‘My new is not what people think.’ Then he said. “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Tell my people that they are entering a season in which they will be challenged to make the decision as to whether they want to live or die. They have to make up their minds and they have to make it up now because time is running out! Tell them that they must experience that once for all conversion because then, and only then, will they have the happy, grateful, meaningful life that I have in store for them. And tell them that I am more willing and anxious to do My part – but they must be willing to do their part. So as 2019 end, and they prepare themselves to enter into 2020, they should turn their attention to change, to transformation, and a new life. See I am coming back for a Bride that will be without spot or blemish and I am warning them once again to get their act together. And let them know that if they become willful and stubborn, and not do their part, they will die like dogs. I have spoken says the Lord!” [Isaiah 1: 16-20]. Last but not least, let them know that this call to repentance and faith should not be looked upon and considered as a threat but as an invitation.
I tell you, when you understand God’s purpose for your
life, it should give you a sense of urgency that motivates you to change – not
later, not tomorrow, not sometimes, but immediately! Understand that God wants
you to dedicate yourself to HIm and to His work. He does not want you trying to
live for Him on the one hand and the gods of Canaan on the other. He wants
wholehearted dedication or nothing! That is the clear message of today. If the
Lord be God then serve Him. If He isn’t then go ahead and serve whatever has
your heart. Whatever you do, stop trying to have the best of both worlds!
As Jacob said to his household and to all who were
with him, ‘Put away the foreign Gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and
change your garments.” [Genesis 35:2]. For, “This is not a time for apathy or
complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” [Martin Luther King, Jr.] Because the call is now so loud, and so
clear; REPENT! Cast aside all idols! Purify your hearts and your hands!
Know that there is a promised curse coming upon those
who are not taking the things of God to heart. As the prophet Malachi warns,
“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and
if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of
hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea,
I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart…” [Malachi
2:1-4].
2020…. Our allegiance to God is being challenged. Will
you renew your Vow to Him today and pledge your allegiance?
Beng confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
[Philipipians 1:6]
When he’s not studying, Aldon Thomas Stiles, 25, a senior at Cal State Bernardino, writes freelance articles to help pay his way through college and assist his parents with the bills at home in Fontana.
The Fontana Herald, Screen Rant, Westside Story News and several African-American newspapers around the state have published Stiles’ articles in the past. Most of his work focuses on educating Californians about state policy or bringing light to unreported Inland Empire stories that, he says, people should know about.
“Freelancing is an incredibly convenient work opportunity,” says Stiles, who is African American. “It has helped me hone my skills as a journalist at my own pace and work on stories I’m passionate about – all from home.”
Stiles says the money he makes freelancing helps him keep a roof over his head while in school and that his schedule would have prevented him from working as a full-time writer while he pursued his degree in Criminal Justice.
Now, AB 5, a new California law that takes effect Jan. 1, 2020 threatens the livelihood of California freelance journalists like Stiles, critics argue, calling the legislation “unconstitutional.”
The legislation that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September and takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, limits the number of freelance articles journalists in California like Stiles can write for any one publication to 35 per year.
For budding writers like Stiles who can get paid, on average, about $100 per article, that adds up to only about $3,500 a year.
Last week, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc., (ASJA), a national professional organization that represents independent non-fiction authors, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state of California to prevent AB 5 from impacting its members.
“We have no choice but to go to court to protect the rights of independent writers and freelance journalists as a whole,” said Milton C. Toby, president of ASJA. “The stakes are too high, and we cannot stand by as our members and our colleagues face ill-conceived and potentially career-ending legislation.”
ASJA, which represents about 1,100 freelance writers across the country – with about 120 of its members living in California – is joined by the National Press Photographers Association as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian non-profit with offices in Sacramento, is representing the groups pro bono.
“This law as written, even if it has good intentions, sadly, is an affront to first ammendment constitutional protections,” says Regina Wilson, Executive Editor of California Black Media. “It’s unfair and inconsistent, too. How can you allow freelancers who write marketing copy and press releases to work unrestricted while taking food off the table of freelance journalists who are writers and photographers? Their words and images contribute to our national historical record and they provide critical information to the public.”
“It will no doubt hurt the bottom lines of small ethnic-owned media businesses in the state. They already lag behind their mainstream counterparts,” Wilson added. “We have to do something about this.”
