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How a Caring Community, Including Head Start, Propelled My Life

NNPA NEWSWIRE — I remember Head Start as one of the few safe havens in my community. The teachers formed a protective cocoon, shielding us kids from real-life hazards that were immediately outside those doors. Head Start was a place of love and hope, and I relished that environment. I craved love as a child, and that’s where I found it.
The post How a Caring Community, Including Head Start, Propelled My Life first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

July 8, 2024

Oakland Post

Churmell Mitchell

I was an adventurous and curious child growing up in Decatur, Alabama. Still, even good traits can be channeled in the wrong direction when the environment pulsates with the effects of poverty and brokenness. My mom, a single mom, was a hard worker who had multiple jobs, one of which was cooking at the Head Start program I attended. Mom had abusive partners and our household featured all the horrors that come with domestic violence. My dad was in and out of my life and seemed to wrestle with whether he wanted or understood fatherhood. That, combined with being caught between him and my mother when they weren’t getting along, meant I didn’t establish a positive relationship with him until much later. I had to grow up early, and there are things I experienced and saw that no child should.

I remember Head Start as one of the few safe havens in my community. The teachers formed a protective cocoon, shielding us kids from real-life hazards that were immediately outside those doors. Head Start was a place of love and hope, and I relished that environment. I craved love as a child, and that’s where I found it. Getting it was a high for me. I spent all of my childhood, teenage years, and some of my early adulthood years, chasing that high.

A Village Is Formed

I strongly believe in God, and though life was turbulent while growing up, God put people in my life to bridge gaps where I was missing nurturing and guidance. They were part of a village, an informal support system for me. Aunt B was the cornerstone of this village. She was a white woman in our neighborhood who invited my brother and me to her house to do minor household projects. She paid us in popsicles and good company. I mention her race because, even in the 1990s, the vestiges of segregation and discrimination permeated my community and socialization.

I had learned implicitly and explicitly not to trust white people. But Aunt B tore those walls down. My brother and I grew to trust and love her; the same is true of her family toward us. I remember early on while getting to know her, I asked her very pointedly, “Can I love you?” as I ached to feel parental love. Not only did Aunt B let me love her, but she also loved me right back. Through Aunt B, I learned that true love goes way beneath the skin’s surface. This lesson informs so much of my work as a church ministry leader.

Another person in my growing village was a strong black woman named Edith Garner. Ms. Garner took me under her wing in my preteen and early teen years. She counseled me. She took me to church. When I would cry about my parents not loving me, Ms. Garner deftly explained that they did love me but didn’t know how because of emotional wounds. I use this wisdom as foundation in my work today as a parenting coach. Amid a disrupted home life, a stream of individuals like Aunt B and Ms. Garner at different points provided listening ears, stern admonishment when I needed it, a place to sleep, food, and most of all, love, especially during some of the darkest moments in my life, and darker clouds were coming.

Surfing

He had hit her again. I had reached my limit. I got my gun. I would set my mother and our household free from the abuser once and for all. Though I spent years trying to protect my mother, I couldn’t stay at home any longer while the abuser remained. It hurt me, but one of us had to go. As I prepared the weapon, resolute in ending the nightmare, my mother stopped me physically. She put herself between me and a decision that would invariably lead to a lengthy prison sentence. So, at 16 years old, I left home. I would couch surf, stay with different friends, and people I knew. My girlfriend’s family let me stay with them for a while if I agreed to attend church. I didn’t mind because the church affirmed me, and there, I started to see a glimpse of my future as a motivational speaker and leadership developer.

A year went by, and I was living in a friend’s basement, and on the surface, I tried to make things appear normal. I remained active in school and extracurricular activities, including football. But things were far from normal. Every day, I would arrive at school early and shower in the locker room so no one would know my status. It had been two years of sleeping at friends’ houses, in my car, scrounging for food in the streets. I was weary. The stress of instability was overwhelming. I felt abandoned. I was having suicidal thoughts; I asked God, “Do you love me?” I found an affirmative answer through the Christian scriptures: nothing can stop God from loving us. I chose to trust and believe that, and it gave me hope.

Cloudy With a Chance of Sunshine

In my senior year of high school, I moved back home to help care for my mother, who was recovering from surgery. The abuser was gone, and it was a step in the right direction to healing our relationship. With help from a few additional folks who joined my village, I was encouraged to apply to college. I knew I wanted to attend college but didn’t understand the process. With guidance from teachers and others, I applied to and was admitted to Auburn University to study Exercise Science and secured a starting position on the football team. During my college years, life was going in a positive direction: I was a sought-after youth speaker for churches and other organizations, was married, and had an event planning service. The dark clouds seemed to be clearing, and it felt like daybreak was coming.

Daybreak Arrives

Sometimes, life is darkest before a breakthrough. While at college, I suffered a knee injury, which ended my football career opportunities, including my chance to play at Auburn University. My marriage dissolved, and I became homeless again, with two small children. A few faculty members learned about my situation and rallied the university to find a way to assist me. I’m in awe of how this village worked together to ensure I got the support needed to finish school and care for my children.

Today, I work across several fronts as an author, speaker, ministry leader, and Head Start director to deliver hope where there’s little of it. Hope is the engine that keeps you moving forward when everything around you tells you to give up. I want my story to resonate with everyone with childhood trauma, living in poverty, or any other adversity. I hope to encourage them to take a leap of faith and dare to hope; there’s something good on the other side.

The post How a Caring Community, Including Head Start, Propelled My Life first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

1 week ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

Published

1 week ago

May 3, 2026

admin

Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

Published

1 week ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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