By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌ Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, and Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) added language with some teeth to Senate Bill (SB) 2, the “Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021.” The amendments to the police reform bill, first ...

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic bringing racial inequities in California and throughout the U.S. into sharp relief, the California Legislature is considering a systematic approach to curbing racial inequity via SB 17, introduced in the California Senate by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento). SB 17 builds on the commitment Gov. Gavin Newsom made in ...

Governor Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond have announced a partnership between the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force and the California Department of Education to deploy up to 3 million rapid COVID-19 antigen tests at no cost to support the safe return to in-person learning for staff and students in some of California’s most disadvantaged school ...

The National Newspaper Publishers Association Fund (NNPAF) BLACK PRESS WEEK will honor the George Floyd Family and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) with the Newsmaker of the Year Award for Leadership during its two-day virtual conference on Thursday, March 18, at noon. The NNPAF is honored to recognize the George Floyd Family for ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Natl Correspondent Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who ruled the middleweight boxing division in the 1980s, yet never received the recognition he deserved as an all-time great, has died. Hagler was 66. Before Hagler’s death, former boxer Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns posted on Instagram that the legend had “taken ill.” ...

By Bo Tefu California Black Media Black officials and health advocates across the state have thrown their support behind Gov.  Gavin Newsom’s equity-informed plan for safely reopening California’s schools and economy. The plan includes an increased education budget, as well as vaccine distribution protocols informed by data to minimize the threat of COVID-19 spread. Sen. ...

Covered California is reaching out to African Americans and other people of color in the state who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 virus, to urge them to enroll in health coverage through its special-enrollment period underway now through May 15 for anyone who doesn’t have health insurance. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to endanger the lives ...

By Dianne Anderson Like a lot of people growing up in the old school under heavy-handed parents, a pop upside the head was considered par for the course. But for Andrea Robert, 15 years of child abuse left her with a brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, which has led her to tell everyone she meets ...

By Dwight Brown NNPA Syndication Film Critic Movie fans attending the 29th PAFF could watch its choice programming on a streaming app or computers, versus making the annual pilgrimage to Los Angeles. The setting is different, but the usual array of international African diaspora films is still impressive. Check out these four festival films that ...

By Tanu Henry California Black Media On March 2, voters in California’s 30th Senate District elected Sydney Kamlager to represent them in the upper house of the state legislature. With that win, Kamlager, 48, becomes one of two African Americans in the State Senate — the other is Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) — and the only Black women in that legislative body, replacing former ...