By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

A little over a week ago, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) handed down a 6-to-3 decision making it more difficult for a handful of states – including California – to keep strict laws they have in place against carrying guns in public.

Late last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back by signing two pieces of new legislation intended to strengthen the state’s hardline position on possessing firearms in public. He says, together, the bills, AB 1621 and AB 2571, will take on ghost guns and prohibit the gun industry from “advertising to children.”

“From our schools to our parks to our homes, our kids deserve to be safe – in California, we’re making that a reality. As the Supreme Court rolls back important gun safety protections and states across the country treat gun violence as inevitable, California is doubling down on commonsense gun safety measures that save lives,” said Newsom, who also pointed out that gun violence is the leading cause of death among children.

“The lives of our kids are at stake and we’re putting everything on the table to respond to this crisis,” the governor added.

News about the SCOTUS decision on guns June 23 was drowned out by coverage of the national outrage, and applause, that followed its ruling on Roe. V. Wade the next day.

Reactions nationally to the court’s gun restriction decision – the most significant change to the country’s firearm laws in a decade — were swift, passionate and strong. But the protests and celebrations mostly happened on the sidelines of the country’s more intense reactions to the abortion ruling.

In California, where more than 60 % of all adults favor stronger gun laws, elected officials, activists and civil rights leaders have blasted the SCOTUS’ decision.

But not everyone agrees.

Micah Grant is Black, Republican, a father, husband and Natomas School Board member in Sacramento County.  He agrees with the SCOTUS’ decision on guns, arguing that the New York law had a built-in racial and class bias.

“I think it’s a fundamentally sound ruling that comes at, obviously, a very sensitive time,” Grant says. But the laws as they were created created two separate classes of people, where in many regions, only the connected and elite could exercise their fundamental right to protection.”

Grant says with crime on the rise in many cities across California, just going outside is “cause enough” to carry a gun.

“The state can simply implement reasonable training requirements to ensure those who apply for permits are knowledgeable, responsible, trained and that they understand the liability that comes with gun ownership,” Grant added.

California is one of five states with gun restrictions on the books, both statewide and municipal, that are affected by the ruling. The others are Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii.

SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanagh said states are still allowed to ban handguns in certain sensitive places like courthouses, statehouses, polling places, etc.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37) is running for Mayor of Los Angeles, a city where the homicide rate has seen a steep 50% increase between 2019 and the end of last year.

“Only 31 days after 19 students and 2 teachers were murdered in one of the most devastating mass shootings in the history of this country, the Supreme Court has responded by striking down a law that was on the books for more than 100 years, making it easier now to carry a weapon in public,” Bass said in response to SCOTUS’ ruling.

Craig DeLuz is Black and Republican like Grant and also the publisher of 2ANews, an online news and opinion outlet focused on gun rights.

“When you have a patchwork of laws from one city to another you don’t know what the regulations are. You are setting someone up to violate the law,” he says.

DeLuz says as Gov. Newsom and State Legislators draft new public safety laws to comply with the SCOTUS’ ruling, he hopes they do not violate the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution that grants citizens the right to bear arms.

“His lack of knowledge on the issue on of firearm policy and firearm technology is evident every time he speaks about it,” DeLuz said, criticizing the governor.

“Gun control laws in the state of California and nationally have been about disarming people of color going back to the 1870s,” he said. “It has been about making it illegal for Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Blacks and other people of color from owing firearms.”

Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) has been the strongest voice in the California Legislative Black Caucus calling for strong gun control laws.

“Alarmingly, we are finding that more and more, no region or demographic is exempt from gun violence – our hospitals, grocery stores, schools, and even places of worship, are no longer safe. The proliferation of ghost guns, which are intentionally untraceable weapons to evade law enforcement, has only worsened the issue,” Gipson said.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) says the current Right-leaning Supreme Court has shown a double standard in the way the Justices ruled on gun rights and women’s rights to abortion.

“This conservative Supreme Court has ruled that states shouldn’t be trusted to make their own laws on gun control but can keep people from making their own health care decisions. It is unconscionable,” Lee said. “We are seeing the horrific consequences of minority rule playing out in real time—and this is only the beginning of their radical agenda to take America back in history and take another step toward eroding our democracy.”

There is overwhelming support and widespread commitment among elected officials in California for finding ways to strengthen gun laws in the wake of the SCOTUS Decision.

