The conclusion of Suicide Prevention Week on Sept.16, served as a reminder, according to wellness advocates, of the ongoing mental health crisis faced by Black Californians. Between 2010 and 2019, Black Californians experienced a 31.1% increase in suicide deaths, according to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.
According to numbers from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), around 14,000 Black Californians lost health insurance with the state’s safety net health care exchange because they didn’t turn in the required renewal paperwork to continue their Medi-Cal enrollment or their coverage was switched to the state’s insurance provider, Covered California.
San Francisco resident Pia Harris hopes for reparations in her lifetime. But the nonprofit program director is not confident that California lawmakers will turn the recommendations of a first-in-the-nation task force into concrete legislation given pushback from opponents who say slavery was a thing of the past.
Economists advising The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans have developed economic formulas that project the reparations owed to Black Californians who are descendants of people enslaved in the United States are likely to exceed $800 billion.
The “Stop the Hate. Spread the Love,” initiative spearheaded by California Black Media (CBM) and others, was introduced to the Los Angeles community at the 17th annual Taste of Soul Family Festival on Oct. 15.
The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) has released a study that found Black Californians are highly engaged with their health care, are active in advocating for their health and have strong and clear opinions about how the healthcare system can be improved.
Death tolls across California tell a distressing story about the indelible mark the pandemic has left on all of us. Black Californians and other minorities experienced a disproportionate reduction in life expectancy occurred compared to White Californians.
The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans held its ninth meeting on April 13 and it continues through April 14 at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco.
The total unemployment rate for Black Californians seems stuck at almost three times higher than the national rate – despite steady increases in overall hiring of African Americans in the state.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. African American health leaders joined Covered California to reflect on the life and legacy of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and with the final deadline in the current open enrollment period coming up, to urge Black Californians to sign up for comprehensive coverage through Covered California or Medi-Cal. Doctors David Carlisle and Kim Rhoads, along with Rhonda Smith of the California Black Health Network, say Dr. King’s words on the injustice in healthcare are still profound
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau held a press conference to announce its first local level findings from the 2020 data collection cycle.
The California Budget & Policy Center’s latest report shows economic racial inequity in housing among renters before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the 17 million, which includes children, families and individuals, housing instability and homelessness are immediate threats. The reports show the necessity that Governor Newsom’s proposed 2021-22 budget should include extending the state eviction moratorium beyond the expiration date of January 31.
“The Black community is already subject to a lot, and we’re not thought about all the time. It’s important for us to take matters into our own hands and really be prepared for what’s to come because sometimes we’re not considered in the game plan as far as what the world needs to do,” Sidqe said.
Since then, all the major African-American community-based organizations, political leaders and other advocates in California — concerned that there may be an undercount of Black Californians during the 2020 census count — have found themselves grappling.