WSSN Stories

By Lou K Coleman

“Going through your daily life and your daily routines acting as you know that you have tomorrow promised to you. You act like there is time to waste and things can wait. You put off the things of Me and you only concern yourselves with the things of this world. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. “Walk Circumspectly, Not as Fools, but as Wise.” Because I tell you, things are going to change dramatically. Do not be one of those who I have to turn away when all is said and done. Time is of the essence. [Psalms 39:4-6; 90:12]. Do not delay! You must get yourself together if you are going to be able to survive what is coming. Turn from your procrastination! Do what I’ve told you to do, and do not waste any more time! You’ve been warned! I, the LORD, have spoken! The time has come, and I won’t hold back. I will not change my mind, and I will have no pity on you. Therefore, “Walk Circumspectly Not as Fools, But as Wise!”

Listen, the Bible is actually very clear about what is coming. We are living in a very troubling time in this world. The world conditions have escalated from confusion to chaos. In Revelation God gives us three different accounts of the end time. These are given in the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Vials. Heed the warning as we near the Rapture and Great Tribulation prophesied in the Book of Revelation. For there is only one place to be safe and that is in Christ. So, consider today with some urgency your eternal life. With as much going on in our society and in the world today, tomorrow is not promised. “Walk Circumspectly Not as Fools, But as Wise!”

And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples. [Acts 19:8-10]. It then became too late!

By Tanu Henry and Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

On February 28 in Oakland, the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF) hosted an event titled “Strengthening Democracy and Building Black Futures” followed by a reception for guests who attended.

The event included two panel discussions centered around the need for philanthropy to commit resources to building and sustaining a just, racially diverse, equitable and inclusive civil society.

“Civil society is the basis upon which you have a democracy, and civil society needs to be informed. It needs to be about achieving something. It needs to reflect the broader society,” said Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder in Residence, Policy Link, who presented during one of the panel discussions.

CBFF is a “five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism,” according to the organization’s website.

In April 2022, CBFF named Marc Philpart its Executive Director, a leader with broad experience in social advocacy working with grassroots and community organizations.

Panelists at the event included Blackwell; author Steve Phillips (Brown Is the New White); Lateefah Simon (president of the Meadow Fund); James Herard (Executive Director of Lift Up Contra Costa); Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker (District 1 Antioch City Council); Kavon Ward (CEO/Founder of Where Is My Land); and James Woodson (Executive Director of California Black Power Network.

By Tanu Henry and Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

It was a history-making moment as Malia M. Cohen was inaugurated the 33rd California State Controller at Los Angeles City Hall on February 23. During the swearing-in, she was flanked by her husband Warren Pulley while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass administered the oath.

As California’s chief fiscal officer and top accountant, the State Controller’s office is an independent watchdog overseeing the disbursement of state and local funds, including one of the nation’s largest public pension funds.

Cohen, a San Francisco native will be the first Black person, and second woman Controller, as the state continues to make an intentional effort to break gender and racial barriers. Two of the top four largest cities, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are led by Black women Mayors, Karen Bass and London Breed respectively, and the state also elected its first Black in Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, who previously served under an appointment by Gov. Newsom.

“Mayor Bass and Congresswoman Lee: I know that you know all too well, that no matter the campaign budget difference, no matter how much they outspend you, leadership can’t be bought,” Cohen said in her inaugural speech.

By Tanu Henry and Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

March is Women’s History Month, and several California organizations are celebrating trailblazing women making history in our state — whether it’s recognizing the record-setting number of women who are state constitutional officers or lauding the unprecedented number of women serving in the Legislature ((50 out of 120).

Last week, the Black Women’s Collective kicked off Women’s History Month with an event organized to help build an Economic Action Plan for Black Women. It brought together experts in policymaking, labor, economic development, and entrepreneurship.

“Black women serve as breadwinners in 80% of Black households in California with over 70% headed by single mothers,” said Kellie Todd Griffin, President and CEO, California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute. Griffin was citing statistics from a report on the State of Black Women in California from 2018 and 2022.