Supporters of AB 5, introduced by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), praise the legislation for closing loopholes, they say, employers use to underpay workers and deny them benefits like health insurance, minimum wage, paid parental leave, etc., that state law requires for full-time employees.
“Big businesses shouldn’t be able to pass their costs on to taxpayers while depriving workers of the labor law protections they are rightfully entitled to,” said Gonzalez in May when the Assembly voted 59-15 to pass AB 5.
AB 5 writes into law a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling that instructed businesses in the state to apply an “ABC” test to determine whether a worker is a freelancer or employee. For a worker to be classified as a freelancer, employers would have to prove that the person is (A) not under the contracting company’s control, (B) is doing work that is not central to the company’s business, and (C) has an independent business providing a service. If freelancers or contractors don’t meet those requirements, companies would have to employ them and provide all the pay and benefits required under California labor laws.
It’s still too early to gauge exactly how AB 5 will impact freelancers in California, but some moves in the media industry, for a while now, have been sending early signals. Last week, Vox Media, parent company of popular niche websites, including Vox, SB Nation, Eater and Curbed, announced that it is laying off hundreds of freelancers in California. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times hired 30 of its freelancers as full time employees after the Supreme Court decision last year, according to that publication.
“First, this states the company had been contemplating the switch for 2 years,” Gonzalez wrote in a tweet that was widely criticized on social media for coming off as insensitive. She was responding to Vox Media’s freelancer layoffs last week.
“Second, it clearly states that those contracted jobs are being converted to full & part time jobs,” the Assemblymember’s tweet went on. “I understand a contractor who doesn’t want a job being upset, but that’s certainly not all bad.”
Laid-off Vox freelancers who have spoken out publicly about their loss of work fired back at Gonzales, pointing out that the company transitioned only about 15 journalists to full-time positions while cutting hundreds of freelance gigs.
“The government cannot single out journalists,” said Jim Manley, a Pacific Legal Foundation attorney, in a statement about the lawsuit.
Last week, news about the lawsuit lifted the hopes of many California-based freelancers who fear that employers outside the state might blacklist them while California-based companies might replace them with peers living in other states.
“Freelance journalism is a whole different ballgame and this law ignoring that is a travesty,” said Antonio Ray Harvey, a Sacramento-based African-American writer who has, for more than 17 years now, wholly earned his living freelancing. He covers sports, politics, current events, and other beats, for the Associated Press, NBC sports Radio, California Black Media and the Sacramento Observer.
“Its not like there are a lot of journalism jobs out there nowadays,” said Harvey. “We have to maintain our careers and pay our bills.
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).
Some historians believe that new affordability of cocaine aided the flooding of crack or “rock” into cities and towns across the United States, particularly in African-American communities where the illicit trade of the drug contributed to sharp increases in gang-related violence and murders during that period.
By 1985, almost 6 million Americans admitted to using some form of cocaine, according to the DEA.
Then, in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan launched the government’s multi-pronged and widely criticized “War on Drugs” designed to toughen drug crime laws and aggressively pursue and incarcerate drug users and traffickers. Those policies led to the imprisonment of millions of African Americans from the early 1980s until now.
By 2013, African-American men and women accounted for more than 50 percent of the total United States prison population.
Now, more than two decades after the height of the crack era, African-American neighborhoods in California and around the country are facing another haunting drug epidemic: The Opioid Crisis, stemming from untreated addictions to potent – and potentially dangerous – drugs like Codeine, Fentanyl, Methadone, Morphine and Oxycodone, among others.
“When I watch the Republican Party hugging heroin-addicted folks, opiate-addicted folks, it makes me very happy, but it also makes me very mad,” said media personality, author and activist Van Jones, according to the website Inkredibly.com.
“Those same Republicans and Democrats, when the problem was crack, showed no mercy. No compassion. No understanding at all, and locked up a bunch of people,” Jones continued. “I do think that now its hitting everybody, hopefully we can come up with a more compassionate response.”
Although the mainstream news media has largely framed the opioid crisis as a problem America’s majority-White rural and suburban communities are wrestling with, data shows that it is, in fact, becoming a problem in predominantly African-American neighborhoods across the country as well.
