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By Quinci LeGardye | California Black Media 

California’s unofficial 2020 proposition results have shown an electorate that is fairly moderate, supportive of business interests and concerned about issues affecting older citizens.

It also showed that there is limited support for progressive policies. Initiatives a majority of African Americans and young Californians supported such as affirmative action and rent control also fell short. 

Prop 16, the ballot initiative to reinstate affirmative action programs in California, failed with 56 % of voters voting no. The proposition would have allowed public universities and state and local governments to consider race, sex, ethnicity and national origin in their hiring, contracting or admission decisions. Although supporters of the proposition argued that it would increase racial equity in the state, it faced heavy opposition. With the no vote, affirmative action is still banned in California.

The most recent attempt at rent control also failed, with 60 % of voters rejecting Prop 21. The initiative would have allowed local governments to enact rent control on housing built over 15 years ago, while exempting landlords who own no more than two properties. Instead, California’s statewide ban on new forms of rent control will stay in effect, at a time when millions of Americans are struggling with rent or facing eviction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After months of high spending and heated debate, Proposition 22 passed with over eight million yes votes, as of Nov. 8. Gig economy companies including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are now exempt from AB 5, the California law that classifies workers. The companies will be allowed to continue classifying their drivers as independent contractors.

The Yes on 22 campaign received over $202 million in contributions, making Prop 22 the most expensive ballot initiative campaign in California history. According to Ballotpedia, the top five donors for Yes on 22 were Uber, DoorDash, Lyft, InstaCart and Postmates, with Uber and Lyft spending over $50 million each.

Voters also struck down Prop 23, which would have required dialysis clinics to have at least one licensed physician on site during treatment. Opponents of the proposition had argued that the ballot initiative’s passage would force multiple clinics to reduce hours or shut down due to the increased hiring costs.

Voters said no to rolling back previous criminal justice reforms, rejecting Prop 20 by the widest margin, with 62 percent of voters voting no on upgrading several crimes to violent felonies and upgrading some theft crimes to be chargeable as either misdemeanors or felonies.

Voters also rejected replacing money bail with a risk assessment system, with 55 % voting no on Prop 25. Although it was billed as an attempt at serious bail reform, multiple social justice groups had concerns that the risk assessment system would lead to increased racial profiling against Black and Brown suspects awaiting trial.

Two propositions this year focused on voter rights. Prop 17 passed with 59 % of yes votes, giving parolees the right to vote upon release from incarceration. With Prop 17’s passage, tens of thousands of predominately Black and Brown parolees have regained their voting rights. However, Prop 18 fell short, with 55 % of voters saying no to allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they turn eighteen by the next general election.

In both of this year’s propositions related to property taxes, voters resisted tax increases. Prop 15, which proposed an increase on property taxes for commercial properties to fund education and local governments, failed by a margin of about 425,000 votes as of Nov. 8. Prop 19 passed, with 51 % of the vote approving tax breaks for property tax assessment transfers for homeowners over 55 years old, people with severe disabilities and victims of natural disasters.

Voters approved Prop 24, to strengthen the California Consumer Privacy Act and establish and limit the use of sensitive consumer data among businesses. Also, Prop 14 passed, approving the issue of $5.5 billion in state bonds to fund stem cell and other medical research.

RIVERSIDE, CA— The Community Wellness Transportation Program is looking for Canvassers in the Riverside County Area. Immediate positions are available, Monday through Friday, 5 hours a day. Bi-lingual in Spanish is a plus. Email your resume to Robert@RiversideCountyBCC.org or call (951) 877-0167 to schedule an interview. 

The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Flagstar Bank to keep their promise and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion to the members and communities they serve by giving $1 million in grants to help small businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and people of color whose operating expenses are impacted by COVID-19.

Qualifying small minority businesses can submit applications now through November 20 for grants of $5,000. Flagstar has partnered with BIPOC nonprofits in its key banking markets to vet and administer the grants. Qualifications include (1) diverse ownership (2) revenues of no more than $1 million (3) located within Flagstar Bank’s footprint of San Bernardino County area including Barstow, Victorville, Adelanto, Hesperia and Apple Valley, California. Additional qualifications, grant uses, and other information are available in the application.

 We hope to combat the narrative that there is no assistance for minority-owned businesses. The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce is committed to serve the entrepreneurs that are facing hardships during this pandemic. We are honored to team up with Flagstar Bank to help these businesses survive, thrive, and enhance the vitality of our communities. Businesses owned by people of color have been especially hard hit by COVID-19, with nearly half of black-owned businesses shuttered by the pandemic. 

