KHSD to Provide Free School Meals
Rihanna Tops $1 Billion in Net Worth
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 49
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Widening Educational Inequality in Year of COVID Portland, Ore., July 28, 2021 — NWEA — a notfor-profit, research and educational services provider serving K-12 students — released today new research that highlights a challenging year in education with most students making lower-than-typical learning gains in math and reading. The research examined MAP Growth assessment scores from 5.5 million U.S. public school students in grades 3-8 between fall 2020 and spring 2021 and found: • On average, students across most grades and subject areas made learning gains in 2020-21, but at a lower rate compared to pre-pandemic trends. • 2020-21 outcomes were lower relative to historic trends. Gains across 2020-21 were at a lower rate and students ended the year with lower levels of achievement compared to a typical year, with larger declines in math (8 to 12 percentile points) than in reading (3 to 6 percentile points). • Achievement was lower for all student groups in 2020-21; historically underserved students (e.g., American Indian and Alaskan Native, Black, and Latino and/or students in high poverty schools) were disproportionately impacted, particularly in the elementary grades that NWEA studied. “As our nation continues to grapple with COVID-19 and its impact on every facet of our lives, this new research from NWEA illuminates just how devastating the academic consequences have been for our nation’s children. While all students have suffered from interrupted instruction, Continued on page A2
NWEA is not alone in this advocacy. Like minded, equity-focused organizations and voices are speaking up even louder now to support our educational community in the long path ahead. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)
Gov. Newsom Invests $123.9 Billion to Address Financial & Safety issues
Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke at a press conference on Friday, Aug. 6th, at the San Bernardino City School District office. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurman and other state and local representatives were in attendance. (Photo: Aldon Stiles)
Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media On Aug. 3 in Perris, California – a Riverside County city located about 70 miles east of Los Angeles -- Lincoln Cooper and Fortunate Hove Cooper handed out free backpacks full of school supplies and hand sanitizers to struggling families during a triple-digit heat wave. They were joined by a handful of volunteers that included representatives from the Moreno Valley School District. “This is the biggest back to school event we’ve ever had,” said Lincoln Cooper, president and founder of the community outreach organization the Concerned Family (TCF). “We’ve had a lot of support and we’re really thankful and grateful that we were able to help the community.” The faith-based, Black-lead community outreach organization, founded in 1993 and run out of an old fire station in Perris, has organized back-to school events in the past; but none quite on this scale, the group’s leaders say. According to Lincoln, they received over 750 backpacks filled to the brim with useful supplies. “What we had planned, initially, was not the backpacks. The plan was to remember those who lost their relatives in the COVID-19 pandemic and have a memorial for them and then assure the kids that they’re still being heard, and we are not just passing them by while they are grieving,” said TCF Co-Founder Fortunate Hove Cooper. The Coopers are not alone in their concern for struggling Black families with children returning to school this fall as uncertainty about the coronavirus and its new variants lingers. For many Black California families, especially lowerincome ones, having their children resume in-person classes amidst an ongoing pandemic remains both a financial and public health challenge. But during a visit to Juanita B. Jones Elementary School in San Bernardino on Aug. 6, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out a roadmap for the state’s safe
return to in-person instruction. During the press conference, Newsom spoke about the California Comeback Plan, a COVID-19 recovery budget that includes $123.9 billion in investments in education. He was joined by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), Assemblymember James Ramos (D-Highland), Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond, Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers, a San Bernardino County education advocate and school board member, among others. “Our school year started Monday and we’ve had a great week,” Dr. Gwen Dowdy-Rogers, the San Bernardino City Unified School District school board president, said at the beginning of the press conference. “Families sent 95% of all students back to our campuses for the first time in over a year for in-person instruction,” she continued. Newsom addressed some of the pandemic related financial issues students and families like those at the Concerned Family back to school event face. “By the way, $650 million went into this unprecedented first of the nation effort to provide free nutritious meals for our kids,” Newsom said. “Supervisor Baca would be upset with me if I didn’t remind everybody about all the support that we’re providing these kids,” he continued. The governor also reassured that this “full reopening of schools” during a pandemic will be safe. However, Lincoln and Fortunate are still concerned about COVID-19 safety for Pre-K and K-12 students. “There’s so much going on with the pandemic and even young kids are dying. Initially it was older people.” Lincoln said. “So, I’d advise them to make sure they’re wearing their face masks and be cautious,” he continued. Continued on page A2
Cash in California’s Comeback Plan for Your Small Business
Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media Just in case Black businesses in the state are not aware, the California legislature recently passed the $100 billion California Comeback Plan. It is the biggest economic recovery package in California history. And in it, there are billions of dollars in cash relief for small businesses. State Treasurer Fiona Ma and Small Business Majority, an advocacy organization founded by and for small business owners, are hosting a webinar to share information about the new entrepreneurship programs included in the California Comeback Plan. It will be held at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 25. ““As California businesses emerge from survival mode and embark on various stages of re-opening, now is the time to develop strategies that can help companies get the jumpstart they need and grow in innovative ways,” said Ma when she first announced the webinar series. During the upcoming briefing, the leaders will also share information about how CalSavers, a free individual retirement account (IRA) for small business employers, can help small business owners rehire employees laid off due to the pandemic. They will also talk about the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant’s reopening. That program, valued at more than $2 billion, has been providing grants of up to $25,000 to small businesses sand non-profits across the state. California is home to 4.1 million small businesses, representing over 99% of all businesses in the state and Continued on page A2
(shutterstock photo)
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Kool & the Gang Co-founder Dies
NEW YORK (AP) – Dennis “Dee Tee’’ Thomas, a founding member of the long-running soul-funk band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as “Celebration’’ and “Get Down On It,’’ has died. He was 70. He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday in New Jersey, where he was a resident of Montclair, according to a statement from his representative. Thomas was the alto sax player, flutist and percussionist. He served as master of ceremonies at the band’s shows. His last appearance with the group was July Fourth at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Born Feb. 9, 1951, in Orlando, Florida, Thomas was known for his prologue on the band’s 1971 hit, “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight.’’ Known for his hip clothes and hats, he was also the group’s wardrobe stylist. In the early days, he served as their “budget hawk,’’ carrying their earnings in a paper bag stuffed into the bell of his horn, the statement said. In 1964, seven teen friends created the group’s unique bland of jazz, soul and funk, at first calling themselves the Jazziacs. They went through several iterations before settling on Kool & the Gang in 1969. The group’s other founders are brothers Ronald and Robert Bell, Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith. Ronald Bell died Sept. 9, 2020, at home in the U.S. Virgin Islands at age 68. The band has earned two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. They were honored in 2014 with a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award. Their music is heavily sampled and featured on film sound tracks, including those for “Rocky,’’ “Saturday Night Fever’’ and “Pulp Fiction.’’ Among those Thomas is survived by are his wife, Phynjuar Saunders Thomas, daughter Tuesday Rankin and sons David Thomas and Devin Thomas.
Virginia University Buildings Renamed for Black Women ETTRICK, Va. (AP) – Four buildings at an historically Black university in Virginia named for white men with links to the Jim Crow era or to the Confederacy have been renamed for Black women. Virginia State University announced the new names on Friday, five months after the original names were taken down, with replacement names considered by a committee. “It wasn’t hard, and we didn’t have to look far to find women who embody our mission today,’’ Tonya Hall, VSU’s vice president of external relations, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Vawter Hall, originally named for a Confederate captain, was renamed for Lula Johnson, who is believed to be the first woman to graduate from a Virginia public college in the 1890s, from what is now VSU. Byrd Hall, a dorm named for former governor and U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr., is now Otelia Howard Hall, honoring a school English teacher in the 1920s and ‘30s. A statue of Byrd, a staunch segregationist, was removed from Capitol Square in Richmond last month. The former Trinkle Hall is now named for Johnella Jackson, who wrote the music for VSU’s alma mater in the 1920s. Elbert Lee Trinkle was governor in the 1920s and signed a law that prohibited interracial marriage. And Eggleston Hall, named for Joseph Eggleston, a board of visitors member in the early 20th century, is now named for Lucretia Campbell, the faculty’s first Black female member. Eggleston was a state schools superintendent.
Muddy Waters’ Landmark Status CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago home where blues legend Muddy Waters once lived and recorded music is a step closer to landmark status and becoming a museum in his honor. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Thursday granted final approval of landmark status to the brick two-flat home in the South Side neighborhood of North Kenwood, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. It now moves to the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards and, if approved, to a vote of the full council. Waters, known as the “Father of Chicago Blues,’’ moved to the city from rural Mississippi in 1943. He moved his family into the home in 1954 and purchased it in 1956. Waters’ family lived on the first floor of the house. He rented out the upstairs and had a recording studio in the basement. Waters’ great granddaughter, Chandra Cooper, now owns the property and is converting it into The MOJO Muddy Waters House Museum. Cooper was “elated and happy’’ that the landmarks commission recognized and is honoring Waters’ musical legacy and history. “We’re on this great path toward becoming one of Chicago’s landmarks, and we are looking forward to working with the blues community, the city and the alderman on this project to leave a piece of his legacy for the city of Chicago,” she said. After arriving in Chicago in the 1940s, Waters played parties at night for extra cash and later became a regular performer in local nightclubs. Chess Records released his first hits by 1948, and by the early 1950s his blues band had become one of history’s most acclaimed. Waters’ Chicago home was a gathering place for musicians, and some _ including legends like Chuck Berry and Otis Spann _ lived there at one time or another. Waters lived in the home until his wife died in 1973. He then moved to suburban Westmont, living there until his 1983 death.