“We have seen a sharp rise in communities of color and urban communities of overdoses and deaths related to illegal opioids, including heroin,” said Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of The Center at the Sacramento-based Sierra Health Foundation (SHF).
“Opioid use disorder is often a response to physical and emotional pain, including that of historical and systemic trauma,” Hewitt told California Black Media.
SHF is managing the state of California’s Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project in partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services (CDHCS), the federal government, California Black Media and its network of more than 20 African-American owned media outlets, and other ethnic media around the state.
The public awareness campaign, dubbed “Choose Change California” will employ a combination of advertising as well as news stories and profiles to inform Californians about opioid abuse in the state and direct people who are affected to locations where they can seek Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
“We can’t afford to go through another drug epidemic that kills our children, parents, brothers and sisters,” said Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media. “Our publishers are aware that we have to inform our audiences about this growing problem as well as encourage them to reduce the stigma around opioid abuse so that people suffering from it can come out of the shadows and seek treatment.”
In 2018, more than 10 million Americans misused opioids, according the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In California, there were 5.3 opioid-related deaths for every 100,000 people in 2017. Among African-American Californians, that number is about 1.4 for every 100,000, a high number based on the state’s Black population of nearly 6 percent.
And the death rate from overdoses of the synthetic opioid Fentanyl is rising fastest among African Americans.
In a statement shared with California Black Media, CDHCS says the media campaign began in April 2019 and includes digital, television, print, and billboard advertising. As of October 2019, the media campaign has had 1.2 billion impressions across media markets statewide.
The second phase of the campaign will continue through winter 2020. It was designed to launch during the holidays when there are historically high incidences of opioid overdoses.
“The holidays are a difficult time for those experiencing addiction. We knew that promoting the campaign’s message of destigmatizing Opioid Use Disorder and promoting Medication Assisted Treatment was critical for those suffering with a substance use disorder,” Marlies Perez, Project Director of the MAT Expansion Project at CDHCS, said.
A third media campaign phase will launch in spring 2020 and will continue to target communities statewide, including communities of color and rural populations, the CDHCS statement said. .
It is widely reported that there are more OUD treatment centers located in predominantly White areas in California and across the country, and that there exists a bias among doctors which leads them to not recommend MAT to minority patients because they fear those individuals would resell their treatments on the street, fueling the crisis.
Hewitt said it is critical that the opioid campaign targets census tracts of the state that are often overlooked.
“An emphasis will be placed on neighborhoods of color and communities that are experiencing a rapid rise in opioid-related deaths along with decades of drug policies that have disproportionately incarcerated and penalized those with substance use disorders.”
“Because of the short time period of this project, sustainability has been prioritized, according to the CDHCS statement. “The aim is to create a community of practice that lifts up and makes available racial and culturally responsive approaches focused on prevention, education, outreach and referrals, which ultimately results in increased education and access to MAT for California’s most underserved communities.”
On Oct, 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 919 into law introduced by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach).
It mandates CDHCS to license all addiction treatment centers in the state and requires that they adopt the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s treatment criteria as an operating standard.
Natural Christmas trees recycling programs divert waste from landfills
While you’re out making post-Christmas returns this week, remember to add your Christmas tree to that pile of items. Return your natural Christmas tree to the ground it grew in by dropping it off at a Riverside County landfill to be recycled into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
Through the free Christmas tree drop-off program, natural trees collected at the Badlands and Lamb Canyon landfills will be chipped and combined with food waste from the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning to create compost. This program at Lamb Canyon is an innovative way to ensure that organic waste is diverted away from landfill burial, recycled and turned into a valuable soil amendment.
Natural Christmas trees must be prepared for recycling by removing all decorations, lights, tinsel and tree stands. Flocked trees cannot be recycled through this program and need to be cut up and placed in your regular trash container.
Other natural Christmas trees that are recycled at free drop-off sites, or at the curb, will be taken to local green-waste processors to be recycled into compost or mulch. Most trash haulers will collect Christmas trees curbside for two weeks after Christmas. Place the prepared tree next to or inside the green-waste container on your regular pick-up day. Trees over four feet tall should be cut in half. Contact your waste hauler for more details.
