 1776 sale of slaves, $100 for a Negro woman and her child? I understand those parents who -- like me -- try to tie their children to our history, even though we cannot know what images they will remember in this sweep from slavery to the presidency.

The snapshot I choose from my exhibit visit is quintessential Los Angeles:

A rambunctious little boy named Josh, brown curls bouncing as he mimics Michael Jackson.

His African American father leaning against the wall, absently fiddling with his iPhone.

And his young, blond mother explaining to his brown-skinned sister why Rosa Parks refused to stand and Martin Luther King was behind bars.

sandy.banks@latimes.com

Obama Nominates First African American To Become U.S. Attorney For Los Angeles

By Scott Glover (LA Times)

Andre Birotte Jr., who for the last six years has served as the Los Angeles Police Department's inspector general, has been tapped by President Obama to become the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, the White House announced Thursday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Birotte, 43, would become the first black man to serve as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

"I am honored and humbled by this nomination," said Birotte, who learned of the news early Thursday while visiting family on the East Coast for the holidays.

As U.S. attorney, he would oversee the nation's second-largest office with about 275 lawyers and a seven-county jurisdiction that spans most of Southern California.

It would mark his second stint in the office, where he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1995 to 1999.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who recommended Birotte, praised him for having the support of both the police officers he is charged with investigating as inspector general and the various community groups who turn to his office with complaints regarding alleged police abuses.

"This ability to command respect from all sides bodes well for his nomination," Feinstein said in a press release.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who has dealt with Birotte on issues including the federal consent decree enacted in the wake of the Rampart scandal and officer-involved shootings, said: "He didn't always see things as I saw them. But I never felt him to be someone who was swayed by politics or the media or the vocal minority. He is swayed by doing the right thing."

As inspector general, Birotte reports to the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department.

Birotte's main job is conducting internal investigations so commissioners are better informed when making policy decisions or rulings on such issues as the use of deadly force by officers.

The job frequently thrusts him into some of the department's biggest controversies, including the televised beating of an unarmed car theft suspect and the melee in MacArthur Park that resulted in the discipline of more than a dozen officers.

The job requires Birotte to work with -- and be critical of -- the LAPD, a task that he and all of his predecessors found challenging.

During his first stint in the U.S. attorney's office, Birotte prosecuted fraud, bank robberies and narcotics cases, among others.

He began his legal career as a public defender in Los Angeles.

Birotte graduated from Tufts University with a degree in psychology in 1987 and Pepperdine University School of Law four years later.

He lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife and three children.

In LA This Weekend? Then You NEED To Check The Watts Summer Festival Going Down August 8-9

Carnival rides, exhibits, vendors, free health information, story-telling, community forums, continuous live music, drill teams, surprise celebrities, food court, arts, crafts, concerts (gospel, jazz, R&B, hip hop) and more await you at a 2-day cultural celebration.

Celebrity Spokesperson - Charles Wright of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, “Express Yourself” will also be on hand. The event begins both days at 12 noon and goes until 8:00 pm. Visit the website for more information. See you there!

KJLH Radio Public Affairs Director Jacquie Stephens Leaves The L.A. Scene

Los Angeles Loses One Phenomenal Woman

By Isidra Person-Lynn

Host of "LA Speaks Out" on urban radio station 102.3 KJLH for over decades, veteran News and Public Affairs Director Jacquie Stephens has moved to her childhood home of Chicago to start the next chapter of her journey.

This will probably come as a shock to her devoted listeners, and attendees of the annual Womens' Health Forum. But after the recent passing of her father, this only child knew it was time to be closer to her elderly mother and she stepped up for the biggest assist of her life.

KLJH is one of the few minority run media companies on the West Coast. Music icon and activist Stevie Wonder has owned the legendary FM music station serving the African American community for more than 30 years.

Until February of 2008, I used to sit in for her during her increasing visits to her mother's side. From then until June 16, the radio station has been going through some personnel changes while Jacquie was in the Windy City. Those changes, however, did not impact her decision to be with her mother. She has unselfishly served the Southern California community for over 25 years. This was not a decision that came lightly, but a good decision that brought peace of mind and resolve which allowed her heart to be clear.

As a former public affairs director and news reporter, I know of the countless events, Jacquie MC'd, personalities she interviewed, causes she championed, and news stories she broke. She has been honored frequently as a demonstration of the community's support.

