From the staff of CSUSB

We were deeply saddened by the recent news of Walter S. Hawkins. For those that had the opportunity to know him, we are sure countless memories rushed through your mind as you learned about his passing on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. As we reflected, one shared, “We lost a conscience of our community, this past week.”  

He made a lasting impact on our program statewide and wanted to share some background on him. Walter S. Hawkins, 72, was a resident of Rialto, CA for more than 40 years, and was a loving and devoted husband, father, mentor, colleague, and friend to many. He was born in San Angelo, Texas, the only son of Maiso and Altamae Hawkins. His father was a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, so he lived in Japan and Germany for a period of his young life. Eventually, his family relocated to San Diego, CA, where Walter received a football and track scholarship to San Diego State University.  

From the beginning, Walter was a champion for those who had none. He began as an intern at the Neighborhood House Association, one of the largest Non-Profit Social Service Agencies in San Diego, while he was pursuing his graduate degree. During this time, he solidified his belief that a better tomorrow for all is possible through empowerment, education, and wellness.  

Once he earned his Graduate degree, Walter began his professional career as a Social Worker. He worked for Tayari, a California based adoption agency, and a division within the San Diego County Department of Public Welfare. During his time there, he worked tirelessly on finding permanent families for African American children. He later served as a leader in the field of social work as a member of the Black Social Workers Association.  

Walter devoted over thirty years of his life to California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). He joined the CSUSB family in 1974 as one of the first Upward Bound Director’s. Shortly after, he became the Director of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). During his tenure with EOP, he developed, implemented, and enhanced many comprehensive student support services that later the university began to adopt and expand across the campus in the late 1980’s. Some of these services included but were not limited to the first early warning/intervention system at the university, tutoring support for students, peer mentoring programs, proactive academic advising procedures, among others. He was also one of the first Black Student Union staff advisors to the BSU student group organization. In addition, he served in two temporary assignments: as Acting Dean of Educational Support Services and as a programmer and unit lead for what was once the CSUSB Computer Center, to assist with software development to prepare university entities for a transfer to a new campus-wide data system. He went on to serve as the Director of Research & Policy for the Department of Undergraduate Studies until his retirement in 2007. 

When relocating to the Inland Empire to join CSUSB, Walter continued to serve his local community and youth. He provided an immense amount of his time volunteering and offering his research skillset and policy recommendations to numerous organizations, which included but not limited too; First 5 San Bernardino Strategic Planning committee, the American Red Cross, Option House, the NAACP, the San Bernardino City Unified School District African American Student Achievement Task Force, as a founding Board Member of Black Future Leaders, founding member of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, Board of Directors for Boys and Girls Club, as a Kappa Alpha Psi Member, Vice President, and Executive Board member of the Westside Action Group (WAG) and as a Board Member for the Rialto Unified School District for many years.  

Even after he retired from CSUSB, he worked on several African American initiatives in our local region. He continued his servanthood through his consulting firm, NewHAWK, where he focused on demographic research and geographic information to advocate for several campaigns. Most recently, he was commissioned by California Black Media to conduct the research for the “The Counting Black California,” report for the 2020 Census. The data was used and overlaid with the state COVID data that helped the African American Community Empowerment Council secure 2.5 million dollars for testing African American’s statewide. He received numerous awards and recognitions throughout the years for his work, including a Pioneer Award at the inaugural CSUSB Pioneer Breakfast. 

Walter was a straight-talking man, he used research, data and logic to address and support his efforts. He earned the respect of everyone who encountered him as a gentle giant, who through hard work and good humor, gave of himself and focused on ensuring the success of others. He helped guide many, and often was the foundation of integrity and high expectations for those who served youth. He certainly did become known as a “conscience of our community”. 

Walter’s life work was not to champion those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard; to extend a ladder of opportunity; to make real the dream of many who are disadvantaged or underserved. He worked hard to ensure the social mobility of those without and of their families for generations to come.  

Not only did his family thrive because of Walter’s commitment and hard work – he did because of theirs, and especially because of the love and the life he led with Dr. Jean Peacock. They found each other at CSUSB. He deeply loved this remarkable woman, and she didn’t just love him back; she gave him strength, joy, and friendship; and stood by him always in all his endeavors. 

We cannot know for certain how long we each have here, however, what we can do, is to live out our lives as best we can and help as many as possible along the way, and that’s exactly what Walter did. He used each day and much of his time to make a difference and strived to make a better, stronger Inland Empire for generations to come.  

