November 02, 2017

By Lapacazo Sandoval

Contributing Writer

 

“No justice, no peace”— These words are still echoing and falling, it seems, on the deaf ears of those charged to “protect and serve”, and their indifference and homicidal deeds are repeatedly supported by United States political leaders with intolerance and hatred practiced at the highest level in the political structure of this country. 

“Balitmore Rising” is a new documentary that follows the fall out in the wake of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody in Baltimore, Maryland.  As well crafted as this piece of filmmaking is, and it is, there is something very unsettling about it.  It made me feel numb.  It does not inspire me to rally or even begin to figure out what I can do, keeping it on the "I", to make sure that no more Black people are executed by Police Offers in this country.

Sitting inside the HBO’s screening room, I wanted to cry, even scream but the rising hairs on my arms and the back of my neck convinced me to hold study.  My heart wasn’t just heavy, it was cracking, held together by the flimsy tape of hop— “how long could this hold?” I pondered.  I could feel hands resting on my shoulder, whispering calming words in my ear. This is how I could watch and re-watch “Balitmore Rising” without howling like a mad woman.

Directed by Sonja Sohn (HBO series “The Wire”), “Balitmore Rising” follows activists, police officers, community leaders, and gang affiliates, who struggle to hold Baltimore together, even as the homicide rate hits record levels.

On reviewing the statistical data on the homicide rate’s climb, I am reminded of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. which says… “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable ... every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

Dr. King’s word ring true today but I am echoing back in my head “well, how long?”

In the wake of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody, Baltimore was a city on the edge. Peaceful protests and destructive riots erupted in the immediate aftermath of Gray’s death, while the city waited on pins and needles to hear the fate of the six police officers involved in the gruesome incident. The combination absolutely reflects the deep divisions between authorities and the community.  There is a lot of urgency in this piece, clearly underscoring the urgent need for reconciliation.

The strife that grips Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, exposes a longstanding, crumbling foundation and the result is massive damage to a community in desperate need of urgent care and repair.

“Balitmore Rising” chronicles the determined efforts of people on all sides who fight for justice and work to make their city better, sometimes coming together in unexpected ways, discovering a common humanity where before they often saw each other only as adversaries.

There are many key figures that are spotlighted in the compelling documentary and all of the subjects come equipped with compelling stories, including Genard “Shadow” Barr (community leader, former gang member) is an addiction recovery specialist at the Penn-North Recovery Center, where he also helps organize a reentry jobs program for community members. His goal is an enormous task, making an effort to become a bridge between the police and residents of the Penn-North area. Today he’s working to open an entrepreneurship and job-training center in West Baltimore.

Commissioner Kevin Davis has led the Baltimore Police Department since 2015. He took over as interim police commissioner in the aftermath of the uprising and surging violence when the mayor fired the previous commissioner Anthony Batts. A lifelong Marylander, Commissioner Davis is a 25-year veteran and fourth-generation public safety professional. He was faced with repairing public trust in the department and stemming a rising tide of homicides amidst the trials of his six officers.

Adam Jackson (activist) is CEO of the grassroots think-tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. His efforts are aimed at connecting young people to public policy and creating transformative change in Baltimore.

Dayvon Love (activist), director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, has deep experience with grassroots activism in the community. He has given numerous speeches and led workshops to give insight into the plight of its citizens.

Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell, chief of the Community Partnership Division, Baltimore Police Depart­ment, joined the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in 1979, as a police cadet. He worked as a uniform patrol officer and then an undercover officer for 20 years, before becoming an Eastern District Lieutenant in 2007. Recently, he led the BPD's chaplaincy program and worked cooperatively with such community leaders as “Shadow” to support a reentry jobs program, and prevent another uprising during the police officers’ trials in the Gray case.

Dawnyell Taylor (police detective) has been with the Baltimore City Police for more than 16 years. In 2015 and 2016, she was the lead investigator in the Freddie Gray homicide case and testified at the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who was charged with Gray’s murder. Taylor continues to serve in the police academy in Baltimore.