 “We have a commitment to our communities and to keeping our promises to them,” said Alessandro DiNello, CEO of Flagstar Bank. “Reversing decades of systemic inequities is a marathon, and we are in it to the finish. These grants are an important milestone along the way to making our communities and our company better and more equitable for all.” 

By Ben Jealous

After four exhausting years of President Donald Trump and four excruciating days of vote counting, the election was called for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday. Hallelujah! 

Those days of counting felt agonizingly slow to many of us, but the momentum was always on our side: Democratic voters—mostly Black voters—in and around Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta delivered the battleground state votes needed to deny Trump a second term. In Nevada and Arizona, Latino and Native American voters provided crucial votes. 

News that Pennsylvania put Biden over the top sparked dancing in the streets and tears of joy in many households. So did the sight of Kamala Harris making her historic appearance as our next vice president—the first woman, first Black woman, first South Asian woman, to be elected to the White House.

In his speech Saturday night, Joe Biden made it clear that he understands how much he owes to Black folks. “The African American community stood up again for me,” he said. “They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.”

We will all need to help Biden make good on that commitment with policies that address our communities’ needs. There’s a lot to do. 

We need a more effective response to COVID-19 pandemic and its particularly hard impact on the health and economic well-being of people of color. 

We need a vision and a plan for an economy that does not leave Black communities behind, an economy where opportunity is widely available and prosperity is widely shared—not one that strips wealth out of middle-class and lower-income families and funnels it to the richest people in the world.

We need to eliminate voter suppression strategies—and resist ongoing efforts by Trump and his allies to delegitimize and overturn his decisive defeat.

We need to confront the systemic racism that leads to police killings of Black men, women, and children—killings for which justice far too often is delayed and denied.

We need to address the corruption of our federal court system by Trump and Senate Republicans and the hard-right judges they have spent four years packing into our federal courts, which we can no longer count on to uphold our constitutional and civil rights. 

All those jobs will be made so much harder if Republicans maintain control of the Senate. The unprincipled obstructionist Republican leader Mitch McConnell has turned that half of Congress into a graveyard for legislation the American people need to advance the vision of a more just society for which we just voted.

So, we have work to do, right now, in Georgia, where two U.S. Senate races are headed for runoffs in early January. Both races feature corrupt, Trump-enabling Republicans who represent the worst kind of politician. Both are being challenged by smart, progressive Democrats who will help Biden and Harris achieve good things for the American people. 

Those victories in Georgia are achievable, largely in part to the brilliant organizing work of my dear friend Stacey Abrams. She responded to her own unjust defeat in Georgia’s race for governor in 2018 by leading a coalition that registered hundreds of thousands of new voters and turned the state blue this year. 

She believes Democrats can absolutely win the Senate runoffs, and that the outcome of those races will help determine whether we have access to health care and access to justice in the U.S. The excellent Democratic candidates, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, need and deserve all the support we can give them.

Defeating Trump and electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris was a huge victory. Let’s celebrate, get a good night’s sleep or a long nap, and get back to work.

R & R Breakfast Spot, 5460 Philadelphia St., Chino (One light North of the 60 at Central) is paying for your “trip to taste” their fabulous breakfast and lunch cuisine, with a 15% discount on your purchase! Rhonda Dennis, the owner, made the offer during her interview with Wallace Allen on past Sunday’s “Empire Talks Back” radio talk show. The discount is good through Sunday November 15th. Claim your “Trip to Taste” discount by saying “Wallace from Empire Talks Back radio sent me”!  Open daily, except Monday, from 7 to 3 pm… 909-548-0014… Pick up, Delivery (limited) and Patio Dining available!  

One of gospel biggest icons passed on October 31. 71-year-old Rance Allen, leader of The Rance Allen Group died recently while recovering from a “medical condition” at Heartland ProMedica in Sylvania, Ohio.

Discovered by a Stax Records promotion man, Rance Allen and his brothers Thomas and Steve were signed after appearing in a Detroit talent show. He co-founded the Rance Allen Group with his brothers in Detroit in 1969. He was the lead vocalist and was known for his powerful voice.

An eight-time Grammy nominee, Allen had grown up in the shadow of Motown, recorded for Stax and been influenced by Chuck Berry, but his songs were always a deeply profound and fervent expression of his religious faith.

The Rance Allen Group combined rock and soul with gospel music to create a crossover sound. They had a top 30 R&B hit in 1978 with “I Belong to You.” And “Ain’t No Need of Crying” was one of their most successful and popular hits. In 1998, the Rance Allen Group were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Allen was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for best gospel performance for the song “I Understand,” which featured Mariah Carey and Bebe Winans. He sang at the White House in 2015 for President Barack Obama.

