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On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, falling on his actual birthday, January 15th, we celebrate the profound legacy of a visionary leader, a tireless advocate for justice, and a champion of equality. Dr. King’s dream reverberates through the ages, inspiring us to strive for a world where every voice is heard, and every heart is free.

As the first California Native American state legislator, I reflect on the parallels between Dr. King’s fight for civil rights and my commitment to equality among Native Americans. His teachings guide us not just today but throughout the year, fostering unity and understanding.

Let’s carry Dr. King’s spirit of love, compassion, and justice into our actions, shaping a future where equality knows no bounds. May this day be a reminder that together, we can build a more inclusive and harmonious world for all.

As we come together to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us reflect on the enduring legacy of a visionary leader who championed justice, equality, and unity for all. Dr. King’s tireless efforts in the pursuit of civil rights have left an unforgettable mark on our nation’s history, inspiring us to strive for a society built on the principles of inclusion and equity.

In the spirit of Dr. King’s teachings, it is crucial that we continue the journey towards creating a community where diversity is celebrated, and every individual is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve. Our commitment to fostering an environment of inclusion is not only a tribute to Dr. King’s dream but a pledge to uphold the values that bring us closer as a society.

Let us use this day as an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the principles of justice and fairness. By working together to break down barriers and promote understanding, we can build a future that embraces the richness of our differences and ensures equal opportunities for all.

Thank you for joining me in commemorating Martin Luther King Day and embracing the ongoing journey towards inclusion and equity.

LOS ANGELES, CA—- “Can’t stop, won’t stop, going to the promised land” was the theme of the 39th annual Kingdom Day Parade, honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 

Organizers say the Monday, January 15 event is the world’s largest and longest-running King celebration, and a beloved Los Angeles tradition. The music-filled, lively procession traveled west on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and down Crenshaw Blvd., ending near Leimert Park, where the celebration continued all day long with a community festival.

Monday’s parade, one of many community activities going on across the southland, took place on what would have been the 95th birthday of King. Civic leaders, marching bands, cultural dance groups, Greek and service organizations and more joined in the festivities.

By Tanu Henry, Magaly Muñoz and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

Senate Bill (SB) 2, California’s controversial conceal-carry permit law that took effect Jan. 1, has been blocked for a second time now.

SB 2 prohibits gun owners from carrying their concealed firearms at most public places and gatherings, including religious institutions, banks, hospitals, parks and other venues.

On January 6, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a temporary hold on a lower court injunction that blocked the law. This most recent decision upholds a Dec. 20 ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney that blocked the law.

Before that, on December 22, Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta filed an emergency motion appealing Carney’s decision. A three-judge panel of a different 9th Circuit Court Appeal granted Bonta’s request, allowing the law to take effect, at least temporarily.

The same day, the law was blocked from taking effect, Gov. Newsom’s office shared the findings of a new survey that reports California’s gun laws are working.

Conducted by Everytown USA, a gun safety advocacy group, the survey ranks California and New York at the top of its list for having the lowest rates of gun violence.

“We compared gun policy across the country, scoring every state on the strength of its gun laws and comparing it with its rate of gun violence,” the introduction to the report reads.

“In states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence,” it continues.

By Tanu Henry, Magaly Muñoz and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

A California Department of Justice (DOJ) report released last week states that African Americans in California are stopped by law enforcement officers 132% more than expected, based on a comparison of stop data and residential population.

The findings were included in the DOJ’s Race and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board’s seventh annual report. The report analyzes millions of vehicle and pedestrian stops conducted in 2022 by 560 law enforcement agencies in the state.

Established in 2016 as a result of Assembly Bill (AB) 953 written by former Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), RIPA aims to eliminate racial and identity profiling and foster diversity and racial and identity sensitivity within law enforcement.

The 223-page report features the board’s view of pretextual stops where the stops result in resisting arrest charges, looks at the impact police unions have on law enforcement accountability and protocols for law enforcement training on racial and identity profiling, and examines youth interactions with police both in and out of schools.

