In a landmark move to honor and preserve South Los Angeles’ rich Black history and cultural legacy, California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, alongside community leaders, business owners, and residents, gathered at City Hall to announce the launch of the Historic South L.A. Black Cultural District.
Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) says he supports Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to expand the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program from its current $330 million annual budget allocation to $750 million.
Three days after Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) was sworn in as the 49th President pro Tempore (Pro Tem) of the California State Senate, he appointed California Legislative Black Caucus members, Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) and Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Ladera Heights), to leadership positions.
Civil rights leader Lola Smallwood-Cuevas is the leading candidate in the race to represent the 28th State Senate District, a newly drawn district stretching from Mar Vista to downtown, from South Los Angeles and West Los Angeles to Culver City.
Black women running for political office on every level across the state of California showed up strong during the state’s June 7 primary election. They won the minds and the hearts of diverse groups of Californians and drew the numbers they needed to secure spots on the November general election ballot. The results, some political organizers say, signal that Black women are fully engaged in California’s political process, and they are primed to succeed against stiff competition ahead. “The June 7 primary election was another demonstration of the consistency of Black Women in the political process,” said Kellie Todd,
Community advocate Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, a passionate labor organizer who has fought on the frontlines of the labor movement over the past two decades, is now running in her first political race as a candidate for the California State Senate.
An array of signature events highlight the King Legacy Celebration sponsored by the Southern California Leadership Conference of Southern California throughout the month of January.
The panel discussion was open to the public and moderated by Mary Lee, committee chair Jacqueline Waggoner, and vice-chair Kelli Bernard. Committee members included were, Va Lecia Adams, Chancela Al-Mansour, Edward Anderson, Jack Barbour, Wendell Blassingame, Rachel Brashier, Oliver Buie, Chela Demuir-Cartier, Brian Ford, Robin Hughes, Janet Kelly, Monique King-Viehland, Veronica Lewis, Juataun Mark, Nova Mirari, Anita Nelson, Alisa Orduna, Molly Rysman, Suzette Shaw, Brenda Shockley, Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, Sean Spear, Reba Stevens and Pete White, Dhakshike Wickrema.
According to the report, “An Ongoing Demand for Los Angeles: A Bright Future Requires Organizing More Black Public Sector Union Workers,” public sector jobs and unions that represent such employees contribute to the economic and social stability of the Black middle class in Los Angeles.
For millions of Black families in the U.S., working in the public sector has long provided a dependable pathway to the middle class. Approximately one in five Black adults work in such fields as the government, teaching school, delivering mail, driving buses and working at hospitals. Blacks are about 30 percent more likely to have a public sector job than non-Hispanic Whites, and twice as likely as Hispanics.
Advocacy mixed with celebration draws hundreds to stand up for workers’ rights.