By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

This Wednesday, when Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swears in former California Sen. Kamala Harris as vice president, she will make history for several reasons. Harris – who was born in Oakland and spent part of her childhood in Berkeley — will become the first woman and the first person both of Black and Asian descent to assume the second-highest political office in the United States.

“With just a few days left, I am anticipating seeing Kamala raise her hand and take the oath to become the most powerful woman in American history. I am so honored. She is ready and able. And she is a sister, a good friend and an inspiration to so many people here in California and to so many more Americans,” said Amelia Ashley-Ward, the publisher of the San Francisco Sun Reporter, the city’s largest and oldest African American newspaper.

Ward, who has been friends with Harris for decades now, says it seems “like yesterday” when Harris began running for district attorney 18 years ago. At that time, people in San Francisco told her to drop out because she was not prepared.

“It was unheard of in this city for a Black woman to challenge the status quo and win. She did it and remained true to who she is,” said Ward. “From district attorney to attorney general to United States senator, to running for the presidency, then becoming vice president. I will be watching, inspired, and in tears, with a heart full of joy.”

As Harris, who has represented California in the Senate for four years now, prepares to ascend to the vice presidency, she enters the White House at a time when the country is fraught with division and uncertainty. A raging pandemic has been sending shocks through the economy over the past 11 months. And the country is unsettled in the throes of an ongoing reckoning on race expressed partially by riots that erupted last summer after a Minnesota police officer violently killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. On top of those crises, far right-wing groups, which have been resurging across the country for more than a decade now, have been organizing protests with threats of violence opposing the election of Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Harris.

On Jan. 6, a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, including some trained military personnel and law enforcement officers, stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The violent riot resulted in five deaths, including the murder of a police officer, the evacuation of members of the U.S. Congress and significant damage to the historic building.

As a result of the mayhem at the site where Biden and Harris will be sworn in, the inauguration is being held under tight security. Some 20,000 national guard troops have descended on Washington, D.C., to harden the city and the Capitol building against potential attacks. Much of the National Mall will be closed on Inauguration Day. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has told people to stay away from the inauguration because of COVID-19. She also asked federal authorities to cancel demonstration permits for security reasons.

Harris, who has said she supports having the swearing-in ceremony outside of the Capitol despite security concerns, says Americans should not be defeated by the people who attacked the building that symbolizes American democracy around the world.

“No matter what challenges we face, democracy will always win,” Harris tweeted last week.

This year’s scaled-back inauguration will be broadcast on TV and online and includes a number of events leading up to the main ceremony, including a virtual “We The People” concert hosted by actors Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing that was held Sunday night. On Martin Luther King Day, a “National Day of Service” featuring speakers and encouraging people to volunteer across America was held. On the day before Harris and Biden are sworn in, a lighting ceremony is being held in Washington, D.C., and across the country to honor Americans who have died of COVID-19.

Becoming vice president of the United States is the culmination of a long political journey for Harris, whose father immigrated from Jamaica. Her mother, who is now deceased, was an immigrant from India. After completing two terms as district attorney of San Francisco in 2011, Harris was elected California attorney general in 2010, becoming the first African American and first woman to serve in the role. Harris was also the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the United States Senate when she was sworn in as the junior United States Senator for California in 2017. At the time, she also made history as the second African American woman to serve in the Senate after Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois from 1993 to 1999.

In the U.S. Senate, Harris served on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on the Budget.

Harris is married to attorney Doug Emhoff, who is based in the Los Angeles area and will become a law professor at Georgetown University when he moves to Washington with Harris this week. Emhoff, who is Jewish, has two children from a previous marriage.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37), who was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) until this month, looked at Harris’s record. She said Harris has “fought long and hard on behalf of Californians everywhere both in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento.”

Harris was a member of the CBC until Monday afternoon when she turned in her letter of resignation to Gov. Newsom.

“Congratulations on becoming this nation’s first woman of color to be elected to serve as vice president,” Bass said in a statement. “Your tenacious pursuit of justice and relentless advocacy for the people is exactly what this country needs right now. California is better because of your work as attorney general and stronger because of your work as a senator. Now, all Americans will benefit from your work as vice president. We know you will make us proud as you always have.”