Walter touched the lives of many. Students and community members benefitted from his advocacy, counsel, and friendship. Anyone who knew Walter will miss his humor and his innate ability to refocus a group to take care of business. 

He leaves his beloved wife Jean, his sons Paul and Christian and daughter Regina. He was blessed with both adopted and biological grandchildren and several nieces and nephews among his extended Hawkins/Peacock and Newman family, his daughter-in-law Torria and sister-in-law Mary who all love him dearly. A private family service will be held to celebrate Walter. 

If individuals would like to make a memorial gift in Walter’s honor, so for years to come, more youth can continue to pursue their dreams, please give to The Walter S. Hawkins and  Dr. M. Jean Peacock Endowed Scholarship. You can either contribute online or submit a check payable to CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation. Please be sure to reference on Check Memo: #P400261 Hawkins/Peacock Endowed Scholarship.  

Mail to: 

CSUSB 

Attn: Terri Carlos 

Office of Philanthropic Giving 

5500 University Parkway 

San Bernardino, CA 92407 

To make a gift online visit www.csusb.edu/makeagift 

When visiting the make a gift web link listed above: 

· Select “Multiple Funds, Specific College, Program or Dept” under the “I want my gift to support,” header 

· A pop up box will show up. Select the area you want to support by clicking “Other” 

· Enter the amount of your contribution and type in “#P400261 Hawkins/Peacock Endowment” 

· Then follow the remaining prompts 

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

Facebook is making investments in different efforts to address the gathering storm of social and economic problems facing America, particularly the ones hitting African Americans with unequal force. Through two community-focused initiatives, the Menlo Park-based tech company is shoring up three Black-Women-owned California-based businesses with mentoring and promotional opportunities. 

Increased misinformation; the diminishing of truth and objectivity in news programming; the COVID-19 crisis’s impact on small businesses; ongoing racial biases; the loss of newspaper ad revenue due to competition from the internet; and more. 

Many of those challenges if left unchecked, experts on both the political Left and Right agree, can chip away at the foundations of our democracy. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the country’s Gross Domestic Product dropped by 32.9 %by the second quarter of last year. 

“COVID-19 is impacting all businesses. But Black businesses are closing at a faster rate than all other businesses,” said Erica Woods, State Public Policy Manager at Facebook. She was telling California Black Media about the company’s new #BuyBlackFriday campaign. 

According to Woods, #BuyBlackFriday is Facebook’s “holiday program that redirects the energy of Black Friday to encourage consumers to support Black owned businesses throughout the holiday season.” 

Woods says the campaign features 60 Black-owned businesses from around the United States. Two of them are based in California — both owned by Black women in the Los Angeles Area: Amethyst Soul Home, which makes scented candles and Gracemade, a clothing and accessory company. 

“I am elated for the opportunity for more people to experience SouLuxe Amber Noir scented coconut wax candles and fill their homes with a sultry fusion of Warm Amber, Sandalwood, Jasmine and Mandarin,” said Jillene Williams, owner of Amethyst Soul Home.  

 It’s an honor to be a part of the gift guide, as well as the Facebook Elevate program alongside many other great black-owned companies,” Williams continued. “Being featured in the Facebook #BuyBlack Friday Holiday Gift Guide has certainly introduced my scented coconut wax candles to a vast audience I would never be able to reach otherwise.”

Facebook is inviting all Black businesses across the country to use the hashtag #BuyBlackFriday to support their businesses, beginning now and particularly the day after Thanksgiving when the holiday shopping season unofficially kicks off. 

Gracemade and Amethyst Soul Home will both be featured on a show as well on the digital platform’s Black Voices page. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of our products,” Woods said. “So many businesses have used our platforms to connect with their audiences. We found that the pandemic was closing doors, that impacts us as well.  So, we want to support businesses and make sure that they flourish and grow.”

Earlier this month, the biggest social media platform in the world, also announced that it has invited the African American-owned Black Voice News in Riverside as well as 19 other local news publishers from around the United States to participate in the Facebook Journalism Project Sustainability Accelerator Program. 

“It’s a wonderful opportunity. It is forward-thinking. It is necessary. This program provides the support and mentorship that Black Voice News can use at this very critical time to be strong and sustainable,” said Paulette Brown-Hinds, Publisher of the Black Voice News and CEO of Voice Media Ventures. Based in Riverside, Black Voice News, is a nearly fifty-year-old publication founded by Brown-Hinds’s parents: the organization’s publisher emeritus Hardy Brown and his wife, former California Assemblymember Cheryl Brown. 

“Facebook’s intensive five-month Accelerator program is going to enhance our capabilities as an organization and team by providing opportunities to learn from industry best practices, benefit from the experiences of other members of our cohort in the program and grow from unique feedback customized for our organization and provided by a coach dedicated to the Black Voice News group,” Stephanie Williams, Editor, Black Voice News.  

According to Facebook, the training program will provide “intensive training” to local media outlets. Through the program, industry experts will also coach newspaper publishers on improving their news coverage, growing their audiences and enhancing their technology. Earlier this year, Facebook announced that it was investing $5 million in local news organizations that serve audiences in marginalized communities. The company has also awarded $10.3 million to 144 local newsrooms around the country as part of its COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program. 

The Facebook Journalism project is supported by Facebook but run through the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), an advocacy and support organization that works around the world to grow news media outlets. 

“We are honored to partner with this impressive group of publishers, whose newsrooms make a difference in their communities,” said Joyce Barnathan, ICFJ’s president. 

About half the media outlets Facebook has invited to participate in the program are Black-owned or Black-led publishers, and about the same percentage are non-profit organizations.  They include established local African American newspapers that have over the years become institutions in the communities they serve, as well as digital publications that have launched more recently. 

Facebook, which also owns the social media platform Instagram, averages more than 2.7 billion active users a month. In 2019, the company’s revenue was estimated around $70 billion. 

Jasmine Rennie, who owns Gracemade says she’s excited that more women – not only in California, but around the world – are being introduced to her “faith-driven” brand that designs modest but fashion-forward apparel, including a bestselling jumpsuit. 

“A lot of women want clothes that don’t reveal too much but are still trendy, stylish and beautiful. This program will help us reach so many of them and provide the clothing that fits their lifestyles,” Rennie said.

By Quinci LeGardye | California Black Media 

As COVID-19 case numbers climb, California has imposed tighter restrictions and ordered a ordered a statewide mask mandate, while advising residents to stay home. Out of the 58 California counties, 41 are now at the state’s most restrictive, or purple, tier, including Alameda, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties. 

On Friday, the governor announced a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in 41 counties. It will affect more than 90 % of Californians, but he stopped short of reissuing a statewide shelter-in-place order. 

“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges.” 

Earlier in the week, Gov. Newsom announced a stricter mandate that requires mask wearing “statewide at all times when outside of the home” by everyone over age two. The new restrictions are in response to the recent COVID-19 case surge, the “fastest increase we’ve seen since the start of the pandemic,” according to Newsom. 

Nationwide, COVID-19 cases hit 12 million on Nov. 21, an increase of nearly 1 million over the previous week. More than 250,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 so far. 

“Every age group, every racial demographic, in every part of the state we are seeing case rates increase and positivity rates increase as well. It is no longer concentrated in just a handful of counties. We are seeing community spread broadly throughout the state of California,” Newsom said during a news briefing Monday. 

Public health and government officials have recently shifted their messaging to warning the public about the spread of COVID-19 in the winter months, as families consider whether to gather for the holidays. On Nov. 13, Newsom issued a travel advisory warning to California residents discouraging travel out of the state for any nonessential reason, including the Thanksgiving holiday, and recommending a 14-day quarantine for anyone who does travel. 

Newsom also shared the number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in California, which has climbed 48 % over the past two weeks to reach 3,800 as of Nov. 15. Of those, more than 1,000 people were in intensive care. 

Black and Brown communities including East Oakland and East Los Angeles are still hotspots – and the case numbers are climbing. 

Dr. Beverly Tambe is a primary doctor at Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in East Los Angeles who recently appeared in a USA Facts Ad to talk about the realities of treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a conversation with California Black Media, Tambe spoke about the struggles of treating a virus whose full impact healthcare professionals have yet to determine. 

Over the past nine months of treating COVID-19 patients, Tambe has seen a variety of situations with her patients. They range from those who recover in a couple of days, to those who were previously admitted to the hospital at the beginning of the pandemic and still come in for outpatient treatment for decreased lung or heart function. She emphasizes that the effects of COVID-19 vary from patient to patient. 

