By Daniella Masterson Structural racism is not dissimilar to systematic racism except now it has been validated, or elevated, as a health crisis.  In a bold and innovative move, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has adopted a progressive Countywide Racial Equity Strategic Plan with five goals intended to improve the lives of residents ...

By Dianne Anderson Those that have it to give will dig deep in their closets and pantries this weekend in support of the city’s fifth big donation drive-through to help the homeless, and the nonprofits who serve them. On Saturday, July 29, the drive-through runs from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Main Facilities ...

By Charlene Crowell When the Biden Administration announced its latest initiative to reduce the nation’s unsustainable trillion-dollar student debt, both borrowers and advocates rejoiced. In the coming weeks an estimated 804,000 student loan borrowers will together receive $39 billion in federal loan debt cancellations. These unprecedented debt cancellations are available due to systemic corrections that ...

By Dianne Anderson Alzheimer’s and dementia can take decades to show up, but there is no time like the present to start working on healthier lifestyles. Compared to whites, Blacks get the disease twice as much, but another issue is at play. Expert Dr. April Thames said the community, especially Blacks being most impacted, must ...

By Dianne Anderson Straight from city plot to plate – nothing beats local organics. Local kids and families are working the land, now in full bloom without pesticides. Ms. Sheila G. said that her nonprofit Adventures to Dreams Enrichment gave away bags of produce earlier this month filled with carrots, tomatoes, lots of different varieties ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Natl Correspondent Tributes have continued to pour in for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who announced on July 14 his retirement as President and CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the influential civil rights organization he started decades ago to carry on the struggle for equality and justice that ...

By Dianne Anderson It’s no secret that the Black community has been analyzed, researched and studied to the hilt for decades with not a lot of action or headway made. But $13.5 million is set to open doors for 37 grantees in 27 California counties to prioritize the most pressing problems identified by the community ...

By Charlene Crowell  On June 30, a long-awaited and consequential Supreme Court decision denied forgiveness that would have erased $430 billion of federal student loan balances for 20 million borrowers and lowered the median amount owed by another 23 million borrowers from $29,400 to $13,600. Instead, the nation’s highest court yielded to six states – ...

By Dianne Anderson Growing up as an at-risk teen, Rakeem Addison couldn’t see anything in his neighborhood to inform, inspire or open his young mind. There were no field trips for him, and like so many others in his parent’s income bracket, he got the leftovers of the bigger payers of society. “It was unfortunate. ...

By Dianne Anderson Behind the mask, whether The Mandalorian, Deadpool or Spiderman, AKA Yuri Williams, was a lot like the community he serves. Long-term depression following his mother’s death in 2009 was debilitating. On his first day back to work  a bereavement leave – as was his everyday custom – he called his mom at ...