Last week, when Gov. Gavin Newsom presented the annual May revision of his budget proposal for the next fiscal year, he announced that California will establish new demographic categories when collecting data pertaining to the ethnic origin of Black state employees.
What started out as an investigation into inmate deaths in some of California’s county jails led to an audit that uncovered severe overcrowding, a lack of mental health resources and $8 billion in State funds for which three county Sherriff offices cannot properly account.
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, California legislators are making strides toward addressing and alleviating systemic inequalities brought to light during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As cities across California take a closer look at unfair practices in the criminal justice system, Proposition 25 offers a statewide policy that could aid their efforts: getting rid of cash bail.
In less than one month, the State Bar of California has been roiled in high-level personnel snafus involving two prominent Black California women.
If passed, AB 2711 that Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) introduced would green light the San Joaquin Regional Transit District to post bid notices that exceed $150,000 on a “public internet website.”
When California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the English language arts and math results of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) test last month, we found out that African American students’ scores lagged behind the much higher marks their White, Asian and Hispanic peers obtained.
Two African American women, both Democrats, are among Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 11 new appointees to California superior court judgeships in seven counties.
About a month ago, business and political representatives from more than 20 cities across the Inland Empire – a metropolitan area east of Los Angeles that covers parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties – held a press conference in the city of Riverside. At the meeting, they sounded off against new California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rules designed to move energy users away from natural gas, toward electric power.
The commission adopted the policy on Friday, March 8 at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Since 1999, California has passed a series bills advancing the concept of environmental justice, which emerged out of the civil rights movement. In recent years, the push to correct long-standing inequities that have disproportionately burdened lower-income communities of color has been increasing with a number of state agencies working to adopt similar policies.
In January, members of the California Board of Equalization (BOE) selected Malia M. Cohen, former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, to chair the 140-year-old state agency.
Supporters of the bill say it adds more accountability and strengthens the flexibility and autonomy their schools need to innovate for students. For them, it also formalizes transparency and governance practices already followed by a majority of charter schools throughout the state.
On Friday, Feb. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered new DNA tests in a 35-year-old quadruple murder case involving African-American death row inmate, Kevin Cooper.
The event was held at the Sacramento Masonic Temple. The Rev. Al Sharpton gave the keynote address. The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) serves as a body to ensure that pressing issues facing Black Americans in California are brought to the forefront of policy and budgetary decisions. Newsom praised the group for its continual work. Newsom said, “What you guys have accomplished in the last four or five years is extraordinary. What you guys did should be a point of pride. It’s not about the legislature versus the executive.
Former Mayor of San Francisco and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was sworn in as California’s 40th governor on Monday to the backdrop of serene gospel music provided by Compton-based choir Voice of Destiny. Newsom’s first speech as governor touched on his vision for California and his plans to keep the Golden State in the national spotlight.