In the state budget that Newsom signed last week, lawmakers and the governor’s office agreed to fund $176 million in gun violence prevention grants going to 79 cities and nonprofits.

Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta announced that he is working with the State Legislature on a bill, Senate Bill (SB) 918, to preserve California’s existing concealed carry laws. He reminded residents of the state that “general prohibitions” against carrying firearms in public are still in effect.

“The data is clear, and the consequences are dire — more guns in more places make us less safe. In California, we are committed to passing and defending commonsense, constitutional gun laws that save lives,” Bonta said.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The City of San Bernardino, in partnership with California Volunteers, Office of the Governor has announced that it has been awarded a $4,169,142 grant to hire nearly 70 young and early career staff members over the next two years. The City will hire individuals in the Parks and Recreation, Animal Services, Library, and Police Departments, along with additional positions in partnership with local Community Based Organizations (CBO’s).

Part of the Office of the Governor, California Volunteers oversees the #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps program, which is working to employ local youth under the age of 30 across the state to help address urgent challenges in California while participants learn key job skills, develop career pathways, and serve their communities.

Thousands gathered at Crafton Hills College (CHC) on Wednesday, May 25, for a special kind of celebration — three years in the making. Graduates of the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 celebrated their respective graduations during a campus-wide commencement ceremony, the first in-person event of its kind following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony included the largest graduating class in CHC’s 50-year history, with 1,071 graduates earning 808 degrees and 853 certificates. Graduates ranged in age from 18-years-old to 70-years-old and included 34 military veterans. Of the 1,071 graduates, more than 315 earned a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, including 63 students who earned a perfect 4.0.

“I can’t begin to tell you how exciting it is to see all of your wonderful faces in person,” said CHC President Dr. Kevin Horan during the ceremony before taking a selfie with those in attendance from the commencement stage.

The May 25th ceremony was the culminating event following a month of graduation-related activities held throughout the month of May at CHC. Each scheduled speaker stressed to the audience the hard work that every graduate endured – the new normal of remote services and online learning.

“The last two years have defined what it takes to be persistent, and you encouraged all of us by showing up and doing the work,” said Brandi Bailes, CHC Academic Senate president.

Brandice Mello, CHC’s Classified Senate president agreed.

“Every day is a moment to be proud of. It is easy to highlight the times we want to give up and throw it all away, but happiness is limitless,” Mello said.

In addition to the awarding of diplomas, graduates and their families were treated to music by Plays Well With Others, the National Anthem sung by graduate Lucy McIntosh, and remarks from student commencement speaker and 2022 CHC graduate Victoria Karalun.

Graduation day was years in the making for Karalun, a re-entry student and mother who has become a published author and presented her research at over 40 conferences during her time at CHC.

During her address, Karalun reflected on her path to and at CHC and recalled a quote that changed her life – “Do one thing every day that scares you,” — inspiring her to enroll at CHC in 2017.

“Much of our learning has taken place online,” she said. “We’ve had no choice but to take a path that pushed us out of our comfort zone. Any one of us could have given up on our education. But being here today is proof we are here to work hard.”

“We are the ones graduating in this crazy, unique time,” Karalun continued. “Let us not take for granted how special it is that we are here together today.”

Graduation highlights can be found on CHC’s social media channels, including its Facebook page at facebook.com/CraftonHillsCollege, and at craftonhills.edu.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

A bill that would generate over $400 million for an estimated 785 public school districts   across the state to provide critically needed academic support for Black students is on its way to the California Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Authored by Akilah Weber (D-San Diego), Assembly Bill (AB) 2774, passed out of the Senate Education Committee with a 7-0 vote on June 30, the last day before the Legislature’s summer recess.

“Thank you, CA State Senate Education Committee, for passing my bills,” Weber said via her Twitter account. “Our shared goals are to keep our students safe, provide opportunities for each of them to excel academically, and receive the support they need to stay in school and graduate.”

Weber introduced AB 2774 in February. The bill is co-authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Both are members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Before the Senate Education Committee vote, many supporters of the bill from around the state rallied in front of “the Swing Space” – temporary legislative offices while the Capitol is under renovation — to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the bill. The building is located one block south of the State Capitol.

Margaret Fortune, Fortune School of Education; Yolanda Moore, Clovis Unified Board of Education, Keshia Thomas, Fresno, Unified School District Board of Education, and students from Fresno, Sacramento, and Elk Grove made an appearance.

In addition, Sacramento County Democratic Party Chairperson Tracie Stafford, Chache Wright from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of San Bernardino, and Sacramento County Board of Education trustees Al Brown and Bina Lefkovitiz joined the supporters of AB 2774.

“There is an undeniable achievement gap when it comes to Black children and we cannot continue failing them,” Moore said. “Our students want to do better; they want to be held to a higher standard, but they need our focus and effort to get them there. AB 2774 would push for sustainable, equitable, and academic growth.”

AB 2774 addresses equity issues with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was created to provide additional funding for the highest need students in California.

AB 2772 would amend the definition of “unduplicated pupils” for the 2023–24 fiscal year to include pupils who are included in the lowest-performing “subgroup or subgroups,” as defined in the language.

The subgroups identified as unduplicated pupils receiving supplemental funding include English Language learners, low-income students, and foster/homeless youth.

The adjustment is based on the most recently available mathematics or language arts results on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, as specified.

 “I want to specifically call on the governor to support AB 2774,” Fortune said. “Everybody would agree that there is a crisis that 67% of Black kids can’t read at grade level in our public schools. Now it’s time for (Gov. Gavin Newsom) to stand in front of this issue. This group of students deserves support.”

The LCFF was enacted in 2013. Weber said over one-quarter of Black students are not receiving supplemental funding through LCFF.

In 2019, testing data showed that Black students are the lowest-performing subgroup on state standardized tests with 67% not passing English Language Arts (ELA) and 79% not meeting the Math standard.

AB 2774 states that the subgroup identified for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, based on the 2018-19 the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) scores “shall be included within the ‘unduplicated’ pupil count until its scores equal or exceeds the highest performing subgroup (Asian American students).”

AB 2774 would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually identify the lowest-performing pupil subgroup or subgroups and would authorize school districts and charter schools to review and revise their submitted data on pupils who are included in the lowest-performing subgroup or subgroups.

There are nearly 310,000 Black students enrolled in California’s public schools. Approximately 80,000 Black students in the state do not receive any additional funding under the LCFF, according to data compiled by the California Department of Education.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond supports the legislation.

“This is a state of emergency and we have been in a state of emergency for far too long and nothing has been done,” Thurmond said. “We cannot and will not continue to let our babies fall behind.”

CBM Video: AB 2772 Rally in Sacramento

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The City of San Bernardino held a public swearing in ceremony for its new police chief Darren Goodman on Wednesday, June 15 at the Feldheym Main Library located at 555 West 6th Street in San Bernardino.

Goodman, whose starting date was June 6th, joins a department with 262 sworn officers and 150 civilian staff. He is the first African American police chief in the San Bernardino Police department’s 117-year history.

Goodman has been in law enforcement for over 31 years, and came to San Bernardino from the City of Upland, where he spent four years as its Chief of Police. Prior to joining Upland, he spent 27 years with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, including serving as the Police Chief for the Chino Hills Police Department and Commander of the Frank Bland Regional Training Center. He also worked in Corrections, Patrol, Narcotics, Emergency Operations, Regional Gang Enforcement, Fugitive Apprehension, and SWAT.

For those that missed the ceremony, a recording should be available on the city website at https://sbcity.org.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. hosted a street renaming ceremony at the San Bernardino County Government Chambers on June 11th, 2022, in honor of the Rialto music pioneers, J.J. Fad. The public was invited to join in on the celebration and a large outpour of local supporters, family and friends of the group, and artists attended the ceremony. Jesse Duran from KOLA-FM emceed the ceremony. J.J. FAD, the locally grown female artist group performed their hit song, “Supersonic” for the crowd. A street has been renamed “J.J. Fad Way” in honor of their support to the community throughout their rise of fame. The street name has already been updated and can be found on Cactus Ave. in the unincorporated area of Rialto, California.

“I am so excited to get a street in the Rialto area, where the music group JJ Fad were raised, to be renamed in their honor! The street is called J.J. Fad Way and is named after the group who always supported their city no matter how famous and busy, they got. I would like to thank all who came out, I would like to thank Jesse Duran for emceeing the event, and I would also like to thank the members of World Class Wreckin’ Cru and Arabian Prince for coming out and showing support to our girls and our city!” -Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr.

