By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta is urging Californians to take advantage of recent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) programs.

Bonta’s announcement coincides with a CNBC survey that reports 31% of Black women are disproportionately impacted by student debt. Also, four years after graduation, 48% of Black students owe an average of 12.5% more than they borrowed, according to the Educational Data Initiative (EDI).

Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) shared her own struggles with paying back student debt she owed.

“I graduated with over $150,000 in student debt. I was in my 20s then,” she said. “I didn’t make my final payment until almost 20 years later, just in time to send my oldest daughter to college.”

According to Bonta, a Black woman owes 112% of the loan amount she takes out 12 years after starting college. For a Latina, 12 years after starting college, she will owe 86% of that loan.

“Black and Latino students, coming from low-income communities take on a disproportionately amount of school debt,” Bonta said. “I witness this every single day.”

The PSLF and TEPSLF programs are entirely different from President Joe Biden’s plan for targeted student debt cancellation to borrowers with loans held by the Department of Education. Qualifying borrowers must have “annual income of under $125,000 (for individuals) or under $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households). Borrowers who qualify can have up to $10,000 worth of eligible debt canceled. If the borrower received a Pell Grant, the borrower could have up to a total of $20,000 of debt canceled.

Biden also extended the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through December 31, 2022.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) launched a limited-time PSLF Waiver opportunity that runs through Oct. 31. It allows eligible borrowers to receive credit for past student loan payments that would otherwise not qualify under the PSLF program.

ED improved the PSLF program in response to a lawsuit and years-long advocacy by a number of state attorneys general and others urging ED to fix the broken program.

Following resolution of the lawsuit, AG Bonta has continued to advocate for changes to the PSLF program. The California Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking part in the California Student Loan Debt Challenge to raise awareness about the PSLF program to help DOJ employees’ access loan forgiveness.

“On behalf of the more than 5,000 public servants at the California Department of Justice, I’m proud to take the California Student Debt Challenge,” AG Bonta said. “Our public servants work day-in and day-out on behalf of the people of California as our nurses, teachers, first responders, state workers, and more. I urge you to take advantage of the new PSLF Limited Waiver Opportunity before the Oct.31 deadline.”

California ranks No. 13 among states on student loan debt with borrowers owing an average of $37,084. California’s student loan debt adds up to $141.8 billion, the largest amount of any state.

According to EDI, student loan debt statistics show tremendous disparities among racial and ethnic groups.

African American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more debt than White graduates. Four years after graduation, 48% of Black students owe an average of 12.5% more than they borrowed.

Black student borrowers are the most likely to struggle financially due to student loan debt, with 29% making monthly payments of $350 or more. About 3% of California borrowers owe more than $200,000 and nearly 10% of the state’s population have student loan debt.

The moratorium on federal student loan payments expires on Aug. 31. A total of 43 million Americans owe student loan debt — worth $1.6 trillion, federal data shows.

“Thankfully now, there are federal and state programs that can play a critical role in reducing or eliminating student debt altogether,” Mia Bonta said. “Now we have this last opportunity to spread awareness about these programs. Beyond that, we have to simplify the application process and create a better coordinated, outreach program between institutions of higher learning, the government, and the private sector.”

Under the limited PSLF waiver rules, any past periods of repayment count as a qualifying payment, regardless of loan type, repayment plan, or whether or not the borrower made a payment, or if the payment was made in full or on time.

Each borrower needs to work for a qualifying employer, private or non-profit. The Temporary change applies to borrowers with Direct Loans, those who have already consolidated into the Direct Loan Program, and those who consolidate into the Direct Loan Program by Oct. 31, 2022.

There are two requirements in order to receive additional qualifying payments:

Full-time employment – Borrowers must have worked full-time for a qualifying employer during the prior periods of repayment. They receive credit only for periods of repayment after Oct. 1, 2007, which is when the PSLF program began.

Loan consolidation – Borrowers with Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, Federal Perkins Loans, or other types of federal student loans that are not Direct Loans must consolidate those loans into the Direct Loan program by Oct. 31, 2022.

