The Word with Jackie Rae

No matter who wins the Long Beach mayoral race, it will be a first for the city. If it's Councilmember Rex Richardson, he'll be the city's first Black mayor. If it's Councilmember Suzie Price, she will become the first Persian mayor. Price says she doesn't think about this in terms of personal accomplishment. Instead, she says, “I think about my mom." Price fled Iran with her mother 43 years ago....

“The children are our future!” It’s a phrase we often hear but Poly High School senior Diana Michelson is putting that phrase into practice.  As the leader of the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign, Michelson’s hard work paid off. In August, the Long Beach Unified School District unanimously approved Board Proposal 3510.1, better known as the Green School Operations –  Energy and Sustainability Pol...

residents; it gives access to the Downtown food and entertainment scene; the beach is even within walking distance. Now, the newly remolded Lincoln Park is adding another amenity: ongoing free events at the park. Studio One Eleven, in conjunction with nonprofits the Long Beach Community Foundation and the Knight Foundation, are focused on creating a park that will center the community through conc...

Tickets for Bellator 286 at the Long Beach Convention Center are still available and can be purchased on Ticketmaster .  Article Written by JJ Fiddler of The 562: No matter how you look at it, A.J. McKee’s Bellator Mixed Martial Arts fight in Long Beach this weekend is the first page of a new chapter in his life. The Long Beach native is coming off of his first professional loss and is fighting in...

In January of 2018, the world famous VIP Record sign was removed from the iconic record store located on the corer of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The sign  and the record store became synonymous for the record store that was instrumental in launching the careers of Warren G, Snoop and Nate Dogg was removed. Before the removal of the sign, a battle for the legacy the si...

One of the side effects of COVID was the impact on local domestic violence shelters—limiting how many people they could host at one time. What was happening behind closed doors as the world was on lockdown has been called the “shadow pandemic” by the United Nations after a study done by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported a 34.9 % increase in domestic violence globally after...

It is rare to drive or walk on a major street in Long Beach and not see someone suffering from homelessness. According to data released from the point-in-time count held in February, homelessness increased by 62%. The 2020 count found that in total, 2,034 people were either living on the streets, in their cars, or one of the city’s shelters. This year’s count saw that number jump to 3,296. The inc...

In 1988, Orion Pictures released a movie called “Mississippi Burning.” The movie was based on the 1964 murders of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney. Goodman and Schwerner were white, Chaney, Black, and all were murdered by the KKK because of their efforts to register Black Voters. The murders pushed President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Although regist...

"The first Black ... " It is sad to know that phrase will still apply to hundreds if not thousands of achievements that, once reached, will be a first for anyone in the Black community. But once achieved, that frustration often gives way to the joy of knowing a door has now been opened for others to follow. It's a feeling that applies to Post 21, the first and only Black-owned business in Downtown...

in May, Long Beach became the home of a snow-cone storefront that is like no other locally. Fluffy's Sno-Balls brings a taste of New Orleans right to Long Beach.  While the sno-balls are a classic that have been a hit locally, this unique business has faced repeated adversity. Not the typical adversity for new businesses trying to get attention and customers—instead, this new business has been rep...

Most people have heard a dentist emphasize the importance of brushing and flossing daily. What often goes unsaid is that failing to do so can cause gum disease, which if left untreated, can allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream and cause serious health issues beyond just your mouth. For those who don’t have dental insurance, this could be inevitable. But, it doesn’t have to be. The California De...

Rehabilitation—the act of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy—is ostensibly the goal of our criminal justice system, yet, as a society, we have made it incredibly difficult for those who have been incarcerated to turn their lives around when they are released.   Formerly incarcerated people often have the burden of starting their lives from scratch—trying to fin...

Even with all the negative things we see in our world day in and day out, there are things we can be very proud of and excited about. One of those is the fortitude and resilience of young people in Long Beach. We’ve seen Long Beach Unified students demand gun control laws , and now they are taking on climate change. This all started back in November of 2019 when the LBUSD board adopted a policy th...

