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WORDTheatre® and Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Present Randall Kenan’s ‘Black Folks Could Fly’
Crenshaw & AroundLocalNews

WORDTheatre® and Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Present Randall Kenan’s ‘Black Folks Could Fly’

Kimberly Shelby Contributing WriterMarch 7, 2024

In partnership with the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center in Leimert Park, WORDTheatre® proudly presents BLACK FOLK COULD FLY, a literary and musical tribute celebrating the legacy of the late southern author Randall Kenan, on Saturday, March 9, at 7:30pm. The reception begins at 6:30pm. This one-night-only event at the arts center explores, among many of the award-winning author’s fascinations, the theme of “Blackness.” Featured performers include Tracie Thoms, Dohn Norwood, CG, Eugene Byrd, and student musicians from the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center.

Black America Needs a ‘New Normal’: Equitable Credit Access to Build Wealth
Charlene CrowellOpinion

Black America Needs a ‘New Normal’: Equitable Credit Access to Build Wealth

Charlene Crowell NNPA Newswire ContributorJune 17, 2021

Although many officials have called for a ‘return to normal’, millions of small businesses and communities need something new instead. In Black America especially, the ‘old normal’ never delivered equitable access to wealth-building opportunities as those that well-served served much of White America. Instead, a lengthy history of public policies designed to create and sustain a burgeoning middle class systemically excluded Blacks and other people of color.

Black Business Registrations Increase During COVID Pandemic
BusinessCOVID-19News

Black Business Registrations Increase During COVID Pandemic

Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire CorrespondentJune 17, 2021

Andre Perry, a Brookings Institution fellow, told the Times that some of the surge in Black business registrations could be a signal of personal economic trouble. “This is more about survival than it is about wealth creation. There’s lots of people who have lost their jobs and lost their businesses. People are starting to realize that side hustles are businesses,” Perry said.

Black Investors Take Note: Reddit Rebellion Rescues GameStop Stock
BusinessEconomyFinanceNews (Business)

Black Investors Take Note: Reddit Rebellion Rescues GameStop Stock

Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National CorrespondentFebruary 11, 2021

The band of amateur day traders that interact with each other on the Reddit page WallStreetBets, encouraged whoever was listening to buy shares of the flailing GameStop, AMC, Macy’s and Koss stocks. Big investors, often in the form of hedge funds, frequently bet against struggling public companies using a process referred to as “shorting,” which allows investors to bet on the degree of misfortune a stock may experience and earn billions of dollars in profits as a result.

‘Mightier Than the Sword –The History of the Black Press’
BusinessHistoryNationalNewsNews (Business)

‘Mightier Than the Sword –The History of the Black Press’

Kimberlee Buck Hayes, Contributing WriterOctober 1, 2020

From the Freedom’s Journal to the Chicago Defender, and of course, the Los Angeles Sentinel, Black publications and journalists have been on the frontlines fighting for social justice, equality, and basic human rights for Black communities. With the recent killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Black America is reminded of the power the Black press holds. The rage, the protests, the tears, and the chants screaming, “Black Lives Matter,” inspire Black newspapers and digital media outlets to keep advocating for change.

Television Academy Honors Tyler Perry
EntertainmentMoviesTV

Television Academy Honors Tyler Perry

City News ServiceAugust 20, 2020

The Television Academy announced that entertainment industry icon Tyler Perry and The Perry Foundation will receive the 2020 Governors Award “in recognition of their unparalleled contributions to shaping the television medium.”

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

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

Sentinel News ServiceMay 28, 2020

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.  

Russell Simmons Brings Back Def Comedy Jam to Raise Money for Coronavirus Ravaged Areas
ComedyCOVID-19EntertainmentNewsNews (Entertainment)TV

Russell Simmons Brings Back Def Comedy Jam to Raise Money for Coronavirus Ravaged Areas

Stacy M. Brown NNPA, Newswire Senior CorrespondentApril 9, 2020

Simmons is leading a group of producers who, on Sunday, April 5, will premiere “Def Comedy Jam Presents: Healing Through Laughter,” a marathon fundraiser hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. The program will air online beginning at 10 p.m. EST, and Simmons’ Instagram page will be updated to provide more information. Simmons has established a GoFundMe page with the hopes of raising as much as $100,000 to help with supplies to assist those in need.

Will A Woman Be President In 2020?
Dr. Maulana KarengaOpinion

Will A Woman Be President In 2020?

Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire ContributorJanuary 30, 2020

Though polls are not a definitive measure of who will win an election, Warren and Klobuchar tend to poll more weakly than the men in the race – Vice President Biden, Sanders, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Have we come such a long way since 2016 that a woman is electable? Can so-called progressive men who want to get 45 out of the White House overcome their gender bias to vote for a woman?

How to Be an Anti-Racist, According to Ibram X. Kendi
NationalNewsPolitical

How to Be an Anti-Racist, According to Ibram X. Kendi

Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire CorrespondentSeptember 5, 2019

“A combination of memoir and extension of towering Stamped from the Beginning… Never wavering… Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth… This unsparing honesty helps readers, both white and people of color, navigate this difficult intellectual territory… Essential.”

Walter Mosley Brings Life to FX’s ‘Snowfall’
EntertainmentTheater

Walter Mosley Brings Life to FX’s ‘Snowfall’

Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing WriterJuly 26, 2019

First impression, Walter Mosley, author and consulting producer/writer on FX’s “Snowfall” for the past two seasons, has a distinctive and comforting voice. His cadence reminded me of jazz.  He confessed that he doesn’t like his voice suggesting that it’s nothing special. I will agree to disagree.