Soon an article about Jacquie will be released, but, since Jacquie is not the type that will allow us to hold a luncheon in her honor (believe me, I asked) feel free to leave a comment which I will share with her.

If you have been a guest on L.A. Speaks Out, if you have ever benefited from a show, if you attended the KJLH Women's Health Conference, or in any way want to send her a message, she will see them, so speak directly to her. She would love to hear from you.

As for me, I am proud of my friend. The same way she worked for our community, she quietly departed. As always, she did it her way. Kwaku and Jaaye and I will miss you, Jacquie, but hold on, we're coming! And Steja, we're here for you, too!

Here are photos from this year's health forum.

Did Race Play Into LAUSD Supt. David Brewer's Payoff???

From the moment a faction controlled by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seized control of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, the conventional wisdom has been that LAUSD Supt. David Brewer’s days as the district’s chief executive were numbered.

This being L.A., the issue was, from the beginning, viewed through a racial prism, because the school board’s leader, a Latina, led the charge to remove Brewer, who is African-American. Race even played a role in bringing this drama to its climax: LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia first attempted to engineer his ouster last week; however, apparently afraid of how things would look, pulled back the effort when the board’s only Black member, Marguerite LaMotte, would not return from a previously scheduled trip to take part in a show trial — one in which everyone involved knew a verdict had already been rendered.

The only thing left was the posturing. So the blur of activity that resulted in Tuesday’s board decision to buy out Brewer’s contract, to the tune of an estimated $500,000, was really just the coda to a distracting melodrama that has finally played itself out.

Most reasonable parties understand that Brewer’s ouster was less about race, and more about who will ultimately control the LAUSD — officially or not. Like Garcia, Brewer’s expected temporary replacement, Deputy Superintendent Ramon Cortines, is a close ally of Villaraigosa — whose legislative bid to take control of the city’s schools was deemed unconstitutional by a state appeals court last year.

By taking out Brewer, who was selected by a former school board majority hostile to Villaraigosa’s dream of expanding his political portfolio, the mayor moves a step closer to pulling all the strings on an ineffective board that is far too eager to abdicate its core responsibilities. All to appease an ambitious mayor who has not yet proven himself capable of improving student achievement.



Especially in times like this, when the state of urban education is in serious crisis, school superintendents in big cities across the United States tend to come and go.

But even with all racial considerations aside, it seems particularly unfair to place the de facto blame for LAUSD’s failing schools on Brewer’s head by orchestrating his departure halfway into a four-year contract. In terms of test scores, the single factor that is currently — and perhaps unfortunately — in vogue as to measuring student achievement, Brewer has shown marked improvement during his brief tenure. He also won plaudits for placing an emphasis on Black student achievement — a high-profile effort that gave rise to suspicions that race did indeed play a part in his unpopularity with the school board.

This is why the racial suspicions persist, which Brewer has done little to dispel. And the community is reacting: On the day this editorial is published, a group of the city’s African-American leaders will hold a press conference responding to Brewer’s exit.

During it, they plan to demand substantial representation on a selection committee that will help choose a new permanent superintendent, and the formation of a task force to address the specific needs of Black students. According to an announcement aboutThursday’s event at Dorsey High School, this would also include “a strategic plan for African-American students with a focus on Black males who make up approximately 274 gangs in 17 cities and five unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County.”

Fine, the school board didn’t want to give the former Navy admiral more time to build on his successes. As long as they understand that it is going to take one hell of a soldier to guide LAUSD through a political morass that has grown thornier due to the hasty — and costly — actions of this week.

Before Michelle Obama, There Was LA's First Lady Ethel Bradley

Her husband was a man of several political firsts and they had two girls. But there last name was not Obama. It was The Bradleys, and Ethel Bradley, who was the longest-reigning first lady of Los Angeles as the wife of the city's first black mayor, Tom Bradley, has died. She was 89.

Bradley, whose husband held office from 1973 to 1993, died Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Ethel Bradley "a woman of grace" who served the city "with dignity and class."

While her husband oversaw Los Angeles, she avoided the political spotlight that made him thrive. She held teas, rooted for the Dodgers from her permanent seat behind home plate at Dodger Stadium and took pride in cultivating a garden showcase at the mayoral mansion in Windsor Square.

Asked by a Times reporter in 1992 about his wife's low profile, the mayor responded: "Her feeling is she has given her husband to public service. That doesn't mean that she now has to give herself."

