Author: News4usonline Network

Racism and white supremacy are powerful, shapeshifting forces. They have persisted in our culture, politics and economy across time and space. Even as our nation makes progress, the power of white supremacy changes shape, creating new ways to limit it. It has different names and uses different tools, but leads to the same outcomes. It’s how slavery mutated into mass incarceration, the war on drugs, police brutality, workplace discrimination, and persistent low wages—recreations of the chokeholds of slavery. Now white supremacy is evolving to attack unions and suffocate economic freedom and security. For these reasons advocates for fair wages are…

With its glowing reviews and box office success, Black Panther is a revelatory moment for the entertainment industry. The Marvel Studios film, with a script by African-American writers Joe Robert Cole and Ryan Coogler, directed by Coogler and featuring a gender-balanced cast of predominantly black actors, earned more than $260 million in the U.S. alone by five days after its release — and by then had earned more than $260 million more overseas. Those results underscore what UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report has been telling us about the appetites of film audiences in the U.S. and overseas, and suggests that the…

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The 33rd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) had its biggest day yet on Saturday, playing host to the Producers Panel, Writers Panel, and Virtuosos Awards honoring Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Hong Chau (Downsizing), John Boyega (Detroit), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), and Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name). The Lobero Theater served as a major attraction to festival attendees early in the day as it hosted both the Producers Panel and Writers Panel. The Producers Panel which brought together some of today’s most established producers to share their insights…

LOS ANGELES-USC put on a dominant performance with a 38-10 win against the Oregon State Beavers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. A week after falling to Washington State, the Trojans got 316 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Sam Darnold to push back against the Beavers. USC piled up 512 yards in total offense and scored 21 first-half points in the Pac-12 Conference victory.

SAN FRANCISCO – In 1971, then-Golden State Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli changed the name of the NBA franchise from the San Francisco Warriors to the Golden State Warriors. The explanation given at the time was that the new name was a more accurate reflection of the team’s regional — if peripatetic – identity. But a deeper look suggests that a legacy of racism and exclusion in San Francisco also played a key role. Warriors’ history in fact starts in Philadelphia. A maverick of a man, Mieuli – a flamboyant radio and television producer known for his full beard and preference…

EDITOR’S NOTE: After Mitt Romney’s defeat in 2012, the Republican Party determined that it needed to connect with the nation’s increasingly diverse electorate. But two years earlier, writes author Dave Daley in his new book Ratf**ked (Liveright), GOP strategists had already embarked on a strategy to win control of Congress by in effect “re-segregating” America. The title for the book comes from a term used to describe political deeds done on the cheap to sabotage opponents. Project Redmap used redistricting to create gerrymandered districts in key states based on race and political preference. It’s “the oldest political trick in the…

The NBA announced that L.A. Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan and point guard Chris Paul have been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. It is Jordan’s second straight First Team honor and Paul’s fifth consecutive year on the First Team team and sixth overall time in his career, making him the 12th player in NBA history with at least six career nods. Jordan received 137 points (62 First Team votes, 25 Second Team votes), while Paul garnered a total of 148 points (59 First Team votes, 30 Second Team votes). Joining Jordan and Paul on the NBA All-Defensive First Team…

The Politics Of Lupita Nyong’o’s Hair: Black hair doesn’t always have to be political, but there is no denying that Nyong’o’s presence in Hollywood from the very beginning as a natural-haired actress with dark skin is a kind of mini-revolution. Having Tracee Ellis Ross and Solange Knowles in Hollywood is vital, but what Nyong’o offers is something different, something exciting. When Nyong’o wears her hair in atowering bouffant, or temporarily dyes it purple and lays it to one side, or shapes it into severe geometrical shapes, it’s affirming. She’s paying homage to those who came before her, and carving out…

SAN DIEGO-By picking Ohio State linebacker Joey Bosa with the No. 3  pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers are confident that they have a franchise player for the next decade. When a player is selected that high, they’re deemed to be a difference-maker. After the first two picks of the draft went on quarterbacks, the Chargers, in need to shore up their 3-4 defense, flipped the script by adding Bosa to their roster. Bosa, a two-time consensus All-American and 2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to make an immediate impact on the…

The 28 members of the 2016 Charger Girls team were announced Friday following three days of auditions. The dance squad was selected from among hundreds of talented hopefuls. “I was really impressed with the deep pool of talent that auditioned for this year’s team,” Charger Girls Director Lisa Simmons said. “We had to make some tough decisions to select the final 28 girls. That strong competition has ensured we’ll have one of our finest squads ever.” Dancers from across the nation showed up Saturday for preliminary auditions. From the first round of auditions, 70 finalists were selected to move on…

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) announced recently its third consecutive season of Dodgers RBI. LADF will expand programming to serve more than 6,000 players at 35 locations including Compton, South Los Angeles and Venice. Three Dodgers RBI sites will launch in Inglewood. Additionally, with the support of Nike, Dodgers RBI will also launch in East Los Angeles. Returning partners include the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation South Agency, Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice and MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. New partners include the City of…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights Movement led to a series of laws banning public discrimination.  African Americans were no longer barred from certain restaurants, some schools were integrated and fair housing laws created more living options.  But today, it’s clear that court rulings and legislation didn’t change the root cause of conscious and unconscious bias – the widespread belief in racial hierarchy still exists. As a nation, we didn’t understand the power of this belief, this misguided notion that some people are either superior or inferior because of the color of their skin. This bias manifests…

For the San Diego Chargers, the future may still be in San Diego. When the Chargers closed in on their 30-14 win against the Miami Dolphins back in December of last year in the team’s home finale, a lot of tears were shed. Frustration mounted in the parking lot from fans, and players felt hapless about whether or not they had played their last game in a city that had embraced them. “I’m still soaking it in,” said punter Mike Scifres. “It was a great day to go out this way. The environment was fantastic and the fans really let…

Los Angeles get ready. The great ones endure, and has long been one of the greatest. Very few singers over the last fifty years have matched her unassailable artistry. This seven-time Grammy winner has enjoyed #1 hits in pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance. For two shows on New  Year’s Eve, Knight will be lighting the stage up in downtown Los Angeles as she performs at the prestigious Walt Disney Concert Hall, giving Angelenos something to look forward to besides a night of fireworks, which she will no doubt bring. Showtimes for the…