If the borrower had Direct Loans and had PSLF employment certified, ED will award additional payments without further action. If necessary, Federal Student Aid may contact the borrower to certify additional months of employment.

An employer needs to be a governmental organization, a 501(c)(3) organization, or a not-for-profit organization that provides a designated public service in order to qualify for PSLF under normal rules and the Limited PSLF Waiver.

“My team has advocated for years for the Department of Education to fix this broken program, and with the recent changes under the Biden Administration, Californians are finally beginning to receive relief,” AG Bonta stated.

Get more information on the loan forgiveness program.

 

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

The National Black Farmers Association is worried that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will roll back debt relief provided Black, indigenous, and other farmers of color in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

When President Joe Biden signs the law, which just passed both houses of Congress, approximately 15,000 farmers of color across the country — including over 400 in California — will be affected, according to the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA).

Of the 70,000 farms in California, less than 1% are Black-owned or managed, while more than 90% are White-owned or managed. In 2012, California had 722 Black farmers according to an agriculture census report released that year. By 2017, the number had decreased to 429. Nationally, 45,508 Black farmers (1.3% of all farmers) were counted in the 2017 agriculture census, making up 0.5% of the country’s farmlands.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan which included $4 billion to help Black and other “socially disadvantaged” farmers  will be replaced with a plan that makes relief funds available to all United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) farmers suffering hardships.

“I’m very, very disappointed in this legislative action,” John Wesley Boyd, Jr., NBFA’s founder and president, said in an Aug. 9 statement. “I’m prepared to fight for debt relief for Black, Native American, and other farmers of color all the way to the Supreme Court. I’m not going to stop fighting this.”

The NBFA is a non-profit organization representing African American farmers and their families. It serves tens of thousands of members nationwide. NBFA’s education and advocacy efforts are focused on civil rights, land retention, access to public and private loans, education and agricultural training, and rural economic development for Black and other small farmers.

The American Rescue Plan debt relief program was expected to pay off USDA loans held by 15,000 Black, Native American, Alaskan Native, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic and Latino farmers, Kara Brewer-Boyd, NBFA’s Program and Event Coordinator, told California Black Media in a telephone interview on Aug. 12.

“Socially disadvantaged Black, Native Americans, and people of color were automatically approved for 120% debt relief. They were to be paid in full,” said Kara Brewer-Boyd. “Now they won’t get that money at all. It’s horrible. Those farmers were already identified and sent letters that their debt had been paid. These farmers are in a bad situation. Congress put them in a worse situation by telling them ‘You’re gonna get it.’ Now they are telling them ‘You’re not going to get it.’”

Objections raised by non-Black farmers to the debt relief the federal government pledged to Black farmers has put the program in limbo.

Those opponents have filed a dozen lawsuits against the American Rescue Plan Act, including one class action case. The courts are currently hearing the cases.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the USDA is authorized to provide $3.1 billion to distressed borrowers. Another fund has been established to supply farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who faced discrimination before 2021 with a package of $2.2 billion.

“What they replaced (the American Rescue Plan Act 2021) with is Section 22006 that now states that any farmer can apply to see if they are economically distressed, get their loans written down, or have them restructured,” Brewer-Boyd said. “Now, can you tell me that’s not a big difference? You took $4 billion in debt relief at $120%, put it in a fund of $3 billion, taking $1 billion away, and you opened it up to every farmer.”

Brewer-Boyd said Black farmers from California were approved under the original debt relief program.

“Discrimination at USDA against Black farmers was rampant and severe. Section 1005 Loan Repayment program was a necessary step towards fixing those harms. To acknowledge and correct racism is not unconstitutional or racist,” James Wesley Boyd, Jr., stated.

Last year, Lawrence Lucus, who founded the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, told the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans that racism is prevalent in agriculture, and it is the primary reason why there are just a little over 400 Black farmers in California.

“I’m sorry to say that it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better under the times we are faced with,” Lucus said. “You have White farmers, who own most of the land and get all the benefits from the land, they are the ones now bringing court cases around the country. They are saying that it’s discriminatory to have debt-relief for Black farmers.”

By Edward Henderson | California Black Media

On June 6, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a proclamation making Juneteenth an official holiday for city employees.

