Hattiesburg Artist Featured on Popular HGTV Show
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 48 Number 35
Serving Kern County for Over 48 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Bill To Increase Education Funding for Black Students Moves Forward in Assembly
Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media With a 7-0 vote, the Assembly Education Committee approved legislation that would require California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify -- and provide targeted funding for -- the lowest-performing pupil subgroup in the state. That sub-group is Black students. Assemblymembers Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) and Chris Holden (D-Los Angeles), both members of the California Black Legislative Caucus (CLBC), co-authored the legislation: Assembly Bill (AB) 2774. AB 2774 also requires school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education (COE) to be held accountable to provide additional services and improve academic performance. Weber and Holden say they wrote the bill to remedy existing racial equity gaps and ensure that all Black students regardless of socio-economic status have the resources they need to succeed. “This is one of our priority bills,” Weber said of the effort to enhance educational resources for Black students. “We think it is time for California to invest and focus on closing the academic achievement gap. (This bill) will add a new sub-category for the sole purpose of achieving improved test scores.” The bill is headed to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Holden.
Students and teachers from across the state visited the State Capitol to show their support of AB 2774 (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey)
Dr. Ramona Bishop from Elite Public Schools out of Vallejo, marches with her students in support of AB 2774 (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey)
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
May is Mental Health Month Get Your Toolkit Today
Since 1949, Mental Health America and our affiliates across the country have observed May is Mental Health Month by reaching out to millions of people through the media, local events, and screenings. We invite other organizations to join us in spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about by using the May is Mental Health Month toolkit materials and conducting awareness activities. After the last two years of pandemic living, many people are realizing that stress, isolation, and uncertainty have taken a toll on their well-being. This year, the theme of MHA’s 2022 Mental Health Month Toolkit is “Back to Basics.” Our goal is to provide foundational knowledge about mental health & mental health conditions and information about what people can do if their mental health is a cause for concern. To get your 2022 Mental Health Month Toolkit “Back to Basics” go online to www.mhanational.org.
Before the vote, educators, students, and faith leaders held a rally at the State Capitol in support of AB 2774. If approved, the legislation would provide $400 million per year in additional funding for the lowest-performing subgroup.
Reality TV Figure Facing Sex Trafficking Charge in Las Vegas
In 2019, testing data showed that Black students are the lowest-performing subgroup on state standardized tests with 67% not passing English Language Arts (ELA) and 79% not meeting the Math standard. The legislation, the authors say, is designed to address longstanding equity issues with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was created to provide additional funding for the highest need students in California. The LCFF was enacted in 2013. Supporters of AB 2774 say that over one-quarter of Black students are not receiving supplemental funding through LCFF. “This is not the first time this bill has been introduced. It was previously introduced by my mother Dr. Shirley Weber who is now our Secretary of State,” Weber said. “Although we did not get everything that we wanted, our persistence will ensure this time we will get it passed. We fought hard to make sure we got this hearing.” The language in AB 2774 states that the subgroup identified for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, based on the 2018-19 the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) scores “shall be included within the ‘unduplicated’ pupil count until its scores equal or exceeds the highest performing subgroup (Asians).”
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A rapper and former reality TV figure is facing a felony sex trafficking charge in Las Vegas in an ongoing criminal investigation alleging that he used his large social media following to recruit women as prostitutes, according to police. Records showed Wednesday that Kevin Lamont Barnes Jr., 37, was arrested Monday and released Tuesday without bail from the Clark County Detention Center pending a preliminary hearing of evidence May 10. Barnes, who uses the name Chopper and was featured on the early 2000’s MTV reality series “Making the Band,’’ was represented in court by a public defender. It was not immediately clear later if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Details of the investigation were not immediately made public by police or prosecutors. The celebrity website TMZ said it obtained documents showing that an undercover vice detective posing as a sex worker said Barnes used social media to tell the person to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to become part of his “team.’’ The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that after his MTV stint, Barnes became a member of the hip-hop group Da Band, formed by Sean “P. Diddy’’ Combs.
