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The Rise of Candace Owens (& How Her Far Right Politics Are Ticking Off Blacks) he has sparked controversy wher- instead pointing to government depend- black people support Trump is evidence ever she goes and yet the number ency and victimhood as key problems that you hold a racist viewpoint of black of her followers continues to multi- within the black community. Americans as a monolith, proprietary to ply. 1.6 million Twitter followers. A “Victimhood”, she says, “has become a the Democrat Party,” posted Owens, who million-plus Facebook followers. 335,000 mental plague on black America.” released a YouTube video titled, “Dear You Tube subscribers. But for the majorShe offered Cardi B $250K to debate Celebrities: Nobody Cares What You ity of blacks who have come to know her her after the rapper publicly advocated Think!!!”. through viral face offs with the likes of for Bernie Sanders in a post; claimed that Last year, as part of an effort to get superstar rapper T.I., her attacks blacks to leave the Democratic on Black Lives Matter advocates Party, the social commentator and her controversial views on launched “Blexit”, a movement– black democrats (having likened and mission–to move the black them to slaves on plantations), the vote 20 percent by 2020. A move name Candace Owens strikes a that would dismantle the viscerally negative chord. Democrats most reliable voting Testifying before the House bloc and inevitably alter the outJudiciary Committee in September come of the 2020 White House on the rise of hate crimes and race. white nationalism, Owens said, “If Said Owens, “Blexit is the black we’re going to have a hearing on exit from the Democratic Party. white supremacy, we are assuming It’s the black exit from permanent that the biggest victims of that are victimhood, the black exit from minority Americans… the false idea that we are some“Based on the hierarchy of how separate from the rest of what's impacting minority America.” Americans, if I had to make a list T.I. has dubbed Owen’s rhetoric of 100 things, white nationalism and controversial views as “danwould not make the list," Owens gerous”. went on. "I would argue that right “I’m not saying every Black pernow, we have a social environment son has to be a Democrat… I’m A poster shared by Turning Point USA and Candace Owens that is hostile toward men and not speaking on behalf of or in before her departure as Communications Director for the organidoes not inspire masculinity or support of the Democratic party or zation in May 2019 being a man and what it means to the Republic party. I’m speaking be a father figure in a household. Black Colin Kaepernick was white and had for fair, righteous and decent,” T.I. staton black crime is a huge issue in America tried to "rig the system" to enrich him- ed. “There’s just certain things that you right now, but people don't like to talk self; and chastised actress Debra Messing have to understand you can’t say… I about that." to “Please stop telling black people what don’t want it to come off in any way disShe rejects the broad brushing of the we are “targeted by” to satisfy your respectful or it’s a me against her thing. Republican Party as racist and the “white savior” complex.” It’s a me against what she’s saying Democrats as the saviors of blacks, “The fact that you can’t accept that Owens continued to page 24
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Clippers Pledge $100 Million in Community Benefits as Part of Proposed Arena nglewood city officials Tuesday unveiled an unprecedented $100 million package of proposed community benefits pledged by the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the team’s proposal to build a new arena and team headquarters in the city. The package, as described in a staff report to the City Council, dwarfs the community benefits packages recently agreed to by other professional sports teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. It also is more than 300 times larger than what the Madison Square Garden Co., which is fighting to defeat the Clippers proposal, has given to the community since renovating the Forum in 2014. After Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts called the proposal “hugely historic, bigger than anything ever pledged to a Southern California city before. It shows just how serious Steve Ballmer and the Clippers are about their proposed move to Inglewood. “Homeowners. Renters. Students. Workers. Library patrons. Senior citizens. Community groups. The sweep of this proposed plan would touch and improve the lives of virtually every Inglewood resident,” said Butts. The centerpiece of the proposed L.A. Focus/October 2019