“We have a standardized treatment regimen for patients that come into the hospital, depending on the severity. We’ve got a whole algorithm that we follow, but even with the algorithm and these treatments, some patients get better and some just don’t. We have patients that we’re doing everything for and they’re not getting better,” she said. 

Tambe also shared her concerns about the upcoming winter and whether case numbers will continue to increase. She recommended against gathering in large groups. She also emphasized that people at least take the basic safety precautions, including wearing a mask and washing their hands regularly, to protect themselves and those around them. 

“There’s a 14-day incubation period with the disease. So even though you feel fine, one day you could travel or meet in a large group, and still be carrying the disease. So, you carry the disease, spread it to everybody and eventually your symptoms might come up, but you’ve already gotten others sick. That’s why it’s so important to take care, to be cautious,” she warned.

ONTARIO, CA—- Living through a historic global pandemic and civil unrest, one school is seizing this critical time to foster global citizenship and teach its students to think outside school walls. Ignite is a first-of-its-kind partnership between Ontario Christian High School and the global Christian humanitarian organization World Vision. This innovative program will inspire students to take action and equip them to find solutions to the needs of today’s world.

Ontario students will also be committing to sponsor children in Kalapata, Kenya through World Vision, but in an empowering twist, the students will be Chosen by the children in Kalpata. The Ontario students had their photos taken and sent to the Kalpata community in Kenya where their photos were displayed for the Kenyan children to choose what Ontario student, they want to be their sponsor. 

“One of Ontario Christian’s goals is to be a community that considers loving your neighbor as an essential part of faith, as a non-negotiable. I’m really excited about this experience for the students,” said Ontario Christian Principal Ben Dykhouse. “I’m excited that I get to experience this along with them, with the child that my family is sponsoring.”

On November 18, the Ignite program will hold a powerful event where the students will find out who chose them as their sponsor. They will receive a picture of the child holding their photo and a note letting them know about the child and what made the child choose them. This will be the emotional beginning of a transformational relationship that, accompanied with an experiential curriculum, will shape the students into global leaders with a biblical worldview. 

Just this week, the students participated in the Social Innovation Challenge, which is a competition that empowers students to create real-world solutions to humanitarian issues. This year’s challenge invited students to come up with solutions to tackle youth drug abuse in Ethiopia. Competing against a team from a school in Las Vegas, the winning team gets a chance to see their solution implemented in a community in Ethiopia. 

World Vision is one of the largest Christian humanitarian organizations in the world, working in nearly 100 countries. Through the organization’s efforts every 30 seconds, a family gets water, a hungry child is fed, and a family receives the tools to overcome poverty.

Ontario Christian High School will launch the World Vision Ignite partnership with nearly 100 9^th grade students, who will build relationships with their sponsored child in Kenya through the remainder of their high school career at Ontario. They will also learn about the root causes of poverty and how to tackle critical world issues. By connecting with vulnerable kids in the developing world, students will gain empathy, learn to love their neighbors, and provide tangible help to meet the basic needs of others. The students will also lead out on local action, to help neighbors in need in the Los Angeles area.

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About World Vision: 
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.?For more information, please visit https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/media-center or follow us on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA. 

The San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Board of Education recently promoted career educator and San Bernardino native Ana Applegate to assistant superintendent of the Educational Services Division, which oversees the academic achievement of students from kindergarten through high school. 

Applegate, first hired to teach at Hunt Elementary School in 1993, will oversee key departments like Elementary Instruction and Secondary Education, Professional Development, and Multilingual Programs, among others vital to student learning. With an estimated 48,000 students, SBCUSD is the ninth largest school district in California.

Applegate assumes her new leadership role amid challenging school closures prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has placed greater emphasis and demand on remote teaching and learning. She will be tasked with strengthening the District’s distance learning program while also preparing for the eventual return of students to in-class learning when it’s deemed safe to reopen schools, as guided by local and state guidelines.

Although Applegate is a familiar face inside and outside the District, she was formally introduced to the community during the November 17 virtual Board of Education meeting. 

“I’m committed to working to provide all our students the highest quality educational experience in order to prepare them for college and careers,” Applegate said. “The relationships we build with students, families, and employees are an important foundation for our work.”

Most recently Applegate served as director of Multilingual Programs, where she was responsible for overseeing all of the English Learner programs, implementing the International Newcomer Academy at Pacific High School, and the trilingual program (English, Spanish, and Vietnamese) at Belvedere Elementary School. Prior to that role, she held a variety of positions, including mentoring new teachers. Applegate earned her bachelor’s degree and bilingual cross-cultural credential from California State University, San Bernardino. She earned her master’s degree in Education Administration from Azusa Pacific University.