Although President Joe Biden signed a bill declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday last year, cities and states still have the power to decide which holidays they will officially observe.

Mayor Garcetti’s signing is one among many commemorations of Juneteenth nationwide as a growing number of states and municipalities officially honor the historic holiday long celebrated in African American communities across the United States.

“We need every Angeleno to learn the full story of our past, no matter the ugliness of some of its chapters, and that means recognizing the lasting legacy of slavery in our country,” Garcetti said at the signing ceremony.

History of Juneteenth

The holiday is recognition of June 19^th, 1865, the day Union soldiers notified enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay, Texas that they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation.

Two and a half years earlier, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes across the country to mark what was known as “Freedom’s Eve” on Jan. 1, 1863. They were awaiting news confirming that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery in Confederate States.

Anticipation heightened and celebrations began as the news spread of the 13^th Amendment, the constitutional modification that established the abolishment of slavery. Union soldiers began their march to spread the news throughout plantations and cities in the South.

 

However, not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.

 

In Galveston Bay, freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. That momentous day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas.

 

The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation, and even sue slaveholders for compensation.

 

A California 2022 Juneteenth State Proposal 

On May 19, California State Senators Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 109, which would recognize Juneteenth an official holiday statewide this year. Nine other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus are co-sponsors of the resolution.

 

For the past three years, Gov. Newsom has issued Juneteenth proclamations commemorating the holiday and declaring it “Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance” in the State.

 

SCR 109 urges “the people of California to join in celebrating Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States and how they have enriched society through their steadfast commitment to promoting unity and equality.”

California joins Texas (1980), Massachusetts (2007), New Jersey (2020), New York (2020), Pennsylvania (2020), Virginia (2020), Washington (2021), Oregon (2021) and Delaware (2021) recognizing Juneteenth as an official state holiday giving state employees the day off from work.

“By making Juneteenth an official state holiday, California would demonstrate its commitment to celebrating the emancipation of all slaves,” Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) said in a statement.

 

“Juneteenth is an important and special annual celebration for Black culture, resilience, and achievement,” Weber continued. “Designating this date as a paid state holiday mirrors the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.”

 

A Snapshot of Juneteenth Events in California

Here are a few highlighted Juneteenth 2022 events in California.

 

Sacramento

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS PRESENTS

JUNETEENTH: A DAY OF REMEMBERANCE

State Capitol – West Steps

From 12: 30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, June 20, the California Legislative Black Caucus will hold will host a lunch celebrating Black freedom with family, friends, food trucks, and more festivities. The CLBC is calling on all Californians to support AB 1655, which will permanently make Juneteenth a state holiday in California.

SACRAMENTO JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL 2022

William Land Park

Sacramento Juneteenth Incorporated will produce this year’s festival June 17-19, 2022, in William Land Park. This year’s theme will focus on systematic economic injustices. They will partner with several local organizations to highlight and expose the systems and laws that perpetuate the continued economic injustices inflicted on communities of color. Events include a gospel concert, live entertainment, vendors, and more.

You can find more Sacramento Juneteenth events here

Los Angeles

LEIMERT PARK RISING (JUNE 19-20)

4395 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles 90008

Leimert Park Rising is a collaborative effort to build a more cooperative Leimert Park Village through arts, culture and commerce. Taking place from noon to 8 p.m. on June 19-20, the annual Juneteenth Celebration is a family friendly event for all ages with craft vendors, food trucks, and multiple stages featuring live music and DJs. Free admission.

You can find a more comprehensive list of Juneteenth events in the Los Angeles area here.

East Bay

 

PAN AFRICAN WELLNESS FEST IN OAKLAND

Lake Merritt Ampitheater

Afrocentric Oakland is hosting a two-day event, The Fam Bam & Pan African Wellness Fest, at Lake Merritt Amphitheater on Lake Merritt Boulevard on June 18 and 19 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The festival will focus on holistic wellness and feature local wellness providers offering meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, spoken word, self-defense lessons, connections to mental health services, and more.

The organization will also present “Black Excellence Awards” and provide fun activities for children.

