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Tag: Michael Harris

  • Sacramento region celebrates Kwanzaa with unity and cultural festivities

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    BY MOSCOW AND KYIV. WELL, TODAY MARKS THE FIRST DAY OF KWANZAA. IT’S A CELEBRATION THAT HONORS AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE. THE ANNUAL CELEBRATION HAS DEEP ROOTS HERE IN CALIFORNIA. KCRA 3’S CECIL HANNIBAL IS LIVE IN RANCHO CORDOVA, WHERE THE COMMUNITY IS GATHERED TONIGHT. DEEP ROOTS IS FOR SURE. THIS IS THE FIRST DAY OF KWANZAA, OF COURSE, AND IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW, IT WAS ACTUALLY CREATED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEARLY 60 YEARS AGO. NOW, THIS SEVEN DAY CELEBRATION, THIS HOLIDAY IS CELEBRATED BY PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD OF AFRICAN DESCENT. THIS EVENT IS STILL GOING ON RIGHT NOW. FOR A CLOSER LOOK INSIDE, I WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS VIDEO. IF YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR SCREEN FOR ME REAL QUICK. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THIS EVENT, REGARDLESS OF RACE OR CULTURAL BACKGROUND. IT’S A CHANCE TO, OF COURSE, COME LEARN, BUT ALSO TO BUY THINGS FROM HANDMADE NECKLACES TO CLOTHING AND EVEN BOOKS THAT TEACH ABOUT BLACK HISTORY IN THE PAN-AFRICAN MOVEMENT. THERE’S A NUMBER OF SPEAKERS TONIGHT FROM THE MAYOR OF RANCHO CORDOVA. RIGHT NOW, A PASTOR IS SPEAKING. WE ALSO HEARD FROM THE ORGANIZER, MICHAEL HARRIS, WHO SAYS HE STUDIED UNDER THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF KWANZAA, DOCTOR MAULANA KARENGA, AND EXPLAINED WHY THIS HOLIDAY IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND HIS NOTION OF A HOLIDAY THAT CELEBRATED AFRICAN CULTURE IN A TIME WHERE BLACK FOLKS DIDN’T HAVE NO CLUE WHO THEY WERE. WITH NO BLACK STUDIES PROGRAM, AND FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT TO DO A DEEP DIVE AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS. WHO ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU REALLY? ARE YOU? WHAT IS AFRICA TO YOU? WHAT IS AMERICA TO YOU? SO BACK OUT HERE LIVE. THEY ARE ALSO HAVING LIVE CULTURAL PERFORMANCES, REFRESHMENTS AND ARTS AND CRAFTS FOR KIDS. NOW THERE ARE SEVEN DAYS OF KWANZAA. TODAY IS UMOJA, WHICH STANDS FOR UNITY. SO THE HOPE OF THIS EVENT IS TO REALLY BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER ALL IN ONE ROOM AND TO CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY TOGETHER. RANC

    Sacramento region celebrates Kwanzaa with unity and cultural festivities

    Sacramento region celebrates Kwanzaa with unity and cultural festivities

    Updated: 12:20 AM PST Dec 27, 2025

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    The city of Rancho Cordova celebrated the first day of Kwanzaa with a cultural event inviting people from across Sacramento County to city hall on Friday.It’s part of the 27th Annual California State Capitol Kwanzaa celebration, organized by Michael Harris, president and CEO of the California Black Agriculture Working Group.Harris, who studied under Kwanzaa’s original creator, Dr. Maulana Karenga, emphasized the holiday’s significance to the Black community. “We carry the oldest, largest, most accurate notion of authentic California Pan African Ancestry,” Harris said. The event, which began on the first day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 26, features a variety of activities, including live cultural performances, arts and crafts for children, and a “Farm to Fork Friday” event offering samples of Pan African cuisine. The celebration includes speeches from notable figures such as Pastor Carl Dee Amattoe and Rancho Cordova Mayor Garrett Gatewood, along with other regional community leaders.Guests can also purchase handmade items like necklaces and Afrocentric clothing. The event aims to bring people together from diverse backgrounds to honor African culture and the seven principles of Kwanzaa, starting with Umoja, which means unity. The celebration continues throughout the week, offering a chance for reflection, dialogue, and shared creativity in the spirit of unity.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. —

    The city of Rancho Cordova celebrated the first day of Kwanzaa with a cultural event inviting people from across Sacramento County to city hall on Friday.

    It’s part of the 27th Annual California State Capitol Kwanzaa celebration, organized by Michael Harris, president and CEO of the California Black Agriculture Working Group.

    Harris, who studied under Kwanzaa’s original creator, Dr. Maulana Karenga, emphasized the holiday’s significance to the Black community.

    “We carry the oldest, largest, most accurate notion of authentic California Pan African Ancestry,” Harris said.

    The event, which began on the first day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 26, features a variety of activities, including live cultural performances, arts and crafts for children, and a “Farm to Fork Friday” event offering samples of Pan African cuisine.

    The celebration includes speeches from notable figures such as Pastor Carl Dee Amattoe and Rancho Cordova Mayor Garrett Gatewood, along with other regional community leaders.

    Guests can also purchase handmade items like necklaces and Afrocentric clothing.

    The event aims to bring people together from diverse backgrounds to honor African culture and the seven principles of Kwanzaa, starting with Umoja, which means unity.

    The celebration continues throughout the week, offering a chance for reflection, dialogue, and shared creativity in the spirit of unity.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • The Good, The Bad, & The Braves: The Case for Drake Baldwin for NL ROTY

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    Atlanta Braves rookie catcher Drake Badwin may have begun the 2025 season platooning behind the plate, but he will finish it as one of the frontrunners for National League Rookie of the Year. Baldwin came into Monday night’s game against the Washington Nationals batting .273 with 18 home runs, 76 RBI, 52 runs scored, and a .799 OPS.

    Even though the Braves will end the season out of the National League postseason picture and under .500, Baldwin’s offensive input and defense behind the dish have been important, whatever success the club has had this season.

    Rookie catcher Drake Baldwin (above)and the Atlanta Braves hosted the Seattle Mariners at Truist Park on September 6, 2025. Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves

    Over the past 30 games coming into Monday night, Baldwin’s numbers were down (.245 from the plate with 11 strikeouts), but he has picked them up of late. During the past seven games, all Braves victories, Baldwin is hitting .348 with a .738 slugging percentage, two home runs, and eight runs batted in. His only true competition for the award is a young starter on the Northside of Chicago.

    The Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher, Cade Horton, has been lighting up National League hitters this season. Horton is currently 11-4 with a 2.66 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and has only given up 33 walks in 115 innings.

    Against the Braves this season, Horton is 1-0 in two starts. During those games, he had an ERA of 0.79 in 11 innings of work and struck out eight Braves while only giving up one earned run.

    It wouldn’t be an upset if Horton won the award, but Baldwin has made a solid case this season. The Braves finishing under .500 could be why Baldwin doesn’t come away with it. The Cubs (88-68 overall) are currently atop the National League wild card standings. That makes Horton’s 11 victories this season that much more important.

    On Monday night, with the bases loaded and the Braves ahead 2-1, Baldwin, batting in the sixth slot in the lineup, hit a two-RBI single off Nationals pitcher Jackson Rutledge to extend the Braves’ lead to 3-1. The two runs left Baldwin with the third most runs batted in on the team behind Matt Olson (93) and Michael Harris (80).

    Baldwin hit a double in the fourth inning, his 17th of the season. That hit started a rally that ended with Atlanta scoring another run on Harris’s third RBI of the game.

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • The Good, The Bad, & The Braves: Atlanta is back over .500 (at home) with 4-1 win over Seattle Mariners

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    Chris Sale (above) started Friday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners at Truist Park. Sale (5-4 overall before the game) was back to his old self early on. Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves

    The Atlanta Braves opened the three-game series with the Seattle Mariners with a 4-1 victory on Friday night.

    The eighth inning told the story tonight as Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Drake Baldwin each drove in runs to give Atlanta a lead they would not relinquish. With the score 1-1 to start the eighth, the Braves got a double from Jurickson Profar to lead off the inning. Olson’s single drove him in, and Albies triple drove in Olson then Baldwin helped bring Albies home.

    Raisel Iglesisas came on in the ninth inning and had a 1-2-3 inning to get the save and secure the victory. Other than a deep fly ball to center from Jorge Polanco, there was little threat from Seattle.

    The Braves were back at Truist Park following a long and unsuccessful road trip. Atlanta began a series against the Seattle Mariners (The Braves are 11-14 against the Mariners all-time) with a 33-33 record in their home park. Well below .500 for the season and out of the playoff picture, establishing a winning environment at Truist Park, along with the strong play of the team’s young talent, including Baldwin and Hurston Waldrep, can give the fanbase something to look forward to in October and beyond.

    There were immediately opportunities to get off to a strong start in the first home game of the last month of the season. Atlanta only managed to score one run despite having the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. With two runners on base and two outs, Michael Harris, once the hottest player in the National League, struck out on a breaking pitch from Seattle starter Logan Gilbert to end the inning.

    Harris came into the game tied for the team lead in RBI with Olson with 77. His 17 home runs was third on the team behind Olson (21) and Marcell Ozuna (20).

    Newcomer to the Atlanta baseball scene, shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, was at the plate in the third inning with Albies on third base and two outs. Kim, who played well during the series in Chicago against the Cubs, popped out to Seattle shortstop Leo Rivas to end the third inning.

