Sunday, June 21, 2009

I JUST GOT SHOT AT BUT NO WEAPON FORMED AGIANST "ME" SHALL PROSPER!!!!!!!

I'M THANKFUL FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS THAT SURROUNDS ME LIKE AN ARMORED TANK. THANKFUL BECAUSE I'M BLOGGING FROM MY BED AT HOME AND NOT A HOSPITAL BED. I'M ALSO THANKFUL FOR GOD PROTECTING MY BROTHER WHO WAS WITH ME AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO DODGING A SEMI AUTOMATIC NINE MILLIMETER WHILE OUR WIVES LISTEN IN FEAR UPSTAIRS IN THE APARTMENT. AN INNOCENT EVENING OF LAUGHS TURNING INTO AN EVENING OF WAR COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN AN EVENING OF TEARS, BUT GOD!!!!!!!!!!

WE WERE OUTSIDE TRANSFERRING ITEMS FROM ONE CAR TO THE NEXT WHEN A CAR ROLLED SLOWLY AROUND THE CORNER THEN FIRING A ROUND AT US. WE HIT THE FLOOR IMMEDIATELY AND HEARD 9-12 MORE ROUNDS THAT SHATTERED THE HATCH BACK TRUNK WINDOW OF THE CAR WE WE'RE UNLOADING, ONCE THE FINAL SHOTS RANG OUT, WE HEAR OUR WIVES SCREAMING OUR NAMES IN DESPAIR, WE YELL BACK AND LET THEM KNOW WE'RE OK. WE RUN BACK UPSTAIRS WITHOUT A GRAZE. GOD IS GOOD. WE IMMEDIATELY CALL THE POLICE, WHEN THEY ARRIVED WE WENT OUT TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE. THE CAR THE SHIELDED US HAD 2 BULLET HOLES, ONE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, ONE ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. COMPLETELY SHATTERED BACK WINDOW OF VEHICLE #2. TWO BULLET HOLES IN THE STORAGE CABINETS ABOVE THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. COPS FOUND 7 SHELLS IN THE STREET.
WE WEREN'T HIT AT ALL. THE SHOOTER AND THE ACCOMPLICES WERE APPREHENDED A SHORT TIME LATER IN A NEARBY NEIGHBORHOOD.

TO SUMMARIZE THESE REFLECTIONS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW THAT I WAS NOT AFRAID BECAUSE I KNEW THAT THE ANGELS WERE THERE. IT DIDN'T SEEM REAL AT ALL. I'M NOT MAD EITHER, I'M MOTIVATED. I'M REMINDED OF THE 18YRS OLD NARBUONE STUDENT RECENTLY KILLED IN COMPTON, AND MY NEPHEW TRAYVON EARL JEFFERS THAT WE JUST LAID TO REST THIS WEEK. BOTH WERE VICTIMS OF A VIOLENT CRIME. SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE AND GOD HAS GIVEN ME A VISION TO HELP STOP THE KILLING. BEING SHOT AT TONIGHT WAS CONFIRMATION THAT THIS VISION WILL BE CARRIED OUT BECAUSE I'M STILL HERE.

WHETHER OUT NOT A YOUNG BLACK MAN IS A VICTIM OR A SUSPECT, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER STATISTIC. UNFORTUNATELY IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY THE VICTIM AND THE SUSPECT ARE JUST ANOTHER STATISTIC. THERE FAMILIES BECOME VICTIMS, THEIR CHILDREN GROW UP FATHERLESS.......

I'M PLEADING WITH EVERYONE WHO WILL READ PLEASE BE AN ADVOCATE OF CHANGE FOR THE YOUNG BLACK MAN. PRAY FOR THEM AND PRAY FOR YOUE FAMILY'S PROTECTION. I LOVE YOU ALL.....

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Historical Black owned Property in Manhattan Beach

I heard about this story on the new last year and I was amazed by the fact that African-Americans owned a two block section of Manhattan Beach in the early 1900's. The amazing part is that my journey out the house today lead me right to the park. Here is the story that LA Times did on it. 


AFTER NEARLY A century of mostly awkward silence, Manhattan Beach is taking a tentative step toward acknowledging its history of racial discrimination by renaming a small park near the ocean Bruce's Beach.

In 1912, Charles A. and Willa Bruce built one of the few venues in Southern California where black families could legally enjoy the surf and sand. They ran a profitable inn, cafe and dance hall within the two-block neighborhood to which minorities were restricted by housing covenants.

But as the popularity of Bruce's Beach grew, so did white hostility. Black beachgoers would find their tires slashed; the Ku Klux Klan torched a black-owned home nearby and tried to burn down the resort. The city seized the property in 1924 via eminent domain on grounds that it was urgently needed for a park. Yet, for the next 30 years, the lot remained vacant.

Now the city is facing its unsavory past with a dedication ceremony March 31. But the efforts at honoring the Bruces seem halfhearted.

For one thing, the city is by no means united -- the City Council split on the renaming, and one councilman said he isn't sure who even warrants an invitation to the event. (Suggestion: Start with Bernard Bruce. Had his grandparents been allowed to keep the property in the family, it now would be worth millions of dollars.)

Then there is the question of the park's new plaque; its message also seems conflicted. An early version said minorities were "housed" in the neighborhood. The final version says that the area "was home to several minority families and was condemned through eminent domain proceedings

Well, yes, times have changed. But the long gap between the incident and the commemoration suggests that times may have changed more slowly than people think. Acknowledging past misdeeds honors yesterday's victims, but it also gives moral texture to the present, announcing that we are no longer a society that tolerates violent, government-sanctioned racism. Californians famously prefer to orient themselves toward the future, but the past counts too, warts and all.

Manhattan Beach should be proud of itself for choosing commemoration. It would be proud of itself if it held a first-rate celebration. Tell the story. Remember what happened. Who should be invited? Everyone, of course.

Lets thow a historical Beach Party. 

Monday, June 15, 2009

Gas $$ on the rise, I'm rethinking the Fj Cruiser. Gonna have to go with the Prius or the honda version of Prius. Which ever gets more to the gallon wins.
Shade was great. Go try it.

Monday Breakfast Blog

This week I'm eating at Shade Boutique Hotel in Mahattan Beach. This is a nice looking place. I plan on doing my next Cleen Clothes event here. Check it out. http://www.shadehotel.com

Saturday, June 13, 2009

I'm at my daughter's dance recital. A lot of chaos...I've been checking out a lot of spring summer campaign, make sure you check out D&G's

whoa is me

Sometimes family can be a burden, people asking me to do stuff at the last minute for the funeral.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Breakfast on Mondays

Well I have to say that social network has distracted me from posting on my own blog. I'm back. I actually just set my mobile device to be able to post to my blog by text. Any who, I decided that Mondays would be my day to try out a new breakfast spots around the city and blog about it. So today I went to a small place in Manhattan Beach called Koffee Kart. Very cool laid back place. Nice food. You cant really go wrong with breakfast. Oh and they have free wifi. I was album to get a lot of work done for Cleen Clothing. If your in Manhattan Beach any time soon, stop by and check it out. 1104 Highland Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.