“Typically, Black women have higher labor force participation rates than other women, meaning a higher share of Black women are either employed or unemployed and looking for work,” Griffin continued. “However, the economic safety net is not secure as Black Women makes less than most of their counterparts making .55 cents to White males, which is one of the lowest in the nation equally the wage gap in Mississippi. California falls short of the national rate at .63 cents.”

Panelists at the event included Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt (CD10); Yvonne Wheeler, President, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, President and CEO, Center by Lendistry; and Denise Pines, Co-Founder and CEO, Tea Botanics and Women in the Room Productions. Moderators were Griffin and Regina Wilson, Executive Director, California Black Media.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Two tax planning lawyers shared their perspectives on one of the ways to pay for the racial injustices suffered by Black Californians with the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans.

At the task force’s last two-day meeting held in San Diego on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, the estate and tax planning attorneys Raymond “Ray” Odom and Sarah Moore-Johnson proposed several options to the nine-member task force for funding reparations through the federal tax code system — including an estate tax as a means to increase racial equity.

The tax discussion, held about a month ago, was as a lead-in to the task force’s next meeting in Sacramento focused on compensation and titled “Redressing the Harms Delineated in Report 1.” That meeting will be held Friday, March 3 and Saturday March 4 at the Byron Sher Auditorium at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Headquarters, beginning at 9 a.m. both days.

Moore-Johnson kicked off her presentation at the San Diego meeting during a panel titled “The Forgotten 40 Acres: Repairing Wealth Disparity Using the Estate Tax and New Charitable Incentives.” She said, “the tax code has incentivized White wealth building for years,” and that she and Odom have now found a way to redistribute wealth through tax exemptions at the state level.

“For years, Ray and I intuitively understood that if we could harness those tax incentives to create a public-private partnership to help fund reparations we could get our wealthy clients to willingly enthusiastically embrace using their own money to pay for reparations,” Moore-Johnson said. “We believe that tax deductions should be allowed for private contributions to racial repair because individual taxpayers would be paying a debt of the federal or state government on the government’s behalf,” Moore-Johnson said.

Potential revenue sources, the attorneys say, could be the state estate tax, mansion tax, graduate property tax, and metaverse tax.

Johnson mentioned that the graduate property tax revenue would not apply to California because of Proposition 13, a law that restricts increases in the state tax code.

Odom and Moor-Johnson’s presentation was a condensed introduction to the wealth disparity resulting from chattel slavery and Jim Crow law and the connection to wealth transfer and wealth taxation. Odom, however, emphasized that their idea to use the tax code is intentional but it is not a manipulation of the federal tax system.”I really think that it is so important to set the narrative — and that narrative isn’t around who’s getting something for nothing, but what we are going to do about this gross wealth disparity,” Odom said. “We need to solve this problem for all Americans, but especially for Black Americans.”

Odom – a Chicago estate and tax planning attorney who works at Northern Trust and conducts racial wealth disparity speaking engagements across the country – is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is one of five Black tax attorneys among ACTEC’s 2,500 fellows.

Established in Los Angeles in 1949, ACTEC is a nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors skilled and experienced in the preparations of wills and trusts; estate planning; and probate procedure and management of trusts and estates of the deceased, minors and helpless.

Odom and Moore Johnson explained that the racial wealth gap started to expand in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was in office and the biggest tax cut in history took place. Odom said reparations would be an opportunity to replace “swollen wealth” with the “stolen wealth” of Black people.

Dorothy A. Brown

Moore-Johnson, an estate planning lawyer and a founding partner at Birchstone Moore in Washington DC, became president of the Washington, DC, Estate Planning Council three weeks after George Floyd was murdered in 2020. She is also an ACTEC fellow.

In March of 2021, during a national ACTEC meeting, Odom and Johnson came up with the idea of funding reparations for slavery through the estate tax. They started their research to better understand the history of slavery, post-slavery, reparations and the wealth gap. Through their research, the duo learned that the racial wealth gap exists, partly, because of the way the federal tax code is set up.

Task force member Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) stated that the tax attorney’s recommendations provided a “clear road map” to reparations.

“All that said, I think it’s comforting, informative and powerful,” Bradford said after the tax attorneys’ presentation. “As a legislator, the takeaway is, we can afford it. This is a debt that’s owed.”

Dorothy A. Brown addressed the task force by teleconference and shared her views about reparations and the tax code. She is a tax professor at Georgetown Law and the author of the book “The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans and How We Can Fix It.”

Brown’s literature goes to the core of how the complex federal tax system disadvantages the Black community and how it has helped White households secure more solid financial standing.

“Our tax laws as written have a racially disparate impact. Black Americans are less likely to gain access to their tax breaks than their White peers receive,” Brown said. “Therefore, (Black Americans) are more likely to pay higher taxes than their White peers.”

Brown told the task force that she supports a “wealth tax credit applicable to all taxpayers and households,” which would serve the majority of Black people and be available to all “regardless of race and ethnicity.”

“I want to be clear that I’m not providing tax advice or guidance for providing a possible analysis of any reparations payments,” Brown said. “I leave it to your tax council (economic experts) to make a final determination that you would rely upon moving forward.”

BLACK PR WIRE—- BALMAIN announced the appointment of Hans Dorsinville to
Senior Vice President (SVP), Global Creative, BALMAIN BEAUTY, effective January 2023. Hans will be based in New York and report directly to Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director of BALMAIN.

In his position, Hans will work closely with the BALMAIN and BALMAIN BEAUTY teams, including Estée Lauder Companies’ (NYSE: EL) executives Guillaume Jesel, President, Global Brands, TOM FORD BEAUTY, BALMAIN BEAUTY and Luxury Business Development, and Nathalie Berger Duquene, Senior Vice President (SVP), Global General Manager, BALMAIN BEAUTY. As SVP, Global Creative, Hans will be responsible for overseeing the full creative spectrum for BALMAIN BEAUTY including image, concepts, strategy, and alignment of brand voice with the fashion house. He will work with the team to ensure a cohesive experience across all touchpoints of the consumer journey.

Guillaume said, “Hans is an exceptionally talented and innovative creative leader, and I am delighted that he is joining the team to bring Olivier Rousteing’s groundbreaking vision for BALMAIN BEAUTY to life.”

Hans brings more than 25 years of creative experience to BALMAIN BEAUTY, having served in leadership roles across leading fashion, branding and advertising agencies, and while in-house at Donna Karan.

“Most recently, Hans held the role of Chief Creative Officer at Gotham where he led the strategic creative work across several large-scale fashion and beauty brands. Prior to Gotham, Hans was Chief Creative Officer at Select World, following more than ten years at Laird + Partners, where he was a founding partner. As Executive Vice President (EVP), Senior Group Creative Director at Laird + Partners, he led brand concepting, art direction for digital, print packaging design, merchandising and fashion shows for clients across luxury fragrance, high jewelry, and fashion.

Hans’s rise in fashion and beauty creative leadership began when he joined Donna Karan’s in-house creative agency in the early 1990s as Junior Designer. Assuming roles of increasing responsibility, Hans stepped into the position of EVP, developing campaigns for the Collection and the DKNY bridge line. At Donna Karan he worked across all fashion and licensees, including fragrance and skincare. Hans is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris.

Hans is known for championing diversity, inclusion and empowerment across his work and in the fashion and beauty industries. In 2018, Hans founded the Creative Coalition for Diversity in an effort to expand opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive group of creatives of color.

“We are thrilled that Hans will be taking on this creative leadership role, partnering with Olivier on the creative of BALMAIN BEAUTY. Hans’s deep and tenured experience in fashion and beauty and his reputation for producing bold and innovative creative make him ideally suited to take on this role. His unique strengths will reinforce the infinite possibilities of this exciting new luxury beauty brand,” Nathalie said.

In September 2022, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and BALMAIN announced a license agreement to collaboratively develop, produce, and distribute an innovative line of beauty products that will speak to luxury consumers around the world: BALMAIN BEAUTY. The collaboration is expected to launch in fall 2024, with the goal to transform the luxury and couture beauty world through exceptional design, singular craftsmanship, and an unyielding commitment to innovation.