 

JUNETEENTH-IN-BERKELEY

Alcatraz-Adeline Corridor

Juneteenth-in-Berkeley, held annually in June on Father’s Day, in south Berkeley’s five-block Alcatraz-Adeline corridor has been produced by Berkeley Juneteenth Association, Inc., a non-profit, serving the community since 1986. They rebranded as Berkeley Juneteenth Cultural Celebrations to pursue and sponsor more cultural events throughout the year.

You can find more Juneteenth events here.

 

San Diego

JUNETEENTH A Summer Celebration of Culture

The Jacobs Center (404 Euclid Ave) Saturday June 18, 2022, 10am-5pm

Community Actor’s Theatre and Common Ground Theatre two of San Diego’s most prestigious African American Theatres are hosting this majestic outdoor event at the Jacob’s Center in Market Creek Plaza. Come out and treat yourself to a time filled with history music dancing story telling reflection vendors and physical art on display! All Are Welcome!

You can find more San Diego Juneteenth events here.

 

Inland Empire

JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM

June 18^th San Bernardino Valley College 12pm-6pm

“Come out and Celebrate Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom, we will have vendors, live performances, speakers, kids’ zone, spade and domino tournaments, food vendors, cook offs, resources and much more. This will be a one-of-a-kind Juneteenth event to hit our city, we are going educate the community on the history of Juneteenth and its origins, make sure you come out you do not want to miss this event. This is a free event. A day of fun and entertainment.”

 

Oxnard

JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL CELEBRATING ARTISTIC AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Oxnard College and 5^th Street Downtown

Art enthusiasts and community-based organizations in Oxnard are marking Juneteenth this year with a two-day event celebrating art and artists while promoting financial freedom.

 

Artist Milton “510” Bowen, an Oakland native, is headlining the festival that will be held at various locations in Ventura County’s largest city, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

 

June 17 • 6PM – 8PM

Private Artist Reception and Pre-Sale

99Three FM Radio Station, Oxnard College

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June 18 • Noon – 4PM

Milton 510 Collection Exhibition and Public Sale

Open Door Studio – 329 W 5th St, Downtown Oxnard (Next door to Carnegie Art Museum)

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June 18 • 10 – 5PM

Juneteenth Celebration

Oxnard Plaza Park (Downtown Oxnard) – 500 S C Street, Oxnard 93030

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Contra Costa

 

2022 LET FREEDOM RING East Contra Costa County JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

Sunday, June 19th, 2022 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Waldie Plaza

“As we strive to celebrate and honor the diversity of all Contra Costa County cities and their history, Juneteenth is a celebration to be held with as much respect as 4th of July celebrations go forth. Last year, we hosted an amazing event in the historic Waldie Plaza in Antioch that consisted of a full program with entertainment and speakers from throughout our community, and an array of vendors including a full COVID Vaccine clinic by Kaiser Permanente. The event was a success, and we are now looking to continue to grow the event.”

 

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media Partners

 

Two weeks ago, President Joe Biden signed a federal policing accountability executive order based on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 authored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37). That action supplements other criminal justice reforms affecting Californians that took place this year. Several other criminal justice reforms at the state level went into effect in January.

 

Here is a rundown highlighting four of those laws, detailing what they do, and recounting what California legislators have said about them.

 

Senate Bill (SB) 317 allows conduct credits to be earned while an individual who has been deemed mentally incompetent by the court is in a state hospital or other mental health treatment facility awaiting trial.

 

Authored by State Senator Henry Stern (D-Calabasas), SB 317 was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October of last year and went into effect this past January.

 

“SB 317 provides pathways to appropriate mental health treatment for defendants charged with misdemeanors,” said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-California), Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

 

SB 317 also changes some of the guidelines for trial competency.

“It is important to remember that not all options are available for every defendant, as those are dependent on the situation and mental health status of each defendant,” stated Jones-Sawyer. “This bill is a tailored approach that allows California to use existing tools to help defendants gain competency and avoid a cycle of incarceration.”

 

Assembly Bill (AB) 124 provides a petition process for an individual to request that an arrest or conviction for nonviolent offenses be vacated — if the booking or crime resulted from the person being a victim of intimate partner violence or sexual violence.