Makayla Gilliam-Price is an activist and founded the youth justice organization City Bloc while still a high school student. She also organizes with the grassroots think-tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.

Kwame Rose is an activist, an artist, writer, musician and a public speaker.  He’s gained notoriety during the events that swirled around the uprising that followed Freddie Gray's death and his most remembered for his public confrontation with Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera. Today, Mr. Rose works in the office of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.

Here is a brief excerpt from a conversation with Makayla Gilliam-Price and Kwame Rose during the HBO exclusive cocktail and screening event of HBO’s “Baltimore Rising” directed by Sonja Sohn, which will air on November 20.

L.A. Watts Times: Makayla Gilliam-Price and Kwame Rose please update us.  What’s been happening in your lives since you both completed your participation in “Baltimore Rising”?

Makayla Gilliam-Price:  I graduated [from high school] in May, of 2016 and I got into the New School (a private University in New York City), which was one of my top [choices,] that I wanted to attend because I wanted to study graphic design and photojournalism. How­ever, first I decided to take a “gap year”.  And during that duration of time, I did a lot of emotional literacy work with myself, just unpacking a lot of the baggage that I had accumulated over being a student activist and just not really having space and time to breathe for myself. So, I did that, and I really took the time to commit to my art as well.  And now, currently, I am re-visiting a project that I started while I was in high school, and I really just didn’t have the time to commit to, which will be an independent grass-roots guerrilla journalism platform.

LAWT: That is a mouth full.  Your new platform you are describing as “an independent grass-roots guerilla journalism platform. Correct?

MGP: Correct.

LAWT: Explosive. How old are you again Makayla?

MGP: (laughing)  I am 19 years old.

LAWT: Kwame Rose, sir, can you top the guerrilla journalism platform.  Just kidding. Please share the direction of your new journey, please.

Kwame Rose: The first part of the year, I took a little time off just to get myself together. I’d been on several speaking engagements around the country, and in April, I accepted a position to work for the Mayor of Baltimore City [Mrs. Catherine Pugh].  

LAWT: What is your job function in the Baltimore Mayor’s office?

KR: I am a community liaison for Mayor Catherine Pugh.  Apart from that, I have traveled again and I had the privilege of speaking at Harvard University.

LAWT: What did you take away from your experiences as chronicled in the HBO documentary “Balti­more Rising”?

KR: I am now learning the inner-workings. Now on the different side of politics. I am doing a lot of campaigning with Bernie Sanders as a surrogate and as well with Mayor Pugh.

LAWT: How did you feel when you saw the documentary? 

KR: (long pause) Well, I’ve been waiting for this documentary to come out. You know, when you shoot it, it’s different when you were shot and you are in it. To watch it on the screen and come together, and see someone’s vision  [directed by Sonja Sohn] take place … we shot for 18 months, and when we first started, it did not feel like a film. It felt more like we were just amongst family.  Other people noticed the cameras but after a while, I didn’t notice them. I got to know the camera people.

I am 23 years old now.  I am trying not to make 22-year-old decisions or 21-year-old decisions, and to just learn from what I’ve been through the last few years.

“Baltimore Rising” directed by Sonja Sohn premiering on HBO and HBO NOW on Nov. 20.

October 26, 2017

By Lauren A. Jones

Contributing Writer

 

“Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud.”

The sounds of James Brown filled Crenshaw Boulevard at the 12th Annual Taste of Soul (TOS), the largest street festival in Los Angeles, on Saturday, Oct. 21. Over 300,000 people gathered to experience world-class musical performances, services offered from home improvement to voter registration and of course a whole lot of food.

“It’s just a great time when you see Black folk strolling on the ‘Shaw’,” said Danny Bakewell, Sr., founder of the TOS. “It’s a peaceful atmosphere; what better way to enjoy your community than that?”

 

 

TOS provides business owners with an opportunity for economic growth, selling their goods to the community. It also affords a platform for young musicians, like the Connect Band, to showcase their talent in front of a large audience. Festivalgoers situated chairs, tents, and umbrellas in front of the WAVE stage hours before the band took the stage.