About BALMAIN

For more than ten years, BALMAIN’s Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing, has been inventively building upon Pierre Balmain’s extraordinary legacy, while always remaining true to his own determination to design clothes that reflect the way his inclusive, powerful, and global BALMAIN customer wishes to live today. The result is a unique and instantly recognizable BALMAIN silhouette, style and attitude that highlights the singular craftsmanship of the house’s celebrated ateliers, while consistently referencing a rich Parisian heritage. For more information, please visit balmain.com.”

By Lou K Coleman-Yeboah

Your life is about to change! Your world is about to be turned upside down! Total chaos and upheaval is right around the corner. The One World Government, One World Currency, and One World Religion is coming like a freight train. Bank Closures, Riots, Cities Burning, Starvation, Martial Law, FEMA Camps, Constitutional Rights Obliterated, Globalist Takeovers, Disease, Despair, Lawlessness, Crime, World War III, you name it, will soon be unfolding. Buckle your seat belts and hang on tight, the ride is about to get rough. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, because all that Bible prophecy said would happen is happening right before your eyes.

Yes, the New World Order is about to launch into full swing. Plans are moving along the “fast track” as the corrupt, criminal regimes currently occupying the highest political, financial, and religious positions in the world, who are being driven by the New World Order evil demonic influence, are about to go to all-out war in attempts to maintain control. Listen to what the Holy spirit is saying! There’s not much time left. The handwriting is on the wall! The world is about to DRAMATICALLY CHANGE. A cataclysm of unprecedented proportions is coming upon the world in which you live. Do not ignore, neglect, or cast aside God’s offer of mercy. Respond to it NOW! For NOW, is the acceptable time, NOW is the day of salvation! [Romans 13:11]. For if there was ever a time for you to “make your calling and election sure,” and be sure that you are saved, it is NOW, because only those who have heard and heeded the warning will be spared. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying! End times prophecy is fast being fulfilled.

The hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try all that dwell upon the earth [Revelations 3:10] will soon be upon you, and all who are not firmly established upon God’s Word and the righteousness of Jesus Christ will be deceived and overcome. Understand Satan “works with all power and signs and lying wonders, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” [2 Thessalonians 2:9-10] to gain control of mankind, and his deceptions will increase right up to the very end. So, please surrender your life to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because this will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.” [Matthew 24:21]. The signs are fulfilling, and the final end time events of prophecy are upon you. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying!

The people were warned by Noah. For 120 years, as he built the ark, he was preaching about the coming cataclysm, but the people just ignored his warnings. They did the things they always did. They ate, they drank, and they married and lived it up. They ignored all the warning signs, and they paid an eternal price for doing so! They “knew not” until it was too late. [Matthew 24:39].

In response to President Biden announcing key members of his economic team, including appointing Joelle Gamble as deputy director of the National Economic Council, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issued the following statement:

“We commend President Biden for selecting Joelle Gamble to be a senior member of his economic team. Joelle is an outstanding economic policy leader who will work to ensure the needs of all Americans are represented in our nation’s economic recovery,” said Joint Center President Spencer Overton. “This appointment is also an important step forward for the Biden Administration in improving Black representation in senior economic policy roles. The Joint Center looks forward to continuing to work with the Biden Administration on this important issue.”

Joelle Gamble currently serves as chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to this role, she was special assistant to the president for Economic Policy for the National Economic Council and served as an economic policy advisor role on the presidential transition. Before joining the administration, she served as a principal at Omidyar Network. She was senior advisor to the president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute and national director of the Roosevelt Institute’s network for emerging leaders in public policy. Gamble is a graduate of UCLA and Princeton University.

By Paul Cobb | California Black Media

As the publisher of the Oakland Post, I am disappointed with recent mainstream media coverage and editorials trying to make tabloid news out of the appointment of Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) to be chair of the California Assembly Budget Subcommittee #5 on Public Safety.

Bonta a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, was recently appointed chair by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, and some reporters and newspaper editors around California have baselessly made the case that the assignment is a conflict of interest because she is married to Attorney General Rob Bonta and her committee oversees funding for the state Department of Justice.