 

“This bill ensures that survivors of sexual violence are able to receive justice through our legal system, which typically overlooks the context of abuse when determining whether to arrest,” said Jones-Sawyer.

 

Newsom signed AB 124, which was authored by Sen. Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), in October last year. It took effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

 

“Incarcerated survivors of trafficking & violence need a 2nd chance at holistic justice,” Kamlager tweeted last year before the bill passed. “We cannot continue to criminalize behavior born of desperation and liberation when our systems don’t benefit those who need it most.”

 

The law also allows a coercion defense to be used in the case of a serious felony or charge of human trafficking if the defendant is a victim of human trafficking and their offense was a direct result of that.

 

“Many trafficking survivors are incarcerated for crimes committed to protect themselves from further violence. AB 124 allows for more just outcomes moving forward,” stated Jones-Sawyer.

 

Senate Bill (SB) 73, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), ends mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses.

 

The legislation allows a court to suspend a sentence or grant probation for drug offenses such as possession or transportation of opiates or cannabis.

 

“Mass incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders hasn’t reduced drug use or addiction,” Wiener tweeted after the bill passed last year. “Time for a new approach.”

 

Assembly Bill (AB) 333, authored by Kamlager, limits the state’s gang enhancement law.

 

Gang enhancements are additional prison sentences prescribed to individuals who courts determine are associated with a gang.

 

Under the previous law enacted in 1988, individuals who are found to be affiliated or associated with a “criminal street gang” could receive gang enhancements for any felony even if it is not connected to gang activity.

 

“When 92% of gang enhancements are used against BIPOC – that’s a massive systemic problem,” said Kamlager.

 

Just six months into the year, it is not clear how effective these new laws have been but the push for criminal justice reform continues inside and outside of the California legislature even as more conservative opinions harden against them.

 

 

 

 

By Alton Thomas Stiles | California Black Media Partners

As the costs of goods surge nationwide along with gas prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom is committing $18.1 billion in “inflation relief” to Californians through the California Blueprint, his mid-year revised budget proposal.

The White House is also taking steps to ease the pinch from inflation Americans across the country are experiencing.

“Global inflation, the war in Ukraine driving up costs, climate change impacts – everyone is feeling the weight. So, we’re putting $18.1 billion on the table to help lower costs for Californians – tax refunds, [money] for healthcare, rent, utility bills, public transit [and] more,” Newsom tweeted.

California’s economy is the largest in the United States and is currently experiencing a budget surplus of close to $100 billion, according to the governor’s office.

“Backed by a robust surplus and grounded in our unshakable values, we’re paving the California Way forward to prosperity and progress for all,” said Newsom recently, referring to investments the state is making in financial relief efforts, including an increase to the minimum wage, rental and utility bill assistance, tax refunds, health care subsidies, and more.

As Newsom and federal government officials announce relief packages to tackle inflation, they are taking the opportunity to criticize their colleagues across the aisle.

“While gridlock persists in Congress and Right-wing fanatics turn statehouses across the country into laboratories of hate and oppression, here in California, we’re putting in the work to grow our economy and implement real, inclusive policy change to create a brighter future for all,” said Newsom.

President Joe Biden also urged Republicans in Congress to cooperate with Democrats on their inflation efforts.

“I encourage Congressional Republicans to join us in our efforts to lower prices for families across the country, by making more in America, strengthening our supply chains, and cutting energy and prescription drug costs,” Biden tweeted recently.

The federal government’s plan for offsetting the impact of inflation includes giving Medicare the power to negotiate prices for prescription drugs and bringing food prices down in grocery stores by “bringing more competition to those markets,” according to Sameera Fazili, Director of the White House National Economic Council.

Fazili told California Black Media (CBM) about some of the unique challenges facing communities of color as the prices of goods and services skyrocket nationwide.

One such challenge is childcare, which is essential for many parents of color as they are less likely to work remotely.

“Often times, the amount that you spend on childcare may be as much as what you bring in from going to work,” said Fazili.