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- On Monday, January 18 at 9 a.m. the Inland Empire African American Churches –IECAAC will celebrate the 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Prayer Breakfast. This year they will continue the tradition of the dreamer, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a virtual celebration. This year’s theme is “Embracing the Dream” found in Ecclesiastes 3:5.

The keynote speaker this year is Dr. Bishop Kenneth Ulmer. The event will be hosted by inspirational comedian, Lester Barrie. There will be a special performance by Stellar and Grammy Award Nominee, Brent Jones, and other guest performances. There will also be an award presentation for those individuals that excelled and showed concern and commitment helping to others.

To register for the event and receive access information, please visit: bit.ly/mlkcelebration2021. Or visit IECAAC website at www.iecaac.org.

The Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches thank you in advance for the prayers and support. If you have any questions, please call at 909-494-7036. At the conclusion of the event the MLK prayer breakfast committee will proceed to the MLK Jr. statue to lay the honorary wreath. It’s a day on, not a day off.  Please wear a mask, and social distance. Amen!

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Youth Build Inland Empire will be hosting a COVID friendly SB MLK Day Celebration Parade on Monday, January 18. There will be no getting out of vehicles as people follow each other along the route. The meeting time will be between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the ride out time will start at 1:15 p.m. Everyone will meet at Ann Shirrell Park located at 1367 N California Street in San Bernardino.

The Route is as follows:

1.         Right on 15th street

2.         Right on Pennsylvania Street

3.         Left on Magnolia Street

4.         Left on Western Street

5.         Right on Evans Street

6.         Left on Western Street

7.         Right on 16th Street

8.         Right on Arrowhead Street

9.         Right on 3rd Street

Ending – San Bernardino Civic Center (parking on Court Street)

Cars park in parking structure! Awards will be handed out in front of the Martin Luther King Statue.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their virtual MLK Extravaganza Celebration on Monday, January 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event will consist of storytellers, performers, and panels. This year’s theme is, “Facing Adversity During the Storm”.

Storytellers include: Author Margaret Hill; Mr. Empire Talks Back, Wallace Allen; and Community Activist, Rikkie Van Johnson. The performers and entertainment of the event are Maurice Howard, Rev. Broncia Martindale, JD Musgrove, Valerie Green, Lil Reggie, Lue Dowdy, Dunamis L1019, Aisha and Stephen, the San Bernardino Pacesetters and Deeveatva and Company. The panelists include Gwen Rodgers-Dowdy, President for San Bernardino City Unified District Board of Education; Dann Tillman, Board Member or San Bernardino City Unified District Board of Education; Pastor Joshua Beckley, Ecclesia Christian Fellowship; Councilwoman Kimberly Calvin-Johnson 6^th Ward; Councilman Damon Alexander 7^th Ward; Councilman Ben Reynoso 5^th Ward.

There will be a special performance by Actor Leonard Thomas. You can catch the festivities live on Facebook at: https://fb.watch/2Ui4mbMtBg/

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom sounded upbeat when he announced at a press briefing Friday afternoon that he has submitted a $227 billion budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year to the State Legislature for approval.

The spending plan reflects a brighter picture than the gloomier one Newsom presented last summer when he projected a steep budget shortfall of more than $50 billion. In this proposal, the governor’s office is estimating that there will be a budget surplus of about $15 billion over the 2020-21 fiscal year, with nearly $3 billion stashed in the state’s operating reserve.

“In these darkest moments of the COVID-19 pandemic, this budget will help Californians with urgent action to address our immediate challenges and build towards our recovery,” said Newsom. “As always, our Budget is built on our core California values of inclusion, economic growth and a brighter future for all.”

The proposal includes significant investments intended to shore up and revive the state economy battered by the COVID-19 global pandemic. It proposes $2.4 billion for a one-time payout of $600 per individual from the “Golden State Stimulus” fund for the lowest earning Californians, many of them essential workers, who have been hit hardest by the global health crisis and the economic dip it caused. The majority of workers that have been affected are African American, Hispanic or from other ethnic groups in California and across the country.

To ensure a swift economic recovery, the governor has allocated $372 million to facilitate the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the state.

Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and the only African American lawmaker in the upper house of the California legislature, says he is pleased that the governor’s budget invests in equity. He told CBM that he will work with the governor’s office to make sure the proposals in the plan, particularly the relief for businesses, benefit Black Californians.

“Governor Newsom’s 2021-2022 budget proposal reflects what we are all hoping: that things are getting back on track and in a better way. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate California, but thanks to the swift actions taken last year by the Legislature and the Governor, we are in a strong position to combat this crisis and rebuild our economy,” Bradford said

 “We do not want to go back to where we were. We want a more just economy moving forward,” the senator added.

Workers at hospitals, grocery store clerks, public transportation operators and more had to continue showing up to work through the most difficult and uncertain phases of the pandemic last year. And entrepreneurs like barbers and beauticians and workers in retail, food and beverage service, hospitality and the leisure sectors suffered the most job losses. Newsom announced $777.5 billion in his budget for economic recovery, including assistance to businesses of all sizes – more than $500 million will go to small businesses — and money to support the state’s minimum wage increase to $14.

Bradford, who is also chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, applauded Gov Newsom for including funding for improving prisons and criminal justice reform efforts.

“As Chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, I am also pleased to see funding for the maintenance of California state prisons, Los Angeles County, use of force investigations by the Department of Justice, and rehabilitation and educational programs for our inmate population,” he said.  “Following the work I began in 2018 with the California Cannabis Equity Act, I am delighted to see the permanent funding of the state’s local equity grant program, which is a momentous step toward a fair and equitable cannabis market.”

The money for COVID economic recovery comes at a time when there looms the threat of another economic downturn. According to numbers released by the U.S. Department of Labor Friday, payrolls across the country decreased by 140,000 jobs in December. It is the sharpest drop in jobs since last April. The economy has not fully bounced back since the beginning of the pandemic last march when it lost 22.2 million jobs. Only 12.4 million jobs have been recovered so far.

Although the governor’s budget projects optimism, and it provides substantial funding for critical ongoing government priorities like education, transportation public safety, higher education, health care and green initiatives, it is short on details. It does however include a clear high-level breakdown of where the money will be spent – if not exactly how. For example, Gov. Newsom calls for $2 billion to help schools across the state to reopen in the next couple of months. The budget also allots $85.8 billion for schools, which includes teacher training, early childhood education programs, teacher recruitment and money to extend learning into the summer.  The governor is also proposing that the state invests $500 million in low-cost housing tax credits; $1.75 billion to continue purchasing motels to house the homeless under “Project Room Key;” and $353 million for job training and creation programs.

Over the next 5 months, Gov. Newsom says he and the Legislature will be working to hash out, distill and define budget priorities. Through the process, they will determine how and at which level of government – state, county or municipal – the monies will be spent. Then in May, he will present his revised, and more detailed, budget to the legislature for final approval before the fiscal year begins in July.

Senate Republicans say over 19,000 small businesses in the state have had to shutter since the pandemic began. Therefore, they are urging the governor to increase funding for them.

“Over the past ten months, the Governor’s shutdowns and COVID-19 challenges have made it difficult for millions of Californians,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) and Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) in a statement responding to the governor’s budget.

Some environmental groups complained that the budget redirects cash to emergency preparedness, “short-changing” programs that provide funding to underserved communities, some of them places where Black Californians live.

“The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is meant to cut pollution in our most impacted communities,” said CEO Debra Gore-Mann, president of the Greenlighting Institute, a public policy and research organization based in Oakland. “Funding for wildfires should come from the utilities whose recklessness led to so many problems.

Gov. Newsom says now that he has presented his budget, the hard work begins.

“The Budget makes progress towards the goal I set when taking office to harness California’s spirit of innovation and resilience and put the California Dream within reach of more Californians,” Gov. Newsom said.

SACRAMENTO–The California Legislative Black Caucus has elected Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Assemblymember Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) to serve as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively, through the 2021-2022 legislative session. In addition, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) will now serve as Secretary and Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) will remain in his position as Treasurer.

“I am honored and humbled to be elected by my colleagues to serve as the next Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. We are grateful for Dr. Weber’s leadership during her time with the Caucus and have no doubt she will lead with the same passion and desire for equality and justice as Secretary of State. I look forward to serving in a similar fashion of Dr. Weber and previous Chairs championing African American issues for the state and nation,” said Senator Bradford.

