Actor Cuba Gooding Jr Pleads Guilty to Forcible Touching Page A3
Kern County’s Latest Covid-19 Update
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 48 Number 33
Serving Kern County for Over 48 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Serena Williams’ Message to Medical Professionals:
Listen to Black Women
For tennis superstar Serena Williams, giving birth to her baby, it turned out, was a test for how loud and how often she would have to call out before finally being heard.
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Each year in the United States, about 700 people die during pregnancy or the year after. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, another 50,000 people each year have unexpected labor and delivery outcomes with serious short- or long-term health consequences. “Every pregnancy-related death is tragic, especially because two in three of them are preventable,” the CDC said as the nation observes Black Maternal Health Week through April 17. For tennis superstar Serena Williams, giving birth to her baby, it turned out, was a test for how loud and how often she would have to call out before finally being heard. Williams penned an essay for Elle Magazine’s April issue, in which she recounted her reckoning that proved once again that Black women remain three times more likely to die after childbirth than white women. She said she was almost one of them. “I’ve suffered every injury imaginable, and I know my body,” the Williams writes in the deeply personal essay, later adding: “Giving birth to my baby, it turned out, was a test for how loud and how often I would have to call out before I was finally heard.” As Williams recounts, she had a “wonderful pregnancy” with her first child, Alexis Olympia, and even her epidural-free delivery was going well—at first. “By the next morning, the contractions were coming harder and faster. With each one, my baby’s heart rate plummeted. I was scared,” the 23-time Grand Slam winner wrote. “Every time the baby’s heart rate dropped, the nurses would come in and tell me to turn onto my side. The baby’s heart rate would go back up, and everything seemed fine. Then, I’d have another contraction, and baby’s heart rate would drop again, but I’d turn over, and the rate would go back up, and so on and so
forth.” The CDC noted significant disparities in the birthing experience of Black women in its most recent report. The agency noted that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. The agency said multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. The CDC added that social determinants of health prevent many people from racial and ethnic minority groups from having fair economic, physical, and emotional health opportunities. After an emergency C-section, Williams gave birth to her daughter, Alexis. Afterward, she said she had to fight for her life. Already classified as a high risk for blood clots, Williams inquired whether she should receive heparin, a blood thinner. “The response was, ‘Well, we don’t really know if that’s what you need to be on right now,’” Williams wrote. “No one was really listening to what I was saying.” Despite excruciating pain, Williams continued to speak out to her health care providers. At one point, she felt paralyzed. “I couldn’t move at all,” she recounted. Aching and coughing to the point where her C-section stitches burst, Williams complained that she couldn’t breathe. Four surgeries later, doctors discovered a blood clot in one of her arteries, a hematoma in her abdomen, and other clots. She said the nurse she had previously spoken with told her that the medicine was making her crazy. Had she gone along with the nurse’s assertions, Williams could have died. “Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me,” Williams asserted. “I know those statistics would be different if the medical establishment listened to every Black woman’s experience.”
Proposal to Shorten Workweek to 32 Hours is A “Job Killer” Manny Otiko California Black Media Some California legislators want to shorten the standard American workweek from 40 hours to 32. But critics of the proposed law say it will hurt productivity and slash business’ revenues. Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Evan Low (D-San Jose) introduced Assembly Bill 2932 in February. The legislation aims to limit the work to eighthour days and 32 hours per week for companies with 500 or employees. However, the bill forbids companies from reducing workers’ pay. If lawmakers approve the legislation, it will affect 50.4% of California businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. The other 49.6 % of business in the state have between 1 and 499 employees. According to the proposed bill, which is currently under review in the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, work above 32 hours per week would count as overtime. “Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 32 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee,” the bill language reads. “Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee.” Last year, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA-41) introduced a
similar federal bill. Takano says a 32-hour workweek would improve worker productivity and reduce employer premiums spent on healthcare. “I am introducing this legislation to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours because -- now more than ever -- people continue to work longer hours while their pay remains stagnant,” said Takano. “We cannot continue to accept this as our reality. Many countries and businesses that have experimented with a four-day workweek found it to be an overwhelming success as productivity grew and wages increased.” “After the COVID-19 pandemic left so many millions of Americans unemployed or underemployed, a shorter workweek will allow more people to participate in the labor market at better wages,” the lawmaker continued. The 32-hour workweek has been experimented with
in Iceland, where it was deemed a success. According to the Association for Sustainable Democracy in Iceland, workers who tried the new workweek format reported less burnout, improved productivity and health, and less stress. The proposed shorter workweek has also been tried in the U.S. at Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform, and D’Youville College, a private school in Buffalo, N.Y. However, some members of the business community in California have already criticized the proposed law, saying it is one more burden that lawmakers are placing on the back of businessowners in the state. Ashley Hoffman, a policy advocate with the California Chamber of Commerce, described the bill as “a job killer” in a letter to Low. “This significant rise in labor costs will not be sustainable for many businesses. Labor costs are often one of the highest costs a business faces. Such a large increase in labor costs will reduce businesses’ ability to hire or create new positions and will therefore limit job growth in California,” said Hoffman. American workers are infamous for working long hours and taking shorter vacations according to workers in other industrialized nations. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average American worker put in 1,770 hours a year. OECD also stated that American workers labor longer than all workers living in the world’s largest economies.