By S.E. Williams / BVN

The Black lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde once said that she wrote “for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves.”

Lorde further stated, “We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.”

However, in the decades since Lorde penned those words many Black lesbians are no longer silent. Yet, we must ask the question, how safe are Black lesbians today? Perhaps we should ask WNBA basketball star, Brittney Griner, who is among the growing number of prominent Black lesbians in America living out loud.

Most have battle scar evidence of their struggle to find a peaceful life in a world that in many ways, still considers who they are and who they love an aberration.  And, although disrespect and dangers continue to lurk for members of the LGBTQ+ community in America, it is still safer to live here than in many other places in the world.

Unfortunately for Griner, however, she is now trapped in a country, where racism against Blacks is normalized and where the government is working to ostracize members of the LGBTQ+ community. But how different is this really from many places in America today.

Despite the spread of anti-gay sentiments in Russia and right leaning countries across Europe, Griner plays basketball internationally during the WNBA’s off season. This despite writing about her “coming out” in her 2017 autobiography, “In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court,” which helped make her one of the most recognizable lesbians in the world.

Racism and Homophobia in Russia

For those who have not followed Griner’s fate in recent months, she was arrested on drug charges in Russia on February 17. Her arrest came just days after a Russian court suspended a lawsuit (February 11) intended to shut down its LGBT Network—the country’s most powerful gay rights organization—for  purportedly spreading gay views, which of course, could farcically include anything from a view out one’s window of gay people walking down the street, to realistically include gay people advocating for the same rights to live and love as they choose like any other Russian.

Identifying as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender or queer has been legal in Russia since 1993 (how enlightened) however in 2013 under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, the nation adopted what’s been called the “gay propaganda” law that made it illegal to speak words related to the LGBTQ+ community around minors.

Racism and homophobia in America

Before Russia took such action, America was already contriving to do the same.

There has been much criticism recently of Florida’s recently enacted Parental Rights in Education Bill signed into law in April that appeared to follow Russia’s lead. But, it was revealed by The Center for Media and Democracy (Center), a nonprofit that tracks the work of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), that the Parental Rights Amendment was actually listed under its “Education Task Force and included in the 1995 ALEC Sourcebook of American State Legislation.

Also, according to the Center, although ALEC has tried to distance itself from this controversial legislation since 2011, it is difficult to identify any efforts to advocate against the current movement to codify this legislative into law across the country.ALEC is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts models of legislation for distribution and adoption by conservative legislatures around the country and for decades has worked to pull America toward extremism.

Sadly, Florida’s recent law is just the tip of the iceberg. Anti LGBTQ+ toxicity is spreading quickly in America. Red states from Ohio to Texas to Indiana to Colorado to Wyoming to South Dakota, Iowa, Utah and beyond   have pushed to pass similar bills. In some instances state’s were only prevented from doing so by Democratic legislators who held the line against Republican, anti-gay governors seeking to work their will.

As we watch and point with deserved derision and criticism, the unfolding fate of Griner in Russia, Time magazine provided a chilling reminder in mid-May, of what is possible in America regarding the welfare of LGBTQ+ citizens. It recalled the successful work of  Florida’s Johns Committee—a state legislative committee that launched an LGBTQ+ purge in the late 1950s rooted in racism, homophobia, and anti-communism.

Beginning in 1957 and continuing through 1963 the Florida legislative committee persecuted and intimidated those suspected of being gay at state universities as part of the state’s resistance to federally sanctioned school desegregation in response to the 1954 Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

According to Time, the committee’s original goal was to uncover all communists believed to be behind desegregation. Not surprisingly since it was based on a false premise, that mission failed. This subsequently compelled the committee to find another group to scapegoat—gays and lesbians. This eventually led to a report popularly known as “The Purple Pamphlet”( because of its sensational and explicit content), that highlighted “the extent of infiltration into agencies supported by state funds by practicing homosexuals.”

By1965, hundreds of Floridians were prosecuted and charged because of their sexuality. Frighteningly, not unlike the experiences of Griner in Russia today, Florida interrogations were reportedly conducted in privacy and even worse, the accused were denied legal counsel.

A need to raise our collective voices
Today, as Griner languishes in a Russian prison—most assuredly because she is Black and a lesbian who may or may not have committed a minor drug infraction in a racist, homophobic country —,there are legitimate concerns about her safety.  As her detention days turn into weeks and weeks into months, there is little doubt it is up to all of us, Black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, those who support and validate our right to exist and every American committed to human rights to pressure the federal government to bring her home. We must raise our collective voices to keep Griner’s freedom at the forefront of America’s political consciousness.

