Category: Uncategorized
California schools face budget cuts as enrollment drops by 74,961 students
Diana Lambert, Lasherica Thornton, John Fensterwald, And Daniel J. Willis Enrollment in California K-12 schools, and in schools across the country, is declining rapidly as birth rates drop and immigration rates fall. This school year, California had the largest decline in enrollment rates since 2021-22, after schools returned from the pandemic. Enrollment in public schools…
How Babies’ Brains Develop
By Katie Dukes, director of early childhood policy, EdNC When babies are born, their brains contain billions of neurons. But how those neurons interact — and what they can do as babies grow through childhood into adulthood — is largely shaped by their experiences in the first 1,000 days of life. The architecture of the…
White House FY 2027 budget proposal ignores nation’s affordability crisis
$73B cut to domestic programs including housing, education, and consumer protection By Charlene Crowell April 16, 2026 At a time when American families across the country are struggling to cope with rising costs of living, the White House’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal makes clear that federal help for working people is not in the…
Mamdani Plans City Grocery Store in East Harlem
New York Carib News New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced plans to establish the city’s first municipally owned grocery store in East Harlem, a flagship initiative aimed at addressing rising food costs and improving access to affordable essentials. The store will be located at La Marqueta, a historic marketplace beneath the elevated Park…
IN MEMORIAM: Rest in Power — Minnesota Loses a True Warrior in Yusef Mgeni
By MSR News Online Minnesota and the world lost a powerful voice and a true warrior on April 7, 2026. Yusef Mgeni is gone, but his legacy will echo for generations. Yusef was a brilliant historian, a community organizer, a former St. Paul educator, and a fierce advocate for Black people. He carried with him…
Behind the pulpit, Black women battle violence and silence
by Rev. Dorothy Boulware By most accounts, the marriage between Tammy McCollum, pastor at The Well Worship Center in Statesville, N.C., and Eddie McCollum appeared to be loving and stable. Their grown daughter never saw any signs of trouble between her parents, and Tammy McCollum herself exalted her husband, Eddie McCollum, on their 30th wedding…
Rep. Sewell Presses RFK on 2024 Comments He Made Suggesting Black Children Should Be ‘Re-Parented’
By Birmingham Times Washington D.C. — During a Thursday House Ways and Means Committee hearing, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his previous comments suggesting that Black children with ADHD should be “re-parented.” Sewell pressed the Secretary to clarify and account for those remarks, which…
Judge orders individuals associated with Patriot Front to pay punitive damages in civil rights case for destroying mural of Arthur Ashe in Richmond
By The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law RICHMOND – A federal court ordered Patriot Front, its leader–Thomas Rousseau–and Patriot Front members William Ring and Jacob Brown to pay more than $470,000 in a high-profile case filed after members of Patriot Front vandalized and destroyed a mural honoring Black tennis legend and humanitarian Arthur…
Scams Increasingly Preying on Fear, Desperation in Immigrant Communities
By Roxsy Lin As immigrant detentions and deportations continue across the United States, fraudsters are seizing the moment. Scams targeting vulnerable families desperate to reunite with detained loved ones or to resolve outstanding immigration issues have proliferated. That was the consensus among experts from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) during a recent American Community Media…
Your Vote in 2026: Bill Banning Law Enforcement From Polling Stations Advances – Carrying Fines Up to $1000 and 5-Year Max Prison Time
Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media A California Assembly committee has advanced a bill that would ban law enforcement officers from being near polling places, with violations carrying penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and a maximum five-year prison sentence. The proposal would make it a felony for anyone in…
Opinion: When Wall Street Buys Up the Neighborhood — The Impact on Black Californians
Craig J. DeLuz | California Black Media Homeownership has long been one of the most dependable ways for everyday families to build wealth—not through speculation, but through the steady accumulation of equity in a place they call home. For Black Californians, this path has always been narrower because of historical barriers to wealth building….
