By Gustavo F. Velasquez & Tunua Thrash-Ntuk | Special to California Black Media Partners

Due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, paying rent has become a real struggle for millions of Californians. But help is available to renters and landlords through the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program.

Based on income level, qualified applicants can receive assistance with unpaid rent and utilities and with future payments.

Funding comes from the $2.6 billion in federal emergency rental assistance provided to support both state and local rent relief programs in California. The CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program isn’t the sole resource for rent relief for California renters and landlords; many cities and counties are either currently administering their own rent relief programs – or launching one soon.

Cities and counties with populations greater than 200,000 are employing one of three rent relief options: option A) the state-administered CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program; option B) a local city- or county-administered program using the same eligibility criteria as option A; and option C) a local city-or county-administered program using different eligibility criteria, in some cases, in combination with a portion administered by the state.

While the programs vary, the goals are the same: Keep people housed and provide quick assistance to those at the highest risk of eviction. To simplify access to rent relief programs in California, the state launched HousingIsKey.com. The website directs renters and landlords to the programs that they may qualify for, based on where they live. After applicants provide the address of their rental property (landlords) or their residence (renters), they are sent to a website where they can review eligibility criteria and complete an application. Applicants can also call the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Call Center (833-430-2122) to find out which program to apply for and get help in a variety of languages.

By Tyler Shaun Evains

Legislation to help a family reap a portion of the benefits of their ancestors’ lost wealth could get approval from the state Senate this week.

Senate Bill 796 — which would allow L.A. County to return two parcels of oceanfront land it owns in Manhattan Beach back to the descendants of the original Black owners — is scheduled for a full Senate vote on Thursday, May 20, according to the office of the secretary of the senate.

The item is on the Senate’s consent calendar, office of the secretary of the senate said. And since the consent calendar is a set of uncontroversial items that get voted on all at once, the bill will almost certainly pass unless a senator pulls it off for discussion.

State Sen. Anthony Portantino, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, determined the bill had no significant costs to California and sent the bill to the Senate floor on Monday, May 17, according to the office of Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Carson.

The two parcels at the heart of the bill were once part of a flourishing seaside resort owned by and operated for Black people in the early 20th century, during a time when African Americans had limited coastal access.

Willa and Charles Bruce ran a flourishing resort for Black people on that land in Manhattan Beach in the early 20th century, providing refuge for the people who at the time had limited coastal access.

But the original owners, Willa and Charles Bruce, as well as those who visited the resort and Manhattan Beach’s other African American residents, faced harassment and terrorism from some White neighbors who didn’t want Black people in the community.

Manhattan Beach leadership condemned the land, as well as that of other Black property owners, in 1924 and took it over through eminent domain.

The city still owns the largest portion of the former resort, which eventually became Bruce’s Beach Park.

But the two parcels closest to the surf became state-owned in 1948. The state gave those two parcels — and larger swaths of the beach — to L.A. County in 1995.

The county currently operates a lifeguard station there.

But under the 1995 transfer agreement, the county cannot sell or give the land to anyone else.

SB 796 would undo those restrictions and allow the county to return the land.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors last month directed county officials to come up with a plan to return the parcels.

The County CEO’s Office, County Counsel and the executive director of racial equality, in consultation with the county fire chief, have until June 19 to report back to the board with a plan for how to deed the property to the Bruce family.

That plan, which the supervisors would have to OK, will include a timeline, options for addressing property tax issues after the transfer and ways the county could either lease the property from the Bruce family or relocate the lifeguard facility there.

If the bill passes the state Senate with a two-thirds vote by June 4, it would then go to the state Assembly, which would have to vote on it by Sept. 10. After that, the bill would go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature.

Getting the land back, though, is only a part of what the family is seeking, said Bruce family historian and representative Duane Shepard.

“We wanted the land restored, punitive damages for the police department terrorizing our family and restitution from lost revenue those enterprises would’ve had right now,” Shepard, a distant relative, said in an April interview. “Giving back the land doesn’t replace generational wealth.”

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that he has created a new bureau within the Department of Justice (DOJ) dedicated to fighting discrimination and investigating hate crimes.

Bonta said the new Bureau of Racial Justice, which will be housed under the Civil Rights Enforcement Section, will also support the California task force that the state has charged with studying the impact of slavery and Jim Crow and coming up with reparations recommendations for Blacks in California and around the country.