As journalists, we have a responsibility to report on conflicts of interest and hold public officials accountable for any improprieties. If, along the way, Bonta engages in activities that betray the voters’ trust, reporters covering her office have every right to investigate and expose those actions. However, it is equally important to exercise caution and avoid making unfounded accusations that could damage the reputation of public officials.

Speaker Rendon has stated that the Legislature’s budget process is designed with checks and balances to ensure that the best possible budget is passed. According to him, no elected official can ever personally or financially benefit from the budget process. The legislature does not set salaries or benefits for state constitutional officers such as Rob Bonta.

Bonta’s appointment to chair is recognition that she has the skills and experience necessary to fulfill her role effectively and impartially.

Rendon has expressed confidence that she will be independent in her legislative judgment.

The work of Budget Subcommittee #5 consists of hearing, reviewing, and making recommendations to the full Budget Committee concerning the Governor’s budget proposals for the courts, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Justice, the Military Department, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and other public safety departments.

Instead of fabricating baseless claims of conflicts of interest where there are none, responsible news reporters should be covering real news events occurring around the state. There are countless issues that require our investigation, from the ongoing homelessness crisis to the urgent need for criminal justice reform.

The press should be covering the important work that Bonta is doing to promote public safety and reduce recidivism in her district, where sadly gun violence currently disproportionately ravages communities of color. These are her constituents’ legislative priorities, and Bonta has a strong track record of fighting for their needs.

There is real news occurring around the priorities Attorney General Bonta set for his office that merits press coverage. Among his priorities are combating hate crimes and protecting civil rights, advancing criminal justice reform, protecting consumers, defending California’s environment, and enhancing public safety. These are important issues that deserve our attention, and it is disappointing to see them being overshadowed by baseless allegations of conflict of interest.

Mia Bonta has made it clear that the suggestion of a conflict of interest shows a lack of understanding about the legislative budgeting process.

The Assembly budget process starts with the Governor’s proposed budget bill, introduced by the full Budget Committee chair as required by the Constitution. There are five Assembly budget subcommittees that recommend amendments to the budget bill as the principal focus of their agendas.

The Governor’s chief fiscal advisor, the Department of Finance leads budget matters for the executive branch. Finance and departmental officials, as well as staff of the Legislative Analyst’s Office advocates and members of the public, appear at public hearings to answer questions.

Budget subcommittees focus on specific issues in their agendas, such as how much more or less funding a division of a department needs to perform a specific function.

The state’s budget is finalized by negotiations on thousands of budget items led by the Governor, the Senate Pro Tem, and the Assembly Speaker (a.k.a. the “Big Three”), on behalf of their branches of government. The staff of the Governor, the Senate, and the Assembly carry out these negotiations at the three leaders’ direction.

The Department of Justice – as a separate constitutional office – is not directly involved in those concluding negotiations. The executive branch in those talks is represented by the Governor.

Mia Bonta is an outstanding Assemblymember and public servant who has proven that she is committed to representing her constituents with integrity.

Proving her integrity, Bonta has announced, “I will recuse myself from Budget Subcommittee 5 matters directly pertaining to the Department of Justice including budget change proposals, proposed trailer bills, and legislative proposals that pertain to the DOJ to ensure that the body may focus on the important work before us.”

Rob Bonta, who held the same Assembly seat before being appointed Attorney General by Gov. Newsom and winning election to the office last November, also serves his office with integrity.

The media focus should be on covering both of their efforts to promote public safety and make California a better place for all citizens.

I urge all reporters and editors to uphold the principles of responsible journalism and prioritize the truth and accuracy of their reporting over sensationalism and clickbait. The public deserves better than to be misled by unfounded innuendo.

The Black press has a responsibility to step up and do its part to foster a more informed and engaged public and not allow mainstream media and newspapers to marginalize Black leaders without pushing back especially when their reporting shows ignorance and fails to uphold the principles of responsible journalism.

About Paul Cobb

Paul Cobb is the Publisher of the Oakland Post Newspaper in Alameda County, which is part of the Post News Group. He is known as a West Oakland community organizer who once led the Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal and served as a mayoral appointee on the Oakland Board of Education.