Black individuals made up 12.5% of stopped people analyzed in the report, with Hispanic/Latinos making up about 43% and Whites making up 32.5% of people.

In a statement released Wednesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta commented on the guidance that RIPA has given to the state in the report.

“The annual collection of the RIPA stop data is making California communities safer by directing thoughtful and reflective reform,” said Bonta.

But not everyone agrees that the data presented by RIPA is accurate or informative.

The Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), an organization that represents 80,000 public safety members and over 950 associations, said the report “does not capture enough information for the Board to even satisfy California’s own legal standard for determining racial profiling.”

PORAC enlisted the help of Texas State University professor Dr. Brian Withrow to examine the data from the report which he found “inadequate in many ways.”

“The best data sets are those that recognize the complexities associated with an issue and provide robust qualitative information. However, the data the RIPA Board collects and analyzes — despite the breadth of its reach — is woefully inadequate as a measure of potential racial profiling in routine operations,” Withrow said in a statement.

Withrow recommended that other factors such as age, gender, and context of the communities where officers are assigned should all be taken into consideration along with race. He proposed that members of the RIPA Board sit down with police officers, one-on-one, to better understand why they might make a stop and how they proceed once they do.

Dreamers, Visionaries and Leaders Project will present a free live concert at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, in the Victor Valley College Performing Arts Theater. The show will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a performance by singer Dorian Holley, Nayanna Holley and the Dorian Holley Band.

Dorian Holley performed with the late Michael Jackson on each of his solo tours, including working as Vocal Director for Jackson’s This Is It tour and film. Holley has toured with icons Coldplay, Rod Stewart, Queen Latifah, Don Henley, Lionel Richie and Linda Ronstadt.

For more information, please call 760-245-4271, ext. 2395 or 760-242-2487.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Caucus

Closing out their 2023 activities and previewing what they intend to focus on this year, members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) met with Black news media outlets from different parts of the state. During the meeting, held late last month, the lawmakers shared some of their top priorities for the 2024 legislative session, which began January 3.

Issues members stated are their primary concerns for the next legislative session fall into several categories, including health, education, public safety, social services, homelessness, affordable housing, and economics. CLBC is planning to bring immediate attention on creating legislation around the 100-plus recommendations the California Reparations Task Force panel presented to the Legislature in June of last year.

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), Chair of the CLBC, said, because so many of the caucus members have been appointed committee chairs by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), she expects they will leverage their positions to meet the group’s goals over the course of the next year.

“It is a pleasure to be in this space where we have a record number of members of the Black Caucus being chairs of key leadership committees as well in the area of budget,” said Wilson.

“Traditionally, what happens is when our members are serving as chairs, they also serve budget subcommittees. All members are essentially sitting on budget subcommittees for the upcoming new year,” she continued.

Seven of the 12 members of the CLBC joined Wilson in attending the virtual news briefing facilitated by California Black Media (CBM). They included Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) and Assemblymembers Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley); Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood); Mike Gipson (D-Carson); Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa), Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D – Los Angeles) and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).

The other five members were unable to attend the briefing due to holiday season obligations, Wilson said.

During the 2024 legislative session, Jackson, who will lead Budget Subcommittee 2 on Human Services, said he expects Black Californians will see that the CLBC is “protecting” key issues that concern Black Californians.

“I think it’s going to be an opportunity that other Black caucuses have never had before,” said Jackson. “So, I am looking forward to working with the speaker and Chair Wilson to get these things done.”

Speaker Rivas created the new Budget Subcommittee on Human Services to focus on state funding for programs such as CalWORKs, CalFresh and In-home Supportive Services. Budget Subcommittee No. 1 previously oversaw human services funding, in combination with health.

The new subcommittee Jackson is leading will engage in increased activities on social programs, in addition to interacting

with residents and advocates on issues such as disability rights, low-income jobs, childcare, and aging, Rivas stated in a Dec. 5, 2023, letter.

In addition to Jackson’s new role, Rivas appointed other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) in to leadership roles in November for the 2023-2024 legislative session.