 

 

 

“There was so much energy for it to be so early in the morning,” observed actor Richard Brooks, who introduced the trio of young musicians, who came together three short years ago. Last year, the Connect Band was the designated house band for the StarQuest Stage. This year, the band leveled up as the opening act on the main stage. With one of their members still in high school, the trio said it was an honor to be performing on the same stage as some of their inspirations.

Chosen Gospel Recovery Ministry was the second performance blessing festivalgoers with sweet spiritual hymns. The group spoke about a higher purpose than simply singing the gospel.

 

 

 

“We do outreach, reach people who are suffering from homelessness, domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness,” said Pastor Darlene Watley, founder of Chosen Gospel. “We’ve grown to be an organization, a church [Faithful Zion First Fruits Ministry] and the ministry.”

As TOS has expanded and grown, so has its sponsorship and partners. Airbnb was one of the returning sponsors seen on the back of every official TOS shirt.

 

 

“You can buy tickets to big stadium shows but that’s not what we’re about,” said John Choi, Airbnb Southern California Policy Manager. “We’re about unique experiences that feature up-and-coming artists, really creating that sort of atmosphere that’s really special.”

 

 

 

 

Danny Bakewell, Sr. made a special presentation on the main stage, joined by community leaders and festival sponsors, including Choi, alongside L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley Thomas, Councilmember Curren Price and L.A. Deputy Mayor Brenda Shockley.

“We are really blessed to have people who embrace the vision, because they know the community embraces the vision,” said Bakewell, Sr.

 

 

Deputy Mayor Shockley took that time to announce a joint effort with TOS to address homelessness in the county of Los Angeles. The two entities have launched a hygiene drive to provide resources like shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, socks and underwear to the unsheltered population as the Black population remains the largest racial/ethnic group of homeless people in Los Angeles.

“If you want to be with the Black community, you can’t help but be with the Taste of Soul,” Bakewell, Sr. remarked.  “Our Taste of Soul app really helped the community to navigate throughout the various concerts and offerings of the festival.”

 

 

The WAVE has been a partner of the festival since its inception. The WAVE morning show host, Pat Prescott, and CBS LA news anchor, Pat Harvey, co-emceed the main stage as the “Pat Pat show”.

“You sit in that studio and you talk to the listeners every day, but it’s at events like this that you get to meet them face-to-face, and I enjoy that,” Prescott said. 

Similar to Prescott, the leader of the Ohio Players, Diamond Williams, em­phasized the importance of interacting with the community. 

 

 

“There’s no comparison when you come back to the people,” said Williams, who has been a drummer with the band since 1972. “Everybody can’t get into an arena, but everyone can get to a free concert.”

 

Williams has toured with the likes of Marvin Gaye and sold out venues as big as the Hollywood Bowl. He remains steadfast that performing for the people is priceless.

 

“The numbers are bigger, the entertainment is more exciting,” Williams continued. “We just feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

 

The Ohio Players brought the sun down as the closing act. The group performed some of their greatest hits including, “Heaven must be like this”. For Bakewell, Sr. and the Crenshaw community, the 2017 TOS was very close to divinity.

 

 

 

October 26, 2017

Aries  

March 21 – April 19

There’s a lot going on in one of the more mysterious areas of your chart, where the current lineup could enhance intimacy and perhaps encourage you to explore unusual and exciting ways to please your sweetheart. Being open and vulnerable could be very good for you. It’s also an opportunity to let go of buried resentment and so experience feelings of lightness and peace. Career matters also get a boost, but you’ll need to be cautious around money matters this week.

 

Taurus

May 21 - Jun 20

This week’s focus is very much geared toward productivity and plain old hard work. The difference is that you seem quite passionate about your involvement and eager to see results. A romance could unexpectedly spring up with someone who shares your enjoyment of a certain subject or craft. You might need to make a radical decision that brings about a positive change in your life. Lovely Venus in your health zone could motivate you to exercise more to be as fit as possible.