Howard U President Announces Retirement By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent After nine years marred in recent times by student protests over filthy and unlivable dorm conditions, a threatened faculty strike, and a walkout by hospital workers, Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick has announced his retirement. An April 13, 2022, letter addressed to the Howard Community, Dr. Laurence C. Morse, the chair of the Howard University Board of Trustees, said Frederick recently informed officials at the historically Black college of his plans to step down by June 2024. He said he’s committed to remaining in place to ensure a smooth transition. “We appreciate that Dr. Frederick has given us ample time to find the next great leader of Howard University and remains committed to fulfilling key components of the Howard Forward Strategic Plan, along with other initiatives on his agenda,” Morse wrote. “Over the next two years, Dr. Frederick will continue to give his undivided attention to advance our collective interests, drive impactful initiatives, and support the people that comprise our growing university community.” It hasn’t always been smooth for Frederick, who initially arrived as a student at Howard from his native Trinidad at 16. For more than a month in 2021, students staged a lock-
in and protested, seeking answers from Frederick and key administrators for poor housing conditions on campus. The protest quickly made news as images of mold and rodents were displayed from dorm rooms. Frederick remained silent throughout the ordeal as calls for his resignation grew. Last month, faculty members and the school avoided a strike after reaching a three-year deal. Adjunct professors and full-time non-tenured professors reportedly were seeking better pay, the ability to teach enough courses to access Howard’s health insurance, and ending a rule under which non-tenure-track faculty are let go after seven years. This month, Howard University Hospital workers began a one-day strike to protest low wages and staffing challenges. The strike included more than 300 nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, and social workers. After negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement broke down between the university and the labor union, the District of Columbia Nurses Association, workers walked out. “The next president of Howard will follow Dr. Frederick’s lead in exemplifying our motto of truth and service by strengthening our legacy, embracing our community, and building on our strategic plan to prioritize the success of our students, faculty, and staff,” Morse insisted.
Howard U President Wayne A.I. Frederick (Courtesy Photo)
Take One!
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Nashville to Make Juneteenth a Paid Holiday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nashville Mayor John Cooper says he plans on signing an executive order to make Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S., an official paid holiday for city employees. According to a news release, Cooper will sign the directive on Thursday. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers told enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, that they were free. It was two months after the Confederacy surrendered and more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. A proposal to make Juneteenth an official statewide paid holiday stalled in the GOP-controlled General Assembly earlier this year. The bill has failed to gain traction even though Gov. Bill Lee set aside funds for the measure in his proposed spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The federal government made it an official holiday last year.
Fire Company Disbands after Racial Slur Allegations DARBY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) – A volunteer fire company in Pennsylvania has disbanded months after it was suspended when another fire company allegedly heard members using racial slurs and disparaging Black residents in a virtual meeting. In a letter to Darby Township commissioners Wednesday, the Briarcliffe Fire Company announced it was shutting down. “The Briarcliffe Fire Company strongly denies that anyone in the township was ever treated differently or discriminated against based upon their race,” the company’s lawyer Robert Ewing wrote in the letter. The company was suspended in February after members apparently failed to disconnect from an online meeting with local officials and the two other firehouses. In a nearly twohour conversation, Briarcliffe firefighters allegedly bemoaned how the time had come to leave the township because Black residents continue moving into the area. One firefighter is alleged to have mocked the name of an 8-year-old Black girl, Fanta Bility, who was killed by police gunfire in Sharon Hill last summer. An investigation by the Delaware County district attorney determined the language was “hateful and deeply offensive,” but not criminal. “Unfortunately in light of the frenzied public perception not based in fact, the Briarcliffe Fire Company can no longer function,” the fire company attorney wrote in the letter to township commissioners. “Their members are volunteers who do not want to continue risking their lives if they are not appreciated.” Members of the Delaware County Black Caucus are pressing to prevent Briarcliffe’s volunteers from working with another fire company in the county, news outlets reported.
Brooklyn Subway Attack Suspect to Make 1st Court Appearance
Frank James, 62, was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday, a day after the attack.
NEW YORK (AP) – The man accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday as investigators continue to examine his possible motive. Frank James, 62, was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday, a day after the attack. Authorities say he unleashed smoke bombs and dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters, shooting 10 people. “He fired approximately 33 rounds in cold blood at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide,” federal prosecutors wrote Thursday in court papers asking that James be held without bail. They called the shooting premeditated and calculated, saying that James wore a hard hat and construction workerstyle jacket as a disguise and then shed them after the gunfire to avoid recognition. Prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other gun-related items in a Philadelphia storage unit. A lawyer appointed to represent him didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. James didn’t respond to shouting reporters Wednesday as he was led from a police precinct into a car headed for a federal detention center. Authorities say a trove of evidence connects James to the attack. His credit card and a key to a van he had rented were found at the shooting scene. Officers also found the handgun they said was used in the shooting; tracing records show James purchased the gun from a licensed gun dealer in Ohio in 2011. Investigators were examining many hours of videos that James posted on social media, including one a day before the attack, in which he delivered profanity-laced diatribes about racism, society’s treatment of Black people, homelessness and violence. He also talked about his history of psychiatric treatment, and he complained about New York’s mayor is dealing with homeless people on subways and with gun violence. James was born and raised in New York City but had moved to Milwaukee. He’d recently left Wisconsin and had briefly lived in Philadelphia.