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Colonel Vaughan Witten Making International Moves with Two Books On Display at the 75th Frankfurter Buchmesse in Germany

December 7, 2023

The Southern Truth  By Gloria Zuurveen, Editor-in-Chief Colonel Vaughan Witten has risen from a small West Virginia coal mining village of Anawalt with a population of approximately 2000 people in McDowell County to become one of the most prolific authors whose books, “Learned Helplessness: The Poison Pill Threat to Black America”  and “The Journey:Appalachia To…

Los Angeles City Controller Audit Says Interim and Permanent Housing Resources are Woefully Inadequate and Data Collection, Referral Process are Antiquated and Inefficient

December 7, 2023

  December 5, 2023 Honorable Karen Bass, Mayor Honorable Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Attorney Honorable Members of the Los Angeles City Council RE: Interim Housing Bed Availability Data The results of the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless count revealed that an estimated 46,260 people in the City were experiencing either sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, a…

Happy Birthday Las Vegas Real Estate Specialist, Mena Freeman!

December 6, 2023

Leimert Park Station Temporary Re-named for the Honorable Diane E. Watson

December 6, 2023

    By Ricky Richardson Contributing Writer   (Los Angeles, CA) It is the most wonderful time of the year! Everyone is enjoying and experiencing the spirit of the holidays. This is also a special season for a special reason. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the Honorable Diane Edith Watson is glowing brightly in…

A Growing Number of Black Californians Are Claiming Their American Indian Lineage

December 6, 2023

  By Lila Brown | California Black Media A growing number of Black Americans, relying on newly digitized federal records and other sources, are discovering direct bloodlines to Native American ancestors. These discoveries are inspiring individuals to trace and claim their Native American ancestry, leading some to apply for citizenship with tribal Nations. When Daniel…

PACE NEWS Trivia: What’s the Name of the Celebrity in the Crowd? Send in comments

December 1, 2023

PACE NEWS Trivia: What’s the Name of the Celebrity in the Crowd? Send in comments    

November 30, 2023

 

Mayor Karen Bass Announces Latest Inside Safe Operation in Partnership with Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson

November 30, 2023

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson today announced the newest Inside Safe operation, which concluded earlier today near the intersection of 81st Street and Hoover Street. Inside Safe is an initiative that was launched to house Angelenos living in encampments and to prevent encampments from returning. This citywide, voluntary approach leads…

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Video Of The Week

COLONEL VAUGHAN WITTEN: “THE JOURNEY” GETS WAVE REVIEWS

 

THE JOURNEY

“The Journey: Appalachia to Paradise to Purgatory” is regarded as one of the best nonfiction books as it presents the innocence, happiness, and final disappointment of a West Virginia coal miner’s son who sees his country on the slippery slope to immorality and the highest levels of academia. It is a type of “rags to riches” story, from the coal fields to a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force and a Ph.D. from a world-class university. This autobiography is about the author’s retirement journey to Appalachia, a virtual paradise provided by God, family, and America. This also reveals an empowering journey and appreciation of his country while at the same time witnessing the slow decay of the American culture and values that he knew as a young man.

The inspiration and lessons the readers will gain from reading this book will make it one of the best nonfiction books they have ever read. Click to see video of the Colonel’s journey.

Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott

Author Witten has arrayed a vast assemblage of materials recounting his long and remarkable life. Born to a Black family in West Virginia, where his father was a mineworker, he quickly absorbed the ideals of hard work and family cohesion. He would carry those values through service in the Air Force in the Korean War. He rose slowly but surely to higher military ranks, displaying his mechanical expertise in often-perilous situations and his gifts as a mediator in a conflict between an intolerant White supervisor and a group of militant young Black men. After serving in the Vietnam War and living in other foreign climes, he and his wife settled in North Carolina, where he became a professor at Shaw University, voluntarily obtaining a Ph.D. Witten recalls his childhood as an opportunity to establish character and appreciate nature. His Air Force career gave him added inner strength and yielded a Bronze Star and other honors. However, the loss of his wife to cancer plunged him into what he calls “purgatory.” Yet Witten persists, having created this lengthy work over several years, drawing on and including materials ranging from historical documents to endearing family photographs. The information offered covers specific background on the Coal Wars in West Virginia and geographical and sociological data about countries such as Iceland, The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and others where he served or lived for varying periods. To illustrate his observation of the current flaws in both Black and White cultures, he has collected newspaper articles supporting his viewpoints as a conservative thinker, presenting long sections of such substance to his readers, who will doubtless agree with him on key points as well as finding fascination and satisfaction in this saga of Witten’s gradual rise and undeniable success based on his belief in basic American values.

 

 

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