In September last year, Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 3121 into law. The legislation, introduced by current California Secretary of State Shirley Weber when she served in the Assembly, requires the state to set up the task force.

Bonta has not yet spelled out how the bureau will contribute to the state’s reparations efforts, but he stressed the urgency of creating it.

“Throughout California’s history, too many of us have felt the sting of hate and discrimination,” said Bonta. “The fact is: No part of California is immune to hate. Too many Asian, Latino, Black, Native American, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh Californians all across the state are hurting.

According to the DOJ, the bureau will focus on six areas: hate crimes and organizations; implicit and explicit bias in policing; law enforcement best practices; campus climate issues; and the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans.

Bonta says the DOJ will work with the Big City Mayors, a group of officials from the state’s 13 largest cities, on its anti-discrimination and anti-hate crime initiatives. The cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San José, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Stockton.

At the end of this month, the DOJ says Bonta will host a virtual meeting with the Big City Mayors.

“Drawing on the expertise of local elected leaders, the virtual convening will seek to raise awareness around regional concerns involving hate crimes, support those who have been impacted by hate, and secure commitments for direct action across California,” the DOJ said in a statement.

The California Legislative Black Caucus welcomed the news. The group comprised of African American members of the State Legislature says, “California, after its acceptance into the union in 1850 until the end of slavery in 1865, actively supported the enslavement of Blacks.”

The CLBC says the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations will increase understanding among Californians at a time when racial and political divisions divide Americans.

“As Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, I am humbled to be a part of this groundbreaking task force and look forward to having the difficult but necessary conversations on the age of enslavement here in California and across the nation,” said Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena), who is also chair of the CBLC and a member of the reparations task force.

“The remnants of slavery and Jim Crow are still alive and well today and need to be addressed. We have found ways to not only apologize but also provide reparations to every group wronged in America and around the world except for African American decedents of slavery,” Bradford pointed out.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- San Bernardino County continues to make great progress vaccinating its residents, and recently opened opportunities for children ages 12 and up (with parental consent). More than 1,000 youth between the ages of 12-15 have been vaccinated since last Thursday, and the County recently launched a school vaccination program in partnership with local districts.

“We are very excited with our partnership with superintendents throughout the County, who helped to facilitate 1,942 vaccinations at our high schools,” said San Bernardino County’s Chief Executive Officer Leonard X. Hernandez. “There’s been a lot of interest from parents and students wanting to get vaccinated before graduation ceremonies.”

Ten high schools were served last week, with another 14 scheduled for this week.

“Needles Unified School District reached out and we were able to get them connected with an event,” said Hernandez. “Any school district that’s interested can contact Public Health and we’ll get an event scheduled.”

By Lue Dowdy

A call out to African American Men! We hear you; We see you; You are not alone!

Please save the date and log on Saturday, June 5 at 9 a.m. for “Express Yourself Beautiful Black Man Part Ii: From A Males Perspective’! The event will be presented by the African American Health Coalition and sponsored by Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health, San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, LUE Productions, and The African American Family Wellness Advisory Group.

Our Purpose is to introduce, connect, and provide African American men with available information and resources that they need. The goal of the 1-day virtual workshop is to bring educational resources to help empower Black men and equip them with tools that can be maintained in their daily LIFE. The workshop will kick off with meditation and yoga and will end with a gut busting comedy show. Below is a list of our awesome speakers along with their workshop titles.

Speakers of the day include: Clint Lewis, San Bernardino County Behavioral Health Department ; Dean Chambers, LCSW – Depression and the Blues in Our Community- A Cognitive Perspective!; James Woods, Dat Yoga Dude –  From “Yelling 2 Yoga” Black men healing for improvised mental health and wellness; Jerrron E. Clark, WellWrx80 –  Black Manhood & Mental Health: What It Looks Like!; Martinez Sellers, Marsell Consulting MHS – Knowing my IDENTITY as a Black Man; and Tyrome Thompson & Kevin Davis, C.S.U. – Coping Using Comedy: An alternative stress relief! 

