Wyllisa Bennett

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Rantings About Hollywood From a Southern Perspective

PSA: FOR WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

October 31, 2018 by Wyllisa Bennett Leave a Comment

There’s A Pill For That!

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Consider this a public service announcement!

In Los Angeles County, women living with HIV are predominantly African American (35.4%) or Latina/Hispanic (44.8%), along with an estimated 30 % of transgender women, living with the virus. Today, there’s a pill for that! It’s called PrEP.

Heath professionals, dignitaries, and special guests gathered at the California African American Museum (CAAM) on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 for the launch of the “Sister Friends” video series for HIV awareness, informing women about a pill that can help stop the spread of the virus.

Me and Dr. Leo Moore, a clinical scholar and “Morehouse Man,” who spearheaded the “Sister Friends: Get PrEP’d” video campaign series for LA County Public Health.

The campaign is titled “Sister Friends: Get PrEP’d.” It hopes to increase the awareness and use of the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (or PrEP) pill among women who are at-risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The campaign is spearheaded by Dr. Leo Moore, who is a “Morehouse Man,” a clinical scholar and acting medical director of the Division of HIV and STD Programs at the LA County Department of Public Health.

Like a birth control pill, PrEP is a daily medicine that can prevent HIV infection for HIV-negative individuals who are at risk of being exposed to the virus. Although it is not a vaccine or a cure for HIV, PrEP can reduce the risk of HIV transmission by as much as 99 percent if taken daily as prescribed.

For the “Sister Friends” video series, LA County tapped Daytime Emmy winner and co-host of “The Real,” Loni Love as well as Alicia Machado (Miss Universe 1996) and actress Alexandra Grey (“Transparent” and “Glee”).

For many women, PrEP can be invaluable in staying healthy and HIV-negative when they have a partner who is HIV-positive. The PrEP pill has been shown to be safe for women to use while attempting to get pregnant and during pregnancy, as well as breastfeeding. Most insurance plans, including Medi-Cal, cover the cost of PrEP.

Do you know what this is? A female condom.

In 1991, I remember when basketball great Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced to the world that he had contracted HIV, which forced an early retirement of his basketball career. I was a news assistant at WCNC-TV in Charlotte, and all the tv monitors were tuned in to the “Breaking News.” I remember that my heart stopped and I cried. “This ‘shit’” is real,” I remember saying to myself. And since that day, I’ve gotten tested at every doctor’s appointment to know my status.

Believe it or not, some doctors thought it was unnecessary because I didn’t fall into any “at-risk groups.” Yet, here we are today with Black women disproportionately affected by HIV, and 87 % of woman diagnosed with HIV is through heterosexual contact, according to the CDC.

Kudos to medical advancement! If you want to know if the PrEP pill is right for you, visit www.getPrEPLA.com/women. Plus, a full directory of PrEP providers is available at www.GetPrEPLA.com.

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX!

Check out the “Sister Friends: Get PrEP’d,” video series, featuring Daytime Emmy winner Loni Love of “The Real.” Press Play!

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Religious Leaders Band Together for Auntie Maxine

July 1, 2018 by Wyllisa Bennett Leave a Comment

For Immediate Release

July 1, 2018

MEDIA RELEASE!

LOS ANGELES RELIGIOUS LEADERS BAND TOGETHER
TO SUPPORT CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS
IN RESPONSE TO HARSH RHETORIC, DEATH THREATS

Pastors Release Statement, Press Conference Scheduled for Monday, July 2nd

LOS ANGELES – A coalition of religious leaders and black pastors in Los Angeles will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 2, 2018 in front of the office of Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), located at 10124 South Broadway in Los Angeles. The coalition is being organized by Pastor Shane B. Scott, who is a senior pastor at the Macedonia Baptist Church.

At the press conference, the pastors will show support for Congresswoman Waters, who has received criticism from the White House as well as death threats for her call to publically confront White House staffers for the way the Trump Administration is treating and separating immigrant families.

The pastors feel the words and intensions of the congresswoman have been mischaracterized and taken out of context because she is a black woman who is passionately imploring people with a conscience to confront Trump supporters about the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda. The harsh rhetoric from the White House and the double standard of Congresswoman Waters are seen as racist, and a weapon of words used to energize Trump supporters for the mid-term elections.