    Chris Sale was back on the mound for the Braves. Sale made his first start in months during the recent road trip, and he was sharp in his return to Truist Park. Through the first four innings of the game, Sale had only given up three hits and no runs. In the fifth inning, Sale struck out the side: Dominic Canzone, Leo Rivas, and Luke Raley.

    Sale pitched 6.2 innings and thoroughly shut down the Mariners lineup during his time on the mound. Reliever Dylan Lee came on in relief of Sale and immediately gave up a single to tied the game at one.

    After the game Sale thanked the Braves staff and his teammates for supporting him on his journey back from the rib injury too pitching the way he did tonight.

    “I try to be the same guy every day,” Sale said. “It feels good.”

    Asked if he was surprised Sale is already pitching at this level, Braves manager Brian Snitker said he wasn’t.

    “I don’t think anything he does surprises me,” Snitker said of Sale. “I just want to see him progress.”

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • The Good, The Bad, & The Braves: Blame 13-9 loss on Strider and Snitker

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    Spencer Strider (above) pitched 3.1 innings against the visiting Chicago White Sox and was responsible for six runs during his time on the mound Monday night. Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves

    The Atlanta Braves returned home from having won series in New York and Cleveland to lose the first game of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. The loss was credited to the evening’s starter, Spencer Strider, but it also has to belong to Braves manager Brian Snitker.

    Let’s start with Snitherm, who made the perplexing decision to pinch-run for the hottest hitter in Major League Baseball, Michael Harris after he started the eighth inning with a single. That hit was Harris’s fourth of the game in four at-bats. Snitker took Harris out of the game, presumably to give him a rest, and the Braves managed to bat around the lineup so long that Harris’s spot came up with the bases loaded and Atlanta in need of runs. Eli White, Harris’s replacement struck out.

    That strike out effectively ended the game while simultaneously ending Atlanta’s best chance at cutting the White Sox lead or tying the game.

    Now about Strider.

    The game began with Strider (now 5-11 overall) digging himself out of ditches. Strider gave up a single to the first batter he faced, Mike Tauchman, on the first pitch he threw (fastball). The White Sox failed to score with a runner on third and two outs as Lenyn Sosa flew out to Jurickson Profar in left field.

    Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (above) started Monday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox. he only managed to strike out two White Sox before being taken out of the game in the fourth inning. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    There were more White Sox runners on first and second in the second inning when Strider got out of trouble again. This time he got Chicago second baseman Chase Meidroth to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

    Strider’s luck ran out in the third inning when Chicago left fielder Brooks Baldwin took him deep for a solo home run to left center to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. A sliding catch near the Braves dugout helped end the inning with another Chicago runner on base.

    Things got worse when Luis Robert, Jr. (13 home runs and 49 RBI) hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to put Chicago ahead 3-0. Strider had thrown 55 pitches before pitching coach Rick Kunitz came out to talk to him.

    By the end off his time on the mound, Strider had thrown 68 pitches, given up five hits during the fourth inning, and four earned runs. Austin Cox came on to relieve him with one out and runners on second and third base. Strider only managed to strike out two White Sox before being taken out of the game in the fourth inning.

    Chicago was ahead 7-0 through four innings. Atlanta had an opportunity to cut into the White Sox lead when a single and a double from Profar and Matt Olson gave Ronald Acuna, Jr. something to shoot for. He grounded out to second while driving in Profar from third base for Atlanta’s first run of the game. Drake Baldwin flew out to center with Olson on third to end the inning.

    During the game, Michael Harris II continued his hot run of play, hitting a pit of singles in his first two plate appearances, and a two-run home run in the sixth inning. With a single in the second inning, Harris extended his 11-game hit streak. Over the last seven games, Harris was hitting .438 with a .438 on-base percentage and a .759 slugging percentage. His 15 home runs are third on the team behind Marcell Ozuna (20) and Olson (19).

    Cox (58 pitches, three earned runs) was pitching strong in relief, holding Chicago scoreless during the fifth inning before giving up a two-out 3-run home run to White Sox first baseman Lenyn Sosa in the sixth inning.

    Harris’s home run was only the second extra-base hit for Atlanta through five innings before Profar hit a two-run home run down the right field line in the sixth inning to make the score 10-5.

    Daysbel Hernandez started the seventh inning and immediately gone up a solo home run on his first pitch to White Six shortstop Kyle Teel, who already had two hots in the game. Hernandez gave up another RBI single before he got Sosa to ground out to end the inning.

    Fun Fact: The White Sox and the Braves had only played 24 times before Monday night’s game. The White Sox now lead the all-time series 13-12.

    What’s Next: The Braves and White Sox will play again on Tuesday and Wednesday before the New York Mets return to Truist Park for a three-game weekend series. The White Sox games have a scheduled 7:15 p.m. first pitch.

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    Donnell Suggs

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