For more information or how to register, please visit the African American Health Coalition website at theaamhc.org or the Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health website at www.rcdmh.org/ccp. For questions please contact Linda Hart at 909.571.4964 or Lue Dowdy 909.567.1000.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Nearly three years after her successful run for a seat on California’s Board of Equalization (BOE), Malia Cohen now has her sights set on a higher office: State Controller. The election for State Controller will be held in November 2022.

Cohen is one of two women — and the only African American — serving on the BOE, the state agency responsible for representing taxpayer interests and making county-by-county tax assessments and adjustments across the state.

She announced her candidacy for State Controller during the California Democratic Party (CDP) 2021 convention, held online from April 29 to May 2.

“I am running because I am committed to equity, empowerment, hope and opportunity for all Californians,” Cohen told California Black Media.

During the Democratic Party convention, current State Controller and BOE member Betty Yee gave her blessing. She endorsed Cohen to occupy the seat she was first elected to in November 2014. Yee was re-elected for a second term in 2018.

Yee, who is termed out from running for State Controller in 2022, was elected vice chair of the CDP at its recent convention.

Taisha Brown, chair of the California Democratic Party Black Caucus, said she’s ready to support Cohen and see more African American women, the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic Party, in leadership roles.

“I’m happy to see more Black women moving in the direction to lead California as statewide officers. We have always been capable and have put in the work. I’m excited and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for Malia Cohen to be our next State Controller,” Brown said.

Cohen and Yee recently participated in a discussion the CDP’s Women’s Caucus, titled “Honoring Trailblazing Democratic Women on the Frontlines.” They discussed how they have both worked hard to find innovative solutions to longstanding problems, broken stereotypes and lead while facing various challenges in their respective careers.

If Californians vote Cohen the next State Controller, she will become chair of the Franchise Tax Board and serve on the boards of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) as well.

CalPERS and CalSTRS manage financial investments totaling more than $620 billion.

The controller’s office is the state’s independent fiscal watchdog, providing oversight and managing more than $100 billion in receipts and disbursements of public funds a year. The state department also offers fiscal guidance to local governments and uncovers fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. It is also charged with protecting the state’s coastline and helping to build hospitals.

As a member of the BOE, Cohen represents 23 counties and 9.5 million constituents in the Second District, an area that stretches along California’s coast from the top of the state down to Santa Barbara County.

Before that, Cohen represented the 10th District on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors from January 2011 to January 2019. Cohen, born in the Richmond District of the “Golden Gate City,” was also president of the Board of Supervisors, succeeding London Breed, who was elected the San Francisco’s mayor in 2018.

Cohen, 43, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Fisk University in Tennessee and a Master’s in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

For more than a decade now, Cohen has been an influential figure in California state politics, taking on a number of high-profile issues.

In 2017, she introduced legislation to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including, menthol cigarettes in San Francisco. The measure was approved. She celebrated last month when the Biden administration announced its intention to make that prohibition national.

“I knew if we had a victory, it could start something big. But I did not know just how far it would go,” Cohen said. “After our ordinance passed in San Francisco, 75 other cities in California passed similar bans.”

After she was re-elected to represent the 10th District in 2014, Cohen gained national attention when she defended San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy. The ordinance shields undocumented immigrants living in the city from deportation.

Bill O’Reilly, then a conservative commentator for FOX News, took issue with Cohen and her pro-immigrant stance. He said on his show, The O’Reilly Factor, that Cohen was a disgrace and should be apprehended.

“If I were the attorney general of the United States, I would place her immediately under arrest,” O’Reilly said at the time, “That woman is a disgrace.”

The former FOX News talking head made the comment while blaming the policy for the death of a 32-year-old woman who was killed by an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

Cohen expressed horror at the woman’s death and called the incident a tragedy, but she did not shy away from O’Reilly’s attack.

“We cannot allow one event to dictate 25 years of our city’s policies towards undocumented immigrants in our city,” Cohen responded. “And more importantly, we cannot allow hateful conservative news stations to drive how we respond to incidents in our city. I’m not afraid of Fox News and they don’t influence how I make my policy decisions here in San Francisco.”

RIVERSIDE, CA—- On Saturday, June 5, 2021, the 21^st Annual Riverside Juneteenth Celebration will be held virtually via Facebook and YouTube. There will be a medical presentation on COVID-19, entertainment that consists of singing and dancing, and there will be a Health Workshop TransforAnation. For the links and times of the celebration, please visit www.JuneteenthSoCal.org.

