Hershel K. Swinger dies on eve of Fatherhood Solution Conference
Taught fathers parenting
Hershel K. Swinger, Ph.D., founder of Project FatherhoodSM, the program created to address the problem of absentee fathers, died in his sleep at his Baldwin Hills home recently.
A nationally recognized expert in the cultural aspects of family and community violence and drug abuse, Swinger was the senior vice president of the Leadership Center at the Children’s Institute of Los Angeles, and a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 35 years of experience treating individuals and families affected by violence and substance abuse. A retired professor of counselor education at California State University, Los Angeles, Swinger earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from USC. He died on May 23.
Last year Swinger was the recipient of Walden University’s Presidential Award for Leadership in Social Change for the significant contributions he made to advancing the roles of absentee fathers in the community and bringing about positive social change through his program Project FatherhoodSM, which has helped more than 7,000 low-income, culturally diverse fathers across Los Angeles County to become effective parents. Today, the reach of Project FatherhoodSM now been extended through a community grants program that enables other organizations to replicate its model in their own neighborhoods.
“Dr. Swinger’s vision of addressing the problem of absentee fathers lives on,” remarked Alan-Michael Graves of the Children’s Institute of Los Angeles. “Dr. Swinger was my mentor and I am committed to carrying out his vision of giving fathers the tools they need to actively participate in the rearing and well-being of their children.”
With the theme “Strengthening Relationships Between Fathers and their At-Risk Children,” The 4th Annual Fatherhood Solution Conference will still take place Friday, June 17, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles and will pay a special tribute to Swinger for his pioneering and visionary leadership.
She’s a praying woman who faithfully attends Sunday school and morning service every week, along with Tuesday night prayer and Bible study. She wakes up every morning and prays for the family and prepares breakfast for her household full of grandbabies. She struggles to make ends meet on her measly Social Security check and government funds. Not to mention her health isn’t the best.
She’s that grandmother who has paid her dues, raised her own children and is now raising her children’s children.
Tony Hicks, founder of the Black Parent Union, is an educational consultant specializing in parent and community involvement, who has worked in the public schools for more than 24 years. He has worked in the classroom, serving on councils/committees, coordinating the activities of parent liaisons, conducting workshops, training staff, hosting a cable television show, and leading instructional audits.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A man in his early 20s suffered life-threatening wounds to his upper back this morning in a shooting in the Leimert Park, police said.
The shooting in the 3800 block of Third Avenue, near 39th Street, was reported around 12:20 a.m., said Lt. H. Fanfassian, watch commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Station.
The victim, who was hospitalized “in extremely serious condition,” did not provide police details of the shooting or a suspect description, Fanfassian said.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Authorities today identified a man who was fatally shot by Inglewood police after he allegedly smashed the windows of eight squad cars with a sword in a police station parking lot.
The shooting occurred Saturday night, after the man damaged the vehicles using a sword that was thicker and heavier than a machete, police said. The dead man was identified as Charles Curl, 46, of Los Angeles, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said.
A panel of political, labor, educational and clergy leaders are demanding that elected officials establish and maintain a high level of accountability in providing services to and improving the standard of living in the African American community.
The Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance (BCCLA) convened a summit Monday morning at the African American Cultural Center in the Crenshaw District, specifying to liberal-democratic officeholders and candidates that the Black vote will no longer be automatic.
