By Dianne Anderson Being Black in STEM fields usually adds up to a mere handful of students tough enough to suffer through the academic gauntlet alone, but there is strength in the Hesabu Circle. A team of dedicated math doctors has come together to heal the community. Dr. Kagba Suaray, a mathematics professor at Cal ...

By Dianne Anderson The Black community had been stuck in crisis mode for a long time, and then the pandemic hit. Since Coronavirus, the rise in mental health issues are consistent with increased unemployment, loss of healthcare, surging death rate twice that of whites, and back-to-back victimization of Blacks by police abusers. It’s keeping healthcare ...

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the lifting of the Regional Stay at Home Order, allowing counties to return to the color-coded tier system that allows for reopening based on case numbers per 100,000 population and the positivity rate among people who have taken COVID-19 tests. The Governor lifted the order because it is projected that Southern California ...

By Dianne Anderson Break out of the quarantine doldrums for a full day “Rhythm in Black” celebration featuring top local talent, deeper discussions with Black Lives Matter, resources in the COVID continuum, and exhibits on the past, present and future of racial justice. On Friday, February 5, the community is invited to virtually gather for ...

By Dianne Anderson Even on a slow day, hundreds of parents are now watching the Long Beach Unified School Board meetings, which is exponentially more than what was happening pre-pandemic. For all the havoc that COVID-19 has wrought on the community, there is still some room for optimism. “Before the pandemic, at the board meeting ...

By Dianne Anderson Ida Marie Briggs is pushing her old Boss sewing machine – a straight stitch and overlap from another era – to the max, creating dozens of personalized comforters for local kids just in time for Christmas. It is a labor of love that she knows will be nonstop in the days ahead. ...

By Dianne Anderson Time is closing in fast on CARES Act dollars that must be spent by December 30, leaving nonprofits and small businesses hoping for a federal extension to get them through the next leg of the pandemic. Jeff Williams of the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, said they have received one CARES ...

By Dianne Anderson Nothing could mask the holiday spirit over the Thanksgiving holiday with community groups and volunteers coming together at Andy Street Community Association to distribute food baskets, vouchers and sanitizers to local families. The event gave away baskets with turkey and all the fixings to 200 families, along with New Hope Home seniors ...

By Dianne Anderson Long Beach residents are urgently seeking help with housing insecurity, rental or mortgage assistance, both during and after the holidays, as unemployment benefits are soon set to stop for millions of Americans. It couldn’t have come at a harsher time. In Long Beach, unemployment hit over 15 percent in September. Jesse Johnson, ...

By Dianne Anderson Millions of dollars set to be allocated between now and December 30 has many Black-led nonprofits and small businesses on edge, waiting for the city of Long Beach to roll out the RFP process for the Black Health Equity funding. The $1 million earmarked specifically to address the needs of the Black ...