By Jordan Moreau | Yahoo! News

Paul Mooney, the comedian, actor and writer for Richard Pryor, died on Wednesday morning, his representative Cassandra Williams confirmed to Variety. He was 79.

He died at his home in Oakland, CA after suffering a heart attack.

Mooney’s Twitter account also shared the news on Wednesday morning, posting “Thank you all from the bottom of all of our hearts…To all in love with this great man.”

Mooney served as the head writer on “The Richard Pryor Show” and co-wrote some of Pryor’s material on several of his comedy albums and his “Saturday Night Live” sketches. Mooney also wrote for “Sanford and Son,” “Good Times,” “In Living Color,” “Pryor’s Place,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Chappelle’s Show” and BET’s reality TV parody show “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

In addition to his stand-up comedy, Mooney appeared in movies like “The Buddy Holly Story,” where he played Sam Cooke; “Bustin’ Loose”; “Hollywood Shuffle”; Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”; and most recently “Meet the Blacks” in 2016.

On Dave Chappelle’s Comedy Central show, Mooney played the recurring character Negrodamus, a Black version of the philosopher Nostradamus who specialized in answering questions like “Why do white people love Wayne Brady so much?” (Answer: “Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X”).

Much of Mooney’s stand-up material focused on race. His sets at the 2005 BET Comedy Awards and the 2006 BET tribute to Black History Month skewered celebrities like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Lil’ Kim, Diana Ross, Flavor Flav, Terrell Owens and more.

In 2007, he published a memoir titled “Black Is the New White,” in which he discussed his relationship with Pryor and some of his most iconic and controversial comedy sets.

VICTORVILLE, CA— Victorville Police Department will have extra deputies out on patrol this Friday, May 21, looking for violations made by drivers and motorcyclists that increase the risk of crashes. Motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to die in a crash than vehicle occupancy. Click here for tips on motorcycle safety for both drivers and motorcyclists.

By Lou Yeboah

“…What it will be like standing before the King? What it would be like to walk, by [His] side? I can only imagine, what my eyes would see, when [His] face is before me. I can only imagine, what it will be like to be surrounded by [His] glory. What will my heart feel? Will I dance for [Him], or in awe of [Him] be still? Will I stand in [His] presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing Hallelujah? Or will I be able to speak at all? Oh, I can only imagine, yeah, when that day comes… Can you imagine, just standing before the King, what it would be like…” [Song by Tamela Mann? I Can Only Imagine].

Pause for a moment to let that image settle in your mind, because I can only think of one thing worse than going to Hell, and that would be to go to Hell with Heaven on your mind. Listen, the Bible gives us several vivid examples of this phenomenon. Consider the following people and their rejection of the Savior. Judas Iscariot – He kissed the gates of Heaven and went to Hell – [Matt. 26:49; Acts 1:25]. Felix – He looked into salvation, but he wanted to wait to a more convenient time – [Acts 24:25]. Herod Agrippa – He stepped up to the very door of Heaven and turned away – [Acts 26:28]. Festus – He heard the claims of the Gospel and called them the ravings of a mad man – [Acts 26:24].  Tell me, how shall you escape, if you ignore God’s provision for your soul’s salvation, how will you escape the consequences of such neglect? [Matthew 10:32-33]. How will you escape His wrath? [John 3:36]; His condemnation? [John 3:18]; His word of banishment? [Matthew 26:41].

Listen, the Bible declares it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. [Hebrews 9:27]. I tell you, nothing in your entire life could be more important than being ready for that day, because it will determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven or in hell. You shouldn’t think twice about it. Understand the present time. For as [Romans 13:11-12]] says, the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. The Bible says “Now is the acceptable time. Now is the time of God’s favor. Now is the day of salvation….” Please do not cast aside God’s offer. I want you to know that through visions, prophecies, visitations and signs, Jesus have given many warnings to the world that there was little time left and that after the trumpet call, it will be too late! Don’t wait until its too late! Can you imagine standing before the King, what it will be like for you?

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thundering, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. Hallelujah all Praises to the Most High God! [Revelation chapter 4]. I Can Only Imagine!