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package is up to $80 million earmarked for affordable housing and housing-related assistance for Inglewood residents. The remainder of the Clippers package provides $20 million for after-school programs, upgrading the city’s public library complex, job training and senior programs. In a statement, Clippers President Gillian Zucker said that while the arena project may be relatively new to some residents, the Clippers’ commitment to the Inglewood community is not. “This benefits package reflects priorities identified during many months of interacting and listening to the needs and aspirations of Inglewood families and leaders,” Zucker said. “We are more excited than ever about the arena project and the contribution it will make toward positive outcomes for the residents of this dynamic community we hope to call home.” The $100 million package reflects the philanthropic vision of Ballmer and his wife, Connie, who have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to anti-poverty causes through their Ballmer Group. The Ballmers have made it their mission to advance economic mobility so that any child, rich or poor, has a fair shot at the American Dream. Details of the announced plan include: •Up to $75 million for a new Affordable Housing Development Loan Fund that Clippers continued to page 24
Seven Ways California’s New “Rent Cap” Law Would Affect You TANU HENRY California Black Media e built these ships, we dredged these canals, in a San Francisco they never knew existed," said AfricanAmerican actor Jimmy Fails in the trailer of the June 2019 movie “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” which also stars Golden Gate City native Danny Glover. The film — with sentimental flashbacks of a bygone era - centers on the ongoing gentrification in California’s largest city and how it has sapped the blackness out of The Fillmore neighborhood in San Francisco, once a thriving African-American political and cultural hub in the Bay Area. In 1970, about 13 percent of San Francisco’s population was Black. That was about one in every seven San Franciscans. Today, the city’s Black population is only about 5 percent — or one in every 20 residents. And the majority of the 46,000 African Americans who remain in the city of more than 884,000 people now lives in public housing. Like San Francisco, the high cost of buying and renting in homes has con-
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Kamala Harris Unveils “Reform First” Criminal Justice Plan U.S Senator and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris recently unveiled her “reform first” criminal justice plan. It is beig praised by several California leaders and activists. The plan calls for ending mandatory minimum sentences, legalizing marijuana and shutting down for-profit prisons. It also hopes to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system by introducing a national standard for police use of force ; providing incentives for states to get rid of mandatory minimums; mandating prisons to offer educational courses as well as mental health and addiction treatment. According to Harris, it “replicates and nationalizes” programs she introduced during her law enforcement career in California. “This plan uses my experience and unique capability to root out failures within the justice system,” she said. “We can end mass incarceration and combat the bias and racism that fuels it. We can ensure accountability for all parts of the system to build foundations of trust in our communities. We can stop profit from incarceration and stop criminalizing poverty. As president, I’ll fix this broken system to make it fairer and more accountable for communities across the country.”
Kaiser Permanente Workers Withdraw Threat to Strike After Reaching Agreement Negotiations between union representatives and Kaiser Permanente restarted as the healthcare giant hoped to avoid the massive nationwide strike that had been scheduled later in October. 80,00 healthcare workers represented by the union coalition would have participated in a seven-day strike in California, five other states and the District of Columbia. However, the healthcare provider and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have now reached a tentative agreement on a national, 4 year collective bargaining agreement that covers those 85,000 unionized workers. The agreement provides annual pay increases and employee benefits while also creating a program to reduce the national shortage of healthcare workers. It was reached following nearly five months of active bargaining.
California Newspapers Win One Year Exemption to AB 5 AB 5, the “Employee Misclassification Bill”, was signed into law by Gov. Newsom recently changing the classification of more than one million jobs across the state from “contractor” to “employee.” Before it was passed, various industries pressed officials to give them an exemption to the bill. Notably, newspapers in the state argued that the law would be another blow to an already struggling industry. Leaders argued that the law especially threatened to put 20 African American owned newspapers that operate in cities and towns across California out of business. 12 amendments to AB 5 were pushed by Senate Republicans, including one that provided temporary exemption for newspaper carriers and distributors named AB 170. Under AB 170 newspapers across California now have until January 2021 to hire the drivers who deliver their papers as W-2 employees. Other exampted categories include architects, veterinarians, private investigators, dentists, travel agents, photographers, cartoonist, and more.