Senator Bradford was elected to the legislature in 2009, making him the longest serving member of the Caucus and currently the only Black senator in the state legislature. Senator Bradford’s election as Caucus Chair follows Governor Newsom’s appointment of former Caucus Chair, and Assemblymember, Dr. Shirley Weber as California’s next Secretary of State.

“It is a bittersweet moment as I pass the leadership torch to Senator Steven Bradford. The California Legislative Black Caucus is a small but mighty group of 9 members. Together we have been a powerful force, united and unwavering in our commitment to fight and win tough battles to improve the lives of Black Californians. I thank the Black Caucus for its support during my tenure as Chair, and I have full trust and confidence in Senator Bradford to take on the leadership of the Caucus. I also look forward to building on the partnership between the Secretary of State’s office and the CLBC to protect and expand voting rights in California,” said Dr. Shirley N. Weber.

Throughout its over 50-year history, the CLBC has been instrumental in crafting and supporting legislation to promote racial and gender equality for the State.  We will continue to advance an agenda that assures quality health care, establishing a more transparent and accountable police system, increased employment and economic security, and justice for all Californians.

Some thoughts on how something that once looked impossible became possible … still, there’s a lot of reasons to remain cautious

By Charles Ellison, b | e Note

January 5th (well, possibly some number of days or weeks after depending on how tight it is) will answer a very critical question for Americans on the current trajectory of our very troubled nation – who will run the federal government: Joe Biden or Mitch McConnell?

The answer will hinge on the convergence of two events: 1) the voting decisions made by more than 7.7 million Georgians who are currently registered to vote in the state of Georgia and 2) how much Republicans will, literally, cheat.

That’s a Lot of Georgians …

First: Stacey Abrams Great Georgia Revenge Tour is definitely a beautiful feat of voter mobilization to watch. She’s done a superb job – to get two Democratic candidates into a tightly contested runoff in a deep Southern politically fried red state like Georgia was once unimaginable … well, for conventional thinkers.

When we say 7.7 million registered Georgians, we’re talking about 72 percent of Georgia’s population of nearly 11 million. So far, more than 3 million have voted. That translates into more than 39 percent turnout … and that’s in the early voting phase … of a runoff Senate race. That’s also about 28 percent of Georgia’s entire population already voting. With so much excitement, high national anxiety, flooded email inboxes and campaign ad bombardment around this state, will the turnout crack records?

Here is the aerial view from the U.S. Election Project …

Here’s a look at how that’s breaking down demographically …

So Far, So Good

Democrats have multiple reasons to feel positive and enthusiastic. For one: they were able to flip the state from red to blue in the presidential race, handing it to President-elect Joe Biden.

They’ve got two fairly well-polished, young and energetic candidates in Jon Osoff and Rev. Ralph Warnock. Grassroots voter mobilization boots on the ground are getting it done. High early voting returns would suggest a Democratic advantage. Younger voters – from GenZ to Millennial – are turning out in big numbers. The whole party is unified behind the candidates. And there have been, so far, about 118,000 new voters who’ve participated in early voting during the run-off who didn’t vote in the 2020 General Election.

Meanwhile, as the Democratic candidates are running perfectly (on the surface, at least) as a team, Republicans are faced with vicious party infighting. Both GOP candidates continue to make the state look bad and backward (at a time when many Southerners are pushing for “New South” themes). One Republican incumbent (David Perdue) is quarantined by COVID while the other Republican incumbent (Kelly Loeffler) is parading around with white Klan terrorists. As all that’s happening, the outgoing leader of the GOP, President Trump, is openly committing violations of both state and federal law by pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State into committing voter fraud (and since Georgia’s Attorney General is a Republican and the federal Department of Justice is run by more Republicans, no one will prosecute him for this). Both Democratic candidates have raised more than $265 million combined for their Senate races (even though they’re both burning cash fast).

The most recent polling also suggests Osoff and Warnock are doing rather well.

Here is what FiveThirtyEight shows …

And here is the look from RealClearPolitics (which is a little more stingy with the data) …

But … Stay Cautious

While all the fundamentals look good for Democrats, there are still quite a few reasons to remain cautious – and not “cautiously optimistic,” either.