Wilson is chair of the Transportation Committee; McCarty is chair of the Public Safety Committee; Weber is chair of Budget Subcommittee 1 on Health; and Gipson is chair of the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee; Bonta is chair of the Health Committee; and Issac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), chair of the Natural Resources Committee.

McKinnor remains as the chair of the Public Employment and Retirement Committee from the previous Legislative session.

Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) are both termed out this year. Jones-Sawyer is running for a seat on the L.A. City Council and Holden is running to serve on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

In the Senate, Bradford chairs the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. He is also serving his last term in the Legislature.

Wilson said all the members of the Black Caucus are “excited” and “look forward to stepping” into their roles. Jackson says he

is excited to be working on issues affecting aging adults in California.

According to the Stanford Center on Longevity, the number of old people in California, those over 65, will double over the next twenty years from 4.3 million in 2010 to 8.4 million in 2030. This will take place as the huge Baby Boomer cohort — the population born between 1946 and 1964 — passes age 65.

“These resources are vital lifelines for many families. By separating out human services and public health committee work, the Legislature can do a better job of focusing and also give the committee more time to offer feedback,” Speaker Rivas stated, referring to the subcommittee Jackson chairs.

“Assemblymember Jackson has dedicated his career to social work, and I believe he is the best person to lead this new subcommittee,” wrote Rivas.

A recurring concern for members as they discussed the issues important to them is the state’s $68 billion budget deficit that the nonpartisan Legislative Accounting Office (LAO) projected last month.

“I am so grateful that our Speaker has placed me as chair (Subcommittee 1 on Health),” Weber said. “That is going to be so important not only to tackle our budget crisis right now but also making sure that as stated earlier by Assemblyman Jackson, be creative in ways in looking to see where we are putting our money that’s actually working.”

Maternity ward closures, educating public about reparations, retail theft, public safety, Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, improving the shortage of public employees, and divestment in oil are some of the issues CLBC members hope to address during the next 12 months.

Other pressing issues for members are early education, afterschool programs, childcare for African American parents, criminal justice reform, and finding solutions to end mass incarceration in California’s jails and prisons.

“As a group, this is not the last time (CLBC will meet with the Black Press). We know that the work you do is important, people laud us always for the work that we do, but you really are on the front lines of our communities,” Wilson told the Black news publishers and reporters.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a Commemorative Peace March Program on Monday, January 15 at Victorville City Hall. The event will also feature a plaque unveiling ceremony to recognize the student winner of the City’s annual Civil Rights Memorial Essay Contest. The unveiling ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. with the student reading their winning essay memorializing a civil rights leader. For additional information, call (760) 955-3306.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is seeking the public’s assistance in locating missing teen, Aleena Garcia.

Aleena, 15, was last seen at the Stonewood Center in Downey, California on December 26, 2023. Aleena had gone shopping with her mom and grandmother, after a phone call Aleena was visibly upset and walked out of sight and is believed to have exited the mall. That was nearly two weeks ago, and Aleena is still missing.

Aleena’s mom, Laren Turner, shared that her daughter has never gone missing before and this is very out of character for her. Aleena is very close with her friends and family, and she has not been in contact with anyone. Her mom fears something may have happened to her daughter. Laren told NCMEC “I need her home and to know that she is safe,” she said. “I love her so much and will not stop looking until she is brought home to me”.

In an effort to bring more attention to Aleena’s case, her poster is being featured on the Ring’s Neighbors app as a part of a partnership between NCMEC and Ring. This feature reaches millions of users, providing real-time assistance in locating missing children.

Aleena is described as 5’4″, weighs 160 lbs., and has brown eyes with black hair. If you have any information about Aleena her disappearance, PLEASE contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Downey Police Department (California) at 1-562-861-0771.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- It’s time for the 44th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, hosted by Inland Empire African American Churches (IECAAC). This year’s theme “From Dream to Action” Inspiring Change and Equality, Galatians 3:28. The breakfast will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Entrepreneur High School located at 26655 Highland Avenue in Highland, California 92346. To purchase your ticket, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/44th-annual-martin-luther-king-jr-breakfast-from-dream-to-action-tickets-779217659997.