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Words of the Week – When Despair, Pain and Misery Come… Jesus Will Answer! – Part 3
Op-EdOpinionReligion

Words of the Week – When Despair, Pain and Misery Come… Jesus Will Answer! – Part 3

Brian W. Carter, Contributing WriterOctober 2, 2019

 “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” -Psalm 126:5-6 I remember feeling lost after my father passed away, kind of like losing a compass and having no direction. Not hearing his voice in the house was strange — not hearing the Volvo roll into the driveway, his laugh, which was hearty or hearing him sing to himself — which I’m fondly remembering as I write this article. I missed my Dad greatly. My sister’s death left me

Trump’s Changes to Title X Program Would Hurt the Black Community’s Access to Family Planning
BusinessEconomyFinanceHealthOp-EdOpinion

Trump’s Changes to Title X Program Would Hurt the Black Community’s Access to Family Planning

Jim Mangia, President and CEO, St. John's Well Child and Family Center Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO, Essential Access HealthSeptember 27, 2019

Recent efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the federal Title X family planning program could significantly impede access to essential preventive health services for low-income patients across the state of California and throughout the country.

America is My Home
Op-Ed

America is My Home

Angela SailorSeptember 20, 2019

This year, as that date approached, I was listening to one of my all-time favorites, Luther Vandross’s “A House Is Not A Home,” when the question popped into my head: Do I consider America to be my home, or just my house?

Confronting the Abandoning Crisis…Poverty and Homelessness Beyond the Urban Core
EconomyFamilyNewsOp-EdOpinion

Confronting the Abandoning Crisis…Poverty and Homelessness Beyond the Urban Core

Gregory C. ScottSeptember 19, 2019

Here’s a staggering number – 553,000. Imagine what you would do if 553,000 dollars were deposited into your bank account today. Imagine what you can see if you travel 553,000 miles around the world? That is a significant number. The truth is that’s the number of homeless people recorded in the United States in 2018. Yes, the most developed country in the world allows a whopping 17 percent of its population to live on the streets. California holds a total of 113,952 abandoned homeless individuals; this represents 20 percent of all homeless people in the United States. Approximately 15,179 are veterans. People in this country are turning a blind eye as if this is some “new normal.” We have abandoned our neighbors, and homelessness is a clear symptom. 

Kamala Harris is the Best Player in American Politics
Op-Ed

Kamala Harris is the Best Player in American Politics

Zachary R. WoodSeptember 19, 2019

Senator Kamala Harris’s debate performance last Thursday night in Houston, Texas was phenomenal. She has received a lot of credit for her wit, her pith, and her smart decision to train her fire on Donald Trump as opposed to needling the other Democratic candidates sharing the stage. She has been commended for being personable and quick on her feet, absolute and aerodynamic even in the face of tough questions. 

Flying While Black: Stop the U.S. Congress from Raising Air Travel Taxes
Dr. Ben ChavisOp-EdOpinion

Flying While Black: Stop the U.S. Congress from Raising Air Travel Taxes

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.September 12, 2019

“The tax, known as the passenger facility charge, is a locally enforced but federally authorized fee that every passenger must pay at U.S. commercial airports. Nearly every airport in America charges it. The fee is currently set at $4.50 per person per leg of a trip. Legislation has been introduced that would remove that cap, allowing airports to charge any amount they want.”

Dynamex Law Will Gut Black Newspapers in California
BusinessLocalNewsNews (Business)Op-EdOpinionPolitical

Dynamex Law Will Gut Black Newspapers in California

Regina B. Wilson, Executive Director, California Black MediaSeptember 8, 2019

  This is a direct appeal to Governor Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez and our entire state legislature. I’m writing this on behalf of the more than 20 African American-owned newspapers that operate in cities and towns across California. As the leaders we’ve elected to represent and protect the interests of all Californians, we are asking each of you to search your hearts, look beyond blind spots, step in, and do the one thing that will prevent Assembly Bill 5 from putting the Black press in California out of business. That is: Exempt the contract couriers who deliver our newspapers

Words of the Week – When Despair, Pain and Misery Come – Part I
Crenshaw & AroundOp-EdOpinionReligion

Words of the Week – When Despair, Pain and Misery Come – Part I

Brian W. Carter, Contributing WriterSeptember 4, 2019

I loved my father. My father’s name was Wilmer Wellington Carter and he was a true provider for our family. Dad was into getting wisdom and knowledge as he read a lot of books. He always said that the Bible was the most important one and to start there first, to fear God was the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. My father was older, so we didn’t play sports and roughhouse, instead, we learned about every animal in the encyclopedia. I fell in love with dinosaurs, and knew the names of just about all of them and I still remember

Ending HIV Only Happens if Black America Leads
HealthNewsOp-EdOpinion

Ending HIV Only Happens if Black America Leads

Raniyah CopelandAugust 16, 2019

In 2011, Science Magazine’s “Breakthrough of the Year” was the discovery that antiretroviral drugs were a game changer in HIV prevention. The development of treatment as Prevention and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) ushered in the concept of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. By combining effective treatment for people living with HIV with simple and easy biomedical prevention for people at risk of HIV infection we can eliminate HIV transmission and HIV acquisition, thereby breaking the back of the epidemic.

Rideshare Drivers Deserve Flexible Work Schedules
Op-EdOpinion

Rideshare Drivers Deserve Flexible Work Schedules

William D. Smart, Jr.July 25, 2019

Rideshare platforms have significantly improved transportation options for communities of color, particularly in low-income neighborhoods that have been neglected by public transit fordecades. However, current legislation in Sacramento is threatening to take this option away, by forcing rideshare drivers to become employees instead of independent contractors.

L.A. Prosecutors Can Hold Cops More Accountable with One Simple List
Op-EdOpinion

L.A. Prosecutors Can Hold Cops More Accountable with One Simple List

Patrisse Cullors July 18, 2019

California is moving toward transparency for bad cops. As we learn more about the violence, biases, misconduct, dishonesty, and abusive acts of law enforcement (in spite of recent efforts by police to erase the evidence) it’s easy to focus on the role cops play in the streets. But equally if not more impactful is the role they play in the courthouse. In almost every criminal case, the prosecutor must call at least one police officer witness in order to prove the charges. Police are professional witnesses, trained to go under oath and testify as to their recollections, actions, findings, and practices. If making the arrest is the first half of their job, working with prosecutors and testifying is the other half.