Applegate is the third cabinet member to be promoted from within the District’s administrative ranks in recent months, which is attributed to the quality of educational leadership within the District, said Interim Superintendent Dr. Harold J. Vollkommer.

“As educators, we are in the business of building human potential,” Vollkommer said. “Ana is a progressive leader with a clear vision to help our students succeed academically. She takes that responsibility very seriously. Her passion for students and institutional knowledge are assets to our school district.”

By Charles Ellison, the b|e note

Although housing insecurity affected communities of color long before COVID-19, the current pandemic continues to exacerbate inequalities. As early as April 2020, 32 percent of Black adults and 41 percent of Latinx adults experienced job loss due to the pandemic, compared with only 24 percent of white adults.

Black and Latina women have seen the largest drop in their employment-to-population ratios since February, with Black women in particular seeing jobs come back at a rate that is 1 1/2 times slower than that of white women. Although all racial and ethnic groups have faced record unemployment, the Black-white unemployment gap has persisted throughout the pandemic.

For Asian Americans—who have been particularly targeted by racist responses to the coronavirus crisis—unemployment rates have soared to 11 percent in July, compared with 3 percent during the previous year, and they remain historically high as the pandemic continues. 

Lost and reduced income has worsened already difficult situations for many. During the pandemic, renters of color have reported less overall confidence in being able to pay their next month’s rent and have reported not having paid the previous month’s rent on time at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts. (see Figures 1 and 2)

With communities of color also navigating the collective pain of higher rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, they must face additional medical and funeral costs in addition to potential lost employer-sponsored health insurance and reduced household income due to unemployment—or worse, the loss of an income-earner’s life.

“This Scary Statistic Predicts Growing US Political Violence — Whatever Happens On Election Day” Read MORE …

“The tendency is to blame Trump, but I don’t really agree with that,” Peter Turchin, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Connecticut who studies the forces that drive political instability, told BuzzFeed News. “Trump is really not the deep structural cause.”

The most dangerous element in the mix, argue Turchin and George Mason University sociologist Jack Goldstone, is the corrosive effect of inequality on society. They believe they have a model that explains how inequality escalates and leads to political instability: Worsened by elites who monopolize economic gains, narrow the path to social mobility, and resist taxation, inequality ends up undermining state institutions while fomenting distrust and resentment.

Building on Goldstone’s work showing that revolutions tend to follow periods of population growth and urbanization, Turchin has developed a statistic called the political stress indicator, or PSI. It incorporates measures of wage stagnation, national debt, competition between elites, distrust in government, urbanization, and the age structure of the population.

Turchin raised warning signs of a coming storm a decade ago, predicting that instability would peak in the years around 2020. “In the United States, we have stagnating or declining real wages, a growing gap between rich and poor, overproduction of young graduates with advanced degrees, and exploding public debt,” he wrote, in a letter to the journal Nature. “Historically, such developments have served as leading indicators of looming political instability.”

“Black, Hispanic, and Young Workers Have Been Left Behind by Policymakers, But Will They Vote?” Read MORE …

Black voters have faced a 150-year struggle against voter intimidation and suppression tactics and the multilayered legacies of slavery. Black Americans are also disproportionately disenfranchised by state laws that ban convicted felons from voting—even, in some states, after they have served their full sentence. Given the U.S.’s high incarceration rate and systemic racism in the criminal justice system, this is just one more way the Black vote is suppressed.

Black voter registration and participation rose after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; while Black voting rates would continue to lag behind white voting rates, the gap had narrowed significantly—particularly in the South. In 2008, the gap essentially closed, and in 2012, Black voting rates exceeded white voting rates (Figure A). However, Black voting rates dipped below white voting rates in the 2016 presidential election, asreports of voter suppression and intimidation increased relative to previous elections.

