Ford Theatres presents visionary vocalist and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello who performs songs from her GRAMMY®-nominated album Ventriloquism, as well as a selection of her favorites, on Saturday, July 13 at 8:00 pm as part of its IGNITE @ the FORD! series. Musically, Ventriloquism has the hallmarks of all of Ndegeocello’s work — lush and investigative, ...

By Tanu Henry California Black Media A little over 2.2 million African Americans call California home. Of that number, 72 percent lives in southern California with the greatest concentration (about 36 percent) in Los Angeles County, followed by the Inland Empire, and then, the San Diego area. The other 28 percent lives in the northern ...

By Charlene Crowell In recent years, the spate of homicides linked to questionable uses of deadly weapons and/or force, have prompted many activist organizations to call for racial reparations. From Trayvon Martin’s death in Florida, to Michael Brown’s in Missouri, Eric Garner’s in New York and many other deaths — a chorus of calls for ...

Long Beach City Manager Patrick H. West named Cynthia Guidry as the City’s Director of the Long Beach Airport (LGB). Ms. Guidry brings 26 years of local government experience in various leadership positions including 14 years in airport management. For the past five years, Ms. Guidry has served as the Deputy Executive Director for the ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Economic growth in Africa has been impressive, but a sad reality remains: However prosperous, the results have had little impact on child nutrition. Graca Machel, the widow of former South African President and Freedom Fighter Nelson Mandela, said hunger is the “most acute problem facing Africa’s children.” “Around 60 ...

By Charlene Crowell Although Memorial Day is considered by many civilians as the unofficial start of summer, the true intent of the holiday is to annually honor those who lost their lives fighting for our country.  The men and women who wear or have worn this nation’s uniform in military service across wars and generations ...

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire In a historic selection, the Smithsonian has selected Lonnie Bunch, III as the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Bunch will serve as the 14th Secretary. Bunch, 66, is the Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He will now oversee 19 museums, 21 libraries, ...

By Charlene Crowell The annual season of college commencements have a unique way of bringing together multiple generations of families in celebration. For the 135th graduating class of Atlanta’s Morehouse College, commencement marked another event that was as unexpected as it was generous. Robert F. Smith, the event’s speaker who is also Chairman and CEO of ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent Lilongwe Malawi, Africa — Throughout this southeastern African nation of nearly 20 million residents, the strength and resiliency of women is on display 24 hours each day. The sustainability of democracy in any nation can be evaluated by the inclusive leadership roles performed by women in its social, ...

Stating that he wants to continue making a difference for Central Long Beach, Vice Mayor Dee Andrews announced his intention to run for Re-Election to Long Beach’s 6th District City Council seat in next March’s municipal elections. Andrews, known by many central Long Beach residents as the “Son of the Sixth” for his lifelong work on behalf ...