Family and friends portrayed her as the reclusive, yet honest and direct, woman behind a man known for working 17-hour days.

"Without her stability and her willingness to shoulder the burden on the home front, Tom would not have been able to give as he has given," Melanie Lomax, the late former president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and the Bradleys' goddaughter, said in a 2000 Times article.

Lorraine Bradley, one of the couple's two daughters, told The Times in 1993: "How can a mayor do that much work and not have to worry about anything else unless he has someone like her behind him?"

The mayor acknowledged that political ambition left him little time to be home. He set aside three nights a year for his wife: "Her birthday, my birthday, the Academy Awards. Those are absolutely inviolate dates," he told The Times in 1988.

The couple had moved from their six-room house in Leimert Park to Getty House, a 6,000-square-foot mansion, at the beginning of Bradley's second term in 1977. Getty Oil had donated the home to the city in 1975 and it became the mayor's official residence.

From the day Ethel Bradley moved in, she took seriously a first lady's duty to keep the mansion in order -- even though there was no budget or staff -- and to throw a party that guests would talk about the next morning.

"Nobody could be a caretaker for this house like I've been, seven days a week, 24 hours a day," Ethel Bradley told The Times just before moving out in 1993. "I think I did a beautiful job and left things better than when I first came."

There was plenty of room to house her collections: More than 100 hats (she rarely went out without one), racks of evening gowns, heirloom crystal and her prized possession -- a glass case filled with autographed baseballs. Yet the mansion's three floors and 19 rooms had always felt a bit like a prison to the 5-foot-2 1/2 -inch Bradley, and she could not wait to escape.

"It's been 30 years of my life I've given up. It's time for me to have a life of my own," she said.

In addition to his 20 years as mayor, Tom Bradley had spent another decade as a city councilman. From 1940 to 1961, he had served with the Los Angeles Police Department.

When her husband narrowly lost a bid for governor in 1982, Ethel Bradley saw an upside: She had planned to be in Los Angeles during baseball season anyway.

She was 74 when they left Getty House for a 1940s two-story home in the View Park area of Los Angeles.

Away from the limelight, the Bradleys had five more years together. He suffered a stroke in 1996 that left him unable to speak clearly and died two years later.

In 2006, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors honored her upon the opening of the Ethel Bradley Early Education and Health Career Center in South Los Angeles. The idea for the center had originated with the Black Women's Forum, which Ethel Bradley co-founded in 1978 to help motivate black women to become community leaders.

Ethel Mae Arnold was born in Texas on Feb. 2, 1919, one of eight children of Benjamin and Lucille Arnold. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1930.

At age 15, she graduated from Jefferson High School and attended Los Angeles City College for two years.

Her father was a painting contractor who introduced her to baseball and set her up as the owner of a beauty salon at 54th Street and Central Avenue. She catered to leading figures in black society in 1941, the year she gave up the shop to marry Bradley, The Times reported in 1983.

He had first seen her when they were teenagers singing in the choir at New Hope Baptist Church. The newlyweds lived next door to her parents in Los Angeles and had two daughters by 1945.

The Bradleys needed a white intermediary in 1950 to sidestep racial covenants when they bought their first house on Welland Avenue in Leimert Park in the city's Crenshaw District. The couple also encountered other examples of the racism of the era and were refused entrance to hotels and restaurants, according to a 1998 Times article.

It was an idyllic time for the family, her daughter Lorraine said in a 1983 Times interview: "We had a ball in those days. Daddy used to love being at home and mother loved to bake. Talk about your hostess extraordinaire! They'd have card parties once a week -- bridge, that kind of stuff."

Ethel Bradley concurred, telling The Times in 1988, "I didn't realize it, but I guess the best years of my life were the years we spent together before he was an elected official."

Years later, when her daughter Phyllis struggled with drug addiction as an adult during much of her father's time as mayor, he said, "It is hard to say what went wrong there," according to the 1986 biography "Tom Bradley: The Dream."

Over a 10-year period, Phyllis Bradley was arrested several times on shoplifting and drug charges and served a six-month sentence in county jail. After the incidents, the usually gregarious Ethel Bradley would become reclusive, blaming herself and her husband for Phyllis' problems, the biography recounted.

Just before leaving Getty House, Ethel Bradley said she talked to her daughters almost every day and was looking forward to being able to entertain friends "any day of the week."