Hispanic voter turnout has been persistently lower than both Black and white voter turnout: In the 2016 presidential election, Hispanic turnout was reported by the Census Bureau at 47.6%, compared with 65.3% for non-Hispanic white voters and 59.4% for Black voters (Figure A). The reasons for low Hispanic turnout are not necessarily easy to determine and often get told one story at a time. Like Black voters, Hispanic voters have been hampered by voter suppression efforts and face disproportionate disenfranchisement due to felony convictions. Many face language barriers. The Hispanic population is also much younger (with a median age of 30 in 2018) than the white population (with a median age of 44)—and, as discussed below, younger adults are less likely to vote.1

By Quinci LeGardye | California Black Media

Californians can rest easy. With a little over two months to go until the state’s open enrollment period for 2021 ends on Jan. 31, 2021, expect no new restrictions to your health care coverage options. 

It is not likely that the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, will be successful. It occurred Nov. 10, when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments against the national health care law passed under the Obama administration in the case California v. Texas, No. 19-840. 

Although some Obamacare supporters, including California Attorney General Xavier Beccera – who led the Democratic defense of the ACA — expressed some caution about the nation’s highest court’s 6-3 conservative majority, they largely remained confident. 

After the hearing, a majority of Justices indicated that the ACA is still safe.

California v. Texas mainly focused on the ACA’s mandate requiring insurance. It was filed by 18 Republican attorneys general backed by the Trump administration. They argued that the mandate became unconstitutional after Congress eliminated the penalty for not having health insurance in Congress’s 2017 tax reform bill. They also argued that since the mandate was a crucial feature of the law, and they deemed it unconstitutional, the entire law should have been thrown out. 

Although an official decision in the case will not come until the middle of next year, at least five Supreme Court justices have indicated that they would reject the attempt to kill the ACA. Two members of the Court’s current Republican majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, noted that striking down the individual mandate portion of the ACA did not require overturning the rest of the law.

“It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the act in place — the provisions regarding pre-existing conditions and the rest,” Justice Kavanaugh said.

The Court’s inferred support of the ACA comes at a time when unemployment across the United States is still at record highs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Covered California healthcare marketplace began open enrollment Nov. 1, and many newly unemployed or self-employed Californians will need to apply for either subsidized insurance, Medi-Cal or an individual medical plan.

In a virtual conference Nov. 9, the day before his Supreme Court oral arguments, Becerra spoke about the importance of the ACA during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called a national health crisis.

“We need the ACA more than ever now. COVID-19 has infected more than 10 million Americans, it has cost 12 million American workers their healthcare, and it’s disproportionately hurting communities of color. Because of the ACA, in states with expanded Medicaid, workers who have lost their jobs and with that their employer-based health insurance, are still able to get healthcare and support that they need,” said Becerra.

California has supported the ACA since its inception in 2013, expanding the Medi-Cal program for low-income residents, and creating the state-based Covered California marketplace, which offers both federal subsidies and state-based aid. According to Census records, the rate of uninsured Californians dropped from 17.2 % in 2013 to 7.7 % in 2019.

According to Covered California, 271,820 people signed up for health care coverage through the marketplace during its special open enrollment period between March 20 and Aug. 20 this year, more than twice the number of people who signed up during the same period last year.

Dr. Jamila Perritt, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, spoke about the importance of the ACA for the community she treats as an OB-GYN.

“I take care of people, real people who deserve to have access to the healthcare they will want and need access to — provided by the Affordable Care Act. The health of my patients has improved. The health of our communities has improved. I know that the Affordable Care Act has been a safety net for many communities and undermining or eliminating it will disproportionately impact those who need care,” said Perritt.

After presenting the arguments for keeping the Affordable Care Act, Becerra was optimistic.

“The ACA has withstood numerous legal and political challenges. It’s been upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutional twice before. And we are optimistic that it will withstand this challenge as well,” said Becerra.

By Antonio? ?Ray? ?Harvey? ?|? ?California? ?Black? ?Media? ?

The California Democratic Party Black Caucus (CDP Black Caucus) joined hands with other women organizations this past weekend?. Their goal: to turn up the pressure on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a Black woman to replace outgoing Sen. Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate. 

During the virtual “Keep the Seat” news conference, which representatives from the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Black Women United (BWU) attended, the organizers explained why Gov. Newsom should appoint a Black woman. They also gave reasons why he should narrow his options to U.S. Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA-37) and Barbara Lee (D-CA-13).

“This is a pivotal time in California history. I hope together we can bend the moral arc of history towards justice, together, by ensuring that the most underrepresented and marginalized community retain a significant representation in California by appointing a Black woman to replace Kamala Harris,” said Taisha Brown, chairperson of the CDP Black Caucus. 

Brown continued, “Our call is for all of you to join us in saying to Gavin Newsom, our governor, that we are not going to accept anything but a Black woman. I think it’s critical that we emphasize that.”