For those without a curbside pickup program, several drop-off locations will accept up to three properly prepared residential Christmas trees for FREE through Jan. 4:
A. Lua Wood Recycling, 18938 Mermack Ave., Lake Elsinore
B.P. John Recycling, 28700 Matthews Road, Romoland (accepting until Jan. 31)
Burrtec/Robert A. Nelson Transfer Station, 1830 Agua Mansa Road, Riverside (Burrtec customers only)
Riverside County Badlands Landfill, 31125 Ironwood Ave., Moreno Valley (accepting until Jan. 4)
Riverside County Lamb Canyon Landfill, 16411 Lamb Canyon Road, Beaumont (accepting until Jan. 4)
Unfortunately, trees that are not recycled at drop-off locations or through curbside pick-up will only occupy valuable space in our landfills. Make the last gift you give this year to the Earth – recycle your Christmas tree!
For more information on this program, please call the Riverside County Department of Waste Resources (951) 486-3200 or visit the waste guide on our website for additional green holiday suggestions: http://www.rcwaste.org/wasteguide/holiday.
Trudy Coleman – J.E.T.M.A.C. (Juneteenth Education Technology Mobile Arts Center, Inc.)
Dr. Bendetta Perry – Author, Motivational Speaker and Performing Artist
DISCUSSING: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast & Wallace’s theme… As we consider improving ourselves in 2020, do we follow our taste buds or should we seek nutrition…
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— San Bernardino Valley College is proud to usher in distinguished graduates to the Alumni Association and Athletics Halls of Fame, each recognized for their prize-winning accomplishments and service to the community. SBVC Foundation Board President Beverly Powell said the Foundation is honored to partner with the Athletics department to laud the achievements of SBVC alumni and former student-athletes.
“The opportunity to showcase some of Valley College’s best ‘success stories’ not only helps the Foundation raise funds necessary to help students achieve their dreams – but events highlighting our alumni also help inspire our current SBVC students to envision their own success and believe their own dreams are possible,” she said.
Inducted into the SBVC Alumni Association Hall of Fame is Dr. Louie F. Rodríguez, interim dean of the Graduate School of Education at UC Riverside. He received recognition for being a catalyst for many academic initiatives to benefit the community. He also serves as Bank of America chair in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Practice in the UCR Graduate School of Education. Among numerous awards and various posts, Dr. Rodriguez is also the Founding Director of the Center for Educational Transformation at UCR. His educational foundation began at SBVC. Later transferred to California State San Bernardino, where, as a McNair Scholar, he focused on research to help historically marginalized students.
From there, Dr. Rodriguez became a high school math teacher, and holds two master’s degrees, along with a Ph.D in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University. With his first years at SBVC campus, he recalls the indelible impact of a caring guidance counselor, Laura Gomez. He feels the primary objective for all students is to make the most of their academic goals, while never forgetting about what’s most important in life.
“Students, know who you are, identify a mentor, get connected to programs, dream big, surround yourself with excellence, and be a leader. After you graduate from SBVC, always find ways to give back to your community,” says Dr. Louie F. Rodríguez.
Inducted into the SBVC Athletics Hall of Fame are Kenneth Blumenthal, Michael Sola, Stan Sanchez, Eric Swanson, and 1982 SBVC Championship Football Team. Each of these athletes are acknowledged for both dedicating themselves to excellence in their sport, and also for their impact on the community and students.
Former San Bernardino Valley College coach Kenneth Blumenthal has run the ball from the early days as captain of the Eisenhower High School football team in Rialto, and later as a student-athlete at San Bernardino Valley College. Through his journey, Blumenthal credits close friends, colleagues and faith for support through his remarkable athletic career at SBVC, where, under Head Coach Bob Smith, he set an unrivaled three-decade record for the most tackles in one season.
Following great success at the local campus, a football scholarship paved the way to Long Beach State, where Blumenthal earned his bachelor’s in recreation, and another Bachelor’s in kinesiology. He also holds a teaching credential from California State University, San Bernardino. Among his many posts, Blumenthal served at Rialto Frisbee Junior High and his alma mater Eisenhower High School. He also holds a Master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University, and coached track in 1988 until he became full-time Defensive Coordinator/Head Track Coach in 1990. He is unmatched for conference championships. No other head coach has taken home as many wins as Blumenthal at SBVC, to which he acknowledges colleagues and coaches that have backed him along the way.