The White House has also received commitments from large internet providers to lower the cost of internet access for lower income households. such as Verizon, for example, has committed to dropping monthly payments for highspeed service by $10.

Housing is another challenge for Black Americans, Fazili told CBM.

“We don’t have enough affordable housing in this country,” said Fazili.

Fazili said the federal government cannot directly lower or raise the price of gas because gas is traded on the global market.

United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told CBM that the increases in gas prices are due, in part, to U.S. sanctions on Russian oil because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Granholm says since the European Union is following the U.S. with sanctions on Russia, there might be additional challenges around the corner.

“We’re going to see more volatility, more increase,” said Granholm.

To combat this, the federal government plans to tap into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the Gulf of Mexico, which Granholm called the “biggest tool we have” against rising gas prices.

On the state level, Granholm praised California’s approach to combating these prices.

“Some states are providing direct payments to people — I know Gov. Newsom has looked at that – to try to alleviate this huge impact on people’s wallets,” said Granholm.

Fazili says she is optimistic. When the economy begins to recover from hardships it is currently experiencing, the financial outlook for Blacks will begin to improve as the equity and relief programs the Biden administration is implementing take effect.

 

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media
After serving a 22-year sentence in a California prison, James Morgan, 51, found himself facing a world of opportunities that he did not imagine he would have as an ex-convict once sentenced to life for attempted murder.

Morgan, a Carson Native, says he is grateful for a second chance at life, and he has taken full advantage of opportunities presented him through California state reentry and rehabilitation programs.

After completing mental health care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Morgan was released from prison and granted parole in 2018.

“I did not expect what I found when I got out,” Morgan told California Black Media (CBM), explaining that he was fortunate to participate in a program for the formerly incarcerated in San Francisco.

“I was mandated by the courts to spend a year in transitional housing,” said Morgan. “Those guys walked us through everything. They made it really easy. It was all people I could relate to, and they knew how to talk to me because they used to be in the prison population — and they were from where we were from.”

Morgan says he also took lessons on anger management and time management.

Now, he is currently an apprentice in Local 300 Laborers Union, specializing in construction, after he participated in a pre-apprenticeship program through ARC (the Anti-Recidivism Coalition).

“Right now, I’m supporting my family,” Morgan said. “I’d say I’m doing pretty good because I hooked up with the right people.”

Supporters of criminal justice reform say Morgan’s success story in California is particularly encouraging.

Black men in the Golden State are imprisoned nearly 10 times the rate of their White counterparts, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. And just a little over a decade ago in 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered California to reduce the number of inmates in its overcrowded prison system by 33,000. Of that population, nearly 30% were Black men even though they account for about 5 % of the state’s population.

To help more formerly incarcerated people like Morgan get back on their feet after paying their debt to society, last month, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the federal government is investing $145 million over the course of the next fiscal year to support reentry programs across the country.

The Biden-Harris Administration also announced plans to expand federal job opportunities and loan programs, expand access to health care and housing, and develop and amplify educational opportunities for the formerly and currently incarcerated.

“It’s not enough to just send someone home, it’s not enough to only help them with a job. There’s got to be a holistic approach,” said Chiraag Bains, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council on Racial Justice and Equity.

Bains told CBM that that reentry programs help establish an “incarceration-to-employment pipeline.”

The White House announced the programs late last month as President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 75 people and granted pardons to another three, including Abraham Bolden, the first Black Secret Service agent on White House detail.

Bolden was sentenced to 39 months in prison in 1964 for allegedly attempting to sell classified Secret Service documents. He has always maintained his innocence.

“Today, I granted pardons to three people and commuted the sentences of 75 people. America is a nation of laws, but we are also a nation of second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” Biden tweeted April 26.

According to Bains, about half of the people the President pardoned are Black or Brown.

“The president has spoken repeatedly about the fact that we have too many people serving time in prison for nonviolent drug offenses and too many of those people are Black and Brown,” said Bains. “This is a racial equity issue.”

Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have faced sharp criticisms in the past for supporting tough-on-crime policies as U.S. Senator and California Attorney General, respectively, that have had disproportionately targeted Blacks and other minorities.