Say all you want about Southern states like Georgia attempting to re-brand themselves into “The New South,” the South, at the moment, is still the South. All the more reason to remain skeptical. There are a lot of questions: will White Georgia voters want a Black (Warnock) and Jewish (Osoff) Senator representing them in Washington? Even though there is high early voting turnout, there’s no way to tell at the moment just how many of those voters are Republicans actually turning out (despite objections from a president they remain loyal to). Will Georgia Republicans turn out stronger on Election Day when heading to the polls? And will Georgia Republicans view this as an opportunity for a protest vote against Biden’s election, to vent their rage at what they wrongfully view as a “stolen” election?

And just because Democrats are outperforming Republicans in the fundraising race doesn’t mean much since Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Harrison was doing the same thing in neighboring South Carolina against incumbent Lindsey Graham. In fact, he was absolutely obliterating Graham in the fundraising race. Polling showed that race tight, too. Harrison was raising all kinds of loot.

Still, Harrison ending up losing by 10 points.

Some clues on the outcome in Georgia are found in the latest AtlasIntel poll

GOP registration slightly outnumbers Democratic registration, which means a lot will depend on self-reporting Independents (Osoff and Warnock won 51 percent and 37 percent of independent voters, respectively, in the general election). Nearly 61 percent of the electorate is White while 30 percent is Black, which means Democrats need to cobble together a solid coalition of Black, White, Latino and Asian voters.

Here are the breakdowns for the Purdue vs. Osoff match-up …

And here are the breakdowns for the Loeffler vs. Warnock match-up …

The White electorate isn’t budging much, and there are large numbers of Latinos (along with 10+ percentage points of Black voters) saying they’re voting for the GOP candidate. One other thing others might dismiss, but we shouldn’t: Black voters account for 28 percent of the Georgia electorate even while they’re 33 percent of the overall state’s population (that’s a 5 percent difference); the White Georgia electorate matches its statewide population proportion of 60 percent. So, in a sense, Black voters in Georgia are still punching below their potential electoral weight in terms of size.

A slightly good thing, for Democrats, is that there is a very small, barely noticeable number of undecideds. So, every registered voter about to vote is locked into their decision, according to this poll. Still, fewer White voters went for Perdue in 2020 (69 percent) than they did in 2014 (74 percent). Yet, there is that pending question from the Loeffler vs. Warnock general election match-up: while Loeffler won 42 percent of White voters compared to the other GOP candidate Rep. Doug Collins at 28 percent, where will those White voters go? Theoretically, that’s 70 percent of White voters going to Loeffler.

Republicans Are Cheaters

Lastly: modern Republicans don’t appear to know anything about legal, democratic elections. While a genocidal pandemic rages on, killing nearly half-a-million Americans thus far (with the long term public health consequences not fully grasped), they are still uniformly obsessed with overturning an election in which the legitimate winner won by a nearly 8 million vote margin.

Republican cheating and racist voter suppression techniques are par for the course in Georgia. The sting of being cheated out of a statewide election by the current Governor is what’s driving Abrams. That Biden even won Georgia by such a slim margin probably means he really won by such a convincing number of ballots that Republican cheating methods could not overcome it. Republicans everywhere cheat in elections – but, in Georgia, they’ve transformed it into a dark and sinister art form.

Forty percent of Georgia’s 10 most populous counties had dramatically closed the number of early polling locations before the runoff. Most of those counties hold the highest concentrations of Black voters. That was expected. An 11th-hour attempt to purge voter rolls in two Georgia counties was thwarted by a federal judge just days before New Year’s Day. Voting rights advocates were already battling the purges of more than 200,000 Georgia voters by the current Secretary of State.

And while lots of folks on and off social media want to induct current Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger into the Justice League as he’s smoking Trump on Twitter and refusing to engage in criminal voter fraud acts on a recorded phone call, watch the mail ballot rejection rates in Georgia’s early voting returns very carefully.

Here are the Georgia counties with mail ballot rejection rates above 1 percent

Two of these counties are majority Black and all, with the exception of one, hold Black populations of more than 30 percent. In terms of total numbers of ballots rejected thus far, we’re seeing a similar pattern in counties with large Black populations ..