“The reason Valley College has produced so many championships is because, for the most part, our athletes are just plain tougher than most of our competition,” said Blumenthal. “Many of the student-athletes who come to Valley have faced tough times, but they are overcomers. They are thankful, respectful and proud to be here. I loved working to help them make their dreams come true.”
To read the current list of SBVC Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, visit www.sbvcathletics.com. For a list of current Alumni Hall of Fame inductees, visit www.sbvcalumni.org/HOF.
A recent visit to the Social Security Administration Office in downtown San Bernardino provides a glaring example of government inefficiency and ineptitude.
A long line of people waited in shivering temperatures outside the office. Some had arrived at least two hours before the office opened at 9 a.m. An elderly gentleman near the front said he was forced to wait behind 35 people who arrived before him. Others said they were disgusted at having to stand in the cold weather before they could go inside to receive services.
There was a security guard at the door who gave out a business card with a phone number to make an appointment. I called the number and got a recording that said I might have to wait 15 minutes to speak to a representative. After 10 minutes on hold, the line got disconnected. I called back and waited another 10 minutes before a woman came on the line.
I told her I wanted to make an appointment and she said the next opening for an appointment wasn’t for at least two months. She suggested going directly to the office rather than waiting so long for an appointment. This is totally unacceptable!
Why should an elderly or disabled person have to wait two months for an appointment? These individuals depend on their monthly Social Security checks to pay their rent. If they don’t pay, they will get evicted. Some may end up on the streets. No one should have to put up with such lousy service from a government agency. All taxpayers should be ashamed. With all the technology available today, the federal government must get its act together and start providing high quality customer service.
Jimmie Lee Veal, age 85,
passed away on December 15, 2019. Born April 23, 1934 in Doddsville,
Mississippi, he was the youngest of eleven sons born to Mingo and Healena
Veal.
Mr. Veal attended school
in a country school in Doddsville, Mississippi and received his High School from
Okolona College in Okolona, Mississippi which was added to the National
Register of Historical Places on August 9, 2002. Upon graduation, he left to join the
military, serving in the United States Air Force. He met the love of his life,
Hazel Wells, while on military break in Drew, Mississippi. They corresponded by
mail until the young private returned to Mississippi and asked her to be his
wife. They wed, started their family and began their journey as a military
family.
Jimmie served in the Air
Force for 20 years, attaining the rank of Master Sargent (MSgt.). He was stationed on military bases throughout
the world including temporary duty at Chateauroux Air Force Base (AFB) in
France, and Landstuhl Medical Center Army in Germany, Mather AFB in Sacramento,
California, Amarillo AFB in Texas, Tripoli AFB in Libya, Africa and The US
Logistics Group (TUSLOG) in Ankara, Turkey. After multiple moves with his growing
young family of four children, MSgt. Veal completed his tour of duty at George
Air Force Base in Victorville, California where he served until his retirement
in 1973. He took a series of training
courses at every opportunity and also matriculated in college courses through
the University of Maryland. MSgt. Veal trained service personnel and provided
Tactical Air Command training services to the Combat Support Group at George
Air Force. During his service he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal
for Meritorious Service.
Even before his
retirement, MSgt. Veal laid the groundwork in 1968 for
his post-retirement career by opening the first African American-owned business
in the Victor Valley area and his first car lot, properly named Veal’s Auto
Sales in Adelanto. He understood
what the service personnel needed – a clean, reliable car that was affordable
on a military paycheck. After the success of the car lot he invested further in
the Adelanto community by providing an entertainment alternative, Bo’s Lounge, complete
with good music, affordable food and ready company on any given night.
Jimmie sought to be the
consummate provider to his family and even while operating two independent
businesses took his natural penchant for sales and became an insurance salesman
with Prudential Insurance Company. His
calming and honest approach to sales, allowed him to earn the honor of Top
Salesman each and every year that he worked with the company. He often told
stories of the many families that called to thank him for providing them access
to the means for their comfort after the loss of a loved one.
MSgt. Veal continued to engage
in car sales eventually relocating to Victorville and renaming the business J
& H Auto Sales. His love for car sales and the art of conversation that
comes with ascertaining ones need, led him to work part time at Sunrise Ford in
Fontana. Working only part time, he was
still their Best Salesman and relished in training the younger, less
experienced salesmen in the art of the trade.