She certainly had larger-than-life memories to share: She had traveled the world, met Pope John Paul II and hosted South Africa's Nelson Mandela and the king of Spain. The queen of England entertained her three times. She rode on the Dodgers' team jet. And at the ballpark, she was known as "Mrs. B."

Survivors include her daughters, Lorraine and Phyllis.

Services were pending. Source.

LA Sentinel's Taste of Soul On Crenshaw Blvd Last Weekend Was All That And A Slab of Ribs!

The 3rd Annual Taste of Soul went down again in LA over the weekend and the reviews have all been outstanding. GOOD FOOD was set off by a great attendance from the community, community orgs, and GREAT entertainment. Although we here at 3BAAS missed the festivities, folks have been blogging about it left and right.

Big props for the LA Sentinel Newspaper for their leadership on this piece, and we definitely will be there in 2009.

2008 MLB Playoff Televison Schedule

IT ALL STARTS TONIGHT!!!

l.. A. DODGERS VS. PHILLIE'S

A M E R I C A N L E A G U E
Series begins Friday - Listings Under The Hood

Game Matchup Day Date Time Eastern Standard

Gm 1 BOS @ TB Fri Oct. 10 8:37 PM TBS
Gm 2 BOS @ TB Sat Oct. 11 8:07 PM TBS
Gm 3 TB @ BOS Mon Oct. 13 4:37 PM TBS
Gm 4 TB @ BOS Tue Oct. 14 8:07 PM TBS
Gm 5* TB @ BOS Thu Oct. 16 8:07 PM TBS
Gm 6* BOS @ TB Sat Oct. 18 4:37 PM TBS
Gm 7* BOS @ TB Sun Oct. 19 8:07 PM TBS

N A T I O N A L L E A G U E

Series begins Thursday
Game Matchup Day Date Time ET TV

Gm 1 LAD @ PHI Thu Oct. 9 8:22 PM FOX
Gm 2 LAD @ PHI Fri Oct. 10 4:35 PM FOX
Gm 3 PHI @ LAD Sun Oct. 12 8:22 PM FOX
Gm 4 PHI @ LAD Mon Oct. 13 8:22 PM FOX
Gm 5* PHI @ LAD Wed Oct. 15 8:22 PM FOX
Gm 6* LAD @ PHI Fri Oct. 17 8:22 PM FOX
Gm 7* LAD @ PHI Sat Oct. 18 8:22 PM FOX

Police Critic Najee Ali Takes Plea Deal, Gets Four Years for Attempted Bribery

Activist Najee Ali, known as an outspoken critic of law enforcement, was sentenced to four years in state prison today after pleading no contest to trying to bribe a witness in his daughter's criminal case. Yes, we know that Najee can be a lot to deal with at times, but he has been a voice in Black LA that many people appreciate, us included!

According to the Los Angeles Times, Ali, 45, was arrested and charged on March 11 with attempting to intimidate a witness and attempting to bribe a witness. The former gang member, now a community activist, allegedly tried to tamper with a witness outside his daughter's preliminary hearing at Alhambra Superior Court earlier this year, said Sandi Gibbons, a district attorney's spokeswoman.

The charges against Ali's daughter -- two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of leaving the scene of an accident -- stem from an incident involving her vehicle and a group of motorcyclists on the San Bernardino Freeway, Gibbons said.

Superior Court Judge Frederick R. Rotenberg sentenced Ali after the activist pleaded no contest to attempting to bribe a witness at the Alhambra courthouse. Prosecutors dismissed a count of witness intimidation. Immediately after the sentencing, he was taken into custody and placed in isolated detention at the downtown jail because of his notoriety, officials said.

Ali, born Ronald Todd Eskew, spent two years in prison for armed robbery before catapulting to prominence in 1998 when he helped mobilize public outrage over the case of Sherrice Iverson, a 7-year-old who was murdered at a Nevada casino.
Since then, he has emerged as an activist who transcends convention, protesting pornography in a Snoop Dogg video, urging blacks to work with police and speaking out on behalf of crime victims of every race.



Ali would have received two years in prison but "because he has a prior robbery conviction in 1992, it doubled in time to four years," Gibbons said. The judge also found that Ali violated his probation in a 2004 felony hit-and-run and perjury conviction and was sentenced to four years to run concurrently with the attempted bribery sentence.

"Mr. Ali has still not paid $29,240 in restitution in that case," Gibbons said.

In 2004, Ali was sentenced to five years probation and 1,000 hours of community service after he left the scene of a car accident. His vehicle had collided with another at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King boulevards, and he then ran into a nearby theater.

