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THE GREENSBORO TIMES BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX OTES


THE GREENSB NNEWS Black Barbers Demand


by Chris Levister Special to the NNPA from BlackVoiceNews.com


MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (NNPA) - Making a point of the historical importance of the barbershop and beauty parlor in Black communities, a group of barbers, church leaders and community activists across the Inland region and the nation has demanded a federal investigation into the raids targeting six mostly Black-owned Moreno Valley business establishments early this month.


BY SARAH HUGHES - GUARDIAN NEWS America’s biggest new


''We are demanding an immediate Justice Department full probe,'' said Kevon Gordon, owner of The Hair Shack since 1984.


TV show is a gaudy family saga described as a “black Dy- nasty” by its creator, featuring music by uber-producer Tim- baland and counting Michelle Obama among its numerous celebrity fans.


In the five weeks since


Gordon and other barbers allege that the raids violated their 4th Amendment right of ''probable cause'', undermined their businesses, tar- geted them based on race and threatened to fracture the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology's reputation as a career builder.


I am not sure why the national anthem and the so-called American flag are part of our nation’s sports pageantry. Before 2009, while the national anthem was played, sports gladiators were not required to suit up, stand up, and put their hands to their hearts; and why should they? The song that is sung is an insult to people of color. When I hear “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” I think, “the land of the thief and the home of the slave.”


Barbers and patrons involved in the raids say a strike team of California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)/Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) inspectors, city code compliance inspectors and offi- cers from the Moreno Valley Police Department/Riverside County Sheriff burst into their establishments without search warrants under the guise of a BBC-led crackdown on business license and health and safety violators.


(seriously?) to promote a fake sense of cultural hegemony, and to spread the false notion that we are all on the same page when it comes to patriotism.


According to BBC officials Moreno Valley police initiated the raids ''apparently to shut down drug operations''.


its premiere on Fox, Empire – essentially a mashup be- tween The Lion in Winter and The Godfather and set in the world of hip-hop music – has pulled in 11.5 million viewers and dominated watercooler chat. The internet is awash with memes from the show, while episodes are gleefully discussed on Twitter by view- ers whose jaws appear to be in a state of permanent disloca- tion from the gloriously ripe dialogue.


The Department of Defense paid the National Football League


been hauled out of their cars, pushed down to their knees, forced to justify the reasons they are driving high-end cars be on the same page with the men who “own” them, who may or may not support them, or may or may not kneel with them?


Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, not because


he wanted to disparage the flag, but because he disparaged the many ways that Black people were being diminished by police brutality. Call the names, call the names, the men and the women who have been unjustifiably killed, call the names, and call the names of the many ways Back Lives Must Matter. Call the names, call the names, of the structural racism that cuts like a knife, or kills like a bullet. Call the names.


to the “American flag,” the same American flag that is drenched in blood. Black men went to fight in World War I and came back to this country and were lynched, because they refused to yield the sidewalk to White people. What flag did they serve under, and why should we celebrate it?


At presstime DCA officials and Moreno Valley city leaders had not responded to formal requests for reaction to the barbers' demands.


''My phone has been ringing off the hook. People are outraged,'' said Gordon. He told the Black Voice News barbers targeted in the raids have been further humiliated by a police and city hall information blackout.


and The Paperboy, wouldn’t have it any other way. “[I wanted audiences] to sit there and go ‘No, this bitch didn’t! Oh my fucking God!’” he admit- ted in the Hollywood Reporter. Yet while Empire relishes its crazier mo- ments, whiplash plot twists and Naomi Campbell appearances, it’s also tackling issues from homophobia to abuse with the sort of uncomfortable honesty rarely seen on network TV.


Its creator, Lee Daniels, the director of films as diverse as Precious How could we be on the same page? How could the men who have


“The way in which the show balances a sense of authenticity with


''When we called police and code compliance asking for an incident report - we were told ‘there isn't one'.'' Gordon said despite multiple requests for information from the three agencies, he and other barbers targeted in the raids have been ''systematically denied.''


some of the more audacious moments is key to its success,” says Ilene Chaiken, Empire’s executive producer. “Lee has really embraced the idea of it being a black Dynasty but from the beginning I’ve said to him you’re being too modest – this show is so much more than that. There’s an hon- esty to the story we’re telling and audiences have responded to that.”


There are those who have a story to tell about so-called disrespect Empire has increased its ratings in each of its five weeks on air, the


Gordon said the Hair Shack located in a strip mall along busy Sunnymead Boulevard has no prior history of police trouble.


first show to have done so in 20 years, and a Nielsen report suggested that it was watched in 33% of black households. Now critics are wondering if it heralds a new era for television programming. A report in New York Magazine stated that “among African-American women between 35 and 49, the show is literally the equivalent of a Super Bowl” in that the per- centages of those viewers watching “exceeded the ratings of some NFL championship games this century”.


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''Incidents like this are not going to be tolerated anymore, and we're going to speak out. This was an attack not just on African-Americans, but all ethnic business establishments.''


Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), his estranged wife Cookie (a magnifi- cent Taraji P Henson) and their three sons, all jostling for control of Em- pire Records, the label Lucious built from the ground up.