 

Gemini

May 21 - Jun 20

The week ahead could make a few demands on you even though you’re already eager to make progress. Thoughts of the approaching holiday season could coincide with a decision to get organized and perhaps make your gifts. At work, the current situation might need revamping, especially if old methods no longer cut the mustard. A few changes could transform things for the better. Finally, romance looks very promising, whether you’re spoken for or newly in love.

 

Cancer

 Jun 21 - Jul 22

Your desire to have fun could snowball, giving you a lot more to do. If you can come up with a strategy to help you both work and enjoy life, you might get even more done. The chance of a lucrative deal might be too good to miss even if it is an informal offer. Despite all the hard work, don’t neglect the chance to enjoy yourself. Indeed, make it a priority and you’ll feel rejuvenated and more upbeat in general.

 

Leo

Jul 23 - Aug 22

One desire could be so strong that it fills your mind and senses, particularly early in the week when you may wonder what hit you. Perhaps you should follow it up, because you might get more than you expect. The focus on your home zone could lead you to wonder about the motives of certain family members. A heart-to-heart chat might be a lot better than harboring unnecessary suspicions. Finally, gorgeous Venus in Libra can be helpful for negotiation and romantic sweet talk.

 

Virgo

Aug 23-Sep 22

It may seem like you could miss out on a golden opportunity if you don’t hurry. However, if you’re excited about the many possibilities open to you, as the current alignment suggests, perhaps you should consider eliminating projects or activities that no longer hold much appeal. Doing so means you’ll be able to make the most of any new options that come your way. In addition, taking that bit of extra care of your finances can also be beneficial.

 

Libra

Sep 23 - Oct 22

You may feel inspired to make certain changes in your home. Your imagination is especially acute, so it's easy to visualize how the rooms will look afterwards. You could seek others' opinions, too. Now you need to sell your family on the idea. Don't worry - you can do it. Your persuasive powers are at an all-time high.

 

Scorpio

Oct 23 - Nov 21

Chatty Mercury’s presence in your sign encourages you to look a little deeper into the situations and circumstances around you. Indeed, over the week ahead you may be puzzled or outright confused by a relationship that at once fascinates and slightly frightens you. Come Thursday, a powerful blend of energies involving expansive Jupiter could see you taking charge of the situation once and for all. This may be exactly what you need to help you feel more positive.

 

Sagittarius

Nov 22 - Dec 21

You’re in a phase when you’d benefit from unwinding and recharging. After eleven months of activity, the twelfth should be dedicated to meditating on your progress and your goals for the coming twelve months. It’s also an opportunity to release feelings and situations that drain your energy. If you can do this now, you’ll make the best possible use of your recuperation period. With luscious Venus dancing in your social sector, it’s an excellent time for collaboration and teamwork.

 

Capricorn

Dec 22 - Jan 19

With Saturn in your spiritual sector, this is a chance to clear out any baggage you’ve accumulated in recent years. We’re talking about a deep clean rather than a superficial dust and vacuum. While you’ve likely been at this on and off over the past couple years, there’s no time like the present to continue. It’s the perfect time to make amends, clear away emotional clutter, and enhance vitality. Convivial Venus in Libra suggests one or two career deals could be moneymakers.

 

Aquarius

Jan 20 - Feb 18

The dynamic that’s responsible for all the hard work you’ve done lately is still very much in focus. There’s a chance that a golden opportunity could come your way that adds to your workload but is too good to miss. While you’re quite the canny operator and not easily fooled, be sure from midweek that everything’s in order by checking the details and fine print. Lovely Venus in Libra suggests you’ll be eager to make concessions even if it means compromising a little.

 

Pisces

Feb 19 - Mar 20

It may come as no surprise that one association is red hot right now, particularly early in the week, when a Scorpio connection hints at fire between the sheets. You’ll also find you learn a lot from others, especially when it comes to monitoring your reactions to key situations. The people around you can teach you much about what’s important to you and where you might need to change your attitude. Luscious Venus in Libra hints at the potential for lucrative deals.