Local

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) has thrown its support behind one of its own.

Last week, Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena) announced that the group of African American state legislators will endorse Sen. Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) to succeed U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37) in Congress.

Bass, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011, announced in September that she is not seeking re-election to Congress to run for mayor of Los Angeles.

“Sydney Kamlager has spent her career prioritizing equity and access for Californians,” Bradford said, praising his colleague, who is also vice-chair of the CLBC.

Bradford and Kamlager are the only two Black lawmakers serving in the California Senate. The other nine members of the CLBC are all members of the Assembly.

“She has a distinguished legislative record on criminal justice reform, health care equity, environmental protections, and affordable housing,” Bradford continued, explaining the CLBC’s decision to support Kamlager.

For months now, people in California political circles have been speculating that Kamlager, 49, would enter the race to succeed Bass, but, until last week, she had neither denied nor confirmed the buzz around her candidacy.

“Yes, the rumors are true. I know, some think it’s the worst kept secret, but I felt it would be presumptuous to make a final decision before the lines of the district were finalized and wanted to make sure this was the right decision for me and my family,” she tweeted last week.

“I waited until the lines of District 37 were finalized before I officially launched my campaign for U.S. Congress,” she said in a statement.

In a special election last March, two-thirds of the voters in California’s 30^th Senate District in Los Angeles County elected Kamlager to represent them in the upper house of the State Legislature.

Before that, Kamlager served in the State Assembly for three years, representing the 54^th District, which includes Baldwin Hills and Ladera Heights. A former District Director for former California State Sen. Holly Mitchell, who she succeeded, Kamlager was also a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2018 and served as its President.

The Democratic Primary will be held on June 7. Kamlager faces two challengers: Culver City Vice Mayor Daniel Lee and Jamaal Gulledge, a UCLA staffer.

Bradford credits Kamlager for introducing several “landmark” criminal justice reform and anti-discrimination bills that have now become law in the state.

“Our state is fortunate to have such a qualified candidate who stands up for working families and small businesses,” he said.

San Bernardino County’s unemployment rate dropped nearly a full percentage point in November, to its lowest level since before the pandemic, as payrolls swelled by more than 13,000 workers, according to the latest data from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

Joblessness fell from 6.3% in October to 5.5% last month, led by a continued surge in hiring among companies serving the supply chain and the hospitality industry. The 938,800 filled jobs were the most since February 2020, when total payrolls in the county exceeded 945,000.

The EDD data show that San Bernardino County has recaptured 96% of the jobs lost during the early months of the COVID downturn – one of the fastest recovery rates in California.

For the complete November jobs report for the Inland Empire, click here

By Antonio? ?Ray? ?Harvey? ? |? ? California? ?Black? ?Media?

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) want Californians to have a better understanding of the history and culture of California’s Native American people.

At the State Capitol last week, Thurmond joined Ramos, the only Native American serving in the Legislature as the lawmaker announced that he will introduce a bill encouraging school districts to collaborate with local tribes to increase knowledge about California Native Americans in their communities.

Ramos, who is the first American Indian ever to be elected to the Legislature, cited a similar effort being made in Washington State.

“When Washington state revamped its Native American curriculum, it began by initiating a relationship between the tribes and schools. Its state’s curriculum, entitled ‘Since Time Immemorial,’ has made a positive difference for students. We can’t reverse 171 years of falsehood and mythology overnight, but we can start,” Ramos said.

Thurmond said he is excited about the initiative and honored to be working along with Ramos to integrate Native American studies into California public education.

“We have the opportunity right now to counter the actions of those who continue to teach harmful and stereotypical messages and create an environment where all students learn about and benefit from the rich history and culture of California’s first People,” said Thurmond.

Ramos said a deeper understanding of Native American people and their sovereignty would help to get rid of enduring racist stereotypes and misperceptions stuck in the imaginations of some Californians.

Last fall, a teacher in the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) in Southern California was placed on leave after a student shared a video of her mocking Native Americans while teaching math to students.

In the video, which was shared many times across the internet, the teacher was wearing a headdress made of paper feathers while explaining a math assignment. The student who captured the moment identifies as Native American.

“So few people understand the diversity of California’s first people,” Ramos stated. “They speak different languages, use different musical instruments, practice different customs and traditions. Few know many tribes were wiped out or almost eliminated during the 1800s.”

More than 40,000 students are enrolled in RUSD schools. About 80% of the district’s students identify as Black, Latino or another ethnic minority, and 46% of them are economically disadvantaged, according to U.S News and World Report.

 “These behaviors are completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices,” the school district said in a statement. “We are deeply committed to implementing inclusive practices and policies that honor the rich diversity of our district and the greater region. We will be working with our students, families, staff, and community to regain your trust”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 630,000 people identify as American Indian and Alaska Native in California.

In combination with another race, the number of Native Americans increases to about 1.4 million people. Altogether, they make up 3.6% of all Californians, as compared to 1.9% ten years ago, the 2020 census reported.

Ramos said the legislation he plans to introduce will be the first step toward increasing student knowledge about the indigenous tribes residing in the state.