At the time, Ali was free on bail on charges of purchasing identity documents to apply for and receive two driver's licenses. Ali, who initially fought the charges, said he pleaded no contest because he couldn't afford attorney fees.

"I'm remorseful, but I don't think my actions were criminal," Ali said at the time. "If I'm guilty of anything, it's using poor judgment."

Ali was an outspoken critic of the LAPD following the televised beating of car chase suspect Stanley Miller in 2004, prompting a sharp rebuke from LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton.

During a CNN appearance, Bratton called Ali "one of the biggest nitwits in Los Angeles," while scolding the CNN interviewer, whom he told, "You need to check out the credentials ... of some of these people that you choose."

Bratton later apologized for the remarks. That same day, then-Mayor James K. Hahn named Ali to a citizens' commission formed to examine the beating case.

Ali promptly resigned after city officials expressed doubts about whether he should serve because he was awaiting trial on charges in connection to the hit-and-run case.

Ali splits his time between an apartment in Baldwin Hills and a home in Chicago, where he lives with his wife, the granddaughter of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad. Ali's organization, Project Islamic Hope, is funded by private benefactors, he says. He has no car, and gets around on the bus or by hitching rides with friends.

He also feuded with other activists and civic leaders. Ali in 2006 got a Superior Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), accusing the congresswoman of threatening him.

Then Waters, not to be outdone, accused Ali of stalking her and got her own temporary restraining order against him. Ali also accused bodyguards for Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad of beating him after a news conference in which activists called for clemency for death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Ali told police that he called Muhammad "a liar" after which one guard "cold-cocked" him in the face.

BREAKING NEWS: 5.4 Earthquake Today In Los Angeles!!!

The Down Side Of Living In La-La Land

So I'm on the phone from my home office and all of a sudden I feel this quick jolt that apparently stretched from California to Nevada.

I continue talking to my banker and then suddenly I yell to the customer rep, "I can't talk, we're shaking!"

Centered in the 80,000 plus community of Chino Hills, at least three 3.8 aftershocks have happened since this first "seismic event" occurred almost 30 minutes ago.

So during what seemed like 45 seconds of major shaking, all I could think was to tell my boys and wife "Let's go!" Of course noone's wearing shoes and my oldest wasn't even dressed. My 6-year-old was clearly shook-up, as he kept saying, "That was scary" while clinging to my wife.

She and I have been through this before. In fact, it was the 1994 Northridge earthquake measuring a 6.7 on the Richter Scale that made me realize that if I was going to die, she was the person I wanted to leave this life with.

The following week, we started looking at rings. We married in 1995!

Some 13 years later, he we are instructing our kids about earthquake safety, where we will meet if we get split-up, checking our emergency kits, and counting our blessings that it was ONLY a 5.4!

Bernard Parks And Mark Ridley-Thomas Go Head Up!

The hard-fought race for a rare open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors looks like a traditional clash over a top perch of black political power in California.

But the contest between L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) also foreshadows an uncertain future for African American black political leaders in Southern California.

Latinos outnumber African Americans now by nearly 2 to 1 in the county's vast 2nd Supervisorial District, an area of 2 million people that was predominantly black until the 1990s. At its core are Crenshaw, Watts and Baldwin Hills; around the edges are Marina del Rey, Culver City, Koreatown, Compton, Carson and Inglewood.

"The changing demographics make a lot of people a little uncomfortable, because many African Americans feel they're losing political power," said Kerman Maddox, a veteran advisor to candidates in the area. "After 12 years, is the next [supervisor] going to be African American? A lot of people aren't so sure."

Even now, Ridley-Thomas is relying heavily on organized labor -- the engine of Latino power in California -- to defeat Parks, who is backed by leaders of the black political establishment. Parks' supporters include incumbent Yvonne B. Burke, former Lakers star-turned-businessman Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), the leader of a mighty old-guard political machine. The seat is the only one on the board currently held by an African American.

Whatever the racial crosscurrents, the winner of the June 3 election -- or of a November runoff if neither wins more than 50% -- will hold a job with immense power over the lives of 10.3 million people crammed into the nation's most populous county.

Though often invisible to constituents, the five supervisors oversee a sprawling and, by many measures, failing healthcare system that determines how quickly county residents get emergency treatment -- if at all. They employ more than 100,000 people, including paramedics, firefighters, sheriff's deputies, beach lifeguards, social workers, librarians, restaurant inspectors, helicopter pilots and museum curators.