According to a 2021 Stanford University Study, reentry programs in California have contributed to a 37 % decrease in the average re-arrest rate over the period of a year and a 92 % decrease during the same time.
Over the last decade, California has funded a number of initiatives supporting reentry and rehabilitation. In 2015, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation launched the Male Community Re-Entry Program (MCRP) that provides community-based rehabilitative services in Butte, Kern, Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. The Butte program services Tehama, Nevada, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Placer and Yuba counties.

A year later, Gov. Newsom’s office introduced the California Community Reinvestment Grant Program. The initiative funds community groups providing services like job placement, mental health treatment, housing and more to people, including the formerly incarcerated, who were impacted by the War on the Drugs.

Morgan spoke highly of programs that helped him reintegrate into society – both in prison and after he was released.

“In hindsight, I look back at it and I’m blown away by all of the ways that they’ve helped me,” Morgan said.

 

Senate has confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson was confirmed 53-47. Three Republican senators — Mitt Romney (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Susan Collins (Maine) — joined all 48 Democrats and two independents in voting to confirm Jackson to the nation’s highest court.

Jackson, 51, will become the Supreme Court’s 116th justice and the first Black woman ever to sit on its bench.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American to hold that office, presided over the historic vote.

“In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court, never has a Black woman held the title of justice,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a speech before the vote. “Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first, and I believe the first of more to come.”

Jackson watched the vote unfold with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Jackson will take her seat when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer. She will be the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman.

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

California’s junior United States Sen. Alex Padilla says he is as excited as he is honored to be serving on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary as he and his colleagues conduct hearings to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court in the judicial branch’s 233-year history.

On February 25, President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to become the 116th Justice on the highest court in the nation.

If Jackson is confirmed, she will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, one of her mentors, who announced his retirement in January.

“I’m honored to be sharing in this historic and significant moment in our nation’s history,” Padilla told California Black Media (CBM) in a telephone interview.

The first Latino to represent California in the upper house of the United States Congress, Padilla spoke with CBM while taking a short break from a daylong hearing March 23. During that session, lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, cross examined Jackson.

“I am optimistic about Judge Jackson’s confirmation process. She is an outstanding nominee. She has the qualifications, and she has the experience,” Padilla continued. “If she is confirmed, she will bring a much-needed perspective to the Supreme Court.”

In January 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated Padilla to replace current Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States Senate. Before that, he served as Secretary of State of California for six years.

Jackson met with Padilla at his office at the U.S. Capitol prior to her confirmation hearings last week.

“I’m impressed by Judge Jackson’s commitment to the rule of law, her long record of public service, and her clear understanding of how the law affects people’s everyday lives,” Padilla said after that meeting.

Because of the even 50-50 split of Democrats and Republicans currently elected to the United States Senate, no one party has a majority of members on any committee. So, there are six members from both parties serving on the Committee on the Judiciary.

Padilla says the upcoming vote on Jackson presents an opportunity for members of the Committee on the Judiciary – and the Senate, more broadly — to put the extreme partisanship and rancor that has characterized the U.S. Congress in recent years behind them.

California’s senior Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also a Democrat, serves on the committee as well.

Last week, some Republican members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary were questioned in the media about the truthfulness of some of their claims about Jackson and the overall nature and tenor of their questioning during the hearings.

For example, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) portrayed Jackson as soft on sex offenders, calling up sentences she handed down in seven cases.

“Judge Jackson’s views on this matter are not only mainstream; they are correct in my view. Undoubtedly, Jackson — a progressive who worked as a criminal-defense lawyer — is more sympathetic to criminals than I am,” wrote Andrew McCarthy, a senior fellow at the conservative National Review Institute, disagreeing with Hawley’s assertion.

“If I were a judge, I’m sure I’d impose at least marginally more severe sentences than she has. (Contrary to Hawley’s suggestion, however, she appears to have followed the guidelines, at the low end of the sentencing range, as most judges do.),” McCarthy continued.

Charlie Savage, the New York Times Legal Policy and National Security correspondent wrote, “Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, ripped into Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Monday during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing, tying the nominee to a wide range of conservative grievances. But the lawmaker’s accusations appeared to often be based on quotes taken out of context.”