Msgt. Veal was an avid
sports fan with his favorite teams being the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers and
Rams. Msgt. Veal was preceded in death
by his parents, Mingo and Healena and nine of his ten siblings Clifton,
Charlie, Artie Palmer, Mingo, Ira, Lawrence, Joe, Percy, and Luther. He is survived by his lone brother, James, his
wife Hazel Veal, four children Patricia Veal, Steven Veal, Carolyn Veal-Hunter
(Dale) and Bonita Veal, four grandchildren, Candice, Jennifer, Sydney and
Jordan, two great grandchildren Nolan and Evan and a host of nieces and
nephews.
RIVERSIDE, CA—2020 is a prominent year. Not just because it is a new decade and that it is election year, but it is the 150th anniversary of the right to vote for Blacks. On Saturday, February 8, 2020, the 41st Annual Black History Parade and Expo will be paying homage to the anniversary. The theme for this year’s event is, “It takes a Village: Let’s Vote”.
When it comes to voting, the community plays a critical role in deciding who will head counties, states and the country, as a whole. For the past 41 years the Riverside Black History Parade has played an instrumental role in bringing the community, schools and local businesses together.
With this being a monumental year for the African American community, the Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation has teamed up with the NAACP Riverside Chapter to have their President, Dr. Regina Patton Stell, as this year’s Grand Marshall. Vision Marshalls include: UCR’s Athletic Director, Tamica Jones; Assemblymember Jose Medina; Shauna Gates, Chief of Police at Riverside Community College District’s Board of Trustees; and Community Icons Charles and Elaine Bibbs.
This year, the Riverside Black Chamber of Commerce is assisting in ensuring that the Expo is a success. Tommy the Clown will also be returning as a performer in the 2020 Riverside Black History Parade and Expo. Vendors and parade performers are still wanted. To fill out a vendor application, please visit www.adcrfoundation.org
PHOENIX, AZ. — In the conference room of the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center, a chair sat empty at a recent convening of community media and stakeholders to promote Arizona’s 2020 census.
Lizbeth Luna, regional director for NALEO’s Arizona census
initiative, abruptly cancelled as a speaker, learning her father had been
detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). The
intersection of immigration and the census was one of several topics at the
convening, but the empty chair spoke to the tenuous netherworld of immigrant
status in the United States.
In June, the Supreme Court barred Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
from adding a question on citizenship to the Census 2020 form. The ruling was
applauded by Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Secretary of State, who supports a
permanent ban on such an initiative. After the question’s dismissal, advocates
continue to fear diminished participation in the census, particularly from the
Latino community. Worries are the current administration will not respect the
confidentiality of personal information, despite laws and fines discouraging
the sharing of individual census responses among federal agencies.
At the convening, co-hosted by Ethnic Media Services, OneArizona, the Arizona Community Foundation and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, EMS executive director, Sandy Close encouraged attendees to collaborate in their messaging and outreach on Census 2020. Citing the decrease of traditional community media as one motivation, Close said the driving impetus for collaboration should be concern about the potential loss of census data-based funding for federal programs that contribute to children’s well-being. Children are the most likely to be undercounted and highly vulnerable to funding reductions.
“We, as media, need you, as community organizations, to extend your communication outreach, especially to populations that don’t have media outlets,” Close said. “Today’s meeting is an effort to forge a consensus across ethnic groups, community organizations, state and local government groups and other stakeholders. Do it for the kids.”
Jim Chang, state demographer, Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, provided an overview of the state’s racial demographics. He projects that the decreasing and aging white population, currently comprising 54%, and the increasing, younger Latino one, now at 32%, would reach relative numerical parity by 2050 at 45% and 40% respectively. The balance of the population, with no cohort above 5%, is comprised of Asians, blacks, Native Americans and others.
“A lot of people I talk to believe that, right now, the births to Hispanic mothers are higher than the births to non-Hispanic whites,” Chang said, “but that was true only one year, 2007.” Since then, white, non-Hispanic women have led their Latina counterparts with no anticipated change through 2050. Importantly, Chang has seen estimates of Arizona’s 2010 census undercount of children at 4%, 7% and as high as 10%. “Every method has its flaws,” Chang said, but overall, compared to other states, Arizona did fairly well in its total population 2010 census assessment.