Existing law provides school districts, charter schools, and County Offices of Education (COEs) with a base level of funding based on the enrollment of pupils who are either English learners, low income, or in foster care. But students that fall into more than one category are counted only once for LCFF purposes, hence the term “unduplicated pupil,” AB 2774 language explains. Along with Weber, other advocates for Black students attending the rally included Dr. Margaret Fortune, Founder and CEO of Fortune School of Education, a network of seven charter schools in Sacramento and San Bernardino; Dr. Ramona Bishop, co-founder of Elite Public Schools, a charter school focused on technology based in Vallejo and former Superintendent for Vallejo Unified School District; the Rev. Tecoy Porter, Executive Director of National Action Network Sacramento; and the Rev. Jonathon Mosley, Director of National Action Network Western Region. Other attendees were Joette Spencer Campbell, NAACP San Bernardino; Tak Allen, International Faith Coalition; Dondrell Swanson, Alpha Community Education Initiative; and Bina Lefkovitz, Trustee Sacramento County Board of Education; and Tracie Stafford Chair of the Sacramento Democratic Party. Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), chairperson of the CLBC, and Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento) also attended the rally. “This is going to be a collective effort to show that we all care, and all are accountable for the achievement of Black students,” Fortune said. “This is the third time we’ve gone after this bill, and the third time with Dr. Akilah Weber it is going to be the charm.”
Food Poisoning Sickens Coachella Shuttle Bus Drivers
Wells Fargo Accused of Discrimination in Lending
Assemblywoman Dr. Akilah Weber speaks at an AB 2774 rally in front of the State Capitol in Sacramento before a hearing held on April 27. Weber is the author of the bill ( Margaret Fortune founder of Fortune charter school CEO standing to her right). (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey)
Take One!
By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor “Last month, it was reported that Wells Fargo approved ONLY 47% of Black homeowners’ mortgage applications compared to 72% of white applicants! We are suing Wells Fargo to demand they CHANGE their practices that are killing Black homeowners opportunities!” Attorney Ben Crump wrote on social media on April 14. Wells Fargo is the largest bank mortgage lender in the U.S. Ben Crump, who is mostly known for representing families of victims of police brutality, has now joined a lawsuit against Wells Fargo. The suit alleged the bank has engaged in racial discrimination in their home-lending practices. Crump has now joined an existing lawsuit filed in February 2022 by Chris Williams. Williams is claiming that Wells Fargo sought to charge him a higher interest rate than his credit score Continued on page A2
INDIO, Calif. (AP) – At least 24 shuttle bus drivers for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival became ill with food poisoning early Monday, authorities said. Reports began coming in shortly after midnight after subcontracted drivers dined at an off-site catering location unaffiliated with the festival, the Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department said in a press release. The drivers’ chief complaint was nausea and vomiting, it said. Some two dozen were taken to hospitals throughout the Coachella Valley. “This incident did not affect any of the guests attending the festival,’’ Division Chief Bryan White, the incident commander. County fire managed the incident in conjunction with Indio police and Goldenvoice Productions, promoter of the festival that ended Sunday.
Taking of Black Homeowners’ Property in 1960s ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Residents of a Black neighborhood in north Georgia lost more than $5 million on their properties when their homes were destroyed and replaced with university dorms and parking lots more than 50 years ago, according to an analysis by University of Georgia professors. The study of the loss to homeowners in the Linnentown section of Athens, Georgia, was reported last week by the Athens Banner-Herald. The city of Athens used eminent domain to force Black families out of Linnentown in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal plan. It sold the land to the state Board of Regents, and dorms and parking lots for the University of Georgia went up after the homes were razed. The UGA experts looked at what the lost properties would be worth today and what residents received for them, according to the Banner-Herald. They also assessed the amount of appreciation lost by the displacement to other properties. They were not able to capture the impact on employment or education or the emotional trauma of being forced to move, said Jerry Shannon, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and the Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics. Shannon recently presented the report to a group tasked with redressing the neighborhood’s destruction. The AthensClarke County mayor and commission are also expected to review it, and it could be used to allocate funds for projects such as affordable housing.