“Auntie Maxine”


STATEMENT BY PASTOR SHANE B. SCOTT ON BEHALF OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS:

“As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, our democracy is under attack and we’re on the verge of a constitutional crisis under the Trump Administration. This administration has created an atmosphere of divisiveness to satisfy the base, and not represent all people in the United States of America. Immigrant children have been separated from their families at the borders. Trump’s travel ban is rooted in anti-Muslim prejudices, which discriminates against religious freedoms and lawmakers ignore implementing reasonable gun laws to stop mass shootings in our most sacred public places. This is not who America is suppose to be. We are better than this. Congresswoman Maxine Waters is courageously raising her voice and leading the fight in the Democratic Party to maintain the moral fiber of this country. She is a true patriot, and she should be celebrated as such. She has been an exemplary public servant for all the people, and any attempts to disrespect, discredit or assassinate her character are unwelcomed and unwarranted.” – Pastor Shane B. Scott

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“Please resign. … So that I won’t have to keep up this fight of having you impeached because I don’t think you deserve to be there. Just get out.” — Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) about Donald Trump

BLACK, BY POPULAR DEMAND!

May 24, 2018 by Wyllisa Bennett Leave a Comment

The Duke and Duchess of Sussez

SPOILER ALERT: I am going to use the word “black” a lot in this post and my latest column for the California Crusader News. Because spring is in the air, and it seems like everyone is catching spring fever even more so … for the love of black culture. The month of April sprung forth many blossoms of Black Pride by popular demand!

In April, Beyonce’ slayed so hard at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, it was dubbed #Beychella. She was the first black woman to headline the show. Secondly, Compton’s very own critically-acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar wins the Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album, “DAMN.” It’s the first for a hip hop artist. Who needs a Grammy Award when you can have a Pulitzer? His album lost out to Bruno Mars’s “24K Magic” for Album of the Year; but the Pulitzer Prize is certainly more prestigious, and more importantly, a huge milestone for the music genre that was initially dissed by the mainstream.

And finally, there’s the historic run of “Black Panther,” the crown jewel of Black Pride. Directed by Ryan Cooglar, it features a predominantly black cast as well as a bunch of empowered, kick-ass beautiful black women, wearing natural hair! Breaking box office records, the Marvel superhero movie has raked in more than a $1.33 billion globally, and last month, knocked off “Titanic” to become the third, highest grossing movie of all time in the United States, behind “Star Wars: the Force Awakens” and “Avatar,” respectively.

But May brought forth even more blooms. I love it when black culture pops up in unexpected places like say: a royal wedding. I mean was I alone, getting up in the middle of the night to make sure a Black girl from Crenshaw Boulevard walk down the aisle at Windsor Castle to marry Prince Harry! Side note: I’ve traveled to London, and visited Windsor Castle. It’s pretty ritzy!

A black mother, wearing dreads and a nose ring. A black preacher, preaching over his allotted time limit. A black choir, singing “Stand by Me.” A black cellist, playing oh so beautifully, and he’s the first black performer to be named to Britain’s Young Musician of the Year. And of course, Black Twitter had its fun with the hashtag: #BlackRoyal Wedding! Only one thing was missing, and that was the sound of tambourines, accompanying the choir! Oh well, we can’t have everything.

And then there’s news of Stacey Abrams, a state legislator in Georgia, who won her gubernatorial primary, becoming the first black woman to be a major party nominee for governor in the U-S of A!

Beyonce: She Did It for the Culture

It’s been an incredible season of celebrating black culture for sure. But, back to Beyonce! All hail Queen Bey! She did it for the culture! To borrow a line from her husband – a lyric in Jay-Z’s “Izzo” (H.O.V.A.). Because nothing exemplifies black culture like a good, old-fashioned homecoming, which takes place during the fall on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).

You can read more of my thoughts about Beyonce’s historic Coachella performance and how she created an incredible opus, celebrating blackness – black art, black beauty and black culture in my latest column for the California Crusader News. CCN#20_May_10_2018

Illustration of Beyonce at Coachella by Nigerian artist Morenike Olusanya.

 

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT 2 ARTIST MORENIKE OLUSANYA

I’m excited to spotlight the illustration of Beyonce by Morenike Olusanya, a 23-year-old visual artist, illustrator and graphic designer from Lagos, Nigeria. To view her work, visit her website at IamRenike.carbonmade.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @IamRenike

FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: Girl Crushes, Vision Boards and Virtual Mentors

March 31, 2018 by Wyllisa Bennett 1 Comment

Excited to bump into a “virtual mentor.” Lena Waithe became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing on Netflix’s “Master of None.”

 

Today is the last day of Women’s History Month. What a glorious idea to spend a whole month celebrating feminism, female empowerment and girl crushes.

I think it’s no coincidence that “Wonder Woman,” directed by a woman, made over $1 billion at the box office worldwide, cementing its place in history as one of the top-selling superhero movies of all time because I feel like women are really coming into their own.

Already, it’s been an incredible year of celebrating African American women in front of and behind the camera, especially with the release of “Black Panther,” empowering actresses Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and of course, Angela Bassett (a girl crush) to portray such strong, powerful Black women on the big screen. (And their natural hairstyles were giving me so much life!)

