The film – with sentimental flashbacks of a bygone era - centers on the ongoing gentrification in California’s largest city and how it has sapped the blackness out of The Fillmore neighborhood in San Francisco, once a thriving African-American political and cultural hub in the Bay Area. ... read more »

After three years in a Chinese prison for allegedly assaulting a man during a bar fight, Brown returned home Wednesday to the hugs and smiling faces of his loved ones. Outside of his family’s brick house on Detroit’s east side, he took a few moments to reflect on regaining his freedom. ... read more »

Bishop Wilburn Wyatt Hamilton, an enduring spiritual and community activist in the San Francisco area, passed away on Sept. 16, at the age of 88. Hamilton served in the Church of God in Christ denomination as general board member emeritus and prelate emeritus of the California Northwest Jurisdiction under the leadership of Bishop Nathaniel Antonio Bullock.  ... read more »

In yet another twist for worried parents: Meet the vaping hoodie. This high school fashion mainstay — defined by a hood with drawstrings — is now available as a vaping device, ready to deliver a puff of nicotine (or marijuana) anywhere, anytime. Including in the classroom. ... read more »

“I want people who are going to be able to tell it straight. People who will assess a situation and then be able to give you the realities of what it is,” Boykin-Towns said of her expectations in her new role. ... read more »

The federal government will act to ban thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, responding to a recent surge in underage vaping that has alarmed parents, politicians and health authorities nationwide. ... read more »

Criminal justice reform remains a pressing concern for American citizens regardless of political affiliations. A recent study conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of Justice Action Network, found that support for reform spans all sides of the political spectrum—with 68 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of Independents and 80 percent of Democrats supporting criminal justice system reform. With an issue so urgent to the nation, 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are being called upon to explain how they will fix the system in which more than 2.3 million people are incarcerated and where African-American citizens are disproportionately and excessively imprisoned and criminalized. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is speaking out with a solution to overhaul the severely flawed institution if she becomes president. ... read more »

The Monday announcement closely followed one from a separate group of states Friday that disclosed an investigation into Facebook’s market dominance. The two probes widen the antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies beyond sweeping federal and congressional investigations and enforcement action by European regulators. ... read more »

Over 100 Uber and Lyft drivers formed a caravan on August 25, embarking on a three day trip to Sacramento in support of AB5, a bill that would redefine independent contractor status in California.  Members of two unions, the Mobile Workers Alliance and Gig Workers Rising, joined the drivers; the group also stopping to rally at Uber headquarters in San Francisco and returning home on August 28. ... read more »

Then she saw three more patients at her Utah telehealth clinic with similar symptoms. They did not have infections, but all had been vaping. When Harris heard several teenagers in Wisconsin had been hospitalized in similar cases, she quickly alerted her state health department. ... read more »

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.  ... read more »

San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes after supervisors gave the measure its second and final vote Tuesday. ... read more »

The celebration started with the freed slaves of Galveston, Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865. ... read more »

However, of the 24 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the only one that has agreed to address key influencers of the African American community — the Black Press of America — at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) annual convention later this month in Cincinnati. ... read more »

After three years of nearly nonstop advocacy efforts, the hopes of California’s developmentally disabled and their families now rests with the Governor and key leaders of the Legislature.  I’m writing from AbilityFirst Joan and Harry A. Mier Center in Inglewood, servicing children and adults with disabilities in your community. ... read more »