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Youth Boxing Suffers TKO After City Shutters Program

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In his article, “Norfolk Shutters Historical Anti-Violence Boxing program,” businessman Joshua Clark brings attention to the loss of the boxing outlet for area youth whom he believes could benefit from the discipline associated with the sport of boxing.
The post Youth Boxing Suffers TKO After City Shutters Program first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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4 years ago

April 28, 2022

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By Leonard E. Colvin, Chief Reporter, New Journal and Guide

The Hampton Roads boxing community and regional activists gathered in Newport News recently with the Gladiator School of Boxing, the Phoenix Reborn Project, and the Boys and Girls Clubs for the “Gloves Not Guns Tournament.” The goal was “to protest violence and encourage kids and young adults to find a local gym.”

Joshua Clark recalls that the first “Gloves Not Guns Tournament” was held in Norfolk, in Berkley, “I remember sparring in front of a big crowd at the Berkley reunion,” he said.

But when the recent tournament was held in Newport News, a Norfolk Boxing team was absent.

Clark, who runs a mortgage business today and is also a campaign manager for seasoned and up-and-coming political leaders, sent a press release to the local media, including the Guide, about the absence of Norfolk youth boxers.

In his article, “Norfolk Shutters Historical Anti-Violence Boxing program,” Clark brings attention to the loss of the boxing outlet for area youth whom he believes could benefit from the discipline associated with the sport of boxing.

Before he entered his current challenging fields, Clark trained as a boxer at various facilities, including the Norfolk Boxing Center which once called its home at Barraud Park.

He believes that boxing is a deadly skill never to be used to commit violence, but to be a disciplined art form of self-defense.

“Politics is like boxing. Like a punch, you send out a message directed at your opponent,” said Clark, a native of Hampton. “You want to see how they react to that message or punch to determine your reaction.”

Clark says the absence of a Norfolk team’s participation stems from the lack of support for the program from the city.

“Unfortunately, the mishandling of the city’s logistics due to the casino, this year the Norfolk Boxing team will not be in attendance and several athletes and participants will sit and wait without a gym to call home,” he said.

Several years ago, the Barraud Park Boxing Center owned by the city of Norfolk was moved to a space in Harbor Park, where the minor league Tides now call home.

The city of Norfolk spent over $2 million to fit out a space at the site as the Boxing Centers’ new home. It operated until last October when the city unexpectedly closed the facility.

Efforts by the GUIDE to ask city recreation officials why it was closed have not been answered.

But the city and the Pamunkey Native American Tribe are collaborating on constructing a $500 million dollar casino on the waterfront sitting near Harbor Park.

Until then, Norfolk is eyeing the space outfitted for the boxing center as a temporary space for the casino.

For the past three years, Dorsett Barnwell has been running his 76,000 square feet Easy Work Boxing and Fitness center in the Military Circle Mall.

Keshaun Davis, a 2020 Olympic bronze boxing champion, is among those who have used his facility to prepare for battle in the ring. Also, many other young men were socially at-risk and wanted to follow him into the boxing glory using his facility.

Barnwell, whose family migrated from New York, lived in the Bowling Park public housing community.

He recalls roaming through Barraud Park one day to answer a call of nature which changed his life

“I walked into the Norfolk boxing center,” Barnwell recalled. “I spent the rest of the day. I kept coming back and I got involved in training. And the coach said I was good.”

Barnwell recalls that he was 13 when he accidentally discovered the Barraud Park Boxing Center.

“Before I entered that place I had 17 assault charges against me,” he said. “On the day I entered that gym I was out looking for trouble or death. I did not care.”

Barnwell admits he was a “bully.” He was often engaged in fisticuffs with fellow students in traditional settings before he was dispatched to various alternative schools that housed disruptive kids like him.

“I recall I saw more fights in the schools built to teach reading and writing than at the Boxing Center.”

The first person that Clark sparred with when he developed the fundamentals of boxing, was Barnwell at the Boxing Center several years ago.

Barnwell said he gained skills and the confidence to pursue boxing and he eventually won a national Junior Division (15 and under) tournament final.

“The next day I told my coach I wanted to celebrate and go to a party,” said Barnwell. “But the Coach said instead of partying I should attend the rest of the tournament and support my teammates. That sounded good, but I went to the party.”

At that party, Barnwell recalls he got physical and creative dancing with the sister of another male attendant at the event who did not appreciate his dance technique with his sibling.

“I am a big guy so I was tossing the girl around, and when the brother approached me I was not about to stop,” he recalled. “I could have left the girl alone. I knew a fight was about to happen, but it did not happen as planned. I was shot.”

Barnwell survived and while he admits he had developed basic boxing skills, he had a few more rounds in life before his character would catch up.

“Boxing teaches you about life,” he said. “It teaches us about how to make moral choices based on our character and the cause and effect on our lives. An emotional fighter is a losing fighter.

Now the two pugilists turned entrepreneurs are using their boxing for a project they hope will instill the same passion and sense of purpose they have established due to the Sport of kings.

Barnwell and Clark believe the Norfolk Boxing Center provided an outlet to build character and establish a sense of purpose not only for them but other “at-risk” kids who would devote their unguided passion toward destructive impulses, Clark explained that he, along with Barnwell and others who are now successful people, including the late boxing champ Pernell “Sweetpea” Whitaker, Nick Sullivan, Oscar Del La Hoya, and Keyshawn Davis “were among the products of the Norfolk Boxing program.”

“There are so many other more stories throughout the region that have turned these athletes into local community servants and successful contributing members of our society,” Clark wrote in his media release. “The local community wants to know why so much money was spent, and why (the city) Norfolk closed (the Boxing Center), especially with all the homicides that have been occurring.”

‘Further, what happened to the young men and women that relied on these programs for mentorship, counseling, tutoring, but most importantly, utilized this place as an outlet from the harsh reality of violent childhoods and life in the tough neighborhoods?”

Barnwell and Clark suggested that if the city does not want to continue running the Boxing Center directly, it should collaborate with some non-profit entity to so do soon.

Barnwell, 33, said as he developed his business acumen, he devotes more time mentoring and motivating at-risk youth at his gym or alternative schools around the area.

“When I walk in, I see some of the teachers I had,” he said. “They kept up with me and are proud of me. But I heard them ask ‘are you trying to stay out of trouble.”

He said that regardless of their parents’ income or address all young Black men who enter his center are “at-risk,” of failing if they are not given proper direction or ways to develop life skills akin to the concept of the “Individuality of Boxing.”

He said,“boxing teaches discipline and skills to convert that passion into energy to not only sustain, but also survive, and prosper.”

“People respected me for my boxing,” he said. “But before then, they had low expectations of me and how I would turn out. This is how the environment looks at our young Black men. If they are not taught to have high expectations to win and the cause and effects of violence, then they will lose.”

The article, “Youth Boxing Suffers TKO After City Shutters Program,” first appeared in the New Journal and Guide.

The post Youth Boxing Suffers TKO After City Shutters Program 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.

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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.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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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.

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2 weeks 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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