By California Black Media Staff
This is a developing story.
Sacramento-based attorney, businessman and activist James Sweeney, who was an avuncular and towering African-American figure in California political and social circles, has passed.
Politicians, businesspeople, media leaders, activists and others up and down the state remember him with fondness for his influential and inspirational presence in their lives. Consistently offering sound advice, they say, always giving them his unconditional support, kind words of encouragement and occasionally sharing dry “uncle” jokes.
Sweeney, who served as the regional Vice President of the Sacramento Black American Political Action Committee (BAPAC), died on Feb. 28.
His family has not released information on arrangements.
“He will truly be missed,” said Rory Kaufman, President of BAPAC, the largest African political fundraising organization in the state. “A Black man of vision, courage and insight. He stood for us and he fought with us.”
Before his role at BAPAC, Sweeney worked as Legislative Liaison to the California Office on Aging. He also ran his own consulting group called Sweeney and Associates. He was the Managing General Partner.
“James Sweeney’s leadership and wisdom will be missed,” said Betty Williams, President of the Sacramento Chapter of the NAACP.
Throughout his career, Sweeney has been involved in a number of business investments across the state, and has worked in several political capacities, including the Berkeley City Council and the state Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO). He has served COMIO under four governors: Newsom, Brown, Schwarzenegger and Davis.
Sweeney attended San Bernardino high school in the Inland Empire, east of Los Angeles, where he was a basketball star.
He later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in three majors (Political Science, Black Studies and Sociology) from the University of California Riverside. He earned his law degree at the Humphreys School of Law in Stockton.
“This is sad news for our community,” said Kendra Lewis, vice chair of the California Democratic Party African American Caucus (CDPAAC).
Sweeney was a quiet force in California politics. Often working behind the scenes, he was instrumental in setting up a minimum security juvenile detention facility for children in California named after him (Camp Sweeney). He also worked on California divesting from the African nation of Sudan because of war crimes the Arab government committed against Black citizens in the country’s Darfur region.
“In true Sweeney fashion,” Lewis said the last time she saw her “mentor,” he told her, “You have our support. Let us know what you need.”
Black Expert Will Lead Community Education Push That Could Be Statewide Model
Cherina Betters has been named chief of Equity and Access for San Bernardino County Schools. In her new position, she will represent 33 school districts and more than 400,000 students.
Her new duties will include, “working to forge strong relationships with parents and community members, as well as serving as the equity lead to promote positive learning outcomes for all students,” according to the San Bernardino County School Superintendent’s office.
She starts her new job — a role some education stakeholders hope would be elevated to a statewide model for California — on April 13.
Los Angeles, San Diego and neighboring Riverside Counties all have similar programs that involve engaging parents, students and parents to become part of an engaged and supportive network that contributes to improving the academic success of all students.
Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, has begun assessing those programs, too.
San Bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre is confident that Betters will succeed in her new role.
“Betters has extensive experience in our region in supporting students, schools and districts in the areas of equity and access,” Alejandre said. “With our office, she will lead efforts to close achievement, equity and opportunity disparities among student groups — with attention to cultural, racial, language and socio-economic differences.”
Betters has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Social Justice from California State University, San Bernardino, and previously worked for the San Jacinto Unified School District and Yucaipa-Calimesa Unified School District.
At Cal State, San Bernardino, ‘Betters was named Outstanding Doctoral Student” and defended her dissertation titled, “Bridge Over Troubled Water: Creating an Ecology of Transformative Care for Students At Risk of their Promise.”
Betters appointment to serve as a liaison between the school district and community comes at a time when California is trying to find ways to close a troubling achievement gap between White Students and their Black and Latino counterparts.
Hardy Brown, President of the San Bernardino County School board, says he’s excited that policy makers in Sacramento and school districts across the state are studying the model and weighing its merits.
“The Superintendent and San Bernardino County board is proud to continue growing the impact on our cradle to career roadmap by targeting equity and the success of all students,” says Hardy Brown, President of the San Bernardino County school board.
In San Bernardino County, African Americans make up about 9 percent of the population and live in some of the most underserved census tracts. Among Blacks, both the poverty rate (25.7 percent) and the unemployment rate (14.3 percent) are well above the state averages.
Only 21 percent of African American adults are college-educated.
Brown says the board has been working with the county’s African American task force to find practical solutions for helping Black kids improve their test scores and academic performance.
“This just adds to the research we’ve been doing around these issues,” says Brown.