Savage examined statements and accusations Blackburn made about Jackson on a range of issues, including parental rights, critical race theory, transgender athletes and criminal sentencing.

Before serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Jackson was a federal judge on the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia and Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She has also worked in private practice and as a clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court.

An alum of Harvard College, where she studied government, and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Jackson graduated from Palmetto Senior High School before that in Florida’s Miami-Dade County, where she grew up.

Jackson is close to her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown and her brother, Ketajh Brown, a former Baltimore City police officer and soldier in the United States Army. All three of them attended Jackson’s confirmation hearings last week.

Both of her parents, HBCU graduates, are educators (her dad is an attorney, too).

Jackson is married to surgeon Patrick Graves Jackson, who she met in college. The couple has two daughters. One of them, attending her mom’s hearings last week, was captured in photos watching the proceedings in rapt attention, beaming with pride.

“We know that progress doesn’t come easily.

Breaking barriers and being the first means not just significant opportunity, but also tremendous responsibility,” said Padilla in his opening statement last week when the hearings began.

“But Judge Jackson, I also know that you are equipped with a tremendous record of experience and accomplishment, and you are ready to blaze this trail,” Padilla continued. “Judge Jackson, even before your next opinion or dissent, your appearance before us today already begins a new chapter in our nation’s history.”

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

On Equal Pay Day last week, First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom addressed the gender and race wage gap in the U.S. and the state, as the federal government announced similar plans.

“In [California], we have some of the strongest pay laws in the nation, but women still earn just $.86 on the dollar and that number plummets for women of color,” said Newsom.

Equal Pay Day was March 15.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) estimates that women in the U.S. earn 83 cents to every dollar that men earn.

That gap gets wider for women of color, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

According to the AAUW, Black women earned 58 cents for every dollar White men made in 2019.

In 2019, the AAUW estimated that Black women, on average, were paid about 63% of what white men were paid.

To throw light on the specificity of this discrepancy, AAUW designates Sept. 21 as Black Women Equal Pay Day.

“While sexism and racism are distinct forms of discrimination that manifest differently, their effects are compounded when a person experiences both at the same time. Intersectional discrimination perpetuates the racial and gender wealth gaps, limits Black women’s access to educational opportunities, and impedes their career advancement,” it reads on the AAUW’s website.

Last week, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced plans to implement measures to combat the gender and racial wage gap last Tuesday.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women earn less than men on average in nearly 350 different occupations.

Department of Labor Chief Economist Janelle Jones wrote that educated Black and Brown women are representative of this estimate.

“Black and Latina women with only a bachelor’s degree have the largest gap at 65%, and Black women with advanced degrees earn 70% of what white men with advanced degrees earn,” stated Jones.

“This is a big problem, but we actually know how to fix it,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor.

The federal investment strategy includes two major aspects of the gender wage gap: salary history and occupational segregation.

The Department of Labor plans to limit the use of prior salary history in the hiring process, which they hope will help to close the gender gap and balance the pay-setting for federal employees.

Additionally, the White House announced that President Biden will sign an executive order focused on the same goals regarding employment decisions by federal contractors.

“By looking at things like salary history, what’s really underneath that is the fact that women are concentrated into some of the lowest paying jobs in our economy,” said Chun-Hoon.

The White House’s second area of concern is the effect of occupational segregation on women’s economic security.

Occupational segregation, according to Chun-Hoon, is concerned with where women work and how some of those jobs tend to be valued at a lower rate.

“By looking at things like salary history, what’s really underneath that is the fact that women are concentrated into some of the lowest paying jobs in our economy,” said Chun-Hoon.

She mentioned that the effect occupational segregation has on gender wage disparities also affects race wage disparities, as is the intersectional nature of earning inequality.

“In 2019, this is even before the impact of the pandemic, Black women faced a $39.3 billion loss, Hispanic women faced a $46.7 billion loss just because of the jobs they were concentrated in,” said Chun-Hoon.

The goal, according to Chun-Hoon, is to make investments in occupations often filled by women — such as education and health care — to bridge the gap.