Trailblazers, leaders and supporters arrived at the California African American Museum in numbers on June 17 to simply honor each other and remind themselves that they are not alone in their crusades.
Dr. Rhea Boyd, pediatrician, and minority community health advocate was the medical expert on the panel hosted by Regina Wilson, executive director of California Black Media, with the support of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The other two participants were former Miss Teen USA Kamie Crawford and Teala Dunn, an actress and social media influencer.
Last week, philanthropic organizations and other funders joined hands to launch the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF), a new $100 million initiative that will provide resources to Black-led organizations in the state of California over the next five years.
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.
By the late 1970s, drug traffickers were shipping so much cocaine to the United States that the street price of the powdered stimulant dealers cook to make crack – the smokable rock form of the stimulant – dropped by nearly 80 percent, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Last week, Gov. Newsom signed AB 5, the “Employee Misclassification Bill,” into law. The legislation changes the classification of more than one million jobs in California from “contractor” to “employee.”
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
As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, a census is conducted every 10 years to count the number of people living in the nation and its five territories. Census Day kicks-off on April 1, 2020, and every home will receive an invitation to participate in a short questionnaire by phone, mail and for the first time, online.
The California Census Office believes there will be higher participation among African Americans during next year’s census if “trusted messengers” help get the word out and go door-to-door conducting pre-surveys, educating people and helping some fill questionnaires in Black communities.