Millions -- among them abused and neglected children, victims of domestic violence, the homeless, the mentally ill, jail inmates, criminals on probation, drug addicts in rehabilitation centers and welfare recipients -- depend on the county's core social services. The county's performance has been chronically substandard in many of those areas.

Ridley-Thomas and Parks are vying with seven others for the 2nd District seat at a time of deep stress on the county's $22-billion budget. Beyond threatened state and federal cuts, a decline in home values portends a drop in property-tax revenue on which the county depends.

The campaign's intensity, along with its rising acrimony, stems partly from the infrequency of vacancies on the board. The seat has turned over just once since Kenneth Hahn first captured it in 1952.

Burke, who is retiring, won it in 1992 after a fiercely contested race against Diane Watson with the Los Angeles riots as the backdrop. The race pitted two of the California Democratic Party's pioneering black women against each other. Burke became the first black supervisor. Watson, the first black woman in the state Senate, now serves in Congress.

During that campaign, Latinos were just surpassing African Americans in population share. Since then, the surge of Latinos has accelerated, but many are not citizens or have not registered to vote. As a result, blacks will still be the dominant force in next week's election, making up just over 40% of the voters, with whites perhaps 30% and Latinos roughly 25%, strategists estimate.
Nonetheless, the rapid population shifts suggest that black clout will wane further by 2020, when Parks or Ridley-Thomas, if still in office, would be barred from seeking a fourth term.

"This is probably the last African American-only election in that district," said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute, a think tank on Latino politics.

Both candidates are trying to extend their appeal beyond African Americans.

PARKS WINS LA TIMES ENDORSEMENT

A former L.A. police chief, Parks has adopted a variation of the strategy that failed him in his 2005 run for mayor. Then, he tried to build a coalition of blacks and conservative whites. This time, he is highlighting his support from such white Republicans as former Mayor Richard Riordan and county Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

Parks is running as a fiscal conservative with support from business, notably the real estate industry. He has voiced doubts about rent control and opposed a council measure to boost the wages of hotel workers.

In an interview, Parks suggested that labor's alliance with Ridley-Thomas could spell trouble for the county.

"What do you do, just drive [the county] into bankruptcy because you have an allegiance to people who have given you thousands of dollars?" Parks asked.

The two rivals have taken markedly different career paths. Following the model of Tom Bradley, L.A.'s first black mayor, Parks, 64, rose through the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department, becoming chief in 1997. His ouster in 2002 engineered by a white mayor, James K. Hahn, transformed Parks into a political icon for many black voters, and he won a seat on the City Council in 2003.

CONTINUE...

The Comedy Act Is Back, Returning Celebrated African American Comics To The Spotlight In L.A.

LA's Santa Barbara Plaza: Black Community Gets Hoodwinked, Bamboozled, And Left Holding The Bag

REASON #367 WHY MORE OF US ARE MOVING TO THE SUBURBS

The stalled Santa Barbara Plaza development in the heart of Black LA's famed Crenshaw District suggests how badly a project can be bungled when incentives are not in line with goals.

It was supposed to have been a model of urban renewal -- a mix of housing and classy stores to replace a decaying 20-acre shopping center at the foot of the affluent Baldwin Hills. Instead, the once prime location is a collection of blight, dead or dying businesses, and a vast concrete lot with weeds pushing through large cracks. Most of the housing was never built; none of the retailers ever came.

The largely middle-class, African American area is stuck with a mostly deserted commercial slum. Southern California leaders gambled on a check-bouncing, politically connected developer to shepherd the project. And after $15 million in government subsidies and more than $30 million in private investment, taxpayers -- and the community -- have lost.

Christopher Hammond, a bespeckled, light-skinned politically connected developer, was able to draw $15 million in public funding for a retail and housing development at the foot of Baldwin Hills that remains an unbuilt eyesore that's left Black Angelenos pissed.

Government Pays Hammond 400,000 More Than Appraised Value For Property

Despite a history of questionable credit-worthiness and reliability, bounced checks, and no shortage of lawsuits from unpaid contractors and bill collectors, former city Mayor James K. Hahn and former and current City Council members Mark Ridley-Thomas and Bernard C. Parks (locked in a contetious political battle for a ) continued to work with the tall, charismatic African American brotha.

The complete article can be found here.