“We are fine-tuning language in the bill and will introduce it soon,” said Ramos. “If we don’t do a better job at encouraging our schools and tribes to work together, we’ll see more classroom episodes such as the one we saw last October.”

By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor

Vaccines and boosters are essential tools for Black family caregivers, as California battles the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

At a community conversation with ethnic media organized by Saint Paul AME Church in San Bernardino, Black Voice News, and California Black Media, community leaders and Black family caregivers discussed the importance of vaccines in helping keep themselves safe and able to care for their families, especially at a time when Omicron is increasing their sense of fatigue and isolation.

The conversation, which drew over 60 reporters and community members, was also live streamed on social media and cohosted by the California Department of Aging. Cheryl Brown, a member of the state’s Commission on Aging, moderated the discussion.

Speakers asked that family caregivers receive priority for vaccines, boosters, test appointments and home-testing kits, and personal protective equipment.

Family caregivers have not been considered essential workers, and therefore were ineligible to be first in line when Covid vaccines appeared on the scene in early 2021, said Dr. Donna Benton, Research Associate Professor of Gerontology at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Benton also serves as director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center and the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center. “Vaccines are a key weapon against the ravages of this virus,” she stated.

“Vaccines are a key weapon against the ravages of this virus,” she stated.

USC’s survey of local caregivers found that of the 60 percent who had jobs outside of the home, 30% had dropped out of the formal work force in order to care for their families – a factor that increased their isolation. Dropouts were primarily women, noted Benton.

There are more than 4.5 million family caregivers in California alone, but Benton said they are largely invisible in the broader healthcare system.

“Caregivers are saying ‘we want the masks.’ We need PPE. We need to be prioritized for boosters, and also for testing,’” she said. She noted the near-impossibility of getting a home testing kit or an appointment for a Covid test.

The Biden Administration announced Jan. 13 that it was purchasing an additional 500,000 million home testing kits. Benton expressed her hope that family caregivers would be a priority for distribution of those additional supplies.  The administration plans to distribute 1 billion home testing kits in total.

Benton also spoke of the need to expand at-home vaccines and booster services, noting that it is difficult to get home-bound people, especially those with dementia into a car and out to a vaccination site. “There are not enough healthcare workers going door to door,” she said.

Ruth Rembert shared her personal story of serving as the sole caregiver to her husband, who has multiple myeloma — the cancer that killed former Secretary of State Colin Powell last year. Because of his hugely compromised immune system, even a cold can have huge health consequences, she said, adding that she is letting no one come into the house for fear of even minor infections.

“I won’t  allow anybody to come in my house who has not been vaccinated, and even then, I insist they wear a mask. People don’t realize the danger they put you in when they don’t get vaccinated, or when they’re not masked, said Rembert, noting there was a lot of misinformation spreading about the continued need to wear a mask indoors in congregate settings, even if fully vaccinated.

“I heard people say, I don’t want to put that in my body. I say: ‘you have two choices. You can either choose to have this vaccine in your vein, or you can choose to have formaldehyde in your veins, because that’s how serious it is.’”

Rev. Noella Buchanan, Caregiver Coordinator for the Southern California Conference African Methodist Episcopal Church Ministerial Alliance and a retired pastor, has been the caregiver for her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law, her mother and then her husband. She is now the primary caregiver for her cousin who is over a hundred years of age.

Buchanan noted that Black people have throughout history been used for spurious medical testing, including the Tuskegee Experiment, and therefore have an inherent fear of getting vaccinated. “Many people believe their faith will carry them through. But we are seeing so many loved ones die when they haven’t taken the shots.”

Like Benton, Buchanan advocated for health care workers to deliver vaccines at home. “Elderly people can’t stand in line for two to three hours.”

She noted that vaccines and home testing kits can be delivered via houses of faith. “People trust their churches.”

22 year old rapper Kennedy King shared a rap that won her first place in a contest organized by Saint Paul’s AME Church in San Bernardino, California. King and her family have all suffered through Covid; she fears for her grandparents getting infected, noting the consequences would be much higher.

King noted that her generation gets most of their news from social media, and raps are an important tool in spreading the word about the effectiveness of vaccines.

“Music is very relevant to young people’s lives; we communicate a lot through music,” she said, before performing her prize-winning rap.

“We have to get into young people’s heads that if you don’t care about yourself enough to get a vaccine, care about the elders around you,” said King.

The community mourns yet another great icon, Jennifer Vaughn Blakely has passed. Since 2010 Ms. Vaughn-Blakely has chaired The Group. The highly respected Riverside-based group is a grassroots public policy organization to bring together diverse groups to address issues affecting African Americans. She and The Group were instrumental in drafting Riverside’s ethics reform code and its later expansion to cover government staff as well as elected officials.

An Inland Empire trailblazer, Ms. Vaughn-Blakely was the historical “first” in many areas of local government in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including becoming City of Fontana’s first Black Assistant City Manager in the early ‘80s.