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA12), the highest ranking African American woman serving in the U.S. Congress, announced on Feb. 21, that she will enter the race to replace U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein — the 89-year-old, California’s senior U.S. Senator who has announced that she would not seek another term.

“No one is rolling out the welcome mat – especially for someone like me. I am the girl they didn’t allow in, who couldn’t drink from the water fountain, who had an abortion in a back alley when they all were illegal,” Lee said in a video she released announcing her senatorial bid. “I escaped a violent marriage, became a single mom, a homeless mom, a mom who couldn’t afford childcare and brought her kids to class with her.”

“By the grace of God, I didn’t let that stop me,” Lee said over a soundtrack of loudening applause. “And even though there are no African American women in the U.S. Senate, we won’t let that stop us either. Because when you stand on the side of justice, you don’t quit when they give you a seat at the table. You bring a folding chair for everyone, and they’re here to stay.

A week earlier, Lee, a 12-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives who is known for her progressive politics, filed the required paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to be a candidate in the 2024 race.

“It has been an immense honor to serve alongside Senator Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving woman senator in our nation’s history,” Lee said in a statement after Feinstein’s announcement. “For over two decades, we’ve worked closely together to represent the best interests of our great state of California; create an economy that works for all; and advance justice and equity.”

“The progress we’ve made in the fight for equity can be seen in the Senator’s tenure itself: when she was elected in ’92, there were just two women senators. Today, there are 25,” Lee continued her homage to Feinstein.

If Lee wins she will be the only Black woman serving in the U.S. Senate. Just two Black women, Vice President Kamala Harris and former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun, have served in the upper house of the United States Congress in the body’s 230-year history.

“As one of the most liberal states in the nation, we must continue to send an independent voice who will be diverse in their perspective and positions,” said Kellie Todd-Griffin, founding convener of the California Black Women’s Collective, a statewide organization whose membership includes women representing various professional backgrounds.

“That is Congressmember Barbara Lee. She speaks for all of us,” added Griffin.

In 2020, after Kamala Harris became Vice President, Black women advocates across California called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a Black woman to replace her. They made the case that there would be no other Black woman in the Senate after Harris left, and that Black women are the most loyal, most powerful, and  most consistent voting bloc in the Democratic Party.

Instead, Newsom appointed Sen. Alex Padilla, the first Latino from California to serve in the U.S. Senate. Although Black political advocates and Black leaders in the California Democratic Party eventually embraced Padilla’s nomination, many felt Newsom’s decision to not appoint a Black woman to replace Harris was a slap in the face.

“That is a terrible loss for America. That is our seat,” said Amelia Ashley Ward, publisher of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter, after Padilla was nominated. “It was won by an African American woman, and she had hundreds of thousands of African American women working hard with her, holding her up, standing behind her to win that seat. Not to mention millions of other Californians. Kamala was the second Black woman in history to serve in the United States Senate and she is currently the only Black woman in the United States Senate. She is the face and the voice of Black women from all across this country and we will lose that when she’s gone.”

Lee, 76, will be competing for Feinstein’s Senate seat against two other Democratic members of California’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives: Katie Porter (D-CA-47), 49, and Adam Schiff (D-CA-30), 62.

Both Porter and Schiff, like Lee, have progressive voting records. Both Democratic competitors have already amassed tens of millions of dollars, respectively, in campaign donations. Their early fundraising places them in a stronger position than Lee to win the 2024 Democratic primary which will be held about a year from now.

In the U.S. House, Lee serves as co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Appropriations and Budget committees. She is former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Lee has also been hailed by her Democratic colleagues as the only member of Congress who had the courage to vote against the use of force in Iraq after the September 11 attacks.

As a young activist, Lee was a volunteer for the 1973 Oakland mayoral campaign of Black founder co-founder Bobby Seale.

Griffin says for Black women particularly, and for African Americans in general, it is important to have representation in the United States Senate.

“Congressmember Lee has been a progressive leader whose record demonstrates she will fight to solve the issues that impact our community. She has effectively served California by advancing meaningful policy while standing up for the things that matter to everyday citizens,” said Griffin.