Alec Thompson, representing the Arizona governor’s office,
acknowledged hard-to-count communities within the state where undercount
percentages have been higher than those for children. Though the state
legislature rejected his budget request to fund census public education
initiatives, he said Gov. Doug Ducey has about $1.5 million for paid media
advertising.
“We are hoping to grow that number,” Thompson said, with media outreach as part of a plan that includes a complete count committee’s credible messengers to reach diverse communities. Government agencies will be directed to contact the customers they serve, for example, the state’s 6,000 foster parents will receive an email about the census.
Thompson said Arizona had spent no state money for 2010 census outreach due to fiscal caution after 2008’s recession. A key motivation to encourage 2020 census participation is a calculation that “a 1% undercount is a direct loss of $62 million to the state.”
Whitney Walker, director of communications and public policy for
Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition, (PAFCO), spoke to the need for more
state level advocacy to bolster the housing trust fund and domestic violence
shelters, among other initiatives that ameliorate “the cycle of poverty
vulnerable Arizona families are facing.”
Sign outside the Phoenix Indian School reading: “The Phoenix Indian School was founded as an Industrial School and later became known as Phoenix Indian High School. Many young Indian children have passed through these doors.”
To her point, the annual Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT
Data Book on the status of American children living in poverty ranks Arizona at
only 43rd in overall wellbeing for children.
In Arizona, immigration is a highly contested issue. Walker said
the political climate can interfere with the dissemination of clear and concise
information. She didn’t dispute the assessment of Arizona’s 2010 census
efforts, but noted that there was “a 30% undercount for Maricopa County, which
now has a population of over four million people.”
Janice Palmer of the Helios Education Foundation, which focuses on
Latino students’ academic success, underscored Walker’s observations: “Maricopa
County had the second largest undercount of Latino children.” Using 7% as the
projected undercount, she estimated, in that county alone, 27,000
Latino children were omitted from census 2010 data.
The Native American and Alaskan Native populations pose unique
challenges to the census, according to Mark Trahant, editor of Indian Country
Today.
“The primary problem for us is that it comes down to self-identification, and when you’re dealing with tribal communities, you’re talking about citizenship and a more complex way of looking at identity,” Trahant explained. He added that ICT has been reporting for three years that the 2020 census has been in trouble, partly due to underfunding. In Alaska, he noted, two field tests were cancelled to save funds and, overall, a dearth of linguists available to translate census instructions and information into local languages.
For Trahant, paramount is how to transform Native American
presence into political representation. Even with the recent election of Native
Americans to Congress, he calculates they constitute less than three-quarters
of one percent of that body, assuming Native Americans represent 2% of the
population, which is itself “probably an undercount.”
To achieve accuracy, the Census Bureau will have to contend with
Native Americans’ lack of broadband access and the difficulty of determining
addresses in remote communities. Additionally, Trahant said tribal
identification will be “a demographer’s nightmare” because many Native
Americans have multiple tribal identifications in their family trees. How will
resources be fairly allocated, he mused?
D.L. White, reporting for The Arizona Informant, also raised the
issue of accountability, asking state Rep. Diego Rodriguez – the convening’s
final speaker — how an undercount could negatively affect funding for minority
groups and refugee communities. Rodriguez responded that allocating funds is a
result of horse trading at the heart of the budgeting process.
“We all agree that the budget represents your values,” Rodriguez said, but “we have to make sure our numbers are counted so that we get adequate representation.”
Acknowledging representatives from Somali, Congolese and other
emerging refugee groups at the briefing, as well as from Native American, black
and Latino populations, Tameka Spence of Arizona Community For Change
emphasized that the first step is addressing the trauma many have experienced.
“In trying to help folks understand why the census is important, we’re asking
them to confront that trauma and we need to acknowledge that it’s there, it’s
real.”
Though the empty chair attested to the Luna family’s immediate
trauma, the Indial School Visitor Center venue exuded optimism. Once the site
of a federally run school to socially re-engineer Native American students,
Center director Rosalie Talahonva – herself an alumna — recalled how students
were drawn from different tribes often deeply at odds with each other as well
as the U.S. government. Whether antagonisms were ancient or personal, new or
imagined, the students persevered, forging consensus and cooperation among
themselves — an inspiration for Arizona’s mosaic of stakeholders striving to
achieve an accurate census count.
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