This could lead to issues and challenges resulting in a protracted recount battle way past January 5th.

COLTON, CA— San Bernardino County Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca Jr., released the following statement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved COVID-19 vaccination began at San Bernardino County Arrowhead Medical Center.

“Today is a momentous occasion for San Bernardino County in its fight against COVID-19.  San Bernardino County’s brave and resilient front line workers will receive the first 15, 600 doses of the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine.   These five high-risk workers represent the best of our county and embody the true meaning of public service.  

As the representative of the Fifth District, I know how critical it is for the County to start vaccinations because my community is one of the most impacted by the scourge of COVID-19. This disease has disproportionately impacted the elderly, poor, and communities of color. This vaccine and the others that will soon follow, give me and our community hope, that we can overcome this pandemic.

Our goal should be to continue to keep ourselves and loved ones safe until widespread access to the vaccine becomes available. Believe me, I can’t wait until we can get back to normal. Until then, we all must continue to do our part by wearing a mask, practicing social distance, and following CDC guidelines. 

Although it is not over yet, I know together we will conquer COVID-19.”

LOS ANGELES, CA—- An organ donor from Moreno Valley will be among those honored by OneLegacy and Donate Life as part of the Tournament of Roses 2021 TV special, “The Rose Parade’s New Year Celebration presented by Honda.” The local donor, Xavier Kesan Brown, passed away at 13 months old. His family chose to donate his liver, lungs, pancreas, both kidneys and small intestine. 

Xavier’s mother, Kayla Fouse, said that donating her son’s organs was the best decision she ever made for him and for her family.  

“It takes love and sacrifice to make the decision to donate organs, but it’s the greatest give anyone could ever give, and I am proud that my son was able to do that,” said Fouse. “While he is not physically here with us, there’s a piece of him still here helping others make memories he wasn’t able to make with us. He has given families more years, more birthdays and more holidays with their loved ones.” 

Since 2004, OneLegacy has been the lead sponsor of the Donate Life Rose Parade float to spread the lifesaving message of organ, eye and tissue donation to an international audience. Although the 2021 parade is canceled due to COVID-19, Donate Life and the OneLegacy Foundation will keep the tradition alive with a 25-foot floral sculpture, honoring 21 deceased donors from across the nation.  

“Lifesaving transplants would not be possible without generous donors and their families, who, in the midst of tragedy as they lose a loved one, find the courage to say yes to donation,” said Tom Mone, chairman of the Donate Life Rose Parade float committee and CEO of OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. “We are proud and grateful to honor Xavier, and all these donors, whose acts of kindness have given others a second chance at life.” 

The Donate Life floral sculpture, themed “Community of Life,” features a vibrant floral honeycomb built by bees, sharing the important message that we’re stronger when we work together as a community. Individually dedicated roses will adorn this floral installation to honor the gift of life given by donors, donor families, transplant recipients and health care heroes, carrying personal messages of love, remembrance, hope and gratitude. 

The Tournament of Roses 2021 TV special will include live-to-tape musical and marching band performances, heartwarming segments related to the Rose Parade, celebrity guest appearances, special Rose Bowl game football highlights, equestrians, spectacular floats from years past, and a behind-the-scenes look into the making of a float. The Rose Parade TV special will air on various broadcast networks January 1, 2021. 

The Donate Life Rose Parade Experience is produced by OneLegacy and is made possible thanks to dozens of sponsoring donations, transplant, health care and family care organizations along with individuals who help make donation and transplant possible across the country. Sponsors for 2021 include: American Association of Tissue Banks, Axogen, Community Tissue Services, CryoLife, Dignity Memorial Providers of Las Vegas, Donate Life California, Donor Alliance, Donor Network West, JJ’s Legacy, Legacy Donor Services Foundation, Legacy of Hope, LifeLink Foundation, LifeShare of Oklahoma, Lifesharing, LOPA, Nevada Donor Network, New England Donor Services, New Jersey Sharing Network, OneLegacy and Specialist Direct. 

About OneLegacy   

OneLegacy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in seven counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern. It serves more than 200 hospitals, 11 transplant centers, a diverse population of nearly 20 million, donors and families across the region, and waiting recipients across the country. For more information, visit onelegacy.org.