Me(kk)a LAVC’s Track Star
By: Vanessa Abner Say It Loud! Staff Just as fast as you can say, “on your mark, get set, go!” Mekka Edwards-White, Los Angeles Valley Bryant; Other NBA Players Hope to Defeat Genocide
SAHARRA WHITE Say It Loud! Publisher (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Villages in ashes, more then 200,000 slaughtered and the genocide in Darfur continue. “2.5 million have been displaced and aid workers are having an increasingly hard time getting supplies to many camps. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been raped, very often gang-raped, as an act of war,” said Hunter Payne, Founder of Aid Still Required. Aid Still Required a non-profit based in Los Angeles goal is to help rebuild communities that have been affected by natural disasters as well as human crises. To help keep the genocide in Darfur in the spotlight the nonprofit has issued a number of public service announcements (PSAs). “Athletes like actors and dignitaries, are listened to by a large audience. We felt running PSAs would be an effective means to get the word out,” said Hunter.
Aid Still Required is getting some help from Kobe Bryant and a couple of his friends. In March Bryant was featured in a PSA that aired on ESPN. “In Darfur hundreds of thousands have been murdered, mutilated-families torn apart,” says Bryant. “We have the power to save lives, to change the world.” Bryant joins several Laker players as well as other NBA players that have taped PSAs including Andrew Bynum, Baron Davis, Luol Deng, Grant Hill, Derek Fisher, Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash and many others that have been speaking up about the conflict in Darfur. Bryant is calling out for people around the world to help end the current genocide in Darfur. “If we can unite people who are willing to take a stand, miracles can happen,” says Bryant, asking, “What do you stand for?” Say It Loud! Be Proud. The San Fernando Valley's Black Newspaper. March/April 2008 ____________________________________________________ Cancel the Olympics, Spielberg Isn’t Coming GEORGE KOO New America Media, Commentary Hollywood’s larger-than-life personalities enjoy a privileged bully pulpit and they never shrink from using it to advance their pet causes. Such is the case with Steven Spielberg’s high profile withdrawal as artistic advisor for China’s 2008 Olympics. Ostensibly, Spielberg is protesting that China is not doing enough to stop the human suffering in Darfur. It’s too bad Spielberg took the typical unilateral American approach, i.e., the Bush doctrine of my way or the highway. Had he genuinely been interested in exerting an influence over China, he would have signed the contract that has sat on his desk for months. He could have seized the opportunity to visit Beijing regularly and express his concerns about Sudan. With rapport, Chinese officials might have explained to him their long-standing foreign policy of non-interference. Chinese officials might have explained to Spielberg the limits of what China can do to influence matters in Sudan: Beijing works within the confines of the United Nations, subscribing to the notion that crimes against humanity, whether in Sudan, Iraq or by the Al Qaeda, are issues no one nation can correct—except possibly the United States. Not every government behaves like Washington and believes that it has a divine mandate to rectify wrongs around the world. In fact, if they were less diplomatically inclined, the officials might have pointed out to Spielberg that American involvement in Iraq has not exactly lessened human suffering. Some Americans may celebrate Spielberg’s astute grandstanding on behalf of a worthy cause. The rest of the world is just going to scratch their collective heads, trying to understand the connection between an international athletic competition and the killings in Darfur. But then, unlike America, others are not so ready to blame everything that is wrong in the world on China. Some speculate that Spielberg simply caved into pressure from Mia Farrow, who has been looking to launch a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in the name of stopping genocide. If that is the case, it makes about as much sense as Spielberg leading a boycott of the FIFA World Cup, the one event Europeans care about. The logic would be that the European Union is not doing enough to get the United States to stop waterboarding as part of its interrogation techniques and to stop committing human rights abuses in Guantanamo and Iraq. Certainly a strong case could be made that Europeans have more influence on Washington than China has on Sudan. New America Media newamericamedia.org George Koo Feb 15, 2008 Copyright©New America Media Say It Loud! Be Proud. The San Fernando Valley's Black Newspaper. March/April 2008 ____________________________________________________ The Peacemakers of Today & Tomorrow
Felicia C. Serrano Say It Loud! Staff Former NFL running back Jim Brown is teaming up with fellow Hall of Fame athletes George Foreman and Bill Russell in launching a new program to help improve underprivileged communities across America. The Amer-I-Can Foundation for Social Change headed by Brown introduced the "Peacemakers " initiative on Thursday, January 21st during super bowl weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. The launch of the initiative will take place during Amer-I-Cans 20th anniversary. The do-good program is looking to help raise money in efforts to financially support the program to help stop the violence and increase the peace in schools as well as educate young minds across America. The goal is to raise $20 million dollars by December. The Foundation will implement the Amer-I-Can life-management skills used by its parent The Amer-I-Can Program, a non-profit organization teaching youth about self-determination techniques, motivating them with goals and showing them how to utilize these tactics in everyday life. In a press release George Foreman said, “I’m thankful for the opportunity to join forces with two of the world’s most exceptional human beings in this quest to save and change lives.” Since it’s inauguration in 1998, the life-management skills program has been used in schools, communities, prisons, and juvenile camps in over 16 states nationally. Internationally, it has taken off in countries like Belize, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The whole reason behind the “Peacemakers” initiative is to improve communities and save lives lost to violence, especially among today’s youth. The Violence Policy Center in 2004 showed that three times the amount of young men between the ages of 15 and 24 were killed by guns in America’s cities compared to soldiers in the Middle East. Chairman Bill Russell stated, “My goal is to bring passion, compassion, and intelligence to my position as Chairman of The Amer-I-Can Peacemaker’s initiative,” according to a press release for the fundraiser. “We have the opportunity to exponentially increase the number of lives saved and changed once we begin funding our own programs,” said Founder and CEO Jim Brown. Say It Loud! Be Proud. The San Fernando Valley's Black Newspaper. __________________________________________Greetings From Muhammad
Darleen D. Edwards-White Say It Loud! Staff Muhammad Ali first gained national attention with his boxing skills and wit when he won the Gold Medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. During his long and successful professional career, Ali has been a prominent international figure, dubbed the “Athlete of the Century” by numerous sports and entertainment publications and broadcast outlets around the globe. Now, Muhammad Ali, who has endorsed a variety of products, has his very own greeting cards. The American Greeting Cards Corporation recently launched these cards after entering into an agreement with Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC. to release eight initial cards ranging from birthday to anytime designs. Is Kelly Tilghman a Racist? | SPORTS EVENTS Cal State U Northridge Canoga Park April 11, 2008
Reseda Taft
Say It Loud! Be Proud. The San Fernando Valley's Black Newspaper. |
(Photo: Courtesy of Aid Still Required )
(Photo: Courtesy of Mia Farrow)
