California Black Media

Black Activists Confront Affirmative Action Opponents on Zoom Call

Last week, African American activists confronted affirmative action opponents on a Zoom town hall a conservative Republican candidate organized. At least one Republican elected official attended the event that the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) supported.    

A Crisis on Two Fronts: Black Immigrants  Face  COVID-19  in California  and  Back Home  

They live in small clusters in inland valley towns and in  larger  ethnic enclaves in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles — or  they blend  into  suburban  communities  across the state, according to  data collected by  California Black Media  to support its  Census 2020  awareness  mapping.

California Black Caucus Introduces Reparations Bill

On May 11, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee voted yes on a bill that would mandate the state to set up an eight-member commission to examine how California engaged in — and benefited from — the enslavement of Black men, women and children.

Blunt Trauma: Cop Beats Black Teen Over Cigar, Sparking Outrage and Familiar Swisher Sweet Debate

A shocking video of a police officer beating a 14-year-old African American boy over a Swisher tobacco cigarette is being shared across social media platforms around the world.   

In the clip that has been re-posted tens of thousands of times, a Rancho Cordova deputy is captured pummeling the youth in his chest as he presses him to the ground in an incident that happened April 27. 

Housing the Homeless: COVID-19 Has Forced California’s Hand

Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California was the first state in the nation to secure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to place unsheltered people in hotel rooms at no cost to them. The state’s action is providing safe isolation for tens of thousands of homeless Californians during the global COVID-19 pandemic.    

Open to Apply: Gig Workers Can File for Unemployment

Out-of-work gig workers in California whose employers have not paid into the state’s unemployment insurance fund — as well as Californians without jobs who have run out of unemployment benefits — will be able to file new unemployment claims. 

State Sets Bail to Zero for Misdemeanors and Some Felonies

In 2018, when Gov. Gavin Newsom was lieutenant governor in Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, California passed Senate Bill 10 (SB 10). It was landmark legislation that abolished the cash money bail system for defendants waiting for trial, and also gave judges more discretion to determine who will be sent to jail or not – based on risk.