Audre Lorde lamented about the fate of Black lesbians in her seminal work the Black Unicorn where she noted “‘The black unicorn was mistaken for a shadow or symbol and taken through a cold country…, ” She further spoke to the power of Black women/lesbian strength and determination to live their truth stating,  “the Black unicorn is unrelenting.” I pray this perceived power is enough to sustain Griner (her wife and loved ones) in the days ahead.

In concluding her poem Lorde also reminded all of us that although the metaphorical Black unicorn is empowered, as we are witnessing today decades after Lorde put pen to paper on this issue, as it relates to Griner, “the Black unicorn is not free.”

Raise your voice to advocate for Griner’s freedom by calling the U.S. Department of State at 1-202-647-4000 and the White House at 202-456-1111 to advocate for Griner’s release. Remember, “Silence is complicity.”

Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.

By Ben Jealous

Did you ever wonder whether elections really matter? Well, the Trump Supreme Court majority has answered that question for good.

Or, more accurately, they have answered it for bad.

In the term that has just ended, the new far right-wing majority on the Supreme Court went on a rampage. They have torn up decades of legal precedent to diminish Americans’ rights and legal protections. To justify the results they wanted, they lied in their rulings the way some of them lied to get on the court. It has been a shameful display of power politics disguised as judging.

Not surprisingly, the most attention has been paid to the Court majority overturning the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision. A constitutional right that has made a huge difference in the lives of generations of women was wiped away. The impact will be devastating and deadly.

Millions of individuals and couples dealing with unwanted pregnancies, the trauma of rape or incest, life-threatening pregnancy complications, or even a miscarriage that some intrusive government official decides is suspicious, will have their options severely limited or eliminated entirely.

We know that those restrictions and their consequences will fall most harshly on already vulnerable people, including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and low-income people. Already in Missouri, a major health care system will no longer treat rape victims with emergency contraception because the state abortion ban puts medical care providers at legal risk.

Anti-abortion state legislators seem to be in competition to see who can pass the most extreme, intrusive, and controlling laws. Some are even trying to limit people’s right to travel from one state to another, targeting anyone who helps a person from a state that bans abortion get care in a state that permits it. It reminds me of the old fugitive slave laws that forced free states to help slave states deny people their freedom.

Unfortunately, overturning Roe is just one of the harmful decisions handed down by the Trump Court.

The Court intervened in voting rights cases to protect gerrymandering designed to limit Black voters’ access to political power. This comes on top of other rulings gutting the Voting Rights Act.

The Trump Court went after sensible regulation of guns. The far-right justices overturned a New York law more than 100 years old that required people to show a good cause to get a permit to carry concealed firearms. Communities that are already suffering from the effects of gun crime are likely to experience even greater violence now that the court has robbed public officials of options and given the extremist pro-gun political agenda the power of law.

The court also further dismantled the separation of church and state, which protects religious freedom and preserves equality under law for people regardless of their religious beliefs. The Trump court took a wrecking ball to this pillar of American society. It is forcing states to divert tax dollars to religious schools, like some southern states did when they funded white evangelical segregationist academies that emerged in resistance to the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing racially segregated public schools. This court has made it easier for public officials, like teachers, to coerce students into prayer or other religious practices. This is a very clear threat to anyone whose faith is different from the one dominant in their community or state.

In other words, the U.S. Supreme Court, which we counted on for generations to uphold civil rights and tear down obstacles to equality, is now acting as an arm of the increasingly aggressive far-right political movement.

How did we get here? Simple. Thanks to the anti-democratic Electoral College, Donald Trump was elected in 2016 even though almost three million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell prevented the Senate from even considering President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination so that Trump could fill it instead—and then rushed Trump’s third justice onto the court even as voters were casting ballots to remove Trump from office. Behind Trump and McConnell was a massively funded, decades-long campaign to build the political power to take control of the judiciary.

In other words, winning the presidency and controlling the Senate gave the far right the power to force its harmful agenda on the American public long after voters rejected Trump. Taking the Court back from the extremists who now control it will be a long-term project. It starts with this year’s elections.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free” will be published by Harper Collins in December 2022.