“Another one of our community Angeles has transitioned to be with the LORD,” Terrance Stone, CEO of Young Visionaries stated. “Mrs Jennifer Vaughn-Blakely was the queen of organizational capacity building in the Inland Empire amongst other things. She mentored my professional career and helped me to navigate success. You will be missed.”

Memorial services shall be posted soon as they are announced.

By Lou Yeboah

God did not just let them go into sin. He sent messenger after messenger, prophet after prophet, judge after judge, king after king—and they never listened. God had compassion on them and wanted to save them, but they were not willing. [2 Chronicles 36:15].

God’s people were very busy making money, accumulating things, and practicing their religion. But God was also very busy—sending famines, droughts, blights, locusts, epidemics, warfare, and possibly earthquakes in judgment for their unrighteousness [Amos 4:6-11]. He hoped that they would heed these “minor” warnings before He sent the rod of His anger against them [Isaiah 10:5]. But they would not heed, so this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “The day of joy will soon be the season of mourning in your Nation.” [Ezekiel 3:26-27] I have called over and over for my people to repent, yet the words of my prophets have been as dust in the wind, for they will not repent.

The days of luxury and ease are ending, for the invasion of your Nation, will bring death, destruction fire and fear. You will see horror that will cause your heart to faint with fear unless you take shelter in My truth. Repent and again I say REPENT!!!

For, the whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it” [Jeremiah 4:27-28; Ezekiel 24:14].

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. [Revelation 3:14-22].

“You have rejected me, declares the LORD. You keep on backsliding, so I will reach out and destroy you; I am tired of holding back. I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways. I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people, for they have not changed their ways. [Jeremiah 15:6,7].

You have been found guilty. You have been given a warning to Repent. Is there anything you would like to say before sentencing?

As the fall semester quickly approaches, there are still eligible students on the fence about enrolling at California community college. Prospective students are encouraged to enroll now in classes and plan ahead for future semesters. The benefits can’t be ignored.

Attending a California community college doubles an individual’s chance of finding a job compared to those who do not complete high school. In addition, students who obtain a degree or certificate from a California community college nearly double their earnings within three years, which puts them on track to earn a good living wage and be able to provide for themselves and their families.

Prospective students should first visit ICanGoToCollege.com, a website available in English and Spanish, that includes information about enrollment, the variety of available financial aid opportunities, transfer and career training programs offered at community colleges all in one central location. The website also offers a short online Career Opportunities quiz that can help prospective students learn about potential career paths that might interest them.

California community colleges are the largest provider of workforce training in the nation, making them a significant contributor to the state’s pipeline of talent for high-demand industries. In fact, there are more than 200 career training opportunities available at the 116 California community colleges statewide. Additionally, students can transfer to a four-year university or college with guaranteed junior status after completing two years at a community college.

Community colleges offer flexible scheduling and access to helpful resources allowing students to remain home or close to home. Support services are also available at community colleges to help with tutoring, counseling, career planning and health and wellness. Additionally, financial aid is available year-round to help cover many of the costs for attending a community college.

The time is now for prospective students to start planning for their future. Visit Icangotocollege.com today to learn more, enroll in classes and apply for financial aid to help cover college costs like books, supplies and sometimes even the rent.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The community is invited to celebrate the life, the love, and the memories of Dr. Margaret Hill with a glorious celebration honoring a true community icon. The memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at San Manuel Stadium located at 280 S E Street in San Bernardino.

For those that want to give or are unable to attend the service, but want to show support, in lieu of flower donations, monetary donations to Dr. Hill’s charity, “Maggie’s Kids Foundation, are welcomed. The link to donate is https://venmo.com/u/maggie4kids.

For those that do attend the service, it is asked that guests wear purple in Dr. Hill’s memory. For those that want to speak or volunteer, please click here. Speaking requests are open for dignitaries, community-based organizations, and community members.

Please be advised that due to the estimated attendance, of you would like to speak, it is highly encouraged for everyone to use the link to sign up. Those that want to volunteer can also visit the newspaper’s website for the sign-up link.

Due to COVID protocols, the venue is an outdoor space, there will be adequate seating for social distancing, and masks are required. If you forget your mask, masks will be provided for you.

“Our program thrives on partnerships like this, as we’re able to put theory into actual practice for our students, and not only do they learn necessary skills to thrive in the industry, but they end up with an IMDB credit at the end.”

“I’m excited to collaborate with students at SBVC for my show. I want Go Local Lee to have a current, fresh perspective and I know the students will help me achieve the look and feel that I envision. Being a culinary instructor, I enjoy working with students, especially on projects requiring lots of creativity and collaboration. I believe that experience, in any profession, is the best way to learn.”

“After having worked every job in a restaurant, from busboy to general manager, to dishwasher to executive chef, I truly understand how challenging it can be to run a restaurant. I want viewers to have a sincere appreciation for how much goes into operating a restaurant. It’s really a show about people more so than it’s a show about food. I believe that if you get to know the restaurant owner’s stories, and have the opportunity to learn about their struggles, we’ll all be more inclined to support them.”