Marla Gibbs

A celebrity-studded fund-raiser is being planned to aid the legal defense fund for Don Jackson, the Hawthorne police sergeant who alleges he was the victim of racism and brutality at the hands of a Long Beach police officer. Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), singer Dionne Warwick and the California Rainbow coalition will hold a reception in his honor at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The cable channel Black Entertainment Television held its first Comicview awards show last week at the Vision Complex Theater, drawing legions of celebrities and marking the first time the theater has played host to a televised event. "Marla Gibbs' theater is great, and it's great that BET chose to have the awards here," said soul singer Vesta, who hosted the show.

Entertainer Stevie Wonder announced he will headline a benefit concert in January to raise money for Los Angeles inner-city students and their schools. "Rejoice in Los Angeles," set for Jan. 6 at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, will raise money for The Inner City Foundation of Excellence, Wonder said during a news conference. The foundation was formed to help combat education problems in the inner city, including a 50% dropout rate among high school students, he said.

The annual Kwanzaa parade and festival begins at 10 a.m. today in the Crenshaw District. The events are a highlight of the holiday season in the black community. Kwanzaa is a seven-day cultural festival celebrated by blacks in the United States and the Caribbean. It includes family gatherings, community events and feasts celebrating African heritage and community pride. More than 60 units are expected in the Kwanzaa parade, says Shelia Ward, parade spokesperson.

After years of delays, a nearly $10-million plan has been unveiled to revitalize Vision Theater, the cultural heart of Leimert Park Village in South Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other civic leaders said that $2.4 million will be financed from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment and more than $7.4 million from the city of Los Angeles.

Today we find African-American role models in every walk of life--the mechanic who coaches the Little League team, or Reginald F. Lewis, who heads TLC Beatrice International, a billion-dollar food company or actress Marla Gibbs, who supports a community theater group. And obviously they include Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, secretary of health and human services and any member of the Black Business Assn.

Crossroads Arts Academy found itself aptly named this year. Struggling with structural and financial uncertainty, it went through a flurry of reorganization and a three-month hiatus in operations. Now the sprawling, gated grounds and theater--renamed the Vision Complex--at the heart of Leimert Park's arts community has re-emerged with a new, practical emphasis.