For the past two months – i.e. Black History Month and Women’s History Month — I’ve been offering commentary about the accomplishments of African Americans and women on several radio shows where I serve as an entertainment correspondent.

The dynamic women of “Black Panther.”

Still, all year long, I’ve been bursting with joy on the inside because I’ve had these random, yet special moments with some of the very women who I’ve admired from afar. Some may call these chance meetings a coincidence, but I don’t. I like to think of them as breadcrumbs that God is leaving behind to let me know my life is moving in the right direction. Almost, like he’s giving me clues to the next chapter of my story. This is how I “listen to my life,” if you know what I mean.

In the book, “The Hollywood Commandments: the Spiritual Guide to Secular Success,” New York Times bestselling author DeVon Franklin offers life lessons and advice for success by combining “spiritual teachings with secular strategies.” In one of the chapters, he talks about having “virtual mentors” – that is, leaders in your field who you know, but may not know you — who can serve as mentors by studying their career path, projects, social media posts, interviews, etc. (Don’t be a stalker, though.)

This is great advice because it helps you think about your career in a different way, setting new goals and aspirations to make your dreams come true. It’s like living vicariously through someone else until your dream pops off, and then hopefully, you become a virtual mentor to someone else.

I have a list of virtual mentors. One of them is my former colleague Ava DuVernay, who I know from working in PR together. As the publicist of record for the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), I supported her early movies, “I Will Follow” and “Middle of Nowhere,” and promoted her projects within my professional circles. And look at her now! She went from being an entertainment publicist to making history as the first Black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe as director of “Selma;” she’s the first African American woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of more than $100 million with “A Wrinkle in Time,” AND she’ll be the first African American woman to direct a superhero film, “New Gods” from DC Comics.  (She’s the second woman to helm a superhero film, behind Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman.”)

I’m excited about the doors she’s opening for other women, too. Along with Oprah Winfrey, she’s the executive producer of OWN’s “Queen Sugar,” and for all three seasons, she’s hired only female directors like Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”), Tanya Hamilton (“Night Catches Us”), Victoria Mahoney (“Yelling to the Sky”) and actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield (“A Low Down Dirty Shame,” “Eureka” and “Pastor Brown”).

“If Game of Thrones can have three seasons of all male directors, why can’t we have three seasons of all women directors?” 🤷🏾‍♀️ https://t.co/e2xTDy8fXw

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 21, 2018

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Keep Hope Alive!

February 1, 2018 by Wyllisa Bennett Leave a Comment

Reclaiming my time with Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) during festivities at the 49th annual NAACP Image Awards.

Today is the start of Black History Month. Like most folks, I kicked off my celebration of blackness two weeks ago with the observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 15, 2018. In my newest column for California Crusader News, I talk about keeping hope alive in the era of Trump. After all, America is constantly evolving.

I spent MLK Day attending the Men of Courage forum, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Launched in Detroit in 2015, the Men of Courage program is dedicated to elevating the narrative and perceptions of black men in this country.

The program connects the men with Men of Courage ambassadors, like social advocates, business leaders, entrepreneurs and other influencers. For LA’s forum, they pulled out the big guns with Grammy-nominated rapper Big Sean, retired NFL Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis of the LA Rams/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburg Steelers; Dave Bing, retired NBA Hall of Famer and former mayor of Detroit; and Karim Webb, restaurateur and franchise owner of Buffalo Wild Wings – just to name a few.

Rapper Big Sean and his mother attended the Men of Courage program, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company.

After the program, I headed off to the NAACP Image Awards afterparty where I bumped into Congresswoman Maxine Waters and (D-CA) and writer Lena Waithe, the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing. (That’s a Black History Month fact!)

Both MLK Day and Black History Month is a time of great reflection, honoring the human sacrifices made by others in the fight for racial equality and social change. The struggle is real and constant. But, like Jay-Z rapped, “I do this for my culture!”

I hope you enjoy my column, “Keep Hope Alive.” which appeared in the January 25, 2018 issue of the California Crusader News. CCN#4_Jan_25_2018

Correction: Just to clarify, the Ford Motor Company Fund is the proud sponsor of the Men of Courage program, and not the Ford Motor Fund Foundation as listed in my column or the Ford Motor Company Foundation.

Here’s a Black History fact:

Lena Waithe became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing. You can see her award-winning work on Netflix’s comedy series, “Master of None.” Check out the Emmy-winning episode, “Thanksgiving” from Season 2. Plus, she’s the creator and executive producer of the new series, “The Chi” on Showtime.

Excited to bump into a “virtual mentor.” Lena Waithe became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing on Netflix’s “Master of None.”

 

 

 

“I do this for my culture … ” Jay Z, lyric in Izzo (H.O.V.A.)

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