Currently there are three African Americans serving in the United States Senate. Two of them are men (Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina). Harris, the junior Senator from California, is the only African American woman with a seat in the upper house of the United States Congress. 

But with Harris’s imminent ascendency to the Vice Presidency of the United States, there will be no African American woman in the US Senate after Jan. 20, 2021.

In response, the CDP Black Caucus has put out a call to action under the slogan “One is not enough, and zero is unacceptable.”

“We have a Thanksgiving message for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Our goal is to have 250 every day until Thanksgiving. We need you to speak up. Make a call and let Gov. Newsom know that Black women have been the backbone of the Democratic Party as voters, organizers, and we deserve representation in the United States Senate,” said Kendra Lewis, a representative for the CDP Black Caucus. 

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University Long Beach, was also one of the “Keep The Seat” speakers. Karenga, who is also the founder of the annual spiritual and cultural celebration Kwanzaa, said he “stands strong” with the CDP Black Caucus’s push to keep a Black woman from California in the U.S. Senate. 

“First of all, no one is more qualified than the two women mentioned — Bass and Lee. It’s not a gift. It’s recognition overdue. It’s also a service to the Democratic party. Black women have been the backbone of this party. So, it is debt owed to them,” he said. 

Over the weekend, several top women Democratic Party donors in California also urged Newsom to select a woman of color. About 150 of them have placed a letter in full-page ads in two newspapers — the LA Times in Southern California and the San Francisco Chronicle in Northern California — making their request known to Newsom. 

“Women of color are the core drivers of electoral progress in our country, and their voices should be heard in the nation’s highest governing body. California is fortunate to have a strong pipeline of women of color in elected office who are prepared to serve; as Californians and political supporters, we look forward to you selecting one of them,” the letter read. 

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and other Black leaders in the state have also called on Gov. Newsom to fill the seat with an African American woman.  

The CLBC members also sent a letter to Gov. Newsom making their case for why Bass and Lee should be at the top of his shortlist of candidates. They cited the women’s lengthy legislative experience coupled with their broad foreign policy knowledge. 

Before the election on Nov. 3, Newsom said that he was getting pressure from different groups in the state about who he should appoint to replace Harris. He also acknowledged that he feels the weight of making that important decision and predicted that his choice would not please everyone.  

“The stress of having to choose between a lot of friends, to choose between quality candidates, and the fact that whoever you pick, there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be upset, disappointed, that it wasn’t this or that, I don’t even want to get my arms around that until I have the privilege of having to make that decision,” Newsom said in an interview with Los Angeles’ FOX 11.

Gov. Newsom can either decide to make an appointment to complete Harris’s term or he can call  a special election.

Submitted by Because of Them We Can

President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris announced their advisory council to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic with some of the nation’s leading doctors and scientists. At the helm is Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith with her co-chairs Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Vivek Murthy.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” President-elect Biden said in a press release. “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations.”

Dr. Nunez-Smith comes from Yale University, an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Public Health, and Management at the Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on marginalized communities’ health and creating an equitable and accessible healthcare system for all.

“Everyone is affected by this pandemic, yet the burden is disproportionate,” Nunez-Smith said in a statement. “We know communities of color are grieving at high rates and are facing substantial economic impact. The transition advisory board is setting a course for everyone in our country to experience recovery.” 

Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate dean for health equity research at Yale School of Medicine is now the co- chair of the COVID task-force.
Black Women.
My heart is so full! pic.twitter.com/4dgVJc0kA2

— Narica (@NaricaClarke) November 8, 2020

According to the Yale press release announcing her appointment, “Munez-Smith is an internist and an expert in healthcare equity, is the founding director of Yale SOM’s Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership, which trains healthcare practitioners to address disparities in healthcare access and outcomes that affect people of color and other vulnerable populations. She is also the founding director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center at the Yale School of Medicine.”

Her official Yale bio lists Dr. Nunez-Smith as the Deputy Director for Health Equity Research and Workforce Development for the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, Core Faculty in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, and Research Faculty at Yale’s Global Health Leadership Institute. She comes from the Virgin Islands, earned a BA from Swarthmore College, an MD from Jefferson Medical College, and an MHS from Yale University.

We’re glad to have you on our nation’s team on this road to recovery! Congratulations, Dr. Nunez-Smith.

Source: Because of them we can