85 Years of LA Sentinel

Black Activists Confront Affirmative Action Opponents on Zoom Call

Last week, African American activists confronted affirmative action opponents on a Zoom town hall a conservative Republican candidate organized. At least one Republican elected official attended the event that the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) supported.    

Prioritize the Health of Black Americans

Public health concerns have taken a backseat in conversations about reopening our economy and returning to what we fondly remember as “normal life”. Memorial Day historically signals the unofficial start of summer and because COVID-19 cases were on the decline, many hoped it would also mark the beginning of a return to normalcy. Even before the Governor and Mayor began lifting restrictions, some residents dismissed the stay at home orders. On Memorial Day weekend, people flocked to beaches and parks in droves, hosted gatherings with more than ten people in attendance, and did so without wearing protective face masks.

JPMorgan Chase teams with Brotherhood Crusade to develop new workforce skills in response to pandemic

JPMorgan Chase has made a $160,000 commitment to the Brotherhood Crusade’s COVID-19 community relief efforts in response to the increasing economic disparities in South Los Angeles caused by the pandemic. The firm’s investment will focus on new workforce skills development and training. The funds will help the Brotherhood Crusade to deliver coaching, training and career transition to support disconnected youth, and underemployed and unemployed families impacted by the COVID-19 crisis across South Los Angeles.  

Achieving Justice for George Floyd: Radically Reimagining and Rebuilding America

Part 1. The transformative fires and formations of revolt and rebellion have reached around the world in rightful resistance to police violence against Black men, women and children and against the system of savage racism which fosters, facilitates and sanctions it at virtually every level of social life. In North America, the Caribbean, Africa, South America, Asia, Western Asia (Middle East), the Islands of the Seas, Australia and Europe, the rallying and battle cries of “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “No Justice No Peace” are raised and heard in powerful, unavoidable and transformative ways. 

Councilmember Price Hosts Virtual Discussion with South L.A. Youth titled “Protest and Unrest”

“If we are to create a more inclusive, equitable and just society, we must listen to our young people. This moment is eerily familiar to when I learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated on April 4, 1968. As the first Black student body president at Morningside High School in Inglewood, I refused to let the movement die with him so I organized a rally in the auditorium where we mourned with the world and made a promise to carry out his mission. Here we are again, decades later, at a monumental moment in our history and on the precipice of another impending breakthrough being led by our collective force of people from all walks of life and every color of the rainbow.”  

Build A Movement

Racism is America’s original sin. Racism that built this nation using the free labor of enslaved Africans. Racism embedded in our original Constitution, claiming that my Black ancestors held only 3/5 of value compared to a white person. Racism that led to racial segregation and discriminatory laws in education, housing and employment. Racism that created a system of law enforcement designed to disproportionately incarcerate Black Americans. For over 400 years, America has used racism to build a wall around Black Americans. This wall has kept Black Americans excluded from opportunities to learn, to work and to vote.   

Reigniting Ferguson’s Fires of Resistance: Reaffirming Our Right and Will to Breathe

The racist public murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has now added to a list of recent and historical victims of police violence and racist terrorism, including Devon Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arberry, Tamir Rice, Atatiana Jefferson, Philando Castile and numerous others. And as our people rise up in massive resistance seeking justice for these Black men, women and children, martyred on the altar of White supremacy, they serve as bright lights and fierce fires lifted up to show the way forward in struggle. Indeed, they call on us to intensify and continue the struggle against the radical evil of these murderous police and vigilante practices and against the savage system which sanctions and supports them and other related forms of oppression. And we owe it to ourselves and to our martyrs to continue the intensified struggle, keep the faith and hold the line until victory.

‘Girlfriends Check In’ — a new series on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network — pandemic self-care in a virtual space.

Despite these unpredictable times with the COVID-19 pandemic still doing its damage especially to the African-American and Latino population. There is an Ethiopian proverb

that says: If you pick up one end of the stick you also pick up the other. Standing on this wisdom it’s vital that Black women take the time to take care of the most important person in the world —us. We Black and Brown women are strong no doubt but we have a history of putting others before ourselves and that lack of self-care has proven deadly for us. Deadly for our families, the community, and the advancement in all areas from the largest to the smallest.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Clarifies Message to Black America

As the Breakfast Club interview wrapped and a Biden aide said he was running short on time, Charlamagne asked the former vice president to stop by the studio when Biden returns to New York. 

“It’s a long way until November,” Charlamagne told Biden. “We’ve got more questions.” 

Biden replied, “You’ve got more questions?” “Well, I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for Trump or me, then you ain’t black.”  

Success On The Way, Ask Dr. Jeanette: And The Beat Goes On! It’s Your Way, Not the Highway! Unless You Own The Highway!

Encourage yourself and one another. NEVER GIVE UP! Things are not as they sometimes appear. Personal experience has taught me. Stay in the game. Obstacles, which appear to be insurmountable with persistence can be overcome. It says, “appear to be insurmountable. The way becomes brighter as you continue to move through the continuum. Concentrate. Focus.  All the time building up your resistance. Establish a mindset of faith..no wavering or doubt. Stay the course. Do not allow yourself to be derailed from your passion nor your dream. Do not devalue your ideas or yourself. You’re worthy. Giving up is wiped from your vocabulary. Giving up is not for you, a conqueror. Conquerors have vision and hope.

Covid-19 Is An Urgent Reminder That Food Insecurity Is a Pressing Problem

We knew many of our fellow Angelenos worked on the margins of the previously healthy economy, but that reality didn’t hit home until we saw reports that less than half of adults in Los Angeles County had a job post pandemic. We all probably had at least heard that minorities had worse health outcomes than white Americans, but perhaps that didn’t really register until statistics about the shockingly high death rates of black and Latinos from Covid-19 became reality. 

Supervisors Vote to Appoint First Inspector General for Skilled Nursing Homes Amid COVID-19 Deaths

Acting on a motion by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Board Chair Kathryn Barger, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to appoint – for the first time – an Inspector General to oversee skilled nursing facilities, which account for more than half of all deaths from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. The Board also approved bringing in the Auditor-Controller to ensure closer monitoring of skilled nursing facilities immediately.  

L.A. County Renews $10,000 Reward in Unprovoked Westmont Fatal Shooting

   Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas recommended extending the reward, which was set to expire May 29 but will now be available for at least another 90 days. Investigators say Corey Devaughn Pickett was visiting a friend about 11:30 p.m. last July 12 in the 1000 block of West 94th Street, near Vermont Avenue and the border with Los Angeles, when his brother drove up in a new Maserati.