Bill That Would Force Corporations to Disclose Slavery-Era Profits Moves Forward
Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media On April 14, 2026, Assembly Bill (AB) 2599, known as the Truth in Disclosure Act, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a 9-3 vote. Supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), the bill would…
Shreveport Tragedy Sparks Urgent Warning on IPV and Gun Violence
Addressing Intimate Partner Violence and Firearm-Related Harm as a Public Health Crisis A statement from the NMA following the Shreveport, Louisiana incident and recent nationwide tragedies Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, Jr., President of the NMA The tragic killing of eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana, by their father is a devastating reminder of the deadly intersection…
“I Just Want to Be Free”
A Nation at a Crossroads: The Case of David Dew and the Meaning of Justice By Karen Marine There are moments in history when silence becomes a form of injustice. This is one of those moments. For 44 years, David Dew has lived behind prison walls—forty-four years in a place built to break the human…
Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
Asm. Mia Bonta “Tells the Truth” About Bill Conservatives Say Would Silence Citizen Journalists Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) is pushing back against criticism of her bill, Assembly (AB) 2624, releasing a video statement on X defending the legislation and accusing critics of spreading misinformation….
Asm. Mike Gipson Makes His Case for California Board of Equalization Seat in High-Stakes Race
Edward Henderson | California Black Media As California heads into the 2026 election cycle, all four elected seats on the State Board of Equalization are up for grabs, with voters in each of the agency’s four geographic districts choosing a representative. The board—which handles tax appeals, property tax oversight and equalization, and other key functions…
5 Ways To Navigate Health Care Costs And Coverage With Confidence
By Steve Cain, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of California April is Financial Literacy Month, a good time to learn how your health plan can support your financial and health goals. Understanding your coverage can be a vital part of your family’s financial planning. Especially since 36% of adults report skipping care due to cost in the last…
Black Micro-Schools Deserve Recognition: NABML Creates National Standards and Resources
by Dawn Montgomery BlackPressUSA Contributor Public school advocates and politicians typically spearhead the attack on microschools, focusing on their perceived “lack of oversight and public accountability.” Yet Black families are the fastest-growing demographic in alternative education. This shift is driven by the recognition that traditional public education cannot change quickly enough to serve its children’s…
Black Student Success Week 2026 Set To Kick Off Monday, 4/20
Kimberly.brown@tandtpublicrelations.com A New Revolution for Black Student Success Statewide Week of Action Returns April 20-24, 2026 Los Angeles, Calif. — On Monday, April 20, community colleges across California will kick off the seventh annual Black Student Success Week (BSSW), bringing together students, educators, policymakers, and community partners for a week of programming focused on advancing…
California Sees Surge in Gas Prices, Igniting Fresh Political Blame Game
Bo Tefu | California Black Media California drivers are once again paying the highest prices at the pump in the nation, setting off a renewed clash between Democrats and Republicans over who is responsible — and what should be done. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California hovered around $5.90…
Executive order targets inclusion, equity and diversity in federal contracting
By Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO In a move that systematically dismantles decades of civil rights-era procurement philosophy, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on March 26, effectively purging “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) requirements from the federal contracting landscape. While the administration frames the move as a return to “merit-based” efficiency, the…
The Pell Grant is headed for a crisis — Congress must act
Gary S. May Unless Congress acts, one of the most effective anti-poverty initiatives in history will soon be forced to turn its back on millions of students. The Pell Grant program has served as a cornerstone of upward mobility in America, making higher education accessible to more than 80 million lower- and middle-class families since…
A $37.2 Million Boost: California Announces New Funding for Apprenticeships and Workforce Training
Bo Tefu | California Black Media California is investing $37.2 million to expand apprenticeship and workforce training programs, aiming to support more than 60,000 residents and strengthen pathways into high-demand careers. On April 9, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the funding through the California Apprenticeship Council Training Fund and the California Workforce Development Board’s High Road…
Bonta and Weber Pierson Lead on State Health Policy as Disparities Persist
Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media Nearly 6 in 10 Californians delayed or skipped medical care in the past year because of cost, and 4 in 10 reported their conditions worsened as a result — trends that disproportionately affect communities already facing disparities, including Black Californians. Black Californians have the shortest life…
The Trump administration is quietly seeking unprecedented access to medical records for millions of federal workers and retirees, and their families.
By Amanda Seitz and Maia Rosenfeld A brief notice from the Office of Personnel Management could dramatically change which personally identifiable medical information the agency obtains, giving it the power to see prescriptions employees had filled or what treatment they sought from doctors. The regulation would require 65 insurance companies that cover more than 8…