Imagine sitting at work and learning the community you live in is calling you a cop killer. It would be cause for immediate distress. If you are a Black Man, it becomes a matter of life and death.   These were the circumstance Darnell Hicks faced in 2020. Being an innocent man who had been convicted by the court of public opinion. Hicks is now suing those who accused him publicly as well as Facebo...

Each year the Long Beach Post hosts Best of Long Beach , a celebration that recognizes not only our favorite places to eat and hang out but, also, those who are making a true impact in our communities. Taryn Williams was the recipient of the Community Leader award. If it had not been for her life experiences, Williams might not have been in a position to receive that award, and may not have develo...

California's Three Strikes law began in 1994. Under this law, a person convicted of any new felony, while having a prior felony conviction, would be sentenced to state prison for twice the term otherwise provided for the crime.  If the defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more prior strikes, the law mandated a state prison term of at least 25 years to life. The law was designed to be...

We need a break from heavy topics, so why not talk about whiskey? At " The Word" podcast , we haven't shied away from taking on the tough stuff: Potential wage strikes , hate crimes , mass shootings  and mental health issues are all topics we've talked about in recent weeks. In the midst of all that, we still have to enjoy life—and what better way to do that than looking at Long Beach's unique cul...

So far, only about 17% of ballots in Long Beach have been returned in Tuesday’s primary election. Some more could still trickle in if they’ve been postmarked by Election Day, but overall turnout will likely remain dismal. Turnout in Long Beach primary elections has often been low, but the numbers are down significantly from the 2020 March primary election, where 40.1% of voters cast ballots , and...

  The United States is awash in gun violence.   The U.S. has over 30,000 gun deaths per year, according to the FBI's 2019 Crime in the U.S. report. The report also says firearms were used in 73.66% of murders in the country.   After the massacres in Uvalde and Buffalo, where the shooters legally obtained high-powered rifles to carry out their attacks, President Joe Biden called for the banning of...

According to a poll conducted by the Washington Post , 70% of Black Americans think at least half of White Americans hold White supremacist beliefs. The study also found that 75% of Black Americans believe that White supremacists are a “major threat” to Black Americans, and 66% say White supremacy is a bigger problem today than it was five years ago. These thoughts and fears are widespread, not co...

A pair of Starbucks stores in Long Beach and Lakewood just voted overwhelmingly to unionize, with only one "no" vote between them. That landmark vote started with a grassroots effort at each store, according to Tyler Keeling and Josie Serrano, two of the lead organizers. As baristas, they said it was intimidating to face down a multinational corporation that has been accused of harsh anti-union ta...

Rev. Moses Summerville has strong views on health care and the wage gap. He believes in women’s rights, and he is pro-Black. But, in a time when politicians are clamoring for the Black vote, he sees most offering nothing more than lip service. How can that change? Summerville says he's tried to set an example in his own longshot campaign for the 42nd Congressional District. In this week's "The Wor...

When the United State Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in favor of "Jane Roe," aka Norma McCorvey, on Jan. 22, 1973, they found that women in the U.S. had a fundamental right to choose whether to have abortions without excessive government restriction, striking down Texas' abortion ban at the time as unconstitutional. Now, we have a leaked document obtained by Politico that shows the Supreme Court is poise...

Sometimes things a lot of us take for granted can help someone with autism open up and express themselves. TikTok seems to be the outlet that helped open up more of the world for 31-year-old Marcos Cervantes. https://www.tiktok.com/@marcoscervantes90/video/7072454657016188203?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6893935082517874182 During the pandemic, Marcos was not able to socialize with his...

Shelby Cordon was diagnosed with autism after a family friend noticed she didn’t have the vocabulary a child her age typically would. Shelby is bright and intelligent, but—like many people with autism—she communicates differently and experiences the world in ways that most of us don't. Her father, Jose Cardon, says, “we have a saying around the house. Why be Elsa or any other Disney princess when...