Allen born in Monroe, Michigan was a longtime Toledo, Ohio resident and most recently bishop for Church of God in Christ for the Michigan Northwestern Harvest Jurisdiction.

Rance Allen is survived by his wife of 49 years Ellen Allen. They had no children together.

Discovered by a Stax Records promotion man, Rance Allen and his brothers Thomas and Steve were signed after appearing in a Detroit talent show. He co-founded the Rance Allen Group with his brothers in Detroit in 1969. He was the lead vocalist and was known for his powerful voice.

An eight-time Grammy nominee, Allen had grown up in the shadow of Motown, recorded for Stax and been influenced by Chuck Berry, but his songs were always a deeply profound and fervent expression of his religious faith.

The Rance Allen Group combined rock and soul with gospel music to create a crossover sound. They had a top 30 R&B hit in 1978 with “I Belong to You.” And “Ain’t No Need of Crying” was one of their most successful and popular hits. In 1998, the Rance Allen Group were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Allen was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for best gospel performance for the song “I Understand,” which featured Mariah Carey and Bebe Winans. He sang at the White House in 2015 for President Barack Obama.

Allen born in Monroe, Michigan was a longtime Toledo, Ohio resident and most recently bishop for Church of God in Christ for the Michigan Northwestern Harvest Jurisdiction.

Rance Allen is survived by his wife of 49 years Ellen Allen. They had no children together.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— We wish you and your family nothing but the BEST this Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season. Just a reminder, for those that have an itch to give back this season, Community Action Partnership, San Bernardino Valley College and the Young Visionaries are still in need of volunteers for their Turkey Giveaway on Saturday, November 21. They will provide each volunteer with PPE (mask or shields, hand sanitizer, and gloves).

To volunteer, please fill out the form below:

You can also email Yoselyn Aldama for more information at yaldama@yvyla-ie.org or call or text (909) 513-4316. 

Grounded Self-Care studio offers meditation, yoga and other self care practices for inner healing.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— On Sunday, November 8, Grounded held its grand opening in the heart of Downtown San Bernardino. The Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Cities assisted with the promotion and support of the ribbon cutting, along with Assemblymember Eloise Reyes. Below are a few words that the founder, Destinee Frye, stated about her purpose and mission with Grounded:

It was all a dream. Chasing purpose is an interesting experience. My husband thought I was crazy, I thought I was crazy, but God said it was time, so I moved.

Yesterday, I saw people moved to tears, to laughter, breathing a little bit easier because they experienced a breakthrough, they didn’t know they needed.

All a reminder that all of the sacrifice was worth it. I chose my purpose over emotions, over expectations, over opinions, over logic, over common sense, over comfort, and I’ll keep choosing it over and over again. 

Thank you to everyone who has believed in the process, new believers, and the ones that have been rocking with me since the beginning. WE did it! And we’re just getting started! 

Grounded Self-Care Studio is located at 381 N E Street in San Bernardino. 

By Derek Major

Former Vice President Joe Biden has now become President-Elect after being named the projected winner of the 2020 presidential election. Supporters were quick to show their support.

“Finally, I want to thank everyone who worked, organized and volunteered for the Biden campaign, every American who got involved in their own way and everybody who voted for the first time,” Obama wrote. “I know it can be exhausting, but for this democracy to endure, it requires our active citizenship and sustained focus on the issues—not just in an election season, but all the days in between.”

Biden was declared the winner Saturday morning, after days of ballot counting, protests, and Donald Trump’s wildly false claims about election fraud. Biden won states on both coasts, including Washington, California, Oregon, and Nevada as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Jersey. But it was the states in the middle of the country that made the difference. Biden and Harris also took Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the last two of which flipped from Republican.

The former first lady also congratulated Biden and his wife, Jill, as well as Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff.

I’m beyond thrilled that my friend @JoeBiden and our first Black and Indian-American woman Vice President, @KamalaHarris, are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it. pic.twitter.com/yXqQ3tYRoa

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) November 7, 2020

“I’m beyond thrilled that my friend @JoeBiden and our first Black and Indian-American woman Vice President, @KamalaHarris, are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it,” the former first lady wrote on Twitter.

Hillary and Bill Clinton also expressed their congratulations to Biden’s and Harris for winning the White House.

“America has spoken and democracy has won,” tweeted former President Bill Clinton, less than an hour after the Associated Press officially called the election for Biden after receiving the 270 electoral college votes necessary. Hillary Clinton wrote “It’s a history-making ticket, a repudiation of Trump, and a new page for America.”

CNN reported Sunday Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) both called and congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory. They were the only two Republicans to express their support to Biden and Harris.