The City of Greensboro Water Resources Water Reclamation Division is hereby soliciting proposals to haul municipal wastewater treatment plant residuals (sludge) from the City’s T.Z. Osborne Water Reclamation facility to an approved landfill on as needed basis for a period of three years. Request for Proposals are due no later than 5:00pm, Thursday, October 19, 2017. To receive a complete Request for Proposal package contact Timothy Dunlap at Timothy.Dunlap@greensboro-nc.gov.


For starters it’s exceedingly quotable, most notably when Henson’s


The barbers stopped short of publicizing their demands saving the details for an upcoming news conference. Gordon confirmed he has contacted civil rights and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorneys.


Gordon and barber Ron Jones were cited for what BBC inspectors call 11 ‘cleaniness' (towel drawers, comb, supply cabinets not labeled) violations


Cookie strides onto the screen. “The streets ain’t made for everybody, that’s why they made sidewalks,” she spat memorably in a recent episode, with other zingers including “Just ‘cos I asked Jesus to forgive you doesn’t mean I do” and “We don’t have time for you to be having some mental artsy block brain fart, whatever you’re having.”


The show pulls as few punches as its ferocious leading lady. A plot- It’s easy to see the appeal of this over-the-top tale of ailing mogul


Empire: the outrageous b family drama that’s chan the look of US TV


The American Flag Is Drenched In Black Blood


Audaciously honest on black issues, Lee Daniels’s family saga has won a hu had long ignored – and a big fan in the White House


Moreno underm barbers nities m


''From M Counci Berry G


mess threatens to rock


The Butlers whose busi ity by taping a copy of t raids on the shops' fron


Why do disingenuous fools, including “Mr. 45,” chide NFL owners


with strangely coded language, suggesting a lack of loyalty? Where is the loyalty to the Black men and women who supported a country that would not support them? The paradox of loyalty is that Blacks love a country that does not love us. We pledge the flag, drenched in blood, because we want something better.


Colin Kaepernick took a stand, and many of his colleagues support


''We want our patrons to back and allow anyone asking customers if the doesn't happen again,''


A scene from the hit TV show Empire created by Lee Daniels. Photograph: / 20thCentFox


him because they cannot embrace a flag that supports the unjustified killing of Black men. Colin Kaepernick sacrificed his career to make a point, and he has been focused and fierce about his principles. Colin Kaepernick, by kneeling, encouraged all of us to stand up for our rights. Colin Kaepernick is a hero!


This protest is more, though, than Colin Kaepernick. This protest


is about police brutality. This is a protest about the fake-Jake way some would bond us together, linking arms and elbows, trying to make a point. There is no point beyond the fact that young, Black men, who play football, baseball, and basketball see their brothers and cousins on their knees, legs and arms splayed, forced to the ground by oppressive police forces. The professional athletes freely kneel, because others knelt when they were forced to, because they were not free.


about “the star-spangled banner,” but the flag we fly in the name of sports is a flag that is drenched in blood. Players weren’t “encouraged” to stand at attention during the national anthem until 2009, when the Department of Defense paid money to make it happen.


Adding insult to injury Gordon says several customers have expressed concern over bringing their loved ones to his shop. ''My reputation and livelihood of 24 years has been damaged. Collectively we intend to fight back.''


Former patron James W bershop, it's not one pl is taking place in mino now is, we're speaking


the show; in a recent radio interview the presid it but his wife was “really into it”.


She’s not the only one. In addition to C


We can fly this flag all we want to, we can sing melodious songs Behind the screen the talent is equally


I’d prefer for my tax dollars to be spent more wisely. I’d prefer that some of that money went to washing the blood out of the flag.


mistress, there have been appearances from C Sidibe and Gladys Knight; coming episodes a Ora, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Patti LaB Courtney Love will play a hard-living rock sta Daniels took to Instagram last week to sugg Washington for a role, fans almost expired w recognised it was probably a passing joke betw


Word of the raids sprea nation barbers activists Gordon said barbers, la neys and patrons in S Diego counties have ca


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rected by John Singleton of Boyz n the Hood includes Orange prize-nominated crime writer anticipated third novel, Pleasantville, is out th how many talented people have wanted to ge and behind the camera,” says Chaiken. “I thin of a game-changer this really is. There’s a re this world on screen and taking risks, allowi badly and make mistakes.”


''As customers we have come to get my hair cu warrant check on me wi be to a civil rights attor Reginald Richard.


''Moreno Valley today barber college graduate in Atlanta and Chicago ''Brothers, what the hel


Yet, for all the excitement now, critics w


The City of Greensboro Water Resources Water Reclamation Division is seeking statements of qualifications from contractors to facilitate the WRF Electrical Buildings for BNR and Additional Mechanical and Electrical Upgrades for the City’s T.Z. Osborne Water Reclamation. Prequalification are due no later than 5:00pm, Friday, November 3, 2017. To request an application contact vpierce@harpercorp.com.


pire’s potential. Musical dramas are often a ris involvement of Timbaland meant that this ha and there was some doubt over whether audie with a predominantly black cast. The doubts sense that Empire has tapped into a market tha long ignored. In 2013 a Nielsen report sugge more TV than any other US demographic, yet supporting roles and bit parts.


Moreno Valley contra Sheriffs Department. S Black Voice News requ demand for an investig for review.


''This kind of affront se have worked hard to st mate practices. It sends


Still Gordon who says h admits the controversy


brought us together. Th The Greensboro Time Newspaper


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