Celebrating BLACK HISTORY Bakersfield
News Observer Volume 44 Number 26
Serving Kern County for Over 40 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
FREE!
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
The CSU’s Super Sunday:
Redistricting Plan Diluted the Kern’s A Message of Hope Latino Vote By Dr. Soraya M. Coley President, Cal Poly Pomona As I was reflecting on the importance of CSU’s Super Sunday, what came to mind was an experience I had meeting an African American great-grandmother who introduced me to her 8-year-old great-grandson that she and her husband were raising. She had heard my message about the increasing value of a college degree and the commitment of the CSU system to access and opportunity. She wanted reassurance that if her great-grandson continued to excel in school, he might one day achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. She also wanted advice on courses he should take to prepare him for college. She and her husband were in their 70s and had few resources but were trying to set aside some financial support for his education. It was clear to me that their hopes and dreams are the same ones that we all have for our children – not just a better life, but a life where our children can achieve their potential, reaching the stars and beyond. The Super Sunday initiative, now in its 13th year, represents a critical partnership between the CSU and African American churches throughout the state to encourage our youth to pursue higher education. We are appreciative of the connection with many churches throughout the years Continued on page A3
Dr. Soraya M. Coley (Courtesy Photo)
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama Official Portraits Unveiled in Washington
Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of former President Barack Obama (far left) and Amy Sherald’s portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama (far right) unveiled during a ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor With buzz building for months, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recently unveiled the official portraits of President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington D.C. New York City-based artist Kehinde Wiley created the portrait of President Obama and Baltimore artist Amy Sherald was selected to paint Michelle Obama. Both Wiley and Sherald are a noteworthy change of pace from artists who typically are selected to paint presidential portraits that will hang at the Smithsonian or in the White House. The artists were selected by the Obamas and commissioned by the Smithsonian after the former first couple reviewed dozens of portfolios. Wiley, 41 and Sherald, 44, are both African Ameri-
can; their selection caused buzz and excitement and was a noted departure from the more literal and realistic portraiture style American leaders are typically depicted in. Wiley’s portraits often feature African Americans in heroic poses and Sherald uses a bold and dramatic style of painting African American subjects with an artistically forward perspective. Those unique artistic statements are likely to set their portraits apart from many others in the gallery and at the White House. Sherald depicted the former First Lady sitting confidently and looking the viewer in the eye wearing a large flowing white dress with black and white patterns. “I see something bigger and more symbolic,” Sherald stated as she spoke of her work, during the ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery. Former First Lady Michelle Obama paused to take
in the portrait before delivering her remarks to the audience assembled in the large courtyard at the gallery. “I have so many thoughts and feelings inside me now. I am humbled. I am proud…I am thankful for all of the people who came before me, before this journey,” Michelle Obama said. “There aren’t many people in my family who have had a portrait done, much less a portrait hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.” She then paid tribute to her parents in her speech and focused on her mother sitting in the front row of the audience. Sitting close by was former Vice President Joe Biden. Artist Kehinde Wiley depicted President Obama seated in a dark suit on a background of vibrant green leaves and lush flowers. “We miss you guys,” President Obama said to the audience and many in the crowd responded in kind. President Obama went on to thank Sherald for, “spectacularly capturing the grace and beauty and intelligence and charm that hotness of the woman that I love.” President Obama also talked about the immediate connection that he shared with Wiley, noting that he and Wiley are both of African descent and had fathers who were absent from their lives. “It’s fair to say that Kehinde and I bonded,” said President Obama. “Kehinde’s art often takes ordinary people and elevates them, lifts them up and puts them in these fairly elaborate settings and so his initial impulse maybe, in the work, was to also elevate me and put me in these settings with partridges and scepters and thrones and chifforobes and mounting me on horses.” Obama continued: “I had to explain that I’ve got enough political problems without you making me look like Napoleon. We’ve got to bring it down just a touch and that’s what he did.” Wiley also delivered brief remarks. “The ability to be the first African-American painter to paint the first African-American president of the United States is absolutely overwhelming. It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Wiley. “I was humbled by this invitation, but I was also inspired by Barack Obama’s personal story, that sense in which he and I both do have that echo of single parents, African fathers, that search for the father, that sense of twinning. There is kind of like this echo of he and I in that narrative.”
PG&E’s Grant to California Black Media By Tony Khing California Black Media SACRAMENTO -- On Feb. 22, PG&E presented a $53,000 grant to California Black Media to help their efforts in supporting major African-American news outlets within the company’s service area. The endowment was given during a multicultural media event at The California Endowment co-hosted by PG&E and CBM with eight African-American print and broadcast organizations. “At PG&E, we work hard to support the African-American community all year, but February is a special month because it’s a formal acknowledgement of many unsung African-American heroes who’ve made significant contributions in history. The African-American press is a vital resource in the African- American community. We’re pleased to partner with them to support their work. We look forward to continuing to work with them in 2018 on important PG&E updates and energy policy initiatives,” said PG&E Community Relations Manager Jimi Harris. Representatives from outlets such as The Post News, Sun Reporter andSacramento Observer and other media outlets learned about PG&E’s Time of Use rate plan and how customers can better manage their energy usage. During the one-hour session, they also received informa-
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L to R Justin Real, Sr. Program Manager, PG&E, Allen Fernandez Smith, Manager Customer Energy Efficiency, PG&E, Amelia Ashley-Ward, Publisher, Sun Reporter, Felicia Roberts, Publisher, Central Valley Voice, Dionne Adams, President of Black Employees Community Support, Regina Wilson, Executive Director, CBM, Valerie Bell, V.P. Operations, PG&E, Fiona Chan Integrated Multicultural Communications, PG&E, Jerilyn Gleaves, Manager, Supplier Diversity, PG&E, Julia Dudley Najieb, Publisher, One New Media Group, Pleshette Robertson, Publisher, Sac Cultural Hub, Libby O’Connell,PG&E and Lennice Najieb, One New Media Group.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ Election districts for the board of supervisors in a Central California county illegally dilute the voting power of Latinos and deprive them of an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, a federal judge said Friday. U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd struck down Kern County’s 2011 redistricting plan, saying it was not “equally open to participation by Latino voters.’’ The ruling came in a lawsuit by the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund against the Central California county. An email after hours to the county’s attorney, Mark Nations, was not immediately returned. MALDEF argued that the boundary between two districts in the county broke up a large Latino community in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. “Today’s decision should stand as a warning to other counties in California, a number of which also failed to comply with the Voting Rights Act during the last round of redistricting,’’ Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF said in a statement. “The growing Latino community is entitled to representation, and drawing lines to protect incumbents risks costly litigation to secure an eventual remedy to protect voters’ rights.’’ Lawsuits challenging voting districts in California are unusual. The Obama administration aggressively pursued lawsuits over minority voting rights in Texas and North Carolina, but was criticized for not taking similar action in California. Los Angeles County, where roughly half of the 10 million residents are Latino, has also faced criticism that its political boundaries unfairly reduce the clout of Latino voters. Drozd’s ruling came after an 11-day trial in December that included testimony from Kern County residents, demographers and political scientists and historians. The judge said the plaintiffs had shown that the Latino community in Kern County was sufficiently numerous and geographically compact to constitute the majority in a second supervisorial district, and that the majority in Kern County votes sufficiently as a bloc to usually defeat Latino-preferred candidates. The lawsuit will now move into a second phase for the judge to consider ways to correct the imbalance.
California Mayors Seek $1.5 Billion to Help Homeless
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Mayors from California’s eleven largest cities on Wednesday asked state lawmakers to provide $1.5 billion to help with what they say is a growing homeless crisis. They are backing legislation that would require the cities to provide matching funds, creating a $3 billion pot of money to be spent on affordable housing, temporary shelters, supportive services and outreach. They said in an earlier letter to legislative leaders that lawmakers should use a quarter of the state’s $6.1 billion budget surplus to help the homeless. San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer called it “the most pressing issue facing California cities today.’’ The mayors cited a 2017 federal estimate that the most populous state now has more than 134,000 homeless people. Their request came the same day that two Democratic state senators announced they will seek $2 billion for affordable housing, also in response to the mayors’ requests. The bipartisan group includes mayors from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Long Beach, Sacramento, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim and Santa Ana. The proposals come less than six months after Gov. Jerry Brown signed 15 housing bills into law. They imposed a new $75 real estate transaction fee and placed a $4 billion housing bond on the November ballot.
Texas Woman Defecates in Pants to Hide Drugs During Arrest CORSICANA, Texas (AP) _ Police say a Texas woman attempted to hide evidence during an arrest by defecating in her pants and using the feces to conceal drugs. Officers in Corsicana, about 55 miles (88 kilometers ) south of Dallas, were investigating a report of a theft at a grocery store on Wednesday when they attempted to subdue a female suspect and take her into custody. Police say they placed Shannen Martin in the back of a police cruiser where they say she intentionally defecated in her pants then hid a crack pipe, 2.3 grams of crack cocaine and a Valentine’s Day card in her excrement. Officers had to sift through the woman’s feces to retrieve the evidence after Martin was booked on charges of tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance.