45th Annual Black History Super Expo

Saturday February 1, 2014 marked the 45th Annual Black History Super Expo headed by the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Cities East Chapter. Tammy Martin-Rhyles, President of the sponsoring chamber shared that she was excited to bring the people of San Bernardino together to celebrate diversity under the event’s theme of “Transitioning into new beginnings”. “In life, things go up and things go down. In San Bernardino right now, we need positive minds; people who are willing to do instead of just talk,” said Martin-Rhyles of the new hope growing throughout the city of San Bernardino, “What you speak is what you become, so we are striving to speak life and good things into existence in our great city.” With a main stage as the focus of attention, the Chamber presented music, entertainment and announced winners of drawings throughout the event. People gathered in arranged seating and stood listening to the program as the presentations went along. People were enjoying the company of old friends and making many new ones. Genevieve Echols, President of the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation said this was the twelfth year that her organization has attended the Expo. “I’d like to think that we are building bridges between cultures and generations here,” she said. “We firmly believe if someone gives you a helping hand in life, then you have to give back to someone else. It all comes from the heart. At the Expo we are able to enjoy a time of festivities and reflecting on these times of joy. We know that good things come from San Bernardino, and that’s why all of us do what we do, and then we come here to share it with others.” Vendors offering a myriad of wares, from clothing to jewelry, Italian ices and BBQ lined the walkways alongside city and county entities, all who had come out to offer information and resource material to those in attendance. Bern Nadette Stanis, best known for her 70’s television role as Thelma on the groundbreaking situation comedy Good Times came to the Expo to provide support for the local Black Chamber. A member of the Hollywood Chapter of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, Stanis is now a motivational speaker and a national spokesperson for the Alzheimer’s Foundation. “I would invite everyone to go onto my website at RememberingtheGoodTimes.org and hear my story,” said Stanis, “And I would like them to let me know they had stopped by. I would like to hear from people who are dealing with these issues, I want them to know it is important to know there are others who care.” The Haynes family of San Bernardino came out to enjoy the music and food at the Expo. Theresa Haynes smiled as she said, “We decided to come down and check out what was going on. This gave us some time to all be together.” Keisha Harris, Rialto Unified School District teacher and author of the books Beware of the Common Core and Alley Petes Adventure series, was sharing information about the new national standards of education coming to fruition under the Obama administration. She shared that her books are designed to help students and their families prepare for new learning strategies that will help them to be successful in the Language Arts and Math programs in school Harris added, “Coming to the Expo has been a great way to network and exchange ideas with others and it’s clear that we are all here to celebrate one another.” For Brandon Carter (a digital artist of Nudibrand) and Dina Young of Designs for the Diva, it was their first year coming to the Expo. Carter was excited about the chance of bringing his art form to a larger audience, while Young was enjoying the exposure to new customers in the San Bernardino area. The 45th Annual Black History Super Expo was best summed up by Dr. Samuel Gibbs, 1st Vice President of the So Cal Black Chamber of Commerce when he said, “We are really continuing the dream that Dr. King had for all of us. Any success in life that you have had, you owe it to yourself and to others to give back. I am where I am today because someone before me took the steps necessary to help me have the ability to be where I’m at. It’s not about someone giving all, and it’s not about a few people giving a lot. It’s all about a lot of people giving a little. And although this is an event coordinated by the Black Chamber of Commerce for the people of San Bernardino, is not solely about black pride, nor about the black experience. This is all about a community’s pride of all the people that make up that community. And we are here today to